Hope Fellowship. Have you ever wondered what exactly the name ‘Hope Fellowship’ means? I imagine in a way it means something a little different to everyone, but for myself, I was curious what the root origins of these words were, and what I discovered was quite interesting.
‘Hope’ comes from the Old English word ‘hopian’ which means to ‘wish, expect, or look forward (to something), meanwhile ‘Fellowship’ comes from the Middle English word ‘felaweshipe’ which means ‘companionship and/or the state of sharing mutual interests, experiences, activities.’
So when you put them together, in my own words, what you get is this exciting expectation of coming together for a common interest and experience, which we would call worshiping God our Father. That’s exactly what we do here each and every week as Hope Fellowship Church, as a unique body of Christ fulfilling the call on our lives as a church, bringing each other into deeper living relationships with Jesus.
Now as a church that has the word Hope in our name and so clearly found in our DNA, I couldn’t help but think of Bill Hybels and his personal/church wide mission statement that, “The local church is the hope of the world.” As Hope Fellowship, one of the things I often hear from people is how warm, welcoming and comfortable it is attending a service here. People feel as though they’re part of a bigger family, one that goes beyond blood and marriage, one that perhaps does bring hope to a broken world. People come with hope and always encounter fellowship with people and with God. Ironically, or not, the fact that our church carries the name of Hope Fellowship leaves me with a deep sense that it’s no coincidence we as a church family have this inviting, hospitable, community focused hope filled flavor about us.
We are people that gather with hope in our hearts, to encounter and experience Jesus together as one body, with one mind, to develop a deeper living relationship with Him, and to fulfill our part in His redemptive plan for the world. It’s exciting, honoring, and fun to be a part of such Hope and such Fellowship.
- Dylan
‘Hope’ comes from the Old English word ‘hopian’ which means to ‘wish, expect, or look forward (to something), meanwhile ‘Fellowship’ comes from the Middle English word ‘felaweshipe’ which means ‘companionship and/or the state of sharing mutual interests, experiences, activities.’
So when you put them together, in my own words, what you get is this exciting expectation of coming together for a common interest and experience, which we would call worshiping God our Father. That’s exactly what we do here each and every week as Hope Fellowship Church, as a unique body of Christ fulfilling the call on our lives as a church, bringing each other into deeper living relationships with Jesus.
Now as a church that has the word Hope in our name and so clearly found in our DNA, I couldn’t help but think of Bill Hybels and his personal/church wide mission statement that, “The local church is the hope of the world.” As Hope Fellowship, one of the things I often hear from people is how warm, welcoming and comfortable it is attending a service here. People feel as though they’re part of a bigger family, one that goes beyond blood and marriage, one that perhaps does bring hope to a broken world. People come with hope and always encounter fellowship with people and with God. Ironically, or not, the fact that our church carries the name of Hope Fellowship leaves me with a deep sense that it’s no coincidence we as a church family have this inviting, hospitable, community focused hope filled flavor about us.
We are people that gather with hope in our hearts, to encounter and experience Jesus together as one body, with one mind, to develop a deeper living relationship with Him, and to fulfill our part in His redemptive plan for the world. It’s exciting, honoring, and fun to be a part of such Hope and such Fellowship.
- Dylan
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