Hopeful Story, February 11, 2018

  As a somewhat newly appointed staff member at Hope, I was rather excited to attend my first Leaders Retreat which took place this past weekend at Kingfisher Bay. There’s something to be said about a church that always allows room for the relational aspect of community to take precedent over ‘business’
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  Now if you’ve ever been a part of any type of leadership at Hope, whether on a committee, or a board, or a task force, or leadership team in general, then you should know what I mean when I refer to the relational aspect. The first 15-20 minutes of all leadership meetings that take place here, (even official staff meetings), begin with social time. This is a non-negotiable for us because if we do not have healthy relationships with one another, we will not have a healthy church community at all. God is all about relationship. He sent His son down to this world to die for our sins, so that nothing would stand in the way of our direct relationship with Him. That alone should remind us of the importance that the relational aspect of doing life together holds. Now back to the retreat. Never have I attended a retreat with such a strong sense of healthy relationships. Every session, every break, every meal, every conversation just flowed so naturally and so relationally that I think it’s safe to say that we’ve got this relational aspect of community figured out. 

  Now if you’re reading this, and perhaps don’t feel connected in this relational aspect of doing life together at Hope Fellowship, I want to encourage you to tell someone. Maybe come for prayer after service and simply express that you don’t feel connected. Or swing by the Info Centre and ask where it is that you can find a place of belonging. To hope is to expect with confidence, and after attending my first Leaders Retreat, I’m confident in the hope that we are becoming a church community where no one does life alone, and I’m confident that if you attend one other meeting outside of Sunday morning, you will find yourself belonging in no time. Hope is alive at Hope!
- Dylan