Hello Hopefuls!
 
We are off and running with our fall programming at Hope! I hope you all are finding points of connection with each other, with ministry and with God. Last Sunday, we studied Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5 on salt and light. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be useful in the world and to the people around us.
 
I have already had wonderful discussions with folks on how they see themselves and our community being salt and light. As a church, we want to provide meaningful, useful opportunities for worship, formation, growth, service, mission, fellowship and community.
 
The question for each of us individually is, “How can I be useful to people in my sphere?” As we talked about, sometimes we might feel like we are not useful anymore or that we don’t have a real purpose in life. We all have a need to be needed. And the reality is, that all of us have gifts and abilities that God has placed within us to be used to bless others and bring glory to God.
 
I encourage you to pray and ask God to reveal to you the purpose He has for you in this season. All gifts can be useful! Wisdom and experience are gifts that are just as valuable to be shared and passed on as gifts like leading or facilitating or building or singing. May the words of Jesus continue to encourage us to be the salt and light he desires for us to be. See you all soon and bless you!