The Simple Life: Hope Community Church

Wednesday 9 September 2015

Hope Community Church - A Community Moment

I've attended Hope Community Church with my family for upwards of 10 years now. David and I started going as a couple when we started dating, almost 8 years ago. We became official members last year and David was baptized as well.

Hope is a relatively small community right now, with an average attendance of roughly 180 each week.

There are many things I love about this church and that keep me going every week. I feel a key element for David and I is that we are both involved in the church somehow. I play bass 2-4 times per month, and we teach Sunday School (Grades 1-3) a couple weeks at a time. David also takes photos during special services and of the new church building. It is so important to be involved, and I feel we still have lots of room to grow in that area. It helps as well that there are many of my family members and other friends/young couples in the church, some of whom I went to high-school with.

We are building a new church on the corner of Fraser Highway and 68th which we hope to move into in November this year! Very exciting and a little bit nerve-wracking. (photos below)

This post is brought about because of a little "community moment" that happened yesterday!

David and I have been looking for a new desk for his office, as he has been using what would become my craft table. Yesterday I had a hankering for some crafting, but wasn't able to do any as the table was occupied by all David's work stuff! We decided to just bite the bullet and pick out a desk that moment. We went on Craigslist and when we came across a desk we both agreed on for an appropriate price David called them.

David got off the phone and said, "Wow! He was a nice guy! He's even going to drop it off at our house and let us take it for $60! He's just out with some friends right now though, so it will be later this evening." BONUS! We like good deals and really appreciate the delivery as our vehicles are quite small.

At around 7pm last night, David texted asking me to come downstairs as the desk was arriving. I walked down and saw that I recognized the people delivering the desk. Warren and Barb from our church! We hadn't really spoken to them much at church, but were aware of each other's existence. It turns out the "friends" they were visiting were my Opa and Oma! It's a small world. Warren helped David set up the desk and get everything arranged. Then, when we tried to pay the agreed amount for the desk, they just said, "Oh heavens no! Blessings to you and your new home."

That. That is why we go to this church. No, not the free furniture. The amazing sense of community and belonging that spills out of Hope. The church's "motto" is, "Belong, Believe, Become." Every person who walks through the door will Belong to the community; hopefully one day they will Believe the Christian faith; and through that, we are all working to Become the people we were made to be.