This time every year I purchase a new calendar to hang in our kitchen. Before I hang it, I painstakingly copy down all the birthdays, anniversaries, and important dates from the previous year. I love doing this; I know it’s probably not a very efficient method and certainly very low tech. But it gives me the chance to remember loved ones and to reflect on things that have happened over the past year. There is joy and sorrow on those old pages; they are a compilation of the life we’ve lived. Alternately, the new calendar is blank. It brings the promise of a fresh, new year brimming with possibilities. As I put pen to paper and write the names and dates on each month, I am aware that we do not know what the year will bring. Writing something on a calendar does not guarantee it will happen. But, along with all those hopeful empty spaces just waiting to be filled, we can have hope anew each and every day in Jesus. We don’t really need a blank calendar with pristine pages in order to start fresh and new. 2Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!” Not only that, but “His mercies are new every morning!” (Lamentations 3:23) It’s nice to remember that a fresh new start doesn’t occur only at the beginning of a new year with a new calendar; we can have that every single morning because of our God’s great compassion for us!
Wishing my Hope family all God’s best in the upcoming year… Lois
SPIRITUAL CARE
Heaven | Communion
(2 Cor. 12:1-6)
We all know that this life won’t last forever. Our time on this earth will come to a close when we die. There is the hope that the Lord returns and we bypass that journey and go directly to be with Him. But if that does not happen in our lifetimes, then we will take the journey that so many have before us. What waits for us after death? Many believe that we just end; that there is nothing and we simply stop existing. But our hearts know that isn’t right. The Bible speaks about two places: heaven and hell. Want to know what those who go to heaven will experience? Let’s look at what Paul says about the time the Lord took him up to heaven and gave him a ‘tour.’ We’ll take a quick look at what we know about heaven and how we can know that we will go there when our lives on this earth are over.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY: Returns January 8th!
Putting Wisdom to the Test led by Pastor Mark
For seven weeks, we are going to look at two Old Testament books in the “Wisdom” genre. Some people think that life is all about making right choices so that you don’t face the fallout of bad choices. Reading Proverbs can make it seem that this is Biblically true. But Job and Ecclesiastes examine what we should learn when the foundational ideas of wisdom don’t seem to work. Job is a pretty familiar character to many people, but we’re going to try to sort out the details and dialogue so that we can see the message and purpose of the book as it connects to the teachings of Proverbs. Ecclesiastes is not as long of a book but it has similar connections to the wisdom found in Proverbs. Let’s take a journey together through “real life” and the confusion that derails many people when good people suffer unfairly, or when you seemingly have it all but feel so empty inside. Join us Wednesday evenings at 6:30 for coffee & donuts followed by our study at 7:00.
SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER:
Anyone can join us Sunday mornings at 8:30 in Pastor Mark’s office to pray for that morning’s services. Contact Bob Baumiester for more information (rbaumiester@gmail.com).
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Our pastors and staff want to share a heartfelt, “Thank you so much!” to all of the church family who contributed to our Christmas gift. We feel deeply appreciated and loved. It’s our privilege to serve and work for Hope and for all of you!
2025 BIBLE READING PLANS: Out now!
The new year is a great time to dive into God’s word and make bible reading a part of your daily life! We have several resources to help you engage with scripture, including 2 bookmarks available in the lobby, and a “Five Day Bible Reading Program.” Pick up a physical copy in the lobby, or download the 2025 PDF here.
JANUARY COLLECTION: GWCM Food Drive
Join us this January as we support the Greater Woodbury Cooperative Ministries in their mission to serve our community. We’re collecting non-perishable food items to help stock their pantry and provide for families in need. Donations such as canned goods, pasta, rice, peanut butter, and other staples are greatly appreciated. Drop off your contributions in the designated collection bins located at the front and back doors. Let’s come together to make a difference and bring hope to our neighbors this new year! For more information, please contact Jodi Jacoby.
JANUARY KICKOFFS:
We’ve loved celebrating the Christmas season here at Hope all month, but we’re also excited for many of our regular programs to resume in 2025! Here’s all you can look forward to as we enter into the New Year:
- Hope Youth & HopeKids! Hangout resume Sunday, January 5th
- Women of Hope resumes Monday, January 6th
- Hope’s Young Adults kickoff happening Tuesday, January 7th
- Wednesday Night Bible Study resumes January 8th
- WonderMoms launch happening Thursday, January 9th
WONDERMOMS: New Season!
After a hiatus, we are so excited to be restarting the next season of WonderMoms, our group for moms of preschoolers (0-5)! Beginning January 9th, we’ll be meeting on the 2nd Thursday of each month from 10:30-noon for a time of fellowship, study, and prayer. Childcare is provided by our HopeKids! volunteers and there’s always a hot cup of coffee and treat ready for you! Join our Facebook Group for all the details, or contact Emily DiLorenzo with questions.
YOUNG ADULTS: Childcare Team Needed!
Do you want to invest in the next generation of believers? Do you want to see Hope raise up a godly generation and unleash them into the world in the coming years? There are many opportunities to do this in volunteering in our kids and youth ministries. But there’s a unique opportunity to team with us for Young Adults. In this group, we have conversations with those who have graduated high school through their twenties as they navigate what they believe and why. We want to have powerful discussions, but sometimes, childcare is the barrier. We need a few teammates who will rotate on first and third Tuesday nights at church to watch kids and enable our church to pass on a powerful and sincere faith to every young adult who comes. If you’re able to help, contact Dana Ott.
PARTNER CLASSES:
If God has brought you to Hope and convinced you over time that this is the church for you, we’d love for you to become a partner. This is our way of doing ‘membership’, but we use the word ‘partner’ instead because it connects us to the Biblical idea that we are called to partner together in ministry. We are now offering partner classes on February 12th, 19th, and 26th at 7:00P. The classes will cover the way our church functions as well as what we believe. Current partners are also encouraged to attend! To read more about what it means to become a partner at Hope, click here.
YOUNG ADULTS
JANUARY: 2025 Cupcake Kickoff!
Life is crazy for all of us, but young adults are making big decisions about life and faith that really matter right in the middle of the crazy! Here at Hope, our Young Adult group provides a place to connect, serve, apply God’s Word to real life, and live in relationships with others. Hope’s Young Adults is a great way to grow your faith and find help to navigate the big decisions on the horizon. As we start up the new year, we have some new things happening at Young Adults and we want EVERYONE post high-school through their 20’s to jump in and join the conversations and community! We meet every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month and will be gathering for our “2025 Cupcake Kickoff” on January 7th at 7:00pm – come on out and invite a friend! See you there!
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO?
We’re kicking off the New Year and we need all of our Young Adults and their friends to join us! Our discussion will be on the strategies and ideas we’ve adopted or tried when our lives feel stuck or uncertain. We know that something needs to happen. Or something needs to change. But we aren’t sure what we should do. Share your experiences and your thoughts – our discussion won’t be complete without you there!
For any questions about Hope’s Young Adults contact Mark & Dana Ott.
HOPE YOUTH
HOPE YOUTH: Sundays from 6:00-8:00P
Through varied lessons, small group, worship, and fellowship we teach students 6th-12th to see how much God loves them, how valuable they are, and the peace that a relationship with Jesus can lead them to.
HOPE YOUTH RETURNS: Fresh Start on January 5th
Welcome to the New Year and welcome back to Hope Youth! It’s resolution season and there’s no better time to start something new. Whether you want to start working out, try a new hobby, or kick a bad habit it can be hard to stay committed after that first week. In this new series we will take a look at what a fresh start really means and how to make it stick by exploring the mercy the God gave us through His son and the tips and tricks the Apostle Paul provides to hold firm to this transformation. Join us for our Fresh Start kick-off Sunday, January 5th as we dive into this new series and get ready for our Winter Retreat!
HOPE YOUTH ON WEDNESDAYS: Creation Series starts January 8th!
We talk about diving deep into God’s Word on Wednesday and this year we plan to go even deeper. Before we start our Biblical survey series (coming February 2nd) we are going to immerse ourselves in the Word of God, specifically the theology of creation, on Wednesday nights! Together we will explore creation, hear some competing theories, and see what all of Scripture has to say concerning the subject. Join us starting Wednesday, January 8th at 7:00P for this powerful and enlightening series.
WINTER RETREAT: Beyond the Weekend
Hope Youth is embarking on a weekend retreat for all students from 6th-12th grade from January 24th-26th! Join us for a weekend of powerful worship, impactful sermons, intense sport tournaments, and the delights of an indoor swimming pool! Last year was a smash hit and we can’t wait to jump back into Keswick’s Beyond the Weekend! We want to make sure that everyone can come out so invite a friend and don’t forget to fill out and hand in the permission slip linked HERE. Let’s make this another awesome retreat to remember!
HOPE YOUTH CALENDAR:
Parents, stay up to date with everything happening on our calendar here!
JOIN OUR TEXT THREAD:
Stay in the loop for all of the most important notifications! Text “”hopeyouth” to (856) 420-6078 to start receiving updates this week!
For any questions about Hope Youth contact Pastor Dan at: danlein@hopechristianfellowship.org
HOPE KIDS
SUNDAY MORNING PROGRAMS:
We offer childcare and classes from our littlest Hopers to our 5th graders every Sunday morning at both services. Each classroom is staffed with friendly, enthusiastic, background-checked team members to ensure your child’s safety. Our WonderZone! serves our youngest children from infants through Pre-K, who are full of wonder about who God is! K-5th graders gather in the GoZone! where we GO for God, GO for growth and GO forever.
HOPEKIDS! HANGOUT NEW YEAR PARTY:
All K-5th graders are invited to our HopeKids! Hangout New Year Party on January 5th from 6PM-8PM! Join us for special snacks, games and activities as we kickoff 2025 and focus on going forward into the New Year with Jesus as our guide. We’ll continue studying “The Heart of God” to see how we can reflect God in our everyday lives, this year and every year!
WEDNESDAY NIGHTS IN WONDERZONE: Begins January 8th!
Our Nursery 1 team is excited to care for your infants (0-18m) while our Nursery 2 team loves on your toddlers (18m-2yr). As we start a new year, our Preschoolers (3-5yrs) will dive into a brand new “Growing with God” study designed to help preschoolers learn about the reality of God’s love through play and apply it in their daily lives! You won’t want to miss out on this awesome opportunity to prioritize and pour into the foundation of faith for your little ones — we hope to see you there!
WEDNESDAY NIGHTS IN GOZONE: Begins January 8th!
GoZone Remix is back for 2025! K-5th graders will love our fun and exciting midweek program, where we review Sunday morning’s Bible story with new video, new games, and new small group activities to remix the experience. Plus, a WEEKLY Scripture Memory Verse Challenge with prizes to reinforce the Bible story of the week! You don’t want your elementary kiddo to miss out on this opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the Bible and fellowship with other HopeKids!
For any questions about HopeKids! Ministry contact us at: kids@hopechristianfellowship.org