 Vision & Philosophy of Hope
Our Values reflect 23 building blocks to develop strong and biblical people and Churches The following is the philosophy of ministry of Hope Christian Church Values: Mission: 1. Every Christian must obey the Great Commission. • To obey and fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, by doing the work of ministry, planting new churches, evangelise, training new members, baptizing them, etc are all within the covers of a local church as stated in Matt 28:19-20. • After all, the Great Commission is the key goal for all Christians. God has called all Christians and our lives should revolve around this calling. Otherwise, ignoring the Great Commission is equivalent to ignoring God's vision for us. We will then be opting to live a sub-standard Christian life. Instead, lets choose to move on, by offering our best to Him, even to the extent of submitting our personal preferences willingly under God's vision. 2. Every Christian is responsible to bring God's love to each nation. • We are responsible to permeate the whole world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. • (1 Cor 9:16 NIV) Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! • We can do this by saturating the whole nation with churches. This might seem like a huge task but we start with one seed church first and then we multiply. Although it might be slow in the beginning, as long as we maintain the quality and keep the vision, this task can be done. • We also plan to saturate every community with care groups. It is our aim to establish a care group in every university, college, high school, faculty, street, office, etc. In addition, we also plan to touch the business community as well as establish a social/community outreach agency. 3. The church must have a part in planting other churches. • No matter how small the church may be, she must plant other churches (i.e. "mini-picture" of care-group/unit planting). It is only normal for a healthy functioning church to keep on multiplying and growing. • We need to impart this spirit in the church for the fields are white for harvest but the laborers are few. Church Dynamics: 4. The church must build covenantal relationships. • We need to value relationships and relate as covenant friends following the example of David and Jonathan who covenanted with undivided loyalty to one another. • A Christian has a covenant relationship with Jesus and consequently with His body (the church). Those who are in covenant should agree to obey the Bible together and follow Jesus to the fullest. • It is crucial for us to cater for the needs of people with different levels of commitment as God Himself does that. It is important to recognize that there are at least four types of people that we are relating with. There are different levels of commitment and different degrees of maturity in Christ. These differences often account for much of the tension or conflict that can possibly occur when we are working closely together. As a result, we need to have forbearance and understanding whilst maximizing every opportunity by thinking win-win all the time . • Christ must be followed wholeheartedly. One vital key to relating well with people is to learn to "die to self" and focus on doing God's will. Live as an example for others to follow and seek to influence them. We want to aim at building as many as possible to become "good soil" Christians. 5. The church is the centre of God's plan for humanity. • We believe that the church is the core/central answer for everything in human life. • The church is the center of God's will. The church is Jesus' bride. It is neither a club nor a shopping mall and it is the only institution that will last for eternity. No other institution can ever do as much as the church. • Therefore, para-church can never fully fulfill God's eternal plan. A para-church is a specialized Christian organisation and it functions like a crutch, as a compliment to the church in the area of ministry where the church is unable to fulfill. • To enable us to effectively touch people from all walks of life, we aim to organize homogenous groups in each region of our locality; to penetrate into all sectors of society and the different people's group 6. The Bible emphasizes the local church. • The local church function is emphasized in the Bible. The bible places greater emphasis on the local church than the universal church. • (Rev 1:20 NIV) The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. • Wrong concepts will eventually bring about the ultimate downfall of an organization. On the other hand the right concepts will bring about correct behavior. Hence for us to reap the result of the bible, we need to sow as the bible instructs. • We adopt the expository teaching method to enable the biblical principles to be imparted without any favoritism. We believe that there are only absolutes in the Bible and there is no trial or error. • The Local church is a miniature copy or "mini-picture" of the universal church. Therefore in order to bless the universal church, we need to start with the local church. We need to think globally but act locally.
7. There must be unity in the local church.
• There is no ground for division in the church. Problems that can potentially lead to division must be dealt with quickly. The church needs to be fast and bold to correct because division is like cancer. We cannot allow it to create disunity and confusion. • The criteria for choosing team members must be determined wisely and biblically: no independent spirit but total accountability to team members. On the other hand, those who create division must be disciplined and dealt with quickly. 8. The church must be in unity with the universal body. • We pledge to put aside disagreements and even personal preferences for the sake of unity. It is very important to preserve unity for the sake of the whole body and therefore, we exercise flexibility on the non-essentials without compromising on the essentials. Gradually we will grow in unity of vision and affection for one another, so that the advancement of the church will not be hindered. • We discourage criticisms to maintain a positive atmosphere, so that the visitors to our church would stay in the church. • The church can only meet the need in general, not in the individual. Hence, let us be contented and keep the unity, by not criticizing. • If there is any problem, we need to speak directly to the person concerned or upward to our leaders only. We choose to major on our strengths and resources. When we discover any weaknesses or faults, we seek to be a contributor by not complaining or expecting others to do the same. 9. The church must work as a team. • Team Work Is Essential For Great Work. Every member must belong to a team. No one should work alone - we need to have someone whom we are accountable to although ultimately we are accountable to God. • Team Work Encourages Continuity, so we do not believe in one-man show. Neither are we irreplaceable. Instead, we need to think duplication and hence we need to keep training new people. 10. The church is both an organism and an organisation. • It is essential to balance between task and people orientation. Church is neither a pure organization nor a pure organism. She is not just mechanical but also relational. In 1 Cor 9:19-23, Paul said that we must be willing to be all things to all men for the sake of the Gospel and to win as many as possible for Christ. • To grow a big church; we need to be highly organized as we require a lot of thinking and manpower. • We need to keep in mind though that our structure will evolve at different stages of our growth. Therefore, we must be willing to adapt and adjust each step of the way and avoid creating any specialized functions in the beginning. • As a guideline, if we are stagnant for one quarter, we should do a walkthrough to see whether our organizational or shepherding structures offer the right climate for growth and expansion. We should not always prescribe perseverance whenever we do not see growth. 11. The church must rely on God for support. • Every local church must be self-supporting as much as possible. This applies to each and every member as well. Unlike in the example of today's third world's churches, where they keep receiving but never give anything in return. Therefore we need to put an end to this "colonialism" spirit. The subsidy mentality will only create over dependency on men rather than on God. • Every church must be a giving church no matter how small they may be. Do not create a dependency on outside organizations but instead build a self-supporting atmosphere for every church or care-group. This spirit needs to be translated in every level of our churches. Just as Paul said, if a man will not work he shall not eat. • (2 Th 3:10 NIV) For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." • We believe in the 3-S principles: self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating to avoid being a burden to others. Of course, when there is a critical problem, we will help one another (e.g. mercy ministries via care-group; bigger cases would need to go to higher level of leadership). 12. The church must give relevance to spiritual gifts. • We must not be ignorant of our spiritual gifts but we should eagerly desire them so that we may use them to build up the body of Christ. Spiritual gifts are still valid and very much needed in our church. According to Acts 4:30, we are exhorted to perform signs and wonders in Jesus' name whilst at the same time, we need to beware of counterfeit signs and wonders (2 Thes 2:9) • (Acts 4:30 NIV) Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." • (2 Th 2:9 NIV) The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders. 13. The church must build church-based Bible schools. • To train leaders is on the job training (OJT) is by far the best model and that is why having a bible school outside church is not ideal. For example, children that are trained in an orphanage could never be compared to those who are trained at home regardless of whatever new technology and resources the school may have. • The local church provides a natural training ground for future leaders. We cannot win the world by having a bible school outside the church. Having a bible school outside the church is like training a doctor outside the hospital or trying to learn swimming by correspondence. • Training by apprenticeship is the way Jesus used to train His disciples. Vision & Philosophy Page 2: Church Leadership and Impacting Society > International Vision : ONE Million Churches Around the World by 2015 Hope Mission: To help fulfil The Great Commission by building strong and biblical people to plant strong and biblical churches in Melbourne, Australia and all over the World. Hope Vision Statement: Hope Melbourne Christian Church, Waverley Centre brings the healing work of Jesus Christ to our community and is a place of refuge and restoration for all kinds of people. It also equips those belonging to the Waverley Centre in the healing ministry and in building strong and biblical churches. Its most prominent characteristics are prayer, joy, unity, sincere love and the presence of people from many cultures.
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