HOPE International

Keeping Christ central

A weekly series from HOPE’s director of spiritual integration

In Asia, one HOPE client led 38 people in her rural village to Christ in two years.
In the Philippines, another woman built relationships with over 100 people who now come with her to Sunday church services.
A woman in California with only a second-grade education has started discipleship groups that are now reaching hundreds in her community.

If we’re honest, stories like these produce a mix of emotions for many of us. On one hand, we’re encouraged, inspired, and thankful. But in that same moment, there is often a subtle whisper:

I could never do that.

Do you ever feel that way? That stories of amazing transformation must come from uniquely gifted people who have figured out just the right methods to share Christ?

At HOPE, spiritual impact comes as God uses staff and clients to reach others. And just like you and me, these men and women realize they are imperfect messengers. They have family challenges, financial pressures, and personal battles with sin. The enemy works hard to tempt them to think, “I can’t really help others follow Jesus. I can’t be bold. Someone else, someone better, should do that.”

But freedom, boldness, and multiplication are exactly what God desires.

One year in the field: stories worth sharing

by Lori Oberholtzer, Field Communications Manager

Communication Fellows

One year, one camera, and one fiery passion. That’s all it took for Mara, Drake, and Joanne to say “YES!”

At HOPE, we want to capture stories of Christ’s transformative love from the field and share those stories with you. Enter Mara, Drake, and Joanne, HOPE’s first three field communications fellows! Their mission (which they chose to accept) is to listen to, document, and share the stories of the clients we serve—so others can hear about the life-changing, transformative power of Christ-centered microenterprise development.

Before sharing the stories they’ve collected, we want to introduce our fellows. (Fellow is just a fancy word for long-term volunteer.)

Keeping Christ central

A weekly series from HOPE’s director of spiritual integration

My 8-year-old son loves to put things together—Legos, rockets, robots, planes, you name it. Bonus points if the project has the potential to blow up or threaten your family’s physical safety. While danger seems to be its own reward, what he really loves is dreaming about the finished product and following a plan to turn that dream into concrete reality.

At HOPE, our dream is to see the Kingdom of God come in its fullness in some of the most difficult environments in our world. We long to see as many people as possible find their soul’s satisfaction in Christ and become dignified, hope-filled change agents in their families and communities. But how do we practically go about integrating faith with finance?

Discerning the right approach to disciple-making is challenging because Jesus did not prescribe a step-by-step process. But we’ve found that without a model, confusion abounds and intentionality suffers. So we think of models as bones in the body: The bones don’t bring life, but they provide structure for the vital organs that do.

So what is HOPE’s model? In every program:

We disciple our staff. This happens every week through staff prayer, Bible studies, and life-on-life discipleship. Every day across the globe, our team is seeking God together. Our love for God and conviction that we cannot accomplish our mission without His power fuel our commitment to mutual discipleship.
We offer discipleship opportunities within our microenterprise services. This includes loan disbursements, repayment meetings, savings group meetings, and trainings. Our approach differs based on the type of service and the country we serve in, but we are unified in our commitment to share truth from the Bible, encourage questions and discussion, and never coerce or incentivize anyone in the process.
We partner with the local church to make disciples who multiply. We love and affirm the local church wherever we serve, and in faithfulness to Christ’s mandate, we work together to help disciples reach others who will reach others. We regularly invite clients to discipleship meetings with local pastors, HOPE staff, and other clients outside of the regular microenterprise meeting so they can more deeply explore what it means to follow Jesus.

This is our dream: disciples making disciples making disciples. By employing this model, we believe that, even if HOPE were to leave a community, the love of Christ will continue to spread powerfully in that region for generations to come.

by Mara Seibert, HOPE fellow in the Republic of Congo, reposted from www.maraseibert.com

This Mother’s Day, HOPE is honoring the creativity, dedication, and love of the women we serve as they work to provide for their families. Join us in honoring the many roles mothers like Ghislaine play through our “We Heart Moms” campaign.

7 a.m. Early enough that clouds still cover the sky and the air is cool. Children in blue and white uniforms walk to school, and Brazzaville is waking up. Breakfast in Brazzaville depends on where you live. Some people prefer bread and eggs, others substitute manioc for the bread, and then you have one of the most bizarrely cross-cultural meals I have witnessed: spaghetti with beans and mayonnaise. Some of my colleagues eat it for breakfast, and the bite I had was surprisingly good.

One of my favorite Congolese breakfast items would have to be beignets—essentially a Congolese doughnut, sweet and fried in oil. Here, beignets and riz-au-lait (sweet rice in milk) are made by Congolese mamas all around Brazzaville early in the morning, and on this particular morning I was finally going to try some of Mama Ghislaine’s beignets.

She didn’t say much.

Actions speak louder than words. And Mary’s roar: Breaking generational poverty, Mary has sent nine children—mostly daughters—to school in a region where less than 45 percent of women can read.

“Without education, you won’t go far,” Mary said.

At HOPE, we believe poverty is more than financial lack. It’s a mindset.

It’s being told: “You can’t. You won’t. You’re incapable.”

Mary is shattering this belief. Saving money for school fees, Mary is telling her daughters something different.

Through her life, she says, “You can. You will. You have potential.”

Mary with members of her family

Today, her youngest daughter is the village scholar.

Her eldest daughter is a savings group member, alongside her.

And one daughter is the region’s schoolteacher.

Mary’s daughter, a schoolteacher

Thank you for coming alongside mothers like Mary who are investing in their daughters’ dreams.

Keeping Christ central

A weekly series from HOPE’s director of spiritual integration

This week, I’ve our spiritual integration associate, to address a key element of our efforts to keep Christ central: prayer.

“We can’t do this alone.” As I sat around the table discussing discipleship strategies with field leaders whom I deeply respect, I could not escape this thought. Despite all the practical experience and cultural understanding in the room, despite all the studying of best practices, it was evident that we are not capable of bringing about transformation out of our own strength or knowledge. We are completely dependent on the Lord’s love, wisdom, and transforming power.

We are on a journey here at HOPE. A journey closer into the heart of God as we encounter Him more deeply. A journey to become an increasingly prayerful organization, often learning from our clients themselves what it means to truly live dependent on the Lord day by day.

As we go to our Father in prayer, we always want to reflect the following heart of prayer:

Matthew Rohrs

Matthew Rohrs

Week 8: Why you don’t need to sell Jesus

Keeping Christ central

HOPE Intl

By HOPE Intl

One year in the field: stories worth sharing

Matthew Rohrs

Matthew Rohrs

Week 7: What does discipleship mean at HOPE?

Keeping Christ central

HOPE Intl

HOPE Intl

Beignets for breakfast

Anna Haggard

Anna Haggard

Investing in dreams of daughters

HOPE Intl

HOPE Intl

Week 6: How HOPE prays

Keeping Christ central

About HOPE

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