He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ Matthew 22:37-40 (NRSVA)
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ Matthew 28:19-20 (NRSVA)
Examples of different vehicles we are considering for the project.
We are based in County Durham, and have a heart for meeting people in our communities to quite literally bring hope and the love of Jesus. Wanting to see people being able to have positive relationships that are about encouragement, where forgiveness and repentance are central, and Jesus is the source. Enabling a culture where the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5 is seen more, where everyone is able to develop their God given gifts to serve Jesus in their local community.
We are about the building of relationships in the midst of communities genuinely struggling with life. This might look like pointing one person at a time to Jesus from each community, we believe this can best be done in small groups where genuine discipleship can take place.
Strangely we think this could start with a van...
We quite literally want to park 'Hope in a Van' in the middle of a community to offer:
- First and foremost, a friendship like Jesus did with the people He met.
- A free cuppa and chat.
- Access to free WIFI, audio/visual, telephone and laptop.
- A place to be heard and receive prayer.
After acquiring the van small adaptions will need to be made to ensure that it is suitable for ministry in the community. This includes upgrading the electrics, adding a fridge and audio/visual including WIFI and telephone. Creating the right impact is very important therefore we want to have professionally produced van graphics and decorate inside to create a relaxing space.