The Reason
What we have done so far, although good, has yet to truly and totally transform our community. For example, 90% of most local church’s energy, time and finances are spent inside its building and on people already reached. Nearly every fast-growing church in our area is growing primarily by transfers from other local churches. Pastors are frustrated. Church members are discouraged. And, more importantly, while 90% of a church’s time, treasures and talents are spent on its one location on Sunday morning, 75% of the region’s inhabitants have no personal committed relationship with any church.
For example, educational entities are stretched beyond their resources to be able to handle the family issues so many are struggling with. They need partners who with no strings attached will help create stronger family units so that education can remain a school’s prime priority.
For example, businesses want to do more than simply throw money toward more fund-raisers. They desire their employees to be connected to the community making a significant difference with their lives as a representative of their business.
For example, non-profits often duplicate community resources, feel alienated from other non-profits and truly desire to see lasting change occur in their area of influence. They need strategic partnerships which actually do something to produce that kind of community transformation.
Something has to change. It is time. Let’s start a movement together!
The Response
Launched in January 2011, One Hope connects area churches, businesses, educational entities, non-profits and individuals in a movement of spiritual, economic, family, financial and educational community transformation.
One Hope is a:
• Movement: It is movement unencumbered by organizational or denominational barriers. One Hope is not another “network”, “pastor’s group”, or “social service” entity. It is a movement which is actually moving!
• Non-profit: The Directors and board members of One Hope are all volunteers.
• Missional Partnership: Those who work together in community transformation “are” One Hope. Its connection is purely relational. There is nothing to join. You simply participate together with others in transforming our community into a better place to live, work and play.
• Organism: One Hope is organized around three critical components: Hub, Hope Center, and Hands-on (see below).
• Mobile: One Hope places “Hubs” and “Hope Centers” everywhere by pouring people onto the front lines of community transformation right here where they live!
The Reality
For Churches:
75% of the people in your area will never regularly attend or ever walk through the door of your church even with the best music, marketing efforts or special events. But place “church” on-site where people live and the barriers are lowered and expansion becomes encouraging! People will gather where they live with people they already know.
For non-profits: 90% of the community does not understand who you are, what you do, what you have to offer or how they could help you if interested. One Hope is a network of supportive relationships that clearly and compellingly showcases the fine community work you do and also offers an easy to navigate portal through which additional volunteers can serve in your cause.
For Businesses:
Word of mouth sells your goods and services. As thousands of local residents participate at some level in One Hope, your business becomes a talked about place for others to purchase from.
For Educational Entities:
Education promotes people to a higher standard of living, provides a greater satisfaction with their lives and produces a deeper sense of our global community. One Hope gives you a market to recruit students in order to provide them with the stepping stones they need to get ahead. Others of you have community service requirements. One Hope offers dozens of creative outlets for fulfilling those requirements.
For Schools:
Utilizing the benefits of Bags of Love, Uni-fest and Christmas Extravaganza, schools benefit from the assistance of school supplies, feeding resources, tutoring volunteers and items for needy students at Christmas (coats, gloves, etc.)
The Relationship:
One Hope does not “run” anything. The One Hope Board does not have authority over any other church, institution, etc. The board functions to insure financial accountability to fiscal policies and to assist in fund-raising, reviewing legal matters and approving One Hope business proposals.
Each participant in One Hope maintains leadership of their church/ministry/business/non-profit. What One Hope does is to provide a missional, relational connection where right here, where we all live, work and play, we can work together to advance community transformation rather than simply building an individual empires.
How does this work for churches?
1. Establish a HUB (which is your church) that is, a spiritual warehouse, a base from which the troops are sent out during the week trained and ready to “do church” during the week so that they are ready to gather on Sunday eager to be fed and equipped!
2. Create Hope Centers (HC): This is real church outside your church facility meeting in homes, high density apartments, townhouse centers, etc. like spokes of a wheel extending out into your region. Each HC is tied to your HUB as one church, one membership, one finances and one leadership allowing for diversity in worship style, preaching style, and specific on-site ministries.
This is NOT church-planting, home Bible studies or small groups! Hope Centers are lay-led, very low cost, non-labor intensive weekly gatherings which serve as an extension of your church on-site. “Church” can now be any day of the week anywhere people can be gathered.
NOTE: This is the difference between starting more costly full-blown church plants which require “professional pastors” and instead igniting dozens of on-site “churches” simpler in design, often led by non-paid staff, using the cost savings of technology and cooperative mass purchasing via the HUB for things like office supplies, etc.
Bottom Line:
Churches now running 100 could actually be reaching 1000 by hosting “church” wherever, whenever with whoever is willing on-site where they live.
3. Members get “hands-on” in regular missional work in their own community while making a significant difference with their time, talents and treasures
How does this work for non-profits/educational entities?
1. A non-profit operates as a “Hub.” It is its own “warehouse” or “base” where either its missional activity takes place in and for the community and/or it serves as a base from where its personnel are sent out from to make a difference in their sphere of influence.
Example is the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Martinsburg where clients “come” to be counseled, obtain free pregnancy tests, receive care during their pregnancy. Yet, its personnel also “go out” into the community to touch the lives of single mothers.
2. A non-profit, if it desires, can establish “satellites” in additional areas thus expanding their influence and availability to the region. This is the equivalent of a church creating Hope Centers.
How does this work for a business?
1. Your business employees get “hands-on in your local community thus highlighting your local business in the minds of area residents. One Hope offers dozens of creative community transformation ideas from one day to longer term efforts which actually make a lasting difference.
The COSTS
One Hope does not have membership fees or annual dues. There is NO cost to be a part of One Hope. It secures financial support via the following avenues:
1. Grants
2. Individual contributions through its Dollar a Day investment. Dollar a Day is simply a person giving one dollar per day on a monthly basis to One Hope. These funds cover office expenses and partial funding for Bags of Love, Mobile Food-Clothing Trucks, Recovery Groups, Family Support, etc. One Hope has two part-time employees which are also funded partially by Dollar a Day support.
Blessings and Benefits of Belonging:
1. Benefit from the challenge of being on the front-lines part of an all-out active movement fueled by a powerful vision
2. Added strength as churches, non-profits and individuals work together in our region
3. Strengthened grant-writing coordination to tap into outside, available resources
4. Demonstration of unity in the midst of a fragmented, divided community
5. A sense and outward display of collaboration rather than competition
6. Shared resources as applicable so that we are strategically deploying rather than duplicating what is offered in our community
7. Purchasing in bulk for small and large items greatly reduces costs
8. The One Hope web-site which receives thousands of hits directs people to your agency, business, non-profit or church thus insuring greater exposure of your entity.
Responsibilities: Because One Hope a network of supportive relationships rather than another agency, institution or working group, relationship is the only responsibility.
1. Be active together in community enhancement
2. Be supportive by partnering with others for community benefits
3. Be relationally connected to those working in and with One Hope
One Hope is not something you attend. It is someone you are connected to as you get your hands in the soil of our community’s heart with others.
Check out more of One Hope at www.onehopeministriesinternational.org or call us at 304-261-4007