going home…(well, some of us)

May 31, 2010

This morning we closed out the first part of our Nicaragua trip, and dropped off the Women’s Team and part of the Worship Team at the airport.  The rest of us are staying a few more days to continue to work here in Nejapa and Managua.  It has been an amazing weekend as we have taught family conferences, led in worship, done evangelism, connected with old friends, and made some new ones.  Please pray for the rest of the team over the next few days as the worship team teaches worship workshops for pastors and worship leaders and the student team works in schools and hospitals sharing the Gospel.

49 Living Hopers in Nicaragua

May 28, 2010

Praise the Lord!  Tonight there are 49 Living Hopers in Nejapa, Nicaragua.  We are currently resting at the Samaritano guesthouse – tired but very excited about what the Lord is doing here.  Today was our first day of ministry, and we are overwhelmed by His goodness.  We’ll bring you lots of stories over the next few days.  But, for now, just think about the makeup of our team…we’ve got mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, Latino, black and white,  small groups, engaged couples, friends, teenagers, senior citizens (according to AARP!), children, infants, and unborn babies – all coming together to take the Gospel to the nations.  If that doesn’t get you fired up about what God is doing in and through Living Hope, then check back for updates in the coming days.

LH360 in Motion

May 27, 2010

Our Living Hope staff recently had the opportunity to get out and walk the streets of the Springdale/Hollywood neighborhood in Memphis. As we begin to move ahead with the church planting arm of LH360, we thought it would be beneficial to get to know those who will be our future neighbors. Since Living Hope plans on locating our first church plant in the Volintine/Evergreen community, those in Springdale/Hollywood will be just to the north of us.

Dorothy Cox of Rhodes College was kind enough to give us a walking tour of the neighborhood, explaining the history, vitality, and needs of the Springdale/Hollywood area. As Living Hopers look to relocate to Volintine/Evergreen, it is imperative that we begin to know and understand how we can love and serve those who will be our new neighbors. Our time with Ms. Dorothy was a great experience and incredibly helpful, as Living Hope seeks to understand how we can play a role in caring for the neighborhood.

Continue to pray for our church planting efforts. We hope to see families begin to make the decision to relocate to Volintine/Evergreen to be a part of this church plant. We pray for more opportunities to know and understand our new neighbors, for opportunities to serve them and show them the love of Christ. We pray that whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we’d do it all in the name of Christ, for the advancement of the gospel, and the glory of God.

You can participate in this effort by praying with us, participating in LH360, and considering how God would lead you to be a part of this new church plant.

- Greg Gibson

Last Weekend

May 22, 2010

As much as I love to study the bible, I have to admit that the sound of committing nine hours of our weekend to study the book of Habakkuk sounded pretty intimidating.  Tara and I finally committed to come to the first session on Friday night, with intentions of probably skipping out on the second session because of other things we had to do on Saturday.  But after coming on Friday night, we knew that we had to reorder our weekend to be there.  As Dr. Randy White introduced us to the theme of justice that would be coming up throughout the book of Habakkuk, and sharing the stories of his own family’s journey of faith, it was obvious that God had much to say to us, and we didn’t want to miss it.  Saturday was an eye opening journey through the book of Habakkuk, and as we wrestled with some of the same types of difficult questions that Habakkuk was raising, I believe we were all astounded at how this ancient text spoke so clearly to us about our time and our city, and about the kind of faith that is required of all of us, especially as we look toward the humanly impossible tasks that God seems to be calling us to undertake as a church.  I was also amazed how God was weaving a thread of faith throughout the entire weekend.  Every week when we gather to worship, we come to remind ourselves of the greatness of God and His great love for us demonstrated in the cross of Jesus, but it was especially powerful to do so with scriptures fresh in our minds from the book of Habakkuk that spoke of God’s sovereignty and faithfulness towards His people, even in the light of complete hopelessness. And as Alan May taught us from the book of Hebrews about the long line of those who have gone before us, trusting in God, in every type of circumstance, you could hear the resounding theme of Habakkuk’s prayer of “yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation,”  as the prophet looked toward the coming destruction of everything that he and his people had held dear.

If you missed the study last weekend, we will be posting a recording on our podcast page as soon as we can get it edited, and we will be offering more of these opportunities for alternative teaching over the next few months, so please take advantage of them.  I think they will definitely be worth your time.

Also, if you’re not familiar with some of the leaps of faith that Living Hope is taking, please check out lh360, and see how you can be a part of God’s vision for our church body and how we hope to impact the city of Memphis with the gospel.

-david lewis

New Living Hope Blog

May 18, 2010

In our constant pursuit of better communication, we are adding a few new tools that will hopefully be helpful.  In addition to a new facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/lhchurchmemphis, and a new twitter feed @lhchurchmemphis, we are starting this blog on our website.  This blog will be a great place for the leaders to share even more stories about what God is doing through Living Hope. If you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions, please let us know.

-david lewis