New Hope Church:
Ordinary People Engaging Their Neighbourhood
HAMILTON, ONTARIO - New Hope Church, established in 2007 with 10-11 families, is all about relationship building with their neighbours in ordinary ways. "We're very intentional about networking," said Pastor Tim Sheridan (34).
All members of New Hope Church (a church plant out of First Hamilton CRC) live in the Delta and Crown Point neighbourhoods or have moved to that area. They all live within walking distance of each other so that they can support each other and participate in their community.
They have engaged their neighbourhood by launching a biking group and a free bike repair clinic on the local Kiwanis grounds last summer. They've established mom and tot play groups, an artists' group, and a local flavour dinner party group. On Tuesday nights church members play road hockey with their neighbours.
"We play hockey and have a great time but the real community often happens after the game. There's just a lot of relationship building that happens at that time," Sheridan said.
When one couple held an open house to introduce themselves and their new church, a neighbour quipped, "We don't go to church. We're going to hell."
"And yet," Sheridan says, "that guy has been the most faithful about playing road hockey with us every week. A couple of weeks ago during a snowstorm he was one of the only guys who showed up to play. That night he told us, 'This is the first time in my life that I've ever had friends who are Christians'".
Once a month, instead of gathering to worship on a Sunday morning, church members go out into the community to serve. Last month they handed out free cups of coffee, tea and hot chocolate in their neighbourhood grocery store.
"We just want to show people that we're here and we care. We just want to love them," Sheridan said.
Even before their first worship service, New Hope Church was making a difference. They raised $5,000 in the Ride for Refugees program that they donated to refugees in Hamilton and to Tim and Angie Sliedrecht, ITCanada missionaries. The Sliedrechts work with internally displaced persons in Soroti, Uganda.
At present, the church meets in a temporary facility for Sunday morning worship that their landlord allows them to use at no cost. "I believe in what you're doing," their landlord said, "because you're all about this community".
However, New Hope's goal is a more permanent presence. To that end, the church has made an offer on a neighbourhood bar that locals have pinpointed as the geographical centre point and the spot most detrimental to the health of their community. This 100 year-old hotel, the site of three shootings and a murder, recently closed while under investigation.
Extraordinary things can happen to a community when ordinary people like the members of New Hope Church become intentional about engaging their neighbourhood and showing that they care. BLM
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When one couple held an open house to introduce themselves and their new church, a neighbour quipped, "We don't go to church. We're going to hell."
Even before their first worship service, New Hope Church was making a difference. They raised $5,000 in the Ride for Refugees program that they donated to refugees in Hamilton and to Tim and Angie Sliedrecht, ITCanada missionaries. The Sliedrechts work with internally displaced persons in Soroti, Uganda.