Tonight, we opened Hope Central to all ages to give a chance for all those who have been praying for us on the Taste and See sign up and to anyone over 30 who wanted to see what Hope Central was all about.

We were happy to see around forty people turn up including our regulars from our community, with even two more 18-30s turn up.

We started by having testimonies shared by our community which were so touching and encouraging for us all to hear.

Here are a few of those testimonies

1) What has hope central done for me…..

Well, when hope central first came around I was very sceptical as I didn’t know if it was something I’d be interested in! I stopped going to church a long time ago but I’ve always had a connection with God in my own way so I didn’t think I needed anything else at the time. 

When I started going hope central mostly just to support mum and Colin, I quickly realized how comfortable I was in a surrounding full of Christian’s lol I automatically felt more relaxed and was as u say in the presence of God! I came back week after week and I started to associate Wednesdays as my meditation days coz when I knew I was going hope central I knew my brain could shut off from the outside world and purely focus in on an amazing atmosphere full of love and kindness! The people who come every week started to become familiar and it felt like a mini family very early on! Although I found it hard to grasp certain topics or believe in what was being told I still wanted to keep coming to test myself and try to learn because I believed in my parents’ belief!!! I feel hope central has made me a better person as I take that time to cherish my life and people around me! It’s defo made me more intrigued about Christianity and learning more and I look forward to the future of hope central.

2) When Emily approached me about coming to Hope Central for the first time, I had been praying for a while about finding a community of believers that I could meet with regularly. I’d been raised Christian, had a mother who showed me to give all things to God, but had never stayed at any one church long enough to find ‘my place’ and ‘my people’. So, Emily texting me about going to Hope Central felt like a direct answer to my prayers. I knew this could only be orchestrated by God, because over the whole 13 years we’d known each other, despite being fully aware we were both Christians, we’d never really spoken about our faith or considered going to church together. So, thank you to God for using Emily to get me to where I needed to be and thank you to Emily, for being open to being used. 

As soon as I walked into the space, I got a sense that there was so much love in the room. And when worship came, always my favourite part, you could undoubtedly feel the Holy Spirit’s presence. From then, I knew this was somewhere I’d be returning to. However, over the last year or so, I also ended up doing a lot of travelling for work. When I was away, Hope Central would frequently spring to mind, which I now know was the Holy Spirit telling me ‘You better get back in there when you finally go back home.’ 

Looking back, I know that God planted a seed in bringing me to Hope Central. It was after coming here for the first time, seeing the relationships Emily had built with the people here, how everyone looked out for each other, carrying each other’s burdens, I truly understood the importance of community in Christ. And how much more special to be in a space with people my age, navigating similar questions, obstacles and life stages as me. From there, I went on to search for and find my home church, something I hadn’t managed in my whole 24 years of life. Shortly after this, I had a very personal encounter with God and I haven’t looked back. I feel God transforming me from the inside out and to be honest, I can’t believe I ever tried to live apart from Him. 

Now that I’m back home, I’m able to attend more frequently. Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard beautiful stories of Hope Central members stepping out in faith, pressing on through painful obstacles, remaining faithful in the hope that God is a completer, finisher, re-worker and restorer. We watched ‘I can only imagine’ last week and I recall Bart Millard’s character frequently referring to songs that had been an ‘anchor’ for him through his trials and victories. I think I can call Hope Central an anchor for me. It is true that you go into God’s presence and never return the same. Each week I get that little boost of encouragement to be a little braver, to surrender control, to be more disciplined and relentless in my pursuit of God and share what I’m learning with the people around me. More and more I’m having conversations about my faith, my journey to this sweet spot I’m in with God, and the bits that I still struggle with too. Only God could make that happen, because as determined as I can be to achieve some things, I can be extremely stubborn about not going anywhere near the things that scared me. But this giant in my life is falling, and in that I’m able to move closer to my calling. I make decisions based on ‘does this align with God’s will for my life?’ and I feel my relationship with God strengthening in doing so. I honestly think, if God can do this for me, as stubborn and stuck in my ways as I used to be, He can do it for everyone around me. 

This all started with coming to Hope Central for the first-time last year. And I’m sure each person who attends can recall at least one area of their life that has been transformed through this group. If each of us take that transformation into our everyday lives and share it with our circles (colleagues, friends, family etc), we end up with a whole new set of warriors in Christ, ready to go out and make disciples of many, just as we were commanded to. That’s so exciting to think about. So, thank God for calling Colin, Mandy, Regina, Hannah and Aaron, so they could pour into us. Stepping out in faith to lead something like this is not an easy road, but I hope a rewarding one. 

When I think of Hope Central, the image of a tree bearing a lot of good, healthy fruit comes to mind. And I’m very grateful to be a small part of that. Praise God because He’s started a beautiful work here and will perfect it indeed!

Then we continued with extended worship and asked for prophetic words to be written down for Hope Central by our guests. We were encouraged by what was shared for us. The Holy Spirit was really powerful and ministering to many in the room.

3) I first went to hope central a few weeks ago and got prayed for. To be honest I was uncomfortable as I am not used to it. A few days later I had a strong urge to go gym. Had a great work out and on the way home I met someone I used to see very often. We had a long conversation about our journey for giving up alcohol. It made me realise I chose a better path than I had previously and confirmed my life decision was the correct one

As a team we really felt that tonight was a real breakthrough of the hard ground that we had been ploughing and digging through over this past year, we are now seeing the shoots coming through and excited to how we will see these shoots grow.

4) Hope central has become a big part of my life. I have always grown up believing in God and Jesus and at various points in my life I have attended different Christian youth groups or church kid’s clubs, even if only for a short period of time. However, I have never really stuck it out or delved any deeper into my understanding and relationship with God. Mostly because I didn’t know where to start, and I didn’t grow up with a hugely religious upbringing or have many Christian friends around me. But I have always had a ton of questions that I didn’t know how to get the answer for. That’s where hope central comes in. Meeting Mandy and Colin has been a huge blessing as they have opened up my heart to wanting to seek God and Jesus more. When hope central began, it was an opportunity for me to learn more and hopefully build new relationships. It has been a warm, comforting and supportive community that has helped me to gain a deeper understanding of God and support me on my journey. I have often said it is an anchor in my week, helping to keep me grounded and preparing me for another week. If there are things that I am struggling with or need prayer for, I know I can bring that to hope central and support will always be there. In September, I gave myself to God, something which I am not sure if I would have done before and have been deepening my faith as a Christian, continuing to learn more and more. I know hope central will continue to be a place that supports me on this journey and I am grateful for all of the people I have met along the way and will continue to meet.

Then we continued with extended worship and asked for prophetic words to be written down for Hope Central by our guests. We were encouraged by what was shared for us. The Holy Spirit was really powerful and ministering to many in the room.

As a team we really felt that tonight was a real breakthrough of the hard ground that we had been ploughing and digging through over this past year, we are now seeing the shoots coming through and excited to how we will see these shoots grow.

Thank you Taste and See for all your prayers