Ministries of Hope Presbyterian at Lake Nona

We exist to help all people grow deeper  with God and others and reach wider  to serve and share God’s love with the world.

We grow deeper through:

• Worship (together and also personally)
• Scripture
• Spiritual practices (like prayer, study, Sabbath, gratitude, simplicity)
• Community
• Self-awareness
  

We reach wider to:

• Local neighborhoods
• Central Florida
• The world

• God before All
• Kingdom before Congregation
• People before Property
• Love before Doctrinal Precision

Though we speak broadly of growing deeper and reaching wider, the two are interconnected. While the trajectory of service is outward (wider), by nature it also takes us deeper; delving deeper into scripture and being conformed more nearly to Christ’s character, by nature, also leads us wider.

That means that although we describe activities as “Growing Deeper” or “Reaching Wider,” these distinctions are fluid. Let’s not get bent out of shape about what category we assign to an action; let’s choose instead to celebrate that movement is happening! We function in a “both-and” domain (not an “either-or” one).


Our Roadmap
The original Launch Team sensed that God was calling Hope Presbyterian Church at Lake Nona (a name we prayerfully discerned together) to express:

• Love as priority over doctrinal allegiance – In an often-polarized culture, we embrace the longtime tenet: “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.”
• A mission-centric identity – focused on impacting the world for Jesus’ sake rather than acquiring goods or property for ourselves. Renting from Lake Nona Middle School has blessed the school (our community!), saved us tens of thousands of dollars, and enabled us to invest widely in multi-faceted ministry.
• Confidence in the priesthood of all believers – believing every Christ-follower is a minister in his or her sphere of influence. All share leadership and responsibility in the mission of Hope Pres.
• Good stewardship and just practices – reducing, recycling and re-using and serving Fair Trade coffees and teas (when we serve them), which ensure a living wage for workers. Using donated mugs and reusable plates and cutlery has spared the earth’s landfills and saved Hope hundreds of dollars. By composting partially eaten food and paper napkins, we also minimize waste.
• Service, both personally and corporately – encouraging each other to “think outside the steeple,” whether together or apart, by investing energy in causes we care about.
• Good neighborliness – regularly supporting local organizations (including churches) and causes
• Openness to all people – We’re all imperfect humans – and no one’s a “better” imperfect human than the next. That means all are welcome here – and as we grow and learn and bump into each other and forgive each other, we trust the Holy Spirit to conform us more nearly to God’s ideal.

Some Framing Scriptures:

• Luke 4.18-19  (the self-proclaimed mission of Jesus): “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
• Matthew 5.16: “ …[L]et your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
• Matthew 22.37-39: [Jesus said,] ‘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 neighbor as yourself.’