Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. (Proverbs 23:18, ESV)
On the far eastern corner of Hawaii’s Big Island, lava is creeping toward Highway 130, threatening to cut off thousands of people in the Puna district from the rest of the island.
Among the churches, homes and businesses that could be affected by the slowly advancing flow is New Hope Christian Fellowship Puna.
“It is literally a church without walls,” said Robert T. Schlipp, who recently visited Puna district to spread the word about My Hope 2014 with Billy Graham. “Because of the climate, there are no outside walls. There’s a roof with posts holding it up.”
As a regional coordinator for My Hope 2014, Schlipp has seen just about every type of church imaginable while traversing 14 states from California to Nebraska. In Hawaii, he was excited to see New Hope Christian Fellowship Puna viewing the lava flow as a chance to share hope where there could be fear and anxiety.
“With the lava flows threatening roads, homes and businesses, they see My Hope as an opportunity to reach people who are distressed,” Schlipp said.
New Hope’s pastor, Morris Niimi, participated in My Hope last year. Now he’s working with other pastors on the Big Island for community-wide My Hope 2014 outreaches.
My Hope is all about helping churches and individual believers to share the Gospel message in a simple way with friends, family and neighbors who don’t have a relationship with Jesus.
On and around Nov. 7, Billy Graham’s 96th birthday, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is encouraging Christians to use a new video called Heaven to share their faith. Like its predecessors The Cross, Defining Moments and Lose to Gain, Heaven will feature a never-before-seen message from Billy Graham, along with powerful stories of real people who encountered the hope only Jesus can offer.
More than 28,000 DVD copies of Heaven have been pre-ordered. The DVDs are free and will be shipped beginning in mid-October. The new video will also be available for free online.
As he travels across the western half of the U.S., Schlipp is finding churches in every state preparing to share the hope of Christ this November.
“I’m very excited about Nevada this year,” he said. “We have over 100 participating churches there, which is huge because the total number of churches in Nevada is relatively small.”
One church in Reno is already using the Spanish video Momentos Decisivos to hold evangelistic gatherings in homes. Church members reported more than 30 decisions for Christ over the summer, with more outreaches planned for the fall.
Both Spanish- and English-speaking churches are also active in New Mexico. At The Light at Mission Viejo in Santa Fe, Pastor Ron Sebesta is showing each of 2013’s videos, culminating with the new Heaven message in November.
And Pastor Carlos Rincon of Iglesia Centro de Vida Victoriosa in Los Angeles is excited about using the new video after reporting more than 70 decisions for Christ when church members used My Hope in 2013.
“The western U.S. is an extremely diverse region,” Schlipp said. “And everywhere I travel I meet pastors who comment to me that their community is different from the rest of the U.S.”
“And that’s true,” he said. “But every single person across this land has the same spiritual heart disease, and only the blood of Jesus provides the cure.”
So whether the message is shared in the plains of South Dakota or the lava fields of Hawaii, Schlipp prays that people who are far from God will realize there is hope through Jesus Christ. And regardless of lava flows, death or disaster, the hope of Christ can never be cut off.
Get involved with My Hope 2014 today by ordering the free “Heaven” DVD and planning an event at your church, home or campus.
