All posts by Virjil Selvan

21 Jul 2018

New Hope

Welcome to New Hope Community. We can call ourselves NHC. Till last week we were calling ourselves PC2C (Panvel City 2 City) and today we are NHC. We believe in a God who is sovereign.

This new name and the Vision did not come in a single day, it took time, it took prayers, it took efforts, multiple interactions with our church members ,as well as other church leaders & most importantly hearing from God. Our Cluster head, Joemon Joseph’s involvement made it happen.

When God changes a name and gives a new name, it was usually to establish a new identity.

The Bible doesn’t give us reasons, but perhaps it was to let them know they were destined for a new mission in life. The new name was a way to reveal the divine plan and to assure them that God’s plan would be fulfilled through them.

New Hope is the message of the Cross i.e.  John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Our vision is “To transform the city with a New Hope”. Bringing New Hope to the city through the message of the Cross.

It is a new identity, a divine plan from God that we are destined for a new mission in our life and God’s plan will be fulfilled in this City / future Cities through this Community i.e. through us.

God fulfilled his divine plan throughout the bible with a new name and identity, for a new Mission.

Abram’s to Abraham.

Jacob to Israel.

Saul to Paul.

Simon to Peter.

 

God has called us and has entrusted us as a New Hope Community to carry this great responsibility to transform this City

We as a community should know where we are going and where God is leading us, so now what?

City is the most influential place in a state, it is basically the heart of the state. Therefore, our vision is to transform the city with a New Hope.

But how will the city be influenced?

  1. Reach out to the influential places (Educational Institutes, Townships, Conduct awareness Sessions etc). I believe that God is calling our community out there. One important thing, we should keep in mind, that we should not be selfish, we should not look at people expecting them to join our church. We should look at people and invest in such a way that they will be influencers, wherever they go with a New Hope.
  2. Prayer: Prayer Transforms city, we need to raise prayer warriors in our community, who will intercede for our city.
  3. Change of mindset: From slaves to build a city (like the Israelites). God changed the mindset of the Israelites, they thought of themselves as slaves, but God called them to inherit and build the city of Canaan. We need to look beyond of what we see today.
  4. Giving: We need to be a cheerful giver.
  5. Cell groups: New Mumbai, has huge number of townships, if we have one cell group in one township, we can reach out to 200 + families. It is a very unique feature which we don’t find in Mumbai.

God calls everyone for the work of his kingdom in some way or other. In Matthew 9: 37-38

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

We will look from the life of two people, one from the bible and the other not from the bible but both heard and acknowledged their call.

 

  1. Moses: A fearful man.

God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery to the promised land. He was a very fearful man.

Exodus 6:30

30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

He even told God that “I can’t” but as we know the rest was history. He led millions of people from Egypt to the land of Canaan. What did he do?

Walked in faith:

Moses led the Israelites to the land of Canaan. Even before they defeated the Canaanites, God already promised that he has given that land to the Israelites. Even for us, we must walk in faith that New Hope Community will transform in and around the city of Panvel.

Experienced Supernatural:

During the entire journey from Egypt to Canaan, the Israelites experienced the supernatural hand of God, they experienced miracles which was very rare. In this walk, as a church, we must expect Supernatural.

Encountered Challenges:

Moses faced lot of challenges, but God was Sovereign and was in control of everything. We must expect challenges, but our God is Victorious.

 

  1. George muller: Orphanages built by Prayer.

“The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat,” the housemother of the orphanage informed George Mueller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. “Mr. Mueller,” he said, “last night I could not sleep. Somehow, I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in.”

Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children.

This was George Muller, A man of Prayer. Many or almost all the battles are won by Prayers.

It has been more than 165 years, since George Mueller took in his first orphan. His vision continues today as Christians around the world are inspired by his faith to depend on God to meet their needs and the needs of helpless children.

New Hope community can transform the city on our knees.

                                                                                                        -Virjil Selvan is Pastoring the New Hope Community.                          The New Hope Community is situated in the heart of the city between Old and New Panvel.

We can confidently share that New Hope Community is a Church in Kamothe, Church in Khandeshwar, Church in Khanda Colony, Church in Panvel because we are centrally located and these places surround our church Venue.