Vision

Vision & Philosophy

Our Values reflect 23 building blocks to develop strong and Biblical people and Churches

The following is the philosophy of ministry of Hope of God chruch:

Every Christian must obey the Great Commission

To obey and fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, by doing the work of ministry, planting new churches, evangelize, training new members, baptizing them, etc. are all within the covers of a local church as stated in Matt 28:19-20.
After all, the Great Commission is the key goal for all Christians. God has called all Christians and our lives should revolve around this calling. Otherwise, ignoring the Great Commission is equivalent to ignoring God’s vision for us. We will then be opting to live a sub-standard Christian life. Instead, lets choose to move on, by offering our best to Him, even to the extent of submitting our personal preferences willingly under God’s vision.

2. Every Christian is responsible to bring God’s love to each nation. (Mt.28:18-20)

We are responsible to permeate the whole world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
(1 Cor 9:16 NIV) Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
We can do this by saturating the whole nation with churches. This might seem like a huge task but we start with one seed church first and then we multiply. Although it might be slow in the beginning, as long as we maintain the quality and keep the vision, this task can be done.
We also plan to saturate every community with care groups. It is our aim to establish a care group in every university, college, high school, faculty, street, office, etc. In addition, we also plan to touch the business community as well as establish a social/community outreach agency.

3. The church is the center of God’s plan for humanity. (Mt.16, Eph.3:10)

We believe that the church is the core/central answer for everything in human life.
The church is the center of God’s will. The church is Jesus’ bride. It is neither a club nor a shopping mall and it is the only institution that will last for eternity. No other institution can ever do as much as the church.
Therefore, para-church can never fully fulfill God’s eternal plan. A para-church is a specialized Christian organisation and it functions like a crutch, as a compliment to the church in the area of ministry where the church is unable to fulfill.
To enable us to effectively touch people from all walks of life, we aim to organize homogenous groups in each region of our locality; to penetrate into all sectors of society and the different people’s group
The church is the answer to the world and the key to bless people.
(Mat 16:18 NIV) And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
God will bless us to enable us to work for Him. The Church is the only institution that will last. Therefore, we must make our lives count by ensuring that everything we do revolves around the church/Kingdom of God. Let us aim to achieve something that will last for eternity!

4. The Bible emphasizes the local church.

The local church function is emphasized in the Bible. The bible places greater emphasis on the local church than the universal church.
(Rev 1:20 NIV) The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Wrong concepts will eventually bring about the ultimate downfall of an organization. On the other hand the right concepts will bring about correct behavior. Hence for us to reap the result of the bible, we need to sow as the bible instructs.
We adopt the expository teaching method to enable the biblical principles to be imparted without any favoritism. We believe that there are only absolutes in the Bible and there is no trial or error.
The Local church is a miniature copy or “mini-picture” of the universal church. Therefore in order to bless the universal church, we need to start with the local church. We need to think globally but act locally.

5. Every Christian must follow God’s will (Acts.20:19)

To expand the Kingdom of God is the key thing in life. We should have kingdom mentality as found in Matt 6:33. We need to mobilize every Christian to extend the Kingdom of God (Eph 4:16). Going to church is not a hobby. The church is the channel for us to build eternal treasures in heaven. Therefore, we should discipline ourselves to always think along the lines of what is most beneficial for the Kingdom of God.
(Mat 6:33 NIV) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
(Eph 4:16 NIV) From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
We need to serve God in a right way by giving Him undivided attention and laying aside temporal things to build things that will last.

6. The church must be in unity with the universal body. (Mt.16:18, Eph2:19-20)

We pledge to put aside disagreements and even personal preferences for the sake of unity. It is very important to preserve unity for the sake of the whole body and therefore, we exercise flexibility on the non-essentials without compromising on the essentials. Gradually we will grow in unity of vision and affection for one another, so that the advancement of the church will not be hindered.
We discourage criticisms to maintain a positive atmosphere, so that the visitors to our church would stay in the church.
The church can only meet the need in general, not in the individual. Hence, let us be contented and keep the unity, by not criticizing.
If there is any problem, we need to speak directly to the person concerned or upward to our leaders only. We choose to major on our strengths and resources. When we discover any weaknesses or faults, we seek to be a contributor by not complaining or expecting others to do the same.

7. Every Christian should serve God fully. (1Cor.4:21, 2Cor5:14-15)

Every gifting must be fully utilized; i.e. it is not enough just to attend church services and care groups during the week. God’s will for us is fruitfulness, not just faithfulness.• (John 15:1-2 NIV) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. {2} He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Every gifting should have a place to serve in the church, so that each member will have a sense of usefulness.
We do not undermine any gifting, for even the smallest gifting can be used for God. Hence, no one should sit around having nothing to do, but we encourage every talent to be used to serve the whole church.
We hold that one should only go full time when we are serving fully till we have no other time for other thing. Once we become Christians, we also become servants of the Lord. Therefore, the issue is not whether or not to go full-time, but whether we are serving fully.

8. Full time ministers must serve God fully first.

We also need to have the right concept of going full time. Firstly, full-time serving the Lord differs according to our gifting, talents and needs.
Although not everyone will go full-time, we should have the willingness if we are called to do so. We need to decide what is most beneficial for the expansion of God’s Kingdom.
Secondly, money should never be the motivating factor to go full-time. However, we do look after God’s full-time servants well, and we aim to remunerate them according to market rates. An exception only when the church is still small especially during the pioneering stage when we may not be able to afford market rate.
Thirdly, in a normal situation, one should seriously consider going full-time only when they have no other time to serve God effectively. A good guideline would be when one is looking after at least 50 to 100 people. Nevertheless, this needs to be considered on a case by case basis; taking into account, the leader’s gifting as well as the church’s financial standing.

9. Church leaders are not appointed by men but God. (1Thes.5:12-13)

Leaders are identified by the fruits of their service (i.e. the bottom-line measurement is the number of disciples they make.) They are recognized by their lifestyle, qualification, anointing and behavior.
Some of the criteria are: having a good reputation, filled with the Holy Spirit, full of wisdom, faith, grace and power, performing of great signs and wonders as mentioned in first Timothy chapter 3 and Acts chapter 6.
Having said this though, willingness and availability are more important than talents and gifting because the latter can be trained.
In our church, we do not subscribe to democracy by voting for leaders. Instead the appointment of a leader is done via a theocratic approach, that is, a leader is confirmed by their fruits, and not by an autocratic or democratic approach.

10. The pastor is the chief overseer of the church. (Acts.1:15; 2:14; 12:17; 21:18)

The title pastor is used to communicate with outside parties and to identify the leader of the local church.
Pastor is the senior leader to bring the team to work together.
There is no equality of power and authority among all leaders, for this will only create problems.
However the church should be functioning in plurality of leadership, like in a team. We adopt the example in the Trinity where God the Father leads the Godhead; and the model of husband and wife where the husband takes the lead and the wife submits.
To choose one leader to lead has always been the pattern we see in the Bible to have a senior leader to lead the other leaders. With no exception, a pastor should function before appointment.

11. Every Christian needs to receive spiritual covering.

This is because spiritual covering is necessary before God’s anointing can flow.
The devil fell out of grace because he willfully went outside God’s covering. This basic rebellious nature now creates the universal problem of sin.
All Christians make up The Body Of Christ. We may be redeemed but we are not an independent entity; we are under the authority of Jesus Christ.
It is our duty to submit to governors. Romans 13:1-2. At the same time, we also need to submit to the leaders in the local church. Once we are out of the church covering, we are exposed to the attacks of the devil.
(Rom 13:1-2 NIV) Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

12. The church must emphasize on leadership development

Leaders must function before appointment. We do not “import” leaders from other Bible colleges or anywhere else. Please note that we are not despising the roles of Bible colleges but we train our leaders from within. The turnaround of leaders is not fast enough to cater for our growth and expansion. Only selected high level of leadership will be sent for formal full-time Bible college training.
(Acts 1:21-23 NIV) Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, {22} beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” {23} So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
(Acts 6:2-3 NIV) So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. {3} Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
Outside leaders would need to earn credibility in leadership by function, and not just base on past achievements elsewhere. They must be willing to go through our full training programs (with no exemption). We do not just appoint leaders based on their academic qualifications or past experience. Our leadership training programs are meant to train, develop and produce leaders at every level.

13. The church must build church-based Bible schools.

To train leaders is on the job training (OJT) is by far the best model and that is why having a bible school outside church is not ideal. For example, children that are trained in an orphanage could never be compared to those who are trained at home regardless of whatever new technology and resources the school may have.
The local church provides a natural training ground for future leaders. We cannot win the world by having a bible school outside the church. Having a bible school outside the church is like training a doctor outside the hospital or trying to learn swimming by correspondence.
Training by apprenticeship is the way Jesus used to train His disciples.

14. There must be unity in the local church.

There is no ground for division in the church. Problems that can potentially lead to division must be dealt with quickly. The church needs to be fast and bold to correct because division is like cancer. We cannot allow it to create disunity and confusion.
The criteria for choosing team members must be determined wisely and biblically: no independent spirit but total accountability to team members. On the other hand, those who create division must be disciplined and dealt with quickly.

15. The church must work as a team.

Team Work Is Essential For Great Work. Every member must belong to a team. No one should work alone – we need to have someone whom we are accountable to although ultimately we are accountable to God.
Team Work Encourages Continuity, so we do not believe in one-man show. Neither are we irreplaceable. Instead, we need to think duplication and hence we need to keep training new people.

16. The church is both an organism and an organization. (1Cor.12)

It is essential to balance between task and people orientation. Church is neither a pure organization nor a pure organism. She is not just mechanical but also relational. In 1 Cor 9:19-23, Paul said that we must be willing to be all things to all men for the sake of the Gospel and to win as many as possible for Christ.
To grow a big church; we need to be highly organized as we require a lot of thinking and manpower.
We need to keep in mind though that our structure will evolve at different stages of our growth. Therefore, we must be willing to adapt and adjust each step of the way and avoid creating any specialized functions in the beginning.
As a guideline, if we are stagnant for one quarter, we should do a walkthrough to see whether our organizational or shepherding structures offer the right climate for growth and expansion. We should not always prescribe perseverance whenever we do not see growth.

17. The church must build covenantal relationships. (Eph.4:15-16)

We need to value relationships and relate as covenant friends following the example of David and Jonathan who covenanted with undivided loyalty to one another.
A Christian has a covenant relationship with Jesus and consequently with His body (the church). Those who are in covenant should agree to obey the Bible together and follow Jesus to the fullest.
It is crucial for us to cater for the needs of people with different levels of commitment as God Himself does that. It is important to recognize that there are at least four types of people that we are relating with. There are different levels of commitment and different degrees of maturity in Christ. These differences often account for much of the tension or conflict that can possibly occur when we are working closely together. As a result, we need to have forbearance and understanding whilst maximizing every opportunity by thinking win-win all the time.
Christ must be followed wholeheartedly. One vital key to relating well with people is to learn to “die to self” and focus on doing God’s will. Live as an example for others to follow and seek to influence them. We want to aim at building as many as possible to become “good soil” Christians.

18. Authority is given as a blessing. (Heb.13:17)

Without authority the world would be a mess. Authority enables us to live in an orderly manner. The devil, however, misused God’s authority and that is why there are problems. Therefore, true obedience means total submission to the authority of God’s word.
To ensure that our leaders are able to serve effectively, we must submit to those in authority. This means we need to be humble and give room to our leaders to guide and lead us. On neutral issues, even if there were differences in opinions we need to let the leaders lead. We should only “disobey” if our leaders told us to do things contrary to God’s Word. However, we should never do so with a rebellious spirit but we should keep our spirit sweet and forgiving at all times. We need to continue to respect the instructions of faithful pastors, whilst at the same time be cautious not to be carried away by wrong doctrines.
An authoritarian carries out authority without proper love, character and spirit. However, if we only give love without exercising any authority at all, we will leave the people directionless. Therefore, we need to handle authority with wisdom. Luke 7:1ff gives us an understanding of authority. Even the Centurion, “a man of authority” recognized that he too must be as one under authority!”

19. The church must rely on God for support.

Every local church must be self-supporting as much as possible. This applies to each and every member as well. Unlike in the example of today’s third world’s churches, where they keep receiving but never give anything in return. Therefore we need to put an end to this “colonialism” spirit. The subsidy mentality will only create over dependency on men rather than on God.
Every church must be a giving church no matter how small they may be. Do not create a dependency on outside organizations but instead build a self-supporting atmosphere for every church or care-group. This spirit needs to be translated in every level of our churches. Just as Paul said, if a man will not work he shall not eat.
(2 Th 3:10 NIV) For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”
We believe in the 3-S principles: self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating to avoid being a burden to others. Of course, when there is a critical problem, we will help one another (e.g. mercy ministries via care-group; bigger cases would need to go to higher level of leadership).

20. The church must have a part in planting other churches.

No matter how small the church may be, she must plant other churches (i.e. “mini-picture” of care-group/unit planting). It is only normal for a healthy functioning church to keep on multiplying and growing.
We need to impart this spirit in the church for the fields are white for harvest but the laborers are few.

21. The Local church leader cannot rely mainly by leader from the outside

The local church should be involved in leadership training herself. Leaders are not “hirelings”, they should emerge from within, and not elsewhere. Thus, we need to be involved in training and raising up our own people. At the same time, we are open for God to bring in new ones, who of course must be willing to go through the ranks to gain credibility.
We cannot rely on outside leaders, for instance by hiring Bible College graduates because it is difficult for them to have full ownership.

22. The church must give relevance to spiritual gifts.

We must not be ignorant of our spiritual gifts but we should eagerly desire them so that we may use them to build up the body of Christ. Spiritual gifts are still valid and very much needed in our church. According to Acts 4:30, we are exhorted to perform signs and wonders in Jesus’ name whilst at the same time, we need to beware of counterfeit signs and wonders (2Thess 2:9)
(Acts 4:30 NIV) Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
(2 Th 2:9 NIV) The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.

23. The church is a salt and light to the nation. (Gen1:28, Mt.5:13)

We aim to be different and yet influential by touching all walks of life with the Gospel, for e.g. Education, Politics, Arts, Commerce, Mass media, Entertainment, Religion, Environment, Health, etc.