Everyone should have the chance to know the love and hope of Jesus. That’s why we give generously beyond our regular giving each year to projects around the world spreading hope by meeting the needs of their community and sharing the love of Jesus in the process.
Everyone should have the chance to know the love and hope of Jesus. That’s why we give generously beyond our regular giving each year to projects around the world spreading hope by meeting the needs of their community and sharing the love of Jesus in the process.
LOCAL FAITH-BASED PROJECT PARTNERS
Making an impact in Massachusetts
Boston Center for Pregnancy Choice
Boston Center for Pregnancy Choice is a faith-based non-profit committed to helping individuals make informed decisions about their unplanned pregnancies and providing support after making their decision. With help from The Hope Project, they have been able to expand services to reach more individuals around Massachusetts by opening an additional center in Quincy this September.
Braintree Food Pantry
As families in our own neighborhoods face rising food costs and food insecurity, the Braintree Food Pantry provides relief alongside opportunities for dozens of families to learn more about the hope that Jesus brings. Despite changes that have come from unstable income and inflation, The Braintree Food Pantry has remained a constant staple of support for families this year and has had the opportunity to see even more individuals know and follow Jesus.
Teen Challenge
Teen Challenge is a faith-based organization that provides clinical counseling and life coaching to individuals struggling with life-controlling addictions as well as support for their families. Lives continue to be changed as a result of Teen Challenge’s programs, which all center around one truth: Jesus can make all things new. With the help of the Hope Project, residents were able to attend a camp retreat for the first time this year after two years of COVID restraints! Many 2022 graduates of Teen Challenge who have gone “all-in” with Jesus have begun pursuing careers in psychology and counseling to help others find freedom.
Amirah
Amirah provides faith-based aftercare, resources, and opportunities to women in MA and CT who are survivors of sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. Dozens of women successfully graduated from Amirah’s residential program this year with career experience, recovery hours, counseling, and a support network to ensure that their next chapter of life is one of healing and freedom. With the support of the Hope Project, Amirah’s new rapid-rehousing program, which provides emergency accommodations for women seeking stability and support, has helped many women find hope in Jesus!
NATIONAL CHURCH PLANTING
Planting churches across the nation
REZAREC CHURCH
BROCKTON, MA
Rob Connolly and his wife Nicole have a passion to help their friends and neighbors in the Brockton area find and follow Jesus. With a leap of faith, they launched Rezarec Church in 2021 to let their community know that there is a church in their neighborhood that cares for them! Since then, Rezarec Church has been able to start a student ministry, and The Hope Project got to sponsor their camp retreat which provided opportunities for teenagers who felt spiritually disconnected to find faith in Jesus.
CONNECT NYC
BROOKLYN, NY
Elvis, a Brooklyn native, and his wife, Emily Léon have a goal to plant five churches in each of the five boroughs of New York City. God has given them the heart to reach the millions of residents who have never heard of the hope they can find in Jesus. As New York is still undergoing a massive transition of residents after COVID-19, crime, poverty, and a sense of desperation are on the rise. Elvis and Emily have started outreach and service projects to meet tangible needs in the city and are laying the groundwork to begin planting churches.
CITY CENTER CHURCH
BERKELEY, CA
The vast majority of people in Berkeley, CA have typically wanted nothing to do with faith, but since launching City Center Church, Raymond and Rachel Hudson have seen many friends and neighbors come to faith in Jesus there. The Hope Project will help them connect with more people in Berkeley through community outreach events and service projects over the next year.
CHRIST CHURCH CHURCH PLANT
CHARLESTOWN, MA
JD and Natalie Mangrum planted Christ Church Charlestown several years ago, and their church family has taken an active role in supporting the high school athletic department, supporting local organizations and serving people in their area, helping them find and follow Jesus in the process. The Hope Project will help their church family move into a permanent meeting location in 2022.
REALITY CHURCH
MIAMI, FL
The Lollett Family has a passion for connecting the vibrant, multi-ethnic community of Miami, Florida with Jesus. They launched Reality Church in 2021, and have been helping people know and follow Jesus since. Next year, The Hope Project will help Reality expand their college ministry and outreach so that their team can serve and bring hope to the hundreds of thousands of students in their neighborhood!
INTERNATIONAL FAITH-BASED PROJECT PARTNERS
Changing lives around the world
CUBA
THE SESMA FAMILY
This church plant has seen many people from their community in Havana come to faith in Jesus and join their church family that they are completely filling their space during worship services! The Hope Project helped them complete a much-needed expansion this year, and will support more service projects next year to help the community as people are facing food and necessity shortages.
DENMARK
THE CHRISTENSEN FAMILY
Since launching in 2019, Open Church has gained international media attention multiple times for their creative services and outreach projects. This has given their church a unique, great reputation in Copenhagen (where most people want nothing to do with faith), and is the reason many individuals have gotten connected and found hope in Jesus! With the help of the Hope Project over the next year, their team will expand their internship program which trains the next generation of church leaders and is preparing to host a conference with the European Union, giving them the opportunity to share with over 100 politicians about the positive impact the church is making in Europe.
GUATEMALA
THE HERNANDEZ FAMILY
This San Lucas church plant is deeply committed to meeting the needs of its community as a step toward connecting them with Jesus. Their feeding center distributes much-needed, free meals to hungry children. With the help of the Hope Project, they will expand their feeding program over the next year and help train leaders to begin Bible studies with local families.
INDIA
PASTOR M
Pastor M, an Indian pastor and church planter, has started a Bible Institute, orphanage, and churches in remote villages in India. He and his church leadership team have trained and sent out more than 1,000 church planters over the past several decades, even in the midst of persecution, imprisonment, and physical harm. We are excited to partner with them in their next season of ministry through The Hope Project to ensure these ministries can continue to grow. Further details of their ministry endeavors are withheld for safety purposes, by their request.
KENYA
THE NYANJE FAMILY
This multifaceted ministry in Mombasa, Kenya, allows us to partner with the Nyanje, Okongo, and Owano families who are planting churches, providing free education and daily meals to local children, and training leaders in the process. These ministries are working to break cycles of poverty in their communities through feeding centers and education programs so students can eventually attend high school and college. With the help of the Hope Project, these partners will be able to help even more children and families and continue to plant churches in their region.
MONGOLIA
THE BALLINGER FAMILY
The Ballinger family is passionate about training native locals to lead and plant churches. They recently handed off their second church plant to a native pastor and are now planting a new church in a different village. They also help introduce children in the capital city to the love of Jesus through the feeding centers they oversee there. With the help of the Hope Project, they will open a coffee shop in their new village to create jobs for locals and to connect the community with their church plant.
NEPAL
THE POKHAREL FAMILY
Despite persecution and hardship, Nepal has one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world, and The Pokharels are playing a major role in that impact! Dan and his wife Mandira are determined to see an indigenous church-planting movement spread through South Asia, and are working toward that at breakneck speed! Their training program graduates 20 native church planters every five months, which is providing leaders to plant churches in every region of Nepal. The Hope Project helped them plant 70 new churches this year, and will help many of their church plants begin children’s homes and feeding centers to meet the needs of those in their community over the next year.
NEW ZEALAND
THE WALKER FAMILY
Ben and Raelene Walker launched Story Church in 2019 in Christchurch with the goal of reaching the 98% of residents that don’t attend a church. After a devastating attack in the city, many began asking spiritual questions and a wave of residents began attending Story Church and following Jesus. With the help of the Hope Project, they plan to acquire a permanent meeting location to accommodate their growing church family.
PAKISTAN
THE FERNANDEZ FAMILY
The Fernandez family has a heart for sharing the love of Jesus in the region of Karachi, the largest Muslim city in the world, particularly with people groups that are typically exploited or ostracized by society. They have been able to celebrate the growth of one of their ministries, despite much difficulty and danger, that offers free lessons to help children and adults learn to read and write. Through this program, many have been able to connect with local church plants and found hope in Jesus after hearing about him for the very first time! With the help of the Hope Project, they will be planting a new church this year and can begin construction on a building.
URUGUAY
THE ALVAREZ FAMILY
Emily and Estaban Alvarez, Uruguayan natives, are passionate about connecting people with Jesus in Montevideo, a city known for its negative view of churches. Through community events and outreach projects, they have been able to connect with many families and individuals who have been living without hope, and have seen lives change as these people experience the love of Jesus through their church community! The Hope Project will support their efforts to train pastors and church leaders in the area to help give more individuals in Uruguay the opportunity to find and follow Jesus.
WAYS TO GIVE
ONLINE
Remember to select Hope Project in the drop-down options!
GRACE CHURCH APP
Download our app. Click “Mobile Giving” and remember to select “Hope Project” in the drop-down menu.
IN PERSON
Place your gift in one of our offering envelopes and bring it with you to a weekend service at Grace Church. Please indicate that it’s for the “Hope Project” on the memo and envelope.
THROUGH MAIL
Indicate Hope Project on the memo and mail your check to: Grace Church, 101 Wales Ave, Unit D, Avon, MA, 02322
WITH BILL PAY
Use your bank’s Bill Pay feature to have a check mailed to Grace Church. Make sure you include Hope Project on the memo line.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM MY REGULAR OFFERING?
The weekly offering is the proportional amount (1 Cor. 16, 2 Cor. 8, 1 Tim. 6) we give back to God through our local church family. However, there were many times in the Bible when God’s people gave sacrificially, above and beyond their regular giving, to start churches and meet specific needs in the church and among the poor (Acts 2, Eph. 4, Heb. 13). The Hope Project is our version of this biblical, Christian practice.
WHEN SHOULD I GIVE?
You can give a one-time large gift or set up recurring gifts for the year online anytime between now and January 31, 2023.
WHAT IF I WANT TO GIVE TO THE HOPE PROJECT REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR?
You can set up automated gifts online that recur weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.
HOW MUCH SHOULD I GIVE?
The amount you give is between you and God. It is one of the ways we demonstrate our dependence on God. While the regular offering is a percentage of our income, the Hope Project offering is your “I am excited to give this and it comes from the bottom of my heart!” offering.
MESSAGE FROM OUR PASTOR
Dear Grace Church,
The Hope Project has been our greatest tool for advancing the Kingdom of God, outside of our own church family, for the past 12 years. The fact that everyone can make a difference is what makes this so effective. Some give a one-time large offering on Christmas Eve, others give a regular, weekly offering throughout the year, and still, many more do both! It’s the combination of our efforts that make it possible for us to do so much for so many people.
While our giving is significant, it is our consistent prayers for these ministries throughout the year that make them so effective. God allows us to participate in what he is doing around the world through our giving and our prayer cover. The Apostle Paul was always thanking his supporting churches for praying for his ministry and stated that they would share in eternal rewards for that contribution. The same is happening through us today.
Please familiarize yourself with the partnerships in this year’s Hope Project. Pray over them. Ask God to bless them and others through them. See if your heart begins to connect with one or more of our partners. Commit yourself to pray for them regularly and ask God how much you should give this next year to help provide for their ministry efforts. Give a one-time large gift on any weekend through the end of the year and then consider how you may be able to increase your generosity throughout the year by setting up recurring giving online.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the incredible impact of the Hope Project in 2023. As always, I’m grateful to be your lead pastor, and thank God for the opportunity to make a difference in the world with you!
May God bless us and help us become a blessing to others,
Sean Sears