Friday, October 17, 2008
Using Your Influence To Make A Difference
I want to talk to you specifically this week about influence. All of us have a sphere of influence. When the demoniac in Luke 8 was healed, he begged Jesus to go with him and join the disciples. Jesus realized he would have a much greater influence among his own friends and family. He responded to his request in verse 39 "Go back home and tell people how much God has done for you." So the man went all over town telling how much Jesus had done for him.” I think His advice to us would be the same. The Christian with influence is not the one who knows the most about the Bible, but the one who has invested in relationships and is passionate about what Jesus has done in his life.
One of the three markers for spiritual maturity at New Hope is increased influence with the world. On a recent Sunday during our Go Fish series, Pastor Brent and I asked you to invest in relationships in your sphere of influence. We gave you Invest and Invite cards to give out the next week. The following Sunday there was a visible increase in guests at church that indicated the reason they were there was because someone had specifically invited them with the card the week before. It is fun to watch as we are becoming what Jesus told us to become, “fishers of men.”
The good news is that you do not have to go it alone. Your church family and staff are here to partner with you in sharing the good news with your friends and family. One way we do this is to speak to the issues that are shaping our world. In the coming weeks, we will be touching on concerns that people care about deeply, churched and unchurched alike. This Sunday we will attempt to bring a Biblical framework to this politically tumultuous time with the message, The Kind of Leadership America Needs. The bottom line is that Jesus is the only real hope for people, and to put our hope and trust in a political candidate or party can only lead to disappointment. It is easy to get swallowed up in the climate of political animosity and lose our opportunity to become salt and light. All of us have leadership influence that we can use.
Whether you have a lot or a little, money and financial stability is a concern on everyone’s mind these days. There has never been a more uncertain or troubling time since the Great Depression. Partnering with resources from Dave Ramsey and others, we will be presenting a new series “Mind Your Own Business.” The Bible clearly shows us a way to financial peace and freedom. You will learn how to survive and thrive in spite of the frightening circumstances we face. This is an excellent opportunity to share these resources with those outside our church. Sunday we will be giving you Invest and Invite cards to share with your friends for this new series. I have personally witnessed many people come to Christ as a direct result of Biblical financial teaching.
Perhaps the greatest way we influence the world is to become a servant leader, and love and serve as Jesus did. On Sunday, October 26 we will join together to give the gift of life to one of our very own, Sherry Holz. Sherry is suffering from cancer, and without a life-saving bone morrow transplant, there is no hope. You can participate by getting a cheek swab that morning at church to see if you match, or by donating $25 to help pay for the test for you or someone else, or both. The new process is very pain free and only involves a little discomfort. Find out more at our front porch this Sunday, or call, or email Trudy
trudy@newhopecommunitychurch.org.
In November we will serve by focusing on our newest build for Habitat for Humanity as we volunteer time and give resources in this life changing venture. This will be the second Habitat House that New Hope has partnered with this year.
In December we will be touching the lives of prisoners and their families through project Angel Tree. Our church has a tremendous influence in the lives of prisoners through our prison ministry under the leadership of David Overby. We will also be partnering with the Advent Conspiracy and other churches to provide a Christmas Gift to our City. Mayor-elect Sam Adams has asked the faith community in Portland to partner with the city in helping homeless families and adults, and high risk, low-income youth. What a tremendous opportunity for us to have increasing influence with our city as we become Christ’s hands and feet to our city. We will show love to our world by building a house for aids orphans through Open Arms International. You will hear much more about these service opportunities in the coming weeks.
One final note, I want to mention two people of influence at New Hope whom we will greatly miss. Thursday we had a memorial service for Don Leslie. Don and Gloria have been actively involved in New Hope the last 17 years. Don was deeply loved by everyone who knew him, and used his influence to serve the Lord. We also recently said goodbye to Al Gadberry, another long time member of New Hope. We give honor to these wonderful people who have loved and served in the life of our church.
Don’t forget that your influence can make a difference in someone’s life this week. See you this Sunday!
Pastor Ray
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
FEELINGS vs. FOCUS
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Is it possible to NOT feel anxious during our current times of economic uncertainty, political indecision, global unrest, and maybe even personal heartbreak? The key to answering that question is to focus on the word ‘feel’. I have found that feelings can be fickle. We can’t always control how certain events make us feel, but we can choose the object of our ‘focus’.
When the Bible says… and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus --- we must trust God at His word. Practically that means that we might be feeling anxious about events beyond our control… but if our focus (our prayers & concern) remains on Christ Jesus, His promise is to give us peace.
We don’t know what news tomorrow will bring, but we do know that regardless of what happens God promises peace which transcends our current feelings of anxiousness, concern, fear, and disappointment… if we will keep our focus on Him.
In Him,
Pastor Brent Deffenbacher
New Hope Community
+++
6:30pm Tonight @ New Hope
Crown Financial Groups Beginning Tonight
In this 10-week study, you will learn how to enjoy the freedom, contentment, and economic stability that comes from God’s wisdom. Course fee: $45 for Singles, $55 per couple. Child care provided.
Growing In Spiritual Maturity Beginning Tonight
In this 3-week study co-taught by Pastor Ray & Brent, you will gain insights into living more like Jesus and feeling closer to God. Located in the Hanger Room 117.
Power Lab For Children 3 years old – 5th grade
Student Community Small Groups
Women Of The Word Bible Study
Raising Kids of Character Seminar
Questions? Visit us online for more information.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Hearing From our New Hope Family: Doing Life Together Part 2
Dear Friends,
Last week I recapped some of the exciting happenings and insider information in the life of our church that were shared at our recent Doing Life Together.
We asked for feedback at Doing Life Together from the congregation; ideas, questions and concerns. We received five pages of very exciting and positive comments from the evening, as well as some common questions and concerns. These are very important. This week I want to address the key questions so that you will have the information you need as we move ahead. Again, thanks for all your wonderful support and commitment. Please let me know if we can assist you or answer other questions as we prayerfully move ahead. Call us or stop by the Eagle Landing/New Hope Development Center. There is a question and comment box for you to use by the model.
Obviously the economy right now is in a great deal of flux and crisis. We are carefully monitoring this, and what impact and effects it will have on us. Fortunately, we are at a stage in the process where these events have less impact. We will continue to trust God for His timing and any changes to our plans. We appreciate your prayers over this process and project.
Question: Are we going to become a large business with lots of real estate to manage, and focus on making money rather than our mission?
Answer: Absolutely not! New Hope will only own our church facility and chapel, and possibly a ministry related facility. The rest of the center will be owned by a variety of interests. We will not be in property or business management, or be a landlord to commercial interests. We will not put the church at risk and be in the development business. We will own our new ministry center debt free. We are hoping to have a continuing residual that will come to the church to pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the buildings so that all our tithes and offerings can go to ministry.
Question: Will we lose touch with reality and become an isolated “Christian village or community” living in a bubble?
Answer: This will not be a “Christian village or community.” It will be a life style community that has a faith component at the heart of it. Ministry and service will take place in many other venues besides our church facility-coffee shops, plazas, etc. as we live and have influence in our shared environment. The benefit to the retail, entertainment office and residential is that we are a value added to the environment of the village. People desire to live in community where spiritual values such as compassion, faith, hope, love, and service are foundational.
Question: Are we rolling in money because of all this?
Answer: This is a difficult time financially for us because many people see the plans and think that we have a lot of money. We have had to put out money now for planning, zoning and entitlement issues. It will be a couple of years before we realize any funds, and these will go to pay off our current debt and build whatever facility we can debt free. We will only build whatever we can pay cash for, even if it is a much smaller facility that what we currently own.
Our goal is not to make money, but to provide a more effective environment to reach people for Christ and help them to take the next step.
Question: Are we going to compromise our message or be swallowed up by the new development and lose our identity? Will we be controlled by the businesses around us?
Answer: We will not compromise our mission or our message. We have a strong voice in deciding what types of businesses will go into the village. We will also help develop the covenant and restrictions that will be a part of the development for the future long after the current developers are no longer a part. We will own our own facilities. While we will continue our present practice of using our facilities to serve and love our community, we will have control over them. They will first and foremost be used for ministry.
AN INVITATION TO BE A PART
This Sunday, October 5, Pastor Brent, David and I will be hosting a new member’s class at 12:30 pm. If God is leading you to be a part of this community, join us after church and find out more about the vision, direction, what we believe and how you can be a part. A luncheon will be provided as well as child care. We will be finished by 2:30 pm. You do not need advance reservations.
See you this Sunday!
Pastor Ray
A Note From Pastor David
When Was the Last Time You Saved a Life?
We have a great opportunity before us to make a difference. One of our church family, Sherri Holz (very active at New Hope) is in need of an immediate bone marrow transplant. It is a matter of life for Sherry. We all have an opportunity to be considered (tested) as a possible donor for Sherry. A bone marrow transplant in modern medicine involves basically drawing blood (much as though you were donating to the Red Cross), and they extract the marrow from that blood. No surgery…nothing invasive. The testing is a simple oral swab. Once a match is found, if you do change your mind, you are not committed. There are two options to be involved:
THIS FRIDAY EVENING, this testing can be done for free (or a donation up to $25) at the World Trade Center in Downtown Portland, from 4:30-8:30pm.
You can learn more about this at http://www.marrow.org/
We will also be bringing testing to New Hope, although it will cost $25 per test when done here. You will have the opportunity to either be tested, or just DONATE to those offering to be tested, or both. We will let you know more about this on Sunday.
I wanted you to know about this now, so you can be praying about it, and also because of the free testing THIS FRIDAY evening
-Pastor David
Friday, September 26, 2008
Update: Doing Life Together
Hundreds of our New Hope family attended our Doing Life Together Sunday September 14, 2008. The positive response and feedback was overwhelming. There were several very exciting announcements. Although some of you who attended already received this information if you requested it, I thought it would be beneficial for our church family to recap the evening.
Ty Mattson www.mattsoncreative.com presented our newly completed visi
A letter of intent has been signed on our new interim facilities with the North Clackamas School district, starting January 3, 2010. We will be announcing the actual facility shortly. It is large enough to accommodate our needs, has an inspiring worship space and lots of parking. There will be room to accommodate Waumba Land, New Hope Kids, Student Community, and New Hope Bible Fellowship Class. We are also making arrangements for our New Hope Latino community.
FEEDBACK FROM DOING LIFE TOGETHER
Finally, we asked for feedback at our Doing Life Together from the congregation. We received five pages of very exciting and positive comments from the evening, as well as some common questions and concerns. These are very important. Next week in the ipastor I will share the feedback and address the concerns so that you will have the information you need as we move ahead. Again, thanks for all your wonderful support and commitment. Please let me know if we can assist you or answer any questions. Call us or stop by the Eagle Landing/New Hope Development Center. There is a question and comment box for you to use by the model.
Sunday September 28
This Sunday we will welcome Pastor Wes Davis as we continue in the series Go Fish! Wes has personally put this into practice in his own life and in his church New Life in Kitsap, Washington. HYPERLINK "http://www.newlifekitsap.com" www.newlifekitsap.com
New Life is one of the fastest growing churches in Washington, an unchurched state similar to ours. They are reaching people for Christ who have never gone to church. Wes’s warmth, humor and stories will inspire and give you practical ideas on how to reach your friends for Christ. He is a personal friend and is very excited about the vision and future of New Hope.
Pastor Ray Cotton
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thoughts on the Week
Written Sept. 18th
Friend,
The economy hit a new low this week, and just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, there was more bad news. The government rescue of AIG, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac gives pause to all of us. A doctor friend shared that he was treating more people for depression because their financial outlook had become uncertain as their pensions collapsed. Even in our church family I sense that there is a lot of fear about the future. How do we as the followers of Christ deal with all this? Is there hope for the future? Is there any good news?
Jesus often exhorted His disciples, “Don’t be afraid.” Fear paralyzes us and keeps us stuck in the wrong places. It also causes us to hold back on the commitments we know we want to make, but are fearful to move ahead. In recent weeks, our attendance has been growing again, but our offerings still lag far behind. There are many reasons. Some of our people have lost their jobs and others work in commission based businesses that barely provide enough to live on in the present economy. Perhaps the greatest reason is fear over the future and questions if God will provide as we are faithful in our stewardship to Him.
Yes there is good news. Jesus spoke the following words to a culture that often didn’t even know where their next days meal was coming from. They had no checking, savings, money market, IRA, or pension accounts. They didn’t need closets to store all their clothes; they stored them on their backs. “And don’t worry about food-what to eat and drink. Don’t worry about whether God will provide it for you. These things dominate the thoughts of most people, but your Father already knows your needs. (31) He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” Luke 12:29-31
Let me encourage you that we are going to make it through all of this! The economy will turn around, real estate will go back up, and good times will come again. Some of us will be kicking ourselves because we didn’t buy when the prices were down and missed opportunities. Probably none of us will ever miss a meal, even if we don’t stop as much at Starbucks. (And who among us couldn’t really stand to miss a meal or two?) The real question is, will we make the Kingdom of God our primary concern? Can we look back and say, “That’s the time I really learned what it meant to trust God for my provision and to put Him first in my life?” This is an opportunity for all of us to grow and to invest in the things that will make an eternal difference. To those who are already faithfully doing this, thank you so much!
I have personally been through times when I had nothing, and I had to pray for the daily provisions of life like toothpaste and toilet paper. Now that’s scary. I have been through a time in a past downturn where I literally lost all my life investments. But I learned this simple truth, put God first and He will always be faithful. I have never missed a meal. Luke 12:31 became my life verse at age 18 while I was in college, and God has always proved true. Now is the time for us to focus on what really counts. Jesus concluded by saying, “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no holes in them. Your treasure will be safe. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will be also.”
Be encouraged, keep your priorities focused, and trust God to do His part. That is real hope! Thank you in advance for keeping the vision and ministry of our church strong and growing. I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we celebrate together all the great things God is doing in people's lives even in the midst of all that surrounds us.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Doing Life Together
Last SundayLast Weekend… was a huge win for New Hope. The official ‘kickoff’ of our Sunday morning WaumbaLand & StuCom environments, an encouraging GroupLink event launching tons of brand new small groups, and a morning worship experience that had people saying to me…
‘I can’t wait to Go Fish’
‘Every weekend I am being challenged and encouraged’
‘My husband is excited about what’s happening at New Hope’
‘The music was incredible’
And my favorite…
‘Where did all these new people come from?’
Men’s Breakfast
This Saturday @ 8am
This is New Hope’s last Men’s Breakfast of the year. Special thank you to Tom Abalan for connecting with Latus Harley Davidson who will be sponsoring this event… and bringing lots of very cool motorcycles for us to admire (but not covet). See you there men!
This Sunday Morning
This Sunday morning… we will be honoring the retirement, and over two decades of faithful service which Pastor Jewel Collins has given to our community --- you will have an opportunity to personally say ‘thank you’ to Butch and Jewel this Sunday after our 9 & 11am services.
This Sunday morning… Wes Walterman and Josh Lee will be leading our corporate time of singing and worship, and Pastor Ray will be continuing our Go Fish teaching series by answering the question: Why Fish? Make sure you not only attend… but invite a friend to join you!
Doing Life Together (DLT)This Sunday Night
Every quarter, our community takes an evening to look back at where we have been, discern where we are, and then prayerfully envision where the Lord is leading for the future. You should attend DLT if…
You Love New Hope
You Love New Hope… and want to know where we are going
You Love New Hope… but need some clarity to what’s going on
Here is what you can expect this Sunday Night @ DLT
5:30pm :: Lets Eat Together… you bring the side and we provide the rest.
6:00pm :: Lets Take A Look Back At Where We’ve Been
6:15pm :: Lets Take A Look At Where We Are
6:45pm :: Lets Take A Look At Where We Are Going
7:15pm :: Lets Pray Together
7:30pm :: Lets Go Home
Let me guarantee you that if you miss this DLT… you will miss out BIG TIME! We are planning on sharing LOTS of exciting news and future direction for the FIRST TIME with the New Hope Community. See you there!
DIG IN

Wednesday Nights @ New Hope
At New Hope we are passionate (some might say zealous) about seeing people take the next step in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. It is our vision to see our community grow in their personal intimacy with God, relationships with each other, and increased influence with the world.
This Fall we have created a midweek environment where children, students, singles and adults can DIG IN by growing stronger and going deeper as a community rooted in Christ.
If you are interested in taking the ‘next step’ in your growing relationship with Jesus Christ …take a close look at the DIG IN brochure located in your bulletin this weekend (or click here).
Discovering My SHAPE For Serving
Two Week Spiritual Maturity Class Taught By Pastor Ray & Brent
Begins Next Week: Wednesday September 17th
You have probably heard Pastor Ray or me say from the front on Sunday mornings that our hope for you is that you will WORSHIP regularly and SERVE consistently at New Hope.
God didn't design ministry for just a few with seminary degrees. At New Hope, we believe that every member of our church is in ministry. This is what ‘Discovering My SHAPE For Serving’ is all about. During this two week event (Beginning this Wednesday @ 6:30pm in the Hanger) hosted by Pastor Ray & me, you will learn how God can use your Spiritual Gifts, your Heart (passions), your Abilities, Personality and Experiences to minister to others in need. This is discovering your SHAPE for serving.
My September 11, 2008 Thoughts
Seven years ago our nation was under attack… like me you can probably remember where you where when you saw the tragic images of planes full of people crashing into buildings. The question I kept asking myself was… why?
Why would someone’s heart be so filled with hatred that they would be willing to hijack a plane… or even blow themselves up with the intention of harming others? This morning I turned to the Old Testament book of Proverbs… a place where I can often find wisdom and perspective to my heart’s deepest questions.
Proverbs 11:30 says… the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
The entire 11th chapter compares and contrasts evil and wickedness of a persons’ heart with the righteousness of God. On 9-11 we publically witnessed evil and the depth of just how wicked one’s heart can become.
The hope we have in God, and life we have through Jesus’ death on a tree, SHOUTS to the world that LOVE WINS! Love wins in our life when we replace hate with joy, violence with peace, intolerance with patience, indifference with kindness, hostility with gentleness, and self-indulgence with self-control.
Back to the question… Why is there hate, violence, intolerance, etc… in this world? So the perfect love of God, expressed through imperfect people, lived out in Biblical community, will cause the world to know we are Christians by our life and by our love.
In Him,
Pastor Brent2 Peter 3:3-18
Friday, August 29, 2008
FEEDBACK & SOME FEEDBACK
Proverbs 15:22 (NLT)
Friends
• WOW… I have really felt the presence of God lately at New Hope.
• ENJOYING… the changes in the worship & messages.
• HEAR… some preaching on hell, prophesy & the end times.
• READY NOW… to give, serve, forgive, commit, do His will.
• OUCH… can you please turn down the volume.
• ANTICIPATING… how God will move each week within our community.
What wonderful feedback… thank you for sharing your spiritual next steps, thoughts, observations, and concerns (in love… most of the time). I would like to feedback on your feedback briefly for the remainder of this weeks iPastor.
THIS SUNDAY
This weekend will be our final ‘Family Sunday’ of the summer where children (1st-5th grade) and students (6th-12th grade) will join the 9am & 11am worship services. Pastor Ray, the weekend experience team, and I have been working hard to ensure that big and small children/students will be engaged and challenged. Make sure you come ANTICIPATING… how God will move THIS week within our community.
“OUCH… can you please turn down the volume?”
Yes, we have heard many of you recently inquire about why it seems that from week to week the volume (depending on service) seems to fluctuate. Bottom line, I am personally very sorry about any inconvenience this has caused some of you.
Some feedback from your feedback about our feedback.
It goes without saying that ‘mixing sound’ @ New Hope is an acoustic challenge. Please be assured that we are ACTIVELY looking at ALL options on how we can best turn our challenge into an opportunity for improvement. One option which we are seriously considering is moving our soundboard from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor to afford our capable technical team the best position possible to ensure a consistent quality house mix. Thank you for your feedback, and thank you for trusting that we have HEARD you.
NEXT SUNDAY
Last week’s message challenged us to redefine the Biblical ‘Breaking of Bread’ as… doing life together within community. In addition to launching Waumba Land, kicking off our new Student Community, celebrating Promotion Sunday for our children, and beginning our new fall teaching series called ‘Go Fish’, we are preparing for GROUPLINK!
First, let me share two snippets of feedback about GROUPLINK with you from last weekend’s Connection Cards.
• EASIER… for me to follow all 1,316 OT commandments than commit to a community group. I’m not saying yes …but I will prayerfully consider attending GroupLink.
• GROUPLINK… made all the difference for us as very new attendees—we connected with a fabulous and life-changing group of people. All should check it out because it’s painless & full of rewards.

Your feedback is telling me that you are being challenged by the messages, and encouraged to prayerfully consider taking a ‘next step’ toward entering into COMMUNITY with others this fall. GROUPLINK is an ideal environment created for you to safely explore the possibility of joining a small group this fall.
Finally, I want some of you to know how encouraged I am that you make such a HUGE sacrifice (physically) to attend a weekend worship service. Thank you for sustaining New Hope’s mission and vision by your consistent attendance, prayers, financial support and words of encouragement. You are noticed, loved, and needed.
DOING LIFE TOGETHER IN TWO WEEKS

Every quarter we pause as a community to reflect on where we’ve been, acknowledge where we are, and prayerfully discern the preferred future the Lord is calling our community toward. If you are a member of New Hope, or desire to become more involved this next year, please plan to participate in our next Doing Life Together which will touch on the following:
• Exciting Fall ‘08 ministry direction.
• Encouraging Community Development Project updates.
• Possible unveiling Of Our interim meeting location during construction.
• Sneak peak At fall ‘08 Sunday morning teaching calendar… including Christmas ‘08 news.
• At least 2 surprises that you will be the first to hear about.
Last Saturday a LARGE number of New Hopers converged at Lent Elementary School for our final scheduled Season of Service. WOW… we really made a huge difference for not only the school, but equally as important the surrounding Lent neighborhood who witnessed the New Hope community practically serving like Jesus. Please don’t wait for New Hope to organize the next Service Project, but rather let Sandy’s following Connection Card feedback from last weekend be our corporate ‘next step’.
• God… enable me to do at least ONE THING to help someone else in need from the ABUNDANCE you have given me.
Good words Sandy… thanks for the feedback. I look forward to seeing you this Sunday.
Brent