He believes that Hope08 is helping to break down some of that siege mentality.
"The churches taking part are discovering that there are people out there who want to hear what we've got to say and seeing that, they are having confidence in the Gospel again. Their faith is actually being built up through their involvement and their engagement."
Hawthorne agrees. "There's a real openness to the Gospel side of it, particularly when people see our good deeds. If they just hear us preaching it lacks a lot of power, but if they see our good deeds and then on the back of that we share the hope of the Gospel, it seems to be a tremendous opener. That seems to be part of the exciting movement going on at the moment."
Moreover, some of the challenges in society provide the perfect opportunity to put faith into practice and reveal the transforming power of the Gospel.
"I think as people of faith we can't just live in denial," says Crowne. "The guns and gangs thing is massive in some inner city urban areas. But what I have to bring into that situation is faith and a sense that this situation could change - the Gospel does have the power to do that. Even with the prevalence of gangs and guns, the Gospel does have the ability to transform and work through that."
Hawthorne is unflinching in the power of the Gospel to change even the most wayward: "When He is entered relevantly, Jesus works. The Gospel works. It's lost absolutely none of its power. It still is the power of God for the salvation of anyone who believes and when hardened criminals and drug addicts really get the Gospel, hope comes into their lives and they are transformed. We see it again and again in our work. So it feels like an exciting season for us."
Part of transforming lives and the culture means, however, that Christians should not be the same as that culture.
"You can't just go into those challenging areas being the same as the culture you are living in because if you do then you are not going to cause transformation. We have to be counter-cultural," says Crowne.
"What we have to do is acknowledge that it may be tough and it could be difficult but there is another way. Being part of a community of hope builds me and enables me to believe that the Gospel can change these situations."
It may seem like Hope08 only applies to 2008, but its founders hope that the churches catch the vision and build up a culture of year-round mission beyond this year.
"For me this was always a catalyst," concludes Crowne. "There are churches working together that have never worked together before. Why stop that? It's amazing that people have found unity in the context of the cause of the Gospel. If that remains the focus, then churches again should be able to find a way to work together that transforms their communities."
Hawthorne adds: "The idea isn't that come midnight on December 31st we all stop doing mission and go back into our churches. The idea is that churches will catch the boat and become missional churches. There is a rhythm of mission. It's not just two weeks in the summer when we all charge around letting our light shine! We want churches to realise that they really can make an impact on their community. Even if only a few get really serious and pray and serve in the community and share their faith, then on the back of that things happen.
Hawthorne senses that things are already on the up for Christianity in Britain: "I am an optimist by nature but I do sense a turning of the tide. I can see it in London and Manchester. I really believe things are bottoming out and we are starting to see the curve turn now, and I think Hope is going to be part of that in the long run."
Hope08 co-founder and head of Soul Survivor, Mike Pilavachi, was invited to contribute his views to this article but was unavailable for comment due to a busy conference schedule.
