The brainchild of Mike Pilavachi, Andy Hawthorne and Roy Crowne, Hope08 has inspired thousands of churches to go out and engage in their communities in the name of Jesus Christ.
From litter picking, to gardening, to graffiti cleaning, to befriending the marginalised, Christians committed whatever time they could to fulfilling the Hope08 goal of Christians donating one million hours of kindness to the UK.
But what started out as a hope-bringing act of service to the community has proven to be just as beneficial to the church.
“Hope08 has been a catalyst and a kind of banner,” says Katie Cole, an administrator with Southampton Christian Network. “Sometimes people are suspicious of buying into something which is by a particular church or one particular strand of churches so it was really helpful to be able to label something ‘Hope08’. It really worked in getting people to own things.”
As part of Hope08, the network trained Christians in sharing the Good News of Christ with their friends and family, co-organised citywide prayer weeks, and took part in hands on community action. On Easter Sunday, 27 different churches from across Southampton came together to release eye-catching red balloons with messages and prayers of hope attached to them.
“That was the most churches I had seen buy into something,” she recalls. “The church is often known for what it is against but we wanted to say we are for hope and for this city. It was such a positive statement.”
In another show of unity, several churches came together to reinvigorate one socially deprived estate by mending fences, doing some gardening and clearing away rubbish. Seven people from the estate became Christians.
The year has prepared the ground for greater things, Katie believes.
“I think if I went up to someone in Southampton and said do you know what Hope08 is, I don’t think they would have heard of it.
“At the start of the year I wanted the profile to be out there but I think this year for Southampton has been more about raising the profile within the community.
