How the team was formed

The Hope Leadership was formed and chosen through a prayerful process of seeking God's wisdom, seeking the discernment of Godly leaders from Hope's parent church and the prompting of the Holy Spirit in each of the men appointed.

Biblical foundation

Ephesians (Eph. 4.11—13,15—16), The gifts he [God] gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ … speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Our church leadership aspires to be rooted in the Gospel model of servant leadership as outlined in Mark’s Gospel (Mark 10.42–45):

So Jesus called them and said to them , ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognise as their leaders lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be the slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

The role of the team

The Leadership team cares for the various areas of body life. We are involved in prayerfully seeking God for each member of the Hope Family, developing ideas and ministry opportunities, discussing concerns in ministry and in pursuing the opportunities that will assist in the spiritual growth of each individual. This involves prayer time before each Sunday service, outreach event, special situations, our own personal committed prayer time, and scheduling monthly meetings.

Drawing upon the Ephesians passage, the team seeks to:

• enable and encourage the discipleship of all the church members and the development of gifts (‘to equip the saints for the work of ministry’)

• hold to the vision of the mulitcultural church community and facilitate its being brought to life (‘building up the Body of Christ’)

• model a supportive, challenging and accountable Christian fellowship (‘Speaking the truth in love’)