Excerpts from NHC’s 2025 Annual Meeting
Excerpts of Pastor Matthew’s message shared at New Hope Church’s 2025 Annual Meeting on May 18, 2025:
Gratitude and Joy
What a strong and fruitful year we have had! Last Fall New Hope Church celebrated its 75th Anniversary. What a terrific series of events with which we honored and praised Jesus for raising up this church family to advance his Kingdom in Crystal, New Hope, Minneapolis, and around the world.
Since this time last year over 75 people have become born again through our various ministries—22 just since January. In addition, among the Mangala people alone, in India, where we have an amazing strategic gospel investment, thousands have called on Christ, and we are seeing now the 8th generation of church plants taking root.
Throughout this past winter and spring significant numbers of our church family fasted, determined to draw closer to Jesus. The stories of how he has renewed people’s passion for the gospel, for God’s unique purposes, for justice and righteousness, and for deeper intimacy with Christ, have been deeply encouraging.
Since this time last year we have served over 3,500 families at our food shelf. We have over 600 volunteers helping the various ministries of New Hope Church hum along and reach forward. Moreover, as has already been said our financial position continues to stabilize—we are so very grateful for the growing generosity of our church family; for God’s generosity to us! And while this time last year I reported a 5% increase in attendance over the previous year, today I can tell you our year-to-date average weekly worship attendance is 20% higher than last year.
We have so much for which to be thankful and I am excited and hopeful about the season in front of us. I am grateful to be part of a healthy and vibrant community. I am grateful to be with you.
Now, at least three words come to mind as we together reach forward: compelling, connecting, and contagious, or, to make up a word—contagiousing.
Compelling
Friends, no one is more compelling that Jesus.
Fyodor Dostoevsky said of him:
I believe there is no one lovelier, deepr, more sympathetic and move perfect than Jesus. If anyone proved to me that Christ was outside the truth, and if the teuth really did exclude Christ, I would prefer to stay with Christ and not with truth.
Our world is starving for the food only Jesus can give. The era in which we live, with all the angstiness and aggressiveness that marks us, begs for an alternative that extends hope, renews souls, offers rest, heals and cleanses, and rises above the brokenness and pain. Only Jesus does this. He does so with a blend of power and humility, wisdom and winsomeness, grace and truth, firmness and tenderness, and mercy, mercy, mercy. I want to be more like Jesus. You want to be more like Jesus. Friends, together let us be people embodying his posture. After all, the word “Christian” suggests “little Christs.” The world is so hungry. It is so ripe for what is better. Let us be little Christs wherever our feet trod. Because Jesus is compelling may we be compelling with Jesus.
Connecting
We need to take connecting next level. People around us are desperate to belong somewhere meaningful and safe. We can give them that. This is why so much attention has been given to streamlining how new people, and new believers of Jesus, make their way into our community. People are finding their way in more easily, new believers are being discipled more readily, and our community is growing and getting stronger.
The importance of connecting well is why we are working to strengthen our Life Groups model. It is why we are enhancing our discipleship model, infusing a tried and true Discovery Bible Study component into our DNA. It is why we are building or rebuilding partnerships in our community such as hosting the New Hope Farmers’ Market, working with local law enforcement for Faith & Blue events, praying regularly with key political leaders, coming alongside educators, and so much more.
It is also why we elders are exploring a capital campaign. Our campuses have capital needs we have to address to better connect with people. We have to take good care of our house. We need to be inviting, hospitable, and highly functional. We also need facility and technology relevance that is warm and builds confidence for those looking to belong.
“Contagiousing”
It is a fun word. We have just spent the last few months in a sermon series entitled, Contagious. No one will ever wonder if the people of New Hope Church know the Scriptures, care about theology, or yearn to be good stewards of truth. We are people of the Book! It matters so much. But Jesus did not say the world would know we are disciples by our theological or biblical prowess. We are to be known by our love for one another. Love demands relationships, and in meaningful relationships we have opportunity to be contagious bearers of Jesus’ transforming power.
Vinoth Ramachandra, the Sri Lankan theologian, writes, “The gospel spreads not simply through preaching or proclamation, but through shared lives. It is the embodiment of good news in community that has the power to arrest the attention of a watching world.”
Without its outlet from which flows the Mississippi River, Lake Itasca would no doubt still be beautiful. But think of what would be missed without the mighty Mississippi flowing through the heart of America to the Gulf. That mighty current impacts an endless number of people, causus, and things. Like that river, we need to ensure, you need to ensure, that the contagious waters of the gospel flow away from us into the world beyond us.
Would you join me?
