By Bill MacLeod, Executive Director
Not long ago I sat down with Jamie Winship, one of our plenary speakers for this January’s Mission ConneXion Northwest event. His coming to Christ prior to becoming a policeman in Washington, D.C. is intriguing enough, not to mention his learning dependence upon the Holy Spirit to share his new-found faith in an environment generally incompatible with Christian witness. Little did he know that the Lord was preparing him to spend over 25 years in the Muslim world, teaching people how to hear from JESUS and live in His Kingdom. Reflecting on our “There is Hope.” 2018 theme, he recently shared with me how hope transformed his own life, and what he anticipates for January…
I first experienced the hope of Jesus in my life at age seventeen on January 28, 1977 in a hospital room in Leesburg, VA.
I had suffered a knee injury that I thought would thwart my dream to be a police officer. The morning following major surgery, I was greeted by a nurse, who was determined that I not be discouraged by circumstances in my life, but be encouraged by trusting in the One Who gives life to each human being.
Though I vigorously opposed the message of this amazing nurse, she persisted in meeting with me for five days and her sense of “hope” overcame my sense of anger and despair, causing me to step into the real source of hope…the Person of Jesus.
Realizing that a relationship with Jesus brings a hope that never disappoints to the life of everyone who believes, I understood that sharing Jesus with others in my vocation as a police officer was the only real way to advance the Kingdom of God and battle the essence of evil. Furthermore, I discovered the value of presenting the hope of Jesus into refugee communities in the USA as a bridge to cultural assimilation trust and transformation. Once I saw the hope of Jesus transform refugee populations in the USA, I knew God was moving me toward the bringing of “Jesus-Hope” to foreign fields.
My sense is that many Christians in America have actually lost their sense of hope in God. As a result, we are moving about our lives in fear, trying desperately to self-promote and self-protect ourselves against an ever growing and advancing evil world.
This must change.
Through scripture and story I want to talk about how the Hope of Jesus is on the move in the world in the darkest places, and how our greatest joy should be to join in the advance of Jesus-Hope. In order to do this, we must experience the Hope of Jesus in our own lives.
If it’s true that we can’t give away what we don’t have; then we need to have hope rekindled within ourselves and…
Get Back Out There! There is Hope!
