Last October six members of our worship team attended the Catalyst conference in Atlanta and received the challenge for each of us to raise $100. It didn’t take long for us to come up with an idea – we would present a coffee-concerthouse event that was open to the public, with all of the proceeds going to HOPE International. We were all excited about the opportunity to bring this back to our church and to the members of our team who were unable to attend. What a great mission opportunity for our team! The day of our “Night of Hope,” as we called it finally came….with a forecast of snow that evening! In eastern North Carolina, where we live, that usually means everything is cancelled before the first snowflake is even seen. What to do? We had already received donations of coffee and desserts to serve at the event, so rescheduling would have meant starting all over. But we were also afraid that there would be very few attending, as most would not venture out into wintry weather. We were pleasantly surprised. Although the attendance was somewhat low, as we had expected, generosity was at an all-time high! Over $3000 was raised for us to send to HOPE International. We had a great, uplifting time afterwards imagining how many people that might help. In the end, this was such a neat melding of worship, fellowship, and service for our team and our congregation. We’ve already been asked when we’re doing it again!

Thank you, HOPE International, for providing an opportunity for our family to serve together! Our daughter Emily is only 45 minutes away at college, but we don’t have the opportunity to worship or serve together very often because she volunteers each Sunday at a local church for the homeless. When my husband and I read the Never Ending Hope envelope and realized what we had casually picked up off of the information table, we panicked, knowing we were not creative people, as well as knowing that it would be incredibly awkward to put it back! Thankfully, God has blessed Emily with an incredible gift of art and she was just as excited and passionate about this opportunity as we were. After using a coupon to purchase ten 8×10 canvases, the rest was left up to Emily! As she got busy painting two different backgrounds we had a wonderful opportunity to search for and choose Bible verses together! All ten paintings sold on one Sunday morning! Our prayer is not only that a family would be able to start their own business and provide for their needs but that they would come to know Christ and have the opportunity to bond as a family like we did.

Our dad came home from Catalyst back in October with the challenge for my sister and me to turn $10 into $100 for HOPE International. Here is how we did it: My younger sister and I made twenty potholders, selling each for five dollars. I know what you’re thinking: expensive, right? But we explained who we were doing it for and why. I figured lots of adults are raising money, so why shouldn’t kids do it? So we did it and I really hope that you give this money to a family or people who really need it! I hope you guys make enough money to send to people. My family will be praying for you.

On New Year’s Day, I prepared a brunch that I called “whatever you think it’s worth” for six couples. In the invitation, I explained the story of HOPE and the need for the “empty soup bowl.” When the last guest left, the soup bowl had $210 to invest in the dreams of the poor. Thanks for the challenge to be a giver.

My husband, Nolan, and I each took up the challenge of making $10 into $100 following the Catalyst Conference. We are in full time ministry as a family (www.nolanbishop.com). We knew we wanted to involve our children, since they are an important part of our ministry. We decided to make bracelets to sell at churches and events where we were invited to lead worship. We made “witness bracelets” and a bracelet that said HOPE to remind people to pray for this ministry. The response was amazing. Our children really were excited about it. In November we were leading worship at a youth fall retreat and the bracelets sold quickly. When the service was over, I did a quick tally in my head and realized we were 20 dollars from our goal of 200. The next morning when we were packing up our equipment, a man came up and gave us a 20 dollar bill and told us to please use it however we needed. Wow, God is so amazing! As we sent off our check, we prayed for HOPE and also for the special person that would receive this loan. We are praying about how God would use our family to continue to give to this ministry.