Our Vision
Under God, we seek to build up the church of Christ by raising disciples in this generation and the next who glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
A Hope-giving Church to Glorify God
The missing ingredient in so many Christians, especially in the 2nd generation is hope. So many seem to be simply going through the motions, stuck in routine.
That is not what we have been called for. A Christian life lived at the edges, with the very bare minimum is a joy-ebbing, tiring burden. The biblical call is that all areas of our lives belong to Christ. Not just our “church” life but also our work and family lives. Not just our minds, but also our hearts and bodies.
So we seek to be a hope giving church as we remain faithful
to these important three essentials.
1. Right Teaching
2. Right Living
3. Right Heartedness
A Balanced Church to Enjoy God
The tendency of mankind is to go to extremes, to emphasise one area to the point of denying another.
To enjoy God as we should, we therefore need a balanced
approach to our church.
1. Bible-based & Spirit-filled
2. Proactive & Prayerful
3. Growing & Personal
4. Historical & Contemporary
5. Local & Global
6. Presbyterian & Open-denominational
7. Korean & Multi-ethnic
8. 1st Generational & 2nd Generational
A Growing Church to Build-up the Body of Christ
1.5/2nd generation is a broad, almost un-reached group. Many in this group have never belonged to, or have left Christian communities. As they graduate from high school and enter university, and then enter the workforce, so many silently disappear from the church. This is due to disillusionment, through hurt, or simple apathy, and this pattern has been in effect for many years.
We aim to reach out to these people and raise them up as faithful followers of Christ. So our initial aim is towards the 1.5/2nd generation English-speaking Korean-Australians. As this is done, they can then impact their friends and peers of other ethnic backgrounds.
As our church is an English-based church, there are no language barriers for them to attend and join. Thus our long-term aim is towards people of all ethnic backgrounds and cultures coming together for the common purpose of glorifying God and enjoying Him forever with the common language of English.
An Interdependent Church to Raise Disciples in this Generation and the Next
God gives us a community to love and to grow with. Biblically, such a community is spread across several generations. Generational issues such as language, attitudes, and priorities which are not entrenched ungodly and unbiblical ones cannot be a reason for division along generational lines. Connections and relationships must be maintained.
However, the focus of ministry towards 1st generation and 2nd generation can differ widely and both are equally valid and important. To have the 2nd generation English ministry as a part of the overall 1st generation church will require compromises and adjustments on the part of the both ministries which are not ideal. Autonomous direction for both ministries must be allowed.
Thus, instead of the 2nd generation breaking off to be totally separate and independent of the first, or staying under the direction and control of the 1st generation, we have adopted the Interdependent Church Model. We have formed this partnership with Ggumi-In-Nun Church (). This is two churches side by side, autonomous in ministry, but interdependent in an ongoing partnership with each other. This interdependence is seen in the partnership for several ministries.
1. Children’s and Youth Ministries - in raising
up the next generation properly and healthily, a co-operative effort between
the 1st generation and 2nd generation adults is essential.
2. Outreach - as we engage in outreach in the local community and abroad,
we seek to do so as a united community, with both the 1st generation and
2nd generation taking part in a co-operative effort.
3. Prayer - as two interdependent churches, we seek to build up our relationship
as we seek God in prayer together. Saturday morning prayer services will
be a combined 1st and 2nd generation meeting.
Our Mission
So we aim to be such a community of believers following
after Christ by:
Serving God in Worship
Serving Believers with Nurture (teaching & caring)
Serving the World through Witness
“They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” – Acts 2:42-47
“Every day they continued to meet together in
the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with
glad and sincere hearts, praising God ...” – Acts 2:46-47a
Worshipping God is a life of obedience and honour. In a corporate sense, this worship is expressed as we meet together under God’s Word and lift our hearts and voices to Him in praise. We seek to be a joyful worshipping community as we unite in prayer and fellowship.
Worship is daily expressed as we strive to live in devotion to God in all we say and do.
Serving Believers with Nurture through Teaching
“They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” – Acts 2:42
As a church, the teaching of God’s word is at the heart of our ministry. A practical, challenging and biblical ministry is our aim as we preach, teach, gather in small groups, and engage in private devotion.
Serving Believers with Nurture through Caring
“Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” – Acts 2:43-45
The church is called to be a caring community that values fellowship. Through building networks of fellowship and through loving one another in practical ways, we aim to become the caring church God calls us to be.
Serving the World Through Witness
“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” – Acts 2:47
Jesus came to seek and save the lost. As a church, we desire to obey Christ’s example and command to reach out.
Witnessing to the world is at the heart of what the Church is called to do, and we seek to be a church that is accessible to non-believers. And we stress the importance of individual witnessing in the world in the things we say and do.
Our core values are an expression of what we are and wish to become as a church. These values help to make decisions and intentionally guide and form our culture.
1. Biblical & Spirit-filled
We affirm that as a church, we must both be Bible-centred in teaching
and Spirit-filled in expression. We respect the truth and validity of
both traditions and insist that balance is required. With the Word alone,
but no Spirit you eventually dry up; with the Spirit alone, but no Word
you eventually blow up; but with a balance of the Word and the Spirit,
then you grow up.
2. Proactive & Prayerful
We affirm that as a church, we must both be proactive in serving God and
prayerful in seeking God. We must do all that is humanly possible to serve
and honour God, yet be mindful that only God alone is all-powerful. Commitment
to hard work and service is vital, but we recognise prayer is our most
important work.
3. Growing & Personal
We affirm that as a church, we must both be growing in numbers while remaining
deeply personal to each member. As the church grows through people coming
to know Christ, they need personal care in a loving church family. We
will not be limited by the size of our facilities in our vision for growth.
Nor will we set targets. But as we grow, we will remain committed to caring
for each person in a personal and connected way.
Every person matters to God, so as we grow in number, we must remain conscious
of the need for personal care of the individual.
4. Historical & Contemporary
We affirm that as a church, we must be aware of our historical past and
be relevant in the contemporary world. We need to focus on the present
yet recognise that the present is built on the past. We must look to the
past to remember all that God has done and meant to His people. But we
remember today is a new day, and that methods change. Furthermore, we
are reminded many errors of tomorrow can be avoided if we learn the lessons
from the past.
5. Local & Global
We affirm that as a church, we must be both locally sensitive and globally
aware. We desire to make a contribution both in the local and global context
recognising the value of serving those we live with, but also that our
call is to reach out beyond our borders. We aim to be a church that makes
sense of its Australian-Korean culture and context and contributes to
21st century multi-cultural Australia, yet also reaches out to make a
difference for God in other parts of the world.
6. Presbyterian & Open-Denominational
We affirm that as a church, we will deliberately have an open-denominational
feel, yet be grounded in the reformed Presbyterian understanding of church.
This allows us to have the stability and accountability of a denominational
structure, yet we aim to concentrate on all that unites Christians, rather
than focus on the minor differences that can be divisive. In this way,
we have accountability, stability, and responsibilities to other churches,
while giving us the freedom to have a ministry that reaches out to all
people.
7. 1st Generational & 2nd Generational
We affirm that as a church, we must maintain relational links between
generations. While as a 2nd Generation church we have autonomy in the
direction and the running of the church, we seek to maintain an inter-dependent
relationship with the 1st generation. Formally, this is achieved through
the partnership and ongoing communication between Living Hope Community
Church & Ggumi-In-Nun Church. Informally, it is encouraged through
relational accountability between individuals of both generations, be
that within the framework of the congregation or the family.
8. Korean & Multi-ethnic
We affirm that as a church, we welcome both ethnically Korean members,
as well as those of any other race who wish to be members. God’s
people are not limited by race, or colour. We believe God has uniquely
positioned and blessed us to be are source of encouragement and support
the people of God from other cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore,
we seek to develop and maintain relationships with churches of other ethnic
backgrounds for the building up of the church for the glory of God.