The Three Great Purposes of New Hope Church

At New Hope Presbyterian Church we believe that God has called our congregation into being for three great purposes. These three purposes provide the yard stick by which we measure all proposed activities and evaluate all events that we carry out. Of each activity we must ask:

Is this honoring God ?

Is this helping to make followers of Jesus?

Will this be a blessing to the community?

SO HERE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY FULFILLING THESE THREE GREAT GOD GIVEN PURPOSES.

HONORING AND WORSHIPING GOD

At New Hope Presbyterian Church our #1 purpose for existence is to "Honor and To Worship God". Every effort is made to provide those who attend worship at New Hope Church with sermons that are biblically based, interesting, and applicable to everyday life. The services are designed to provide those who attend with rich spiritual food that will nourish their lives and enable them to live as faithful followers of Jesus in their day to day living. Worship services begin at 10:30 AM each Sunday morning.

MAKING & NOURISHING FOLLOWERS OF JESUS

A second great God given purpose which New Hope Church pursues is "Making and Nourishing Followers of Jesus". This involves engaging each person's head and each person's heart as we learn about and as we grow in our love for Jesus. We provide opportunities for children, youth, and adults to learn the teaching of Jesus and to understand the story of God's people as it is contained in the pages of the Bible. Through out the year we provide opportunities for children youth and adults to be involved in the life and ministry of New Hope Church and to build lasting relationships with each other. In addition we encourage and we serve as a reminder of the importance of regular personal prayer and bible reading as the building blocks essential for a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

BEING A BLESSING TO THE COMMUNITY

We believe that God has placed New Hope Church where it is so that it can be a blessing to the community. For decades New Hope has reached out in word and deed to the community. It has attempted to show the love of God by making the facilities, with which it has been blessed available to help fulfill some of the needs in the area. In addition we have given financially to many worthy area causes. Three major ongoing commitments include: Norwin Area Meals On Wheels, Norwin Community Athletic Association, and several Brownie and Girl Scout Troops. In addition we have given from our mission budget to nine other worthy community and/or denominational agencies.

NORWIN AREA MEALS ON WHEELS; For more than 10 years The Norwin Area Meals on Wheels has used the church kitchen five days a week, 52 weeks a year to prepare nutritious meals (at a current cost of $5.50 per day) for delivery to shut ins. From January 2018 to September of 2018 Meals On Wheels has distributed over 12,000 meals to area shut ins, primarily through the work of 130 volunteers. Not only do these volunteers provide a nourishing meal, they are for some of the clients the only human contact that they will have during that day. It is a wonderful organization with which New Hope Church is proud to be associated. If you would like to volunteer to help this organization or if you are interested in these services you can call Jean at 724-861-9002 Monday through Friday. This is one way that New Hope Church works to be a blessing to the community.

NORWIN COMMUNITY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION This past year New Hope Church has teamed up with the Norwin Little League Association to build a new baseball field on a significant portion of the church property. What was previously a field of weeds is now a beautiful baseball field that provided recreation to the children and youth in the area from spring through fall. The church leased this unused portion of its property to the Little League at a cost of $1.00 per year for five years and the Little League invested several thousand dollars in the construction of this beautiful facility. We pray that this field and the opportunities that it will provide for healthy recreation will be a blessing for years to come.

BROWNIE AND GIRL SCOUT TROOPS New Hope Church has several Brownie and Girl Scout Troops that meet at the church on a regular basis. The Brownie and Girl Scout organizations provide wonderful opportunities for learning positive values and some basic life and interpersonal skills for girls 7 to 18. We pray that the use of the church facilities by these girls and their leaders is a positive blessing to the community.

ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT In addition to the three major projects mentioned above, New Hope Church has financially supported the following community service groups and agencies during the year 2018.

Salvation Army
Castle Keep
Presbyterian Disaster Relief Services
Red Cross Disaster Relief
Wreaths Across America
Westmoreland County Food Bank
The Blackburn Women and Children's Shelter
Rescue 8 Ambulance Service
The Circleville Volunteer Fire Department