The Meet Hope Podcast
The Meet Hope Podcast
118: You're Invited: What to Expect if you come to HOPE for the first time.
Thinking about coming to HOPE? Listen to this episode! We lay out everything you can expect as a new visitor. We also talk about how to start to get connected if you have been coming for a little while now and looking to take the next step!
Know a friend you'd love to invite? Send them this episode!
Notes & Resources:
- HOPE's Today Page: meethope.org/today
- Contact us! ashley@meethope.org, heather@meethope.org
Thanks for being a part of the HOPE community as we continue conversations about faith and hope! You can learn more at meethope.org or find us on socials @meethopechurch. Join in for worship on Sundays at meethope.online.church! Have a question? Contact us at podcast@meethope.org.
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Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have conversations about faith and hope. Hope is one church made of people living out their faith through two expressions in person and online. We believe a hybrid faith experience can lead to a growing influence in our community and our world for the sake of others. Welcome to Hope.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone, welcome to the Meet Hope podcast. My name is Ashley Black. I'm excited to be here with you today. Today, I am here with Pastor Heather Mandela. Hey, heather, hi Ashley, it's great to be here with you. It's been a little while.
Speaker 3:It has been. It's so good to be back. Welcome back. How are you doing? I'm doing well, thank you, yeah, excited to be back in the building on a regular basis after some surgery and looking forward to all that God has in store for the next season.
Speaker 2:So today's episode is for anyone who is new to Hope. So if you're listening, we particularly hope that you're listening because you are new here. So we wanted to say, first off, welcome to Hope, welcome. You're listening because you are new here, so we wanted to say, first off, welcome to Hope, welcome. So glad that you're listening and that you found us on the podcast. We do a podcast every week and there's lots of episodes and there's some that are more about faith and hard questions, and there are also some that help you get to know our staff, so I definitely recommend checking those out.
Speaker 3:So much fun.
Speaker 2:But we thought especially right after Easter, where you might've visited Hope that this would be a great episode to just give you some information of what to expect if you're new to Hope.
Speaker 3:So, heather, where do you think we should start? So I think and it's been so long since I was new to Hope, but I think, if I oh, let's start there.
Speaker 2:Wait, so, let's start there. So what's both of our roles and how long have you been here?
Speaker 3:So I am one of the pastors here at Hope. I focus primarily on supporting our family ministry programs and on our small group ministries, and I have been here for 20 years 20 years in January this past.
Speaker 2:January yeah, that's right, we celebrated that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it's been a while. Yeah, so it's it's been a while.
Speaker 2:Like it's been new. Um, so I have been here. I have been on staff since 2017, but I started my family started coming to Hope when I was in high school, so that would put me at almost 20 years also, um, in and out with college and everything, um. But I am the communications director here at Hope and so I any email or social media or our website or basically anywhere that someone who is new would go to learn about us. I oversee all of that and I also help a little bit with our online community and I who are the Ashley of all trades?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, I produce this podcast and I also oversee our lobby team, who might welcome you if you come for the first time.
Speaker 3:And what you may not know about Ashley is that she has a background in dance therapy and is an incredibly creative individual, and so we get to see her pour her talents into all different areas and it's it's really awesome to watch. Thank you, that's very kind.
Speaker 2:So if you are brand new, I thought we could do if you're brand new and you're logging in online and if you're brand new in person.
Speaker 2:So the first one is a little bit of a shorter, like trek Sure Right, because basically, if you are looking to check us out online, we stream our services live every Sunday at 9 and 10 30 am and you can go to meethopeonlinechurch and you will find our services there and you can even log in and use the chat to talk with other people, if that's something you want to do, or you can just stream it and watch it if that's something you want to do. You can also watch our messages on our YouTube page, which is youtubecom slash meethopechurch. And also, from time to time, we offer online small groups and you can find those at meethopeorg slash today, and so if you're someone who's solely online, those are all places that, if you're new, I would say to kind of get started.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and you won't be alone, right? We have between 50 and 60 percent of our population is online. They participate in an online manner, and we have people from all over the country who are participating online, so being online is a real and vibrant way to connect with our community.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have some really great volunteers who do the chat online every week. I get to be with them every couple of weeks and they're just so happy to welcome new people. So if you are online, I would recommend that you say hi in the chat, let people know you're new and ask questions. But what about if you come in the building and you're new, so being new in the building.
Speaker 3:And the reality is, these days we find most people who are walking in the building for the first time have first checked us out, right, whether it's they visited our website or they have watched on-demand services, things like that They've checked us out a little bit before they walk through those doors. But when you walk through those doors on a Sunday morning, let's just talk about what you're going to see. Yeah Right, so you're going to walk in and there's most likely going to be a number of people waiting to greet you and say hello in the morning right.
Speaker 3:Our lobby team is amazing.
Speaker 2:And from running out with umbrellas in the pouring rain to holding open doors and chatting. Whatever they can do, they're fantastic. You will likely encounter one to two men at the front door who that is their passion. That's what they do every Sunday. They hold the front door open and they're happy to greet you. And then in the lobby we have anywhere from four to six volunteers who stand and greet and stand at our info desk, and they're just always excited.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we always want to make sure that there are people accessible to you, whether you are new or whether you've been here forever, to answer any questions you may have and help you get connected. It will also not be unusual for you to see a lot of people milling around probably a ton of kids running up and down hallways as they wait for the family ministry.
Speaker 2:Some of them are probably mine.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, it was mine for years before that. So, uh, yeah, we feel that so definitely, lots of kiddos around, uh, lots of youth around, um, you're also going to see people who are very casual and comfortable, right. So you know, you're going to see people in jeans or in shorts. You're going to see people in dresses. You're going to see people in dress pants. It's really come as you are. Um, we believe that God just wants to meet you and he's much less concerned about what you're wearing.
Speaker 2:So, we also are not concerned. Yes, no, but I think people maybe sometimes worry about that. You're going to not only a new place but a church and that holds like certain like context within our culture and we really just want people to know that when you come here to just to come, how you're comfortable to wear what you would wear like anywhere else and be comfortable, and so that way you can be like I know, like for me.
Speaker 2:when I feel like I'm fully myself, like I'm wearing my clothes I like and I'm like doing the things I like to do, then it's easier for me to get to know people and have them get to know me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, one less barrier. Right, Like it just becomes yeah, we don't want you to be uncomfortable.
Speaker 3:And so we do a lot of things to make sure that you know you can be you here and um, and that's what we want and value. Um, it's also not unusual to see, uh, people in the worship space itself with their coffee from the morning. Um, it's not unusual to see our pastors with their coffee in the morning. It's not unusual to see our pastors with their coffee in the morning in the worship space. I always have coffee or a water bottle or something in my hand at all times, and so we have free coffee on our cafe counter, which when you walk in the front doors you literally will walk towards it.
Speaker 2:It will be facing you and our info desk will be on the left-hand side and the worship space will be right in front of you and our info desk will be on the left-hand side and the worship space will be right in front of you. So literally everywhere you would need to kind of get to is right in front of you on a Sunday morning.
Speaker 3:As soon as you walk in.
Speaker 2:Except if I was singing, except if you have kids, right. So if you're coming and you have, kids.
Speaker 3:what can I expect If you're coming and you have kids? The easiest thing to do would be to ask one of those lobby people who are hanging around right, because that's what they're there for and they're there to help you find stuff. And those lobby people, they love to bring new families back. It's like they are so excited when they get to bring new kids back to the kids wing.
Speaker 3:It's so exciting, so they will literally walk you back and introduce you to, most likely Casey Cornforth, who is our director of Hope Kids, and she makes that wing run so smoothly or one of her key volunteers who's back there. They'll introduce you. It's a really easy way to get connected for your kiddos. You'll find back there classes for kids ages three through fifth grade. We also have a middle school Sunday school that meets at the nine o'clock hour, and so there's places for the whole family and nursery care, and nursery care which is zero to three.
Speaker 3:Yep, Absolutely, and I would definitely encourage you. If you want to find out more about what we offer for kids, there are a ton of podcasts on it. There's also um. You can go to the website and check it out there as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was one thing I was going to mention. So if you have gone to a church before and you come to Hope, one thing you might be looking for is like a program to be handed to you. We actually don't do that here at Hope. We have moved towards being more digital and eco-friendly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of reasons and I'd be happy to talk to you about it, but so we don't have something like that that we hand out in the morning. Yeah, but the way that you would get all that information is you go to what we call the Today page. So the Today page is one page online that literally has a button for everything we could think of that you might need if you are new, or even if you've been coming and you're trying to find out what's going on, and so the link for that is meethopeorg slash today. And if you go there literally I just had it pulled up One of the first buttons says I'm new.
Speaker 2:Here you can see our worship info, which is the order of the service for the day, and then it goes into ways to get connected and all kinds of other things that we'll talk about in a second. But you can, like I said, you can get that by going to meethopeorg slash today. You can also, if you just want to put in meethopeorg, which is our main website, there is a big button there also so you can't miss it.
Speaker 2:And if you're sitting in the room, we have QR codes on the front of most chairs that will put you right there also, so we hope that it's very easy to find.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, we want to make everything as accessible as possible and, again, it's all about helping you feel comfortable in this space, and some of that is giving you the knowledge that you need, right, because it can be scary to walk into somewhere that you really don't know what to expect, and that, I think, is an extension, really, of who we are here at Hope. Here at Hope, we are a community of believers who want to be more like Jesus, which means we want to love people better, we want to walk with them through the hard times. We want to celebrate in the good times. You'll hear us talk a lot about being a disciple, right, and that is people who are in the process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others. That is who we are. We're not perfect, but we have a perfect God.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I would say like we're not perfect and we're also not looking to make you perfect when you come in the front door right.
Speaker 3:Because there's like that pressure, I think sometimes no, once you meet me, one of the first things you'll find out about me is I'm a hot mess most of the time, and that is okay. And it is okay for you to be a hot mess too. That's kind of where I live.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so let's continue the walkthrough. So if you were to come in person, so you've come in the front door, maybe you've dropped your kid off and then you head into our worship space.
Speaker 3:What can?
Speaker 2:you expect in a worship service.
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. When you walk into the worship space, you're going to sit where you feel comfortable, and there are lots of options. When you are in worship itself, you don't need to look for a hymnal, you don't need to look around for song sheets. It's going to be right up on the screen in front of you and you can participate at your comfort level, right? So if you love to sing and you want to stand and sing, that's great. If you want to stand and listen, that's great. If you want to sit and listen, that's great. There is no expectation.
Speaker 3:Our expectation is just that you are coming ready to figure out more about who this Jesus is and what he can mean to you, and that's what we try to do through worship, right, and we recognize that everyone in our congregation, in our community, is different, and so you will find any given Sunday. We have a team of pastors who preach, so you're going to hear different voices. You're going to hear voices from people of different ethnicities, different genders, different age brackets. We want people to understand that God's community does not look or sound one way. You're going to see the same thing in our worship bands, right? We're going to have a wide variety of people who are leading us in worship. We want that experience to be one that allows you to know God a little bit better and maybe in a slightly different way than you ever have before.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I love that, and I was thinking while you're talking that we do have a page that is our staff page, and so if you see somebody who's leading in the front on a Sunday morning and you are wanting to get to know them better, you can go there and you can learn more about them. But you can also reach out to them if you have a question for them. That's a great place to look.
Speaker 3:Those are my favorite emails. I won't lie they really are.
Speaker 2:Somebody who's?
Speaker 3:brand new, or who's been here a couple of times and is just trying to figure out how they can get closer to God and the community. Those are my favorite emails, so don't ever hesitate to send any of the staff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so how would you answer that email? If someone is reaching out to you and they've been coming a little bit now and they want to kind of slowly plug in, maybe get a little more connected, be a little more involved, what would you say is a good way to do that?
Speaker 3:That is a great question. I think one of the things that is both exciting and challenging is that we have a diverse population that attends a variety of different expressions, right? So we have people that come to the nine, people that come to the 1030, people who are online and people who switch between that very regularly.
Speaker 2:We have people that watch On Demand on Thursday right, yep, on Thursday exactly. All of those people are part of our community.
Speaker 3:Yep, they are all part of the Hope community, and so when you walk in the door, you are not immediately identified as a newbie, right? Nobody goes oh look, who's that new person over there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're not whispering like oh there's a new person.
Speaker 3:Did you see the new person? What are we gonna do? Like no, there's extent you can be anonymous for a while. However, we really want to help you be known, because we believe that God created us to be in community with one another and that we are better people when we are in community with each other, and that God moves through those relationships in ways that we don't see when we're in isolation, and so we really feel like it is important to find a comfortable way to connect, and that can feel scary and overwhelming, particularly if you're an introvert or if you have some church hurt in the past. It can be really scary to take that next step. And we get it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, one thing I love that we've just started doing in the past year is there's a monthly dinner we do now called third Tuesday.
Speaker 3:Love it.
Speaker 2:And I find it like very approachable for someone that's kind of maybe in that, that realm of like I'm more introverted or I've really. The last church we were at I didn't leave on great terms. I didn't love it and I'm, but I'm wanting to get connected somewhere.
Speaker 1:So third Tuesday happens the third Tuesday of every month and it's a dinner.
Speaker 2:It starts at five 30. It's a catered dinner and you can sign up on that today page and it's really easy. You just come and have dinner and there's lots of other people there and it's geared towards people who are new and looking to and looking to and looking to make new friends and so um, but also no one will come over and like no you're not going to get a thousand questions. That's not your vibe, um, so I would definitely suggest that somebody checks that out.
Speaker 3:That's a really great, easy way to kind of get your put your toe in the pool.
Speaker 1:So it's great.
Speaker 3:Just check the temperature, maybe get to know a few people by sight that you might see on a Sunday or that you'll see again on the next third Tuesday, things like that, and it can be. You know our schedules are busy and packed and so it can feel daunting sometimes to commit to anything huge, and we just want to encourage you that there are all different ways that you can connect Things like third Tuesday. You can join a small group, and we have small groups that are based on all different things, whether it is scripture or like you want to do a Bible study, or if you want to do a topic study, or if you want to talk about something that's struggling with you, right. So we have anxiety and faith groups. There's all different ways and you can find one that feels most natural to you.
Speaker 2:And we have groups that go like all year round, and then we have groups that are like six weeks short term commitments.
Speaker 3:And so you can find one that fits you, and we have groups that are in person and groups that are online and hybrid a little bit of both. So we do try again to offer a wide variety of things, because we know everyone is different and everyone's needs are a little bit different. But there's also other great ways to connect, like joining that fabulous lobby team, right?
Speaker 3:They're always happy to have people, absolutely, and they are amazing. And that is a once a month commitment and so you can do it without feeling like it's too overwhelming. There are all different ways. We also have a ton of events. So if you're not willing, if you're not ready for that once a month commitment, then maybe you just want to help in an event you know. You can help set up a breakdown for Good Friday, or you can help decorate for Vacation Bible School, or you can help with the Christmas tree light. There's tons of standalone events that just would require a couple hours here or there so that it's a less intimidating ask, but it's a great way to get to meet other people, yeah.
Speaker 2:I always find it's easier to get to know others when I'm new somewhere, when I'm doing something with my hands, like when I'm setting up a table or I'm putting coffee out or like it just makes conversation easier than when you're just like sitting across from someone waiting, yeah, trying to know what to say.
Speaker 2:Yes, so, yeah, I love all of those. And then I was thinking also, we know all of these things because, as you mentioned, like we've both been here for a really long time. Yeah, but my encouragement to anyone who is new is this idea of giving it.
Speaker 2:It can be, like you mentioned earlier, we have many people who, by the time I meet them, they've been coming like a month or two and they finally said hi, the place and how things work and you're asking questions and and I think it takes time before you can really settle into like, is this a fit for me and and how do I want to get more involved? And and I I just would say, make sure you've you've reached out and connected with some of the staff so we can, we can help with that and answer any questions. Or if you don't see something and you're wondering about it, like, yeah, let us know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and, and that's the thing too right, like you can serve at our food pantry. If you are someone who is passionate about helping out in the community, there are lots of different things and just having a conversation with someone can really open doors for you in terms of knowing what is available. I would also encourage you um, like you're not making a lifetime commitment to a group or a volunteer position or a service opportunity Like you are allowed. It's like trying on clothes You're allowed to try on different things within the church and figure out what fits and feels comfortable for you. That's all about, and that's.
Speaker 2:I always. I always try to answer those Like, if I have someone serving in the lobbying and then they tell me like this, it's just not for me or it's not working for me the way I thought it would, my instinct is never to be like okay, bye. Like my desire is to say okay, well, what are you really passionate?
Speaker 1:about.
Speaker 2:Like where, what, what would be the thing that you think would, would make you feel like excited and happy? And then let me connect you to that person. Who can, you know, help you serve in the food pantry, or help you serve on worship arts team, or you know, like I, I always find that, you know, the approach isn't like, okay, well, there's no space for you.
Speaker 3:It's well then where?
Speaker 2:where is the space for you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, yeah, and it was something you said earlier. That's key too in my mind Really not being afraid to ask and say do you have anything for where I'm passionate about, where I'm worried about? And because those conversations help us not only meet you where you are, but really, if you're thinking it, if you're feeling it, so are other people and we need to know it, and it may spur on a whole new area of ministry or it might blow wide open the doors of an existing ministry to expand the new ways. So don't ever be afraid to ask any of us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because, like we mentioned in the beginning, we try to do a very good job of making things accessible on our website and through our social media and with our podcast and in our worship services, which we try our best to think of every question someone might have and all the basic places you'd want to get plugged in. But, like we're also human and so I'm sure that we've missed things and so if you don't see it there, it's likely that it exists. It just has to point you in the right direction, tell you where it is. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it was one of the things that you said earlier in the beginning of this podcast too like we the accessibility. This is a great way to get an idea of what that first day looks like, but for those of you who've been around for a while, it's also something you could. You could send this to someone who's been looking for a church or who is not sure what that next step in their exploration of faith is, and it might be something that they're able to say well, heck, maybe I'll give them a call or I'll ask a question or I'll send an email or I'll watch online, because each and every one of us has that space in our life, that hole, where we feel like something needs to be filled right, and so often we chase it down and try to fill it with things that just aren't fulfilling, and and that's that is our God shaped hole right. That that is, that's what's missing, and so we just are. We want to help you know the way that God loves you and knows you and wants to walk with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I love that. I think that's so important and I just yeah, I hope anybody that's new that that's their biggest experience of coming here is you're welcome here and you're loved here, and we just want you to know that God loves you here and we want you to find a place where you can then you know, experience God in your conversations and in your actions and in the different things you do every day, Absolutely.
Speaker 3:So we will be keeping our eyes open for you, and we cannot wait to meet you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so if you want to reach out to either of us, my name is Ashley Black and my email is ashley at meethopeorg. And Heather is Heather.
Speaker 3:Mandela. My name is Heather Mandela and my email is heather at meet hopeorg and Heather is Heather. My name is Heather.
Speaker 2:Mandela and my email is Heather at meet hope Pretty much any of our staff. You can email us at our first name at meet hopeorg, and we would love to help you get connected. Like I mentioned, the podcast we put out every Monday so you can listen wherever you like to listen to podcasts, and you can check us out online. Meet hopeorg slash today is a great place to go, and you can check us out online. Meethopeorg slash today is a great place to go, and so, if you're new, thank you so much for listening. If you're a regular listener, thank you so much for listening. Pass this on to someone you know who's new and we look forward to being with you again next week. Thanks, heather, thank you, ashley.
Speaker 1:Thanks for being a part of the Hope Community as we continue our conversations about faith and hope. If you don't already, please join us for worship on Sundays or on demand. You can learn more at meethopeorg or find us on socials at Meet Hope Church.