Bridge House is the home or our local community effort to help people get out of homelessness and get resources to stay out of homelessness and feed anyone who needs it. Many in poverty are served by this non-governmental organization. This print includes their symbol repeated and assembled. – CU Student in Studio Art, Amy Chu

On December 7, 2011, our own Amy Chu was featured at the Poverty Awareness Show! The show was held at University Memorial Center and the University of Colorado at Boulder and Amy’s art was on display.

Below are the pieces that Amy shared.

Congratulations Amy – we are so proud of you!

According to Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson’s research, eighty to ninety percent of North American churches are declining. There are many reasons for how churches get stuck in plateau and decline, and Ed and Mike list them in what they call the “Dirty Baker’s Dozen.” These include for example, churches that are stuck in a time warp, that function merely as an institution, or that feel they can’t compete with the megachurches around them and therefore have given up trying.

Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too did a study on over 300 churches that experienced a significant turnaround following years of decline or plateau. This book notes several common denominators that were identified to make it possible for these churches to turn around, and Ed and Mike guide churches back to the basics, to the foundation of our beliefs and an emphasis on spirituality and prayer. Real stories of real churches that followed these principles are woven throughout the book.

Strong leaders who are secure in sharing the ministry and who have an accurate assessment of the culture around them are essential ingredients to the comeback church. Renewed belief in Jesus, servanthood, and strategic prayer are three “faith factors that help a church regain a missional focus.” Finally, worship, evangelism, and connecting people matter, they are contributing factors to positive change and growth.

Comeback Churches offers hope and real, tangible solutions for how stagnant and declining churches can comeback in an age and culture where the winds of change seem to be snuffing them out. It is a wonderful blending of practical advice, common sense, statistical research, and professional experience. I not only recommend this book to anyone whose church is in need of resuscitation and revitalization, but to all churches and leaders as well, that we may retain the essence of vibrant faith communities.

Much like the changing of the leaves and the settling into a new year at school, so too are we are in a season of new life. As a church our spiritual foundation is solid, but we are working on updating a few things around the community.

First and most obvious is our new website! We decided to go with a simple design to place emphasis upon what matters most – our community. Over the coming weeks we will be adding some new features such as the ability to give online and download sermons to iTunes. If there is anything that you would like to see, please let us know by sending a message to info@hopeboulder.org.

We are also working on updating the Hope campus. A new sanctuary and fellowship are being constructed and the beloved Old School is being restored to its former glory. What is most exciting is that all of these facilities will be available for the public to use!

If you are new to Hope Boulder then let us help you get connected by learning more about Hope Boulder.

If you are already a part of the Hope community and would like to get involved, then reach out to one of our leaders. Everyone has gifts from God and we want to help you apply them.