English as a Second Language
English as a Second Language has been one of our major outreach ministries for many years. We offer instruction at three levels and have 40 – 60 students in the summer term and 30 – 40 students in the fall and spring terms. The teachers are all volunteers from the church and the classes are free except for a book fee, yet students say we have one of the best programs in Boston. In addition there is a weekly Bible Discovery class for interested students.
Our ESL summer session concludes with a cookout for students and teachers. The students bond with their teachers and feel comfortable to ask spiritual questions and many return year after year.
If you would like to register for an ESL class, please call (781) 891-5328.
Pine Ridge Reservation
Each summer since 2013 we have sent a team of volunteers to serve for one week at the Čhaŋkú Wašté “Good Road” Ranch on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the Badlands of South Dakota. We assist at the Ranch and at Sharps Corner Church in their ministry to Native American children on the reservation. We do a wide variety of tasks from cleaning and repair work to helping organize outreach events. Not only are we performing a worthwhile service to a neglected people group, but we grow spiritually in the process.
Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. Churches, individuals, and organizations pack shoebox gifts with school supplies, small toys, and hygiene items. These gifts are delivered to children in need around the world to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way. Since 1993 they have delivered more than 157 million shoebox gifts in 160 countries. Outreach events by local churches include a gospel presentation and booklet, and children are invited to participate in The Greatest Journey, a 12-lesson discipleship program.
Besides filling shoeboxes ourselves, Hope International Church has been a shoebox drop-off location in the western Boston suburbs since 2013.
For more information about Operation Christmas Child visit their website.
World Missions
Hope International Church has sent many of its members into full-time cross-cultural missions over the years. We take the Great Commission very seriously and seek to be a part of this exciting call by raising up and sending missionaries from among us as well as supporting missionaries from other organizations and agencies.
Every year, we take the whole month of May to focus on missions and missionaries. We choose a different theme each year and learn more about how God is working in that aspect of missions. For example, one year we focused on the Muslim world while another year we learned about God’s work in cities. Each year we have one or more of our missionaries come to talk about their work and we have one or more outside speakers.
Short-term missions trips are a fantastic way to broaden your perspective on what God is doing in the world today. Many of our adults and youth have gone overseas short-term and have returned with a new appreciation for how God is working in the world.