An authentic taste of community

There is always some nerves and stress when you organise a big event such as our annual conference.

We had sold 330 tickets for Rooted: Homelessness Ends in Community and we had people travelling from all across the UK for our first ever conference outside of Peterborough.

But as a team we had prayed beforehand that the day would be hallmarked by authenticity. This is what we most wanted – not to host a glossy, slick or air-brushed event - but to be real and share honestly the joys and challenges of our work.

I was deeply blessed by the first person I spoke on the morning as I walked in. This was an ex-tenant who had faced a major health challenge recently which had triggered a return to active addiction. It was a serious situation and could easily have caused a return to homelessness. But what had helped him through this tough time? The friendship and support team from the church who he still connected with after moving on from our housing.  

It was the perfect example of how ‘homelessness ends in community’.

It was brilliant to have Krish Kandiah speak about the biblical roots of our work and how we can ‘overcome hostility with hospitality’. It was also wonderful to have our founders Ed and Rach Walker back to talk about their original vision and to encourage us to grow and develop further. And we had a host of brilliant seminar speakers too.

But as ever, the most powerful feedback we had related to what our tenants said, both from the main platform and in the tenant seminar. For example one delegate emailed me to say:

“It was such a brilliant day filled with the heart of God. I loved it from start to finish. I love what Hope into Action are doing. The model is visibly life-changing and we heard that through the many stories that came through. We always learn most from those we serve.”

It was great to launch our Impact Report and share the fact we housed over 500 tenants for the first time ever last year. But these statistics come alive when you hear the stories that lie behind them. And we have been overwhelmed with moving feedback about the power of what was shared by Susie, Jessica, Amanda, Zac, Simon, Jay and Gareth – and by so many others in incidental conversations. These stories are the key hallmark of the authenticity of what we do.

In our seminar on ‘Faith in Leadership ‘, Ed and I spoke about the need for ‘organisational humility’ as no one organisation can end homelessness alone – its always a collaborative effort.  And our conference was a reminder that Hope into Action is utterly dependent on others to create change: our supporters, investors and partner churches.  And all of this is built on mutual dependence on God.  These are the firm foundations on which everything is built.

And what makes our model special is that even when people move on from Hope into Action, they do not move on from the community they have become part of.  When troubles hit, as they inevitably will, it is the love of a church family that can make all the difference. This is how homelessness ends in community.

I hope you enjoy the Impact Report and we thank you sincerely for all your generous support.

Yours in Christ - and community.
Jon