The Story Behind "Find Hope, Be Hope"

10 November 2017

FIND HOPE, BE HOPE

Apparently the first words a person reads on your website are vital to them staying and looking around. If people see themselves in those words then they are more likely to stay, otherwise our short 8 second attention spans have moved on. The problem for the Salvos is how do we capture the various people that come to us in one short phrase?

The Salvation Army is different things to different people. We are a church and a charity, a place where people go for help and to help. So I sat there, eating the peanut M&Ms I got for my birthday, musing over how I could in a simple phrase include the variety of people and circumstances that are likely to come to our website.

I toyed with these varied aspects for a while trying to find the common space. 

WE ARE A CHURCH

The Salvos are a church in the Shire, this is the foundation we do everything else from. We have two Sunday gatherings at Menai and Miranda and various other church programs where people connected are looking for spiritual guidance and church info. So we need to consider that.

WE ARE A CHARITY

Probably the element we are best known for is our charity. We have people coming to us who are in desperate need (homeless, financial hardship, escaping domestic violence, addiction, etc.) and are looking to find the help we offer. We need to have a place for them.

WE PROVIDE COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES

We also have people who are looking for ways to donate their money or their time for volunteering... so people wanting to help others. People want to connect with us in this way and we need to make that easy for them also.

So after a little while, with much mental deliberation I finally discovered the phrase FIND HOPE, BE HOPE. This seemed to encapsulate the variety of ways that people engage with us and says to them all, you are welcome here - there is a place for you with us. 

FIND HOPE

People come to us suffering from difficulty, hardship and injustice and in seemingly hopeless situations. The struggles people face can be physical, emotional or spiritual. Yet we endeavour to be people who provide hope to these people. To lift those up in times of difficulty to a better plan and a better path.

We also believe Jesus is the hope of the world. As we are on a journey of discovery we want to be people who pursue Jesus and discover the hope found in him. We also pray that through encountering Shire Salvos that people will find the amazing hope that is found in Jesus . 

BE HOPE

There are many kind and generous people who want to help those who are in times of hardship. People recognise that others find themselves in hopeless situations and long to be able to do something to bring hope to them, whether that is sorting clothes at our shop, collecting money, administering welfare and more. We have a variety of volunteering opportunities or opportunities to donate. 

Lastly, Jesus calls us as Christians to reflect him and to be like him, so as he is hope he calls us to be hope in a world that is facing hopelessness. The call to live lives that make the world brighter. 

So whether you come to us for help, to help or to be part of our church we pray that you will indeed find yourself in one or maybe both of these statements. Will you join us to find hope and be hope to the Shire and to the world?

In what way can you be hope in this world?

by PETER GOTT