The Bible defines church as the people who had been called out by God and gathers to honor Him. It is never the building or the place. With gratitude and praise to the Lord for His faithfulness, WIN Norway celebrated the families and individuals who are and had been part of the WIN Norway story for the last 8 years.
We remembered our planning session before 2019 ended – we had a lot of plans for the year! The biggest project was a mission trip to Athens, to support WIN Greece, in their refugee and homeless ministry. There was also the Youth and YA retreat, a special anniversary celebration and many more. Needless to say, none of these plans happened. 2020, without a doubt, had been a very special and unforgettable year for the whole world. The pandemic started around February and from then on it felt like the world had to stop. Travelling was banned, economies fell, people lost jobs, businesses closed, and most painful, lives were lost, humanity lived in fear. HOPE is very much needed.
With limitations on physical gatherings, organisations including the church, relied heavily upon on line platforms to reach out to their people, members, employees and even families. It has, in many ways, became a blessing. Sunday gatherings broke physical boundaries; the church was able to reach out to members who had moved out of Norway; our pastors from different countries were able to minister to us. On the other hand, we cannot deny that we are designed for fellowship. We still long for physical connection and human contact.
Many people were feeling isolated and lonely, some feel depressed, worried for their lives and their loved ones, some struggle financially with the loss of jobs. What can we do as a church, as a community of followers of Christ? Who can we turn to? … This is one of those times when our faith are tested but the word of God never fails to bring hope because our God is the source of hope. Because of that, the church, you and me, we can be a channel of hope… we can overflow with hope.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
WIN Norway’s 8th year anniversary theme – OVERFLOW WITH HOPE
Celebrating the families and individuals who are part of the WIN Norway story.
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