It was 8 am last Saturday morning, and the crowd was gathering. It was moving day at the Swann home and our Hope family was coming out. Shortly there were men and women everywhere, moving and cleaning and blessing us in every way. By noon the work was done, with the world’s greatest moving force having given us a gift we can never repay.

But the sweetest time came just after lunch, when our Hope family spent time prayer-walking over our new property. There we were, just a stone’s throw away from our Hope target area of 290 and the Beltway, and the place was getting covered in prayer. My family has felt profoundly loved and cared for throughout this journey with Hope, and I’m not sure we felt it any more than in that moment. We were absolutely blown away.

What it has stirred in me is a deep sense of gratitude, for what we have is a precious gift. Our community is special, and striking. It’s evident on Sunday, and during the week – and noted by guests and regulars alike. We are a blessed people.

Yet the greatest quality of our community is that it’s community with a purpose. It’s Kingdom-advancing community. We are those who are called to come together with intentionality. We love each other, care for each other, and support each other, all that the gospel might go out from us with more fervor, strategy, and heart. We are in this together with purpose.

The early church modeled much of this. Their community was absolutely intentional, incredibly deep, and strikingly sacrificial. And their community changed the world.

So there’s much to celebrate, and much in which to rejoice. We are indeed a blessed people. Words cannot describe what our Hope community means to me and my family.

Yet even as we celebrate, we strive to go even further… to give more to each other, to love more courageously, and to share more openly. May He well this up in us, taking us to new places together, and powerfully advance His Kingdom for the glory of His great name.