Hope for the Future Ministries has seen so many people saved that they have lost
count!
It is no longer an event, it is expected.
Pastor Diane Dunne estimates that since 1987 there are many hundreds saved, but she would not be surprised if the figure was in the thousands.
Why do Hope for the Future Ministries see so many people saved?
The answer is simple, if you show people that God loves them in a practical way, they are
more likely to believe you when you say that God loves them enough to die for their
them.
The phrase holistic care is so often used, meaning to look after the whole person. Hope for the Future Ministries believes in looking after the whole person. As well as looking after the physical needs of the people they support, the ministry offers Jesus as an answer to spiritual needs. The important part of the work is not to force people to come to Jesus, but to make it clear that Jesus loves and cares for them so much that he chose to die for them, and giving them opportunities to accept Jesus as their saviour at a time when they are ready.
When a person is saved they are suppoprted by the ministry with Bibles, and teaching them the basics of christianity as needed. This helps them understand the decision they have made. Part of the teaching includes baptism, so many of the people who have been saved in the ministry outreach decide they want to be baptised.
As the church part of the ministry is the church without walls, it follows that it is also the church without baptistry. This causes a problem when it comes to baptising new believers, but Pastor Diane Dunne with her usual ingenuity has come up with many ways to baptise people, whether it is natural or borrowed from a church supporting the ministry:
- Borrowed church buildings.
- The sea.
- Kiddie pools.