OUR VISION
- That we may be an active part of the body of Christ working together in unity and outreach for our city of Hobart. Psalm 133:1 & 3
- A ministry where we freely talk about Jesus Christ and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord. Hebrews 3:13
- A ministry where Christians operate in their giftings, whether physical or spiritual, for the furthering of the Kingdom of God in Hobart.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
- A ministry that encourages prayer, outreach, evangelism, discipleship, equipping and training. Acts 2:42
- A ministry where we can use the creative arts as a means of expressing our walk and relationship with the Lord. Exodus 35:30-35
- A ministry that reaches the lost, lonely, sick, hurting and broken; that they might be shown the love of God, and told about Jesus and His amazing provision on the cross for their sins to be washed away in His blood and their sicknesses to be healed by His wounds. Isaiah 61:1-3, Isaiah 53:5, James 1:27
- That we might be a living example to the world through our walk of faith, as we bear witness to God's amazing grace and power at work in our lives, showing how He provides for His children more than we can ask or imagine. Hebrews 11:1&6, Ephesians 3:20, Philippians 4:19
STATEMENT OF FAITH
- We believe there is one eternal God who is the creator of all things. He eternally exists as three Persons- God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:1, 1 John 5:7
- We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We believe in His virgin birth by the Holy Spirit, His sinless life, His atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to sit in victory at the right hand of the Father and His coming return. Luke 1:35, Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Peter 1:18-21, John 14:1-3, Ephesians 1:20
- We believe in the Person and work of the Holy Spirit with His fruit and gifts available to all Christians. Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
- We believe the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God. It is authoritative and is the foundation for our every day lives. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
- We believe in the existence of the devil, who is the enemy to all Christians. 1 Peter 5:8
- We believe in the spiritually lost condition of all people as our sin has separated each of us from God; and the essential need for repentance and forgiveness of sins and belief, through faith, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our eternal destination of either heaven or hell is determined by this response. Romans 3:21-26, Acts 2:38
- We believe that God's Kingdom is established in the lives of His people. He has individually equipped us so that we can successfully achieve His purpose for our lives, which is to worship and love God, serve Him in the community in which we live and fulfil our role in the body of Christ. John 4:23-24, Galatians 5:13, 1 Corinthians 12:27
- We believe that as Christians we have direct access to God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:18
OUR STORY
"But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness
and all these things shall be added unto you."
Matthew 6:33
In July 2010 my daughter Joanne and I were praying together and she had a vision. She described to me what she saw: a city with a white love heart painted around it and the hand of Jesus holding the paint brush t. I put paint to paper that day and painted the vision with Hobart as the city. Little did we know at the time, that the vision and the painting would be a forerunner to the ministry of Love Hobart.
In Aug 2010, I started going on weekly prayer walks around the Hobart CBD with Joanne or a friend. We prayed many things for our beautiful city of Hobart, with one of the significant things being revelation of God's strategy for reaching the people of Hobart with the good news of Jesus.
January 2011 was a time of fasting, praying, waiting and listening.It didn't look like anything was going to happen, but then bit by bit in early February, pieces of the puzzle started falling into place. I heard of MONA, a museum that had started up which blatantly mocks Christianity and the Lord Jesus. I also saw other religions becoming more prominent in Hobart and little by little the inspiration came for a cafe to be established in the Hobart CBD: a place where people in the community could come to find out about Christianity.
Long story short: we designed some flyers and sent them out to Christians we knew, we registered the business name 'Love Hobart'. We started having monthly prayer meetings, wrote a constitution, registered as an incorporated association & regularly met together with interested Christians to plan, pray and discuss the' Love Hobart' vision. By the end of the year we leased the Odeon for Love Hobart and we opened the Rock Cafe… and we have many stories of sharing the Gospel with many people.
Subsequently the Odeon was leased by (surprise, surprise) MONA, so our lease was terminated and then… the vision for Love Hobart took on another direction. I sensed the Holy Spirit say ‘Do you want the building or the city?’ I replied, ‘We’ll take the city!’ So from that time on we have been very focused on street work. From the street work came the Youth night and the church started while we were still in the Odeon. We know the Lord desires to see salvations, healing, deliverance and freedom from bondage in our city and it is exciting to see this begin to happen. It’s also very encouraging to see others join us who have a vision for reaching the lost in Hobart. Many are sharing the Gospel in their work places, with their families and friends, or wherever they go. May we see the Kingdom of God come to Hobart.
Helen Devenish
