2025 | A year in the life of Hope Church

A year of faith, fruitfulness, and gratitude

As we look back on 2025, there is so much to thank God for. It has been a year marked by faithfulness, growth, joy, generosity, and deepened discipleship. Not everything can be captured in a single post, but here are some of the moments and milestones that help tell the story of what God has been doing among us at Hope Church.

Rooted in God’s Word

We began the year by stepping back and taking in the big picture of the Bible, reminding ourselves of the grand story of God’s redemption. Alongside that, we completed a 32-week journey through the Gospel of John, lingering over the life, words, and glory of Jesus.

Later in the year, we worked our way through Colossians, discovering afresh how Christ in you truly does make the difference in every area of life.

Prayer, Testimony, and the Work of God

We set aside two weeks of prayer and fasting, drawing near to God together and seeking Him intentionally as a church. We also heard powerful testimonies, including Guen’s story of how Compassion released her from poverty in Jesus’ name during our Hope Works series in the summer.

It was great to hear about multiple healings taking place in 2025 at our recent Testimony Sunday too. Praise God 🙌

Speakers, Partnerships, and Generosity

We were blessed by a wide range of guest speakers this year—from Vinu Paul who leads Commission, to Mark Landreth-Smith who oversee's Hope Church, to local church leaders like Phil (Dorking), Joe (Chichester), Segun (Epsom), and Charles (Surbiton). Each one served us faithfully and pointed us to Christ.

In November, Tim Blaber from Winchester joined us, and together we raised over £12,000 to support the mission of Commission in church planting, developing leaders, and serving the poor. We also reached a significant milestone of individuals sponsoring 50 children through our partnership with Compassion.

Life Together as a Church

Church life is about so much more than Sundays. This year included:

• Youth bowling trips

• Parenting workshops

• The launch of 1–1 discipleship pairs

• Successful runs of Alpha, Freedom in Christ, the Marriage Course, and the newly launched Securely Single course

• Plus Two Leadership Training Courses to support and equip our leaders

  
  

We also celebrated our first-ever Hope Fest—three days spent dwelling on the work of the Holy Spirit,

worshipping, learning, and having a lot of fun together.

Click the image for details about Hope Fest 2026!

Growth and Numbers (Because they represent people)

We’re grateful for the tangible signs of growth God has given us:

• 78 people began attending Hope Church regularly and joined ChurchSuite

• 28 people joined a Life Group

• 67 people joined a serving team

• 24 people became members of Hope Church

• 7 people were baptised at the school

• 48 people attended safeguarding training

• Sunday attendance grew by 12%

• Around 50 Bibles were given away

  
  

At Christmas, our Carol service was our biggest ever, welcoming many from our local community and seeing 14 people respond to the gospel—a moment of real joy and hope.

Serving, Leadership, and Team

We strengthened our staff team this year, with Stuart increasing to four days, and Michelle and Matt joining to support media and finances. Glenn joined the board of trustees, alongside Matt, Ed, Julia, Stuart, and Andy.

Behind the scenes, Rachel has continued to do an outstanding job on the operations front, supported brilliantly by Jo W as a volunteer. And across the whole church, countless volunteers have faithfully served—making it possible for all our usual rhythms to continue: Hope Tots, Life Groups, youth, students, Sundays, worship nights, safeguarding training, men’s and women’s ministry, pottery painting mornings, quiz nights, and so much more.

We’re deeply thankful for the unity between the Elders—something that should never be taken for granted—and for the wider leadership team who serve with humility and faith.

Beyond Hope Church

We continued to support Paul and Jo in the Middle East, with Stuart and Jean visiting to encourage and strengthen them. It was also a joy to receive them with us at Hope Fest and during the summer. Our elders and staff attended the Commission Leadership Conference, and Malcolm and Chris have had a fruitful year serving and supporting other churches in the hub and beyond.

Personal Reflection

On a personal note, I was grateful for the gift of a three-month sabbatical, which proved refreshing and renewing, and I returned encouraged by all that God continues to do in and through this church.

Thank You

None of this happens without God’s grace and the faithful service of His people. Thank you to every volunteer, leader, giver, prayer, and servant-hearted member of Hope Church. It truly is a joy to serve Jesus together.

As we look ahead to celebrating our 20 year birthday in July, we do so with gratitude for the past, faith for the future, and confidence that He who began a good work among us will carry it on to completion.

We meet each week at the Royal Grammar School (High Street, Guildford, GU3 1BB) on Sundays at 10am. We'll be going through the book of Isaiah, and you can catchup on the series intro, and subsequent talks on our youtube channel.