From full to FULLER HOUSE!

Last Sunday night at Hope HQ a realization hit me. It was sad, scary and exciting all at the same time. As I stared around the living room I counted 35 men! Can you imagine 35 men in your living room? It was crazy. The A/C could barely keep up, we didn’t have enough chairs and some of the men had to sit in other rooms and listen very intently just to hear what was going on.

It was in this moment that the realization hit me. “We’ve outgrown this house…”

It was sad. We began this wonderful journey at Hope HQ with just 5 guys around a table. A year later it was 12, then 18, then we had to move to the living room for meetings and now we’ve double again!

It was scary. As much as I love to see all these new faces and watch them as they begin to change their lives. It’s a scary thought to think about keeping our culture, processes and success rate the same as the group grows. Can we do it? Can I lead it? Will God provide?

It was exciting. Our meeting this week went on for close to two hours! WHY? Because we had so many positive reports from all the different houses. Resident after resident raised their hand to brag on someone in their respective home. This is exciting! New men are catching the vision, lives are changing and we are busting at the seams.

The next night as I was driving and pondering this terrific problem, it hit me.  It’s time to find our own meeting space…  We can’t continue to pack into this living room and maintain a healthy environment for learning while continuing to keep up with the demand. We need room to grow!

But how?

The very next morning as I opened my bible to the next chapter in my reading plan I landed on Luke 11. Here’s what it says:

^5-6 Jesus says… “Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don’t have a thing on hand.’
⁷ “The friend answers from his bed, ‘Don’t bother me. The door’s locked; my children are all down for the night; I can’t get up to give you anything.’
⁸ “But let me tell you, even if he won’t get up because he’s a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he’ll finally get up and get you whatever you need.
⁹ “Here’s what I’m saying:
Ask and you’ll get;
Seek and you’ll find;
Knock and the door will open.
Luke 11:5-9

It’s clear. God has spoken to me. We need room to grow. But I am not sure how this can happen. We probably need some type of warehouse space or room. It would be great if it could be a place we call our own. A place we could open to our residents throughout the day and use for meetings at night. We might be able to afford it, I’m not sure. I guess I really don’t know exactly what the next steps are. But I believe God has worked the occasions of this week together and prompted me to write this email because maybe one of you does know the next steps.

Maybe you have a space
Maybe you know of a space
Maybe you could help us find one
Maybe you can purchase one

I am praying that by asking, God will open a door. I know this for sure, it’s time to move forward. More lives must be impacted and I’m not about to stop that from happening.

Can you help?

Call me if you can, 405.996.8862.

With Hope,
Lance