I first got to know about Hope Now 20 years ago in Bishopsgate. Working in a nearby office building, I would go to their Tuesday lunchtime church services. From time to time, guest preachers would visit - one of these was Vic Jackopson, a good friend of the minister, Dick Lucas. I remember Vic explaining about Hope Now’s work and I was immediately attracted by the mix of evangelism coupled with practical care embodied by his ministry. Up until that point I had felt that Christian charities were either all about Gospel proclamation or social welfare - but never both together!
I started getting involved with Hope Now, but really just as a financial supporter. Towards the end of the 90’s Vic found out that I knew something about computers and thus a friendship started.
Vic came to my local church on a couple of occasions: I remember both very clearly. On the one (at an evangelistic meal), Vic gave some of his testimony and explained how he had been in a near-catastrophic plane incident and yet he hadn’t been afraid of potentially dying. And I thought: Wow, Lord! I want faith like that! On another occasion, he came to speak at the main Sunday service. He had not realised beforehand just how many young children would be in the service, so he completely changed his message at the last moment and preached in a way that not only made a serious point for the adults but equally had the children enthralled. And I thought: Wow, Lord! I want to communicate the Gospel like that!
Then in 1999, Vic asked me whether I would consider joining the board. Now I’d done stints on my church council and, frankly, committees never really excited me, but I really sensed that God might have a purpose in me taking this on. It was quite challenging to understand all the various projects that Hope Now was involved in and Vic said I really must join him on one of his frequent trips to Cherkassy.
This was a bigger deal for me than it seems, because I actually hadn’t flown for 15 years as I had become absolutely terrified of flying. But then I thought: well, if God has a purpose in all this, I’ve just got to get on with it! It didn’t help that the day we were travelling, there was a massive accident on the motorway near Gatwick and I was the only one of the team to make the flight!
But the next three weeks opened my eyes to Gospel work as I toured orphanages and cottage homes with Vic, seeing especially the eagerness with which the Gospel was received and how Hope Now funds were transforming conditions for those forgotten by Ukrainian society. I could not get my head around the generosity of the people who, though they had so little, were happy to give away what they had to me who had plenty. It was a great privilege to get to know people like Misha & Leyna and David & Katya (who also started out with Hope Now and now run their own missionary group in Cherkassy).
In April 2001, the board of directors travelled to Cape Town, SA for Colin Garnett’s wedding to Deanna. It was during this trip that we again had the opportunity to see first-hand some of the projects Hope Now was supporting. One of which was the ministry at Pollsmoor prison. Sensing the real spiritual hunger in that place and the openness to the Gospel, it was only 6 months later that I gave up my city job and followed God’s call for myself to Cape Town. If it hadn’t been for Vic and Hope Now, I guess I would have never thought about short-term mission let alone caught the bug for myself or ended up sharing the Gospel myself in prisons on the other side of the world. During the next 8 years I would have a number of visits from friends made through Hope Now. Aileen Callendar was amazing. Bob McCloud visited - and I guess he is, in many ways, the inspiration for what we have now in the “Good Pasture” project for ex-prisoners. David Bute sent out a team of 8 for Mission Impossible! Not so impossible as it seems - we’ve had more repeat visits from Ukrainian friends for prison ministry than from anywhere else in the world to date!
About 2 years ago I started thinking about doing some further Biblical studies. I ended up coming back to London, to do the Cornhill Training course which is focussed on teaching and preaching the Bible. Ironically, Cornhill was started by Dick Lucas and David Jackman (who was the minister at Vic & Sue’s church at Above Bar).
I’m feeling like I’ve come full circle. I thank the Lord that He used Vic and Hope Now as the vehicle to fire my own passion for mission. Along the way I have met some incredible people, some very special people. Thank you Vic & Sue for all your support and encouragement. It’s been an amazing journey.
