STC Update: Transitions
What were you doing in 1997? I am guessing you had a better year than we just did in 2020. Back in 1997, I said yes to the question, “Would you go to Liberia with us in April?” Saying yes changed my life.
Ever since then I have been leading mission teams to Liberia and India. At the same time, I was helping raise my family, running a business and directing operations for Serve the Children. After over 20 years, it is time for a transition. Our STC Program Manager Angela and I have been meeting regularly, preparing for this transition. She has been taking over more responsibilities and is now our new Executive Director. She is passionate and experienced, and along with our great board and staff, she will take Serve the Children to the next level.
My focus will now be mission teams. What does this look like? I will help organize and handle the logistics of a mission team and will lead some of the teams. I certainly missed going on mission trips in 2020! There is nothing like seeing how God is changing lives through the people of STC, and nothing like the changes that happen in our own lives. In 2021, we might have a team going to Zambia in October. We hope to have teams going to Zambia, India and Liberia in 2022.
I am very grateful for your continued support for STC and look forward to many more years of helping give children hope and a future through STC. Please welcome Angela to her new role.
Doug Collier
Hi Everyone,
I am very excited about the direction Serve the Children is heading and passionate about our mission to provide education to underserved children across the world. For the last 5 years I have been learning all the different roles within Serve the Children. I had a front row view of the needs of the families we serve when I was in Zambia and India in 2019. I am also excited to take on this new role as Executive Director and to continue being a part of an amazing team of people to help the children we serve fulfill their dreams.
I am a mom of 3 school aged children here in the US. My children have many opportunities and I want them to dream big. I will do anything I can to help them learn and grow as young people to fulfill those dreams. Being the mom of these 3 amazing children, having over 15 years of non-profit experience and over 20 years of working with young people helping them pursue education, and being a first-generation college graduate myself have all given me a passion to help educate others. Education is a powerful tool but when you combine it with knowing that Jesus loves you and that you are not forgotten, you receive hope and a future that is eternal. My heart is for the broken ones and the poor and hungry who have no access to education, and I feel called to help these children experience that hope and future.
Serve the Children is moving to a project-based approach and we are working on some great projects with our country partners. For example, in Zambia our pig project will provide sustainability, food security, life skills training and job creation. We are also setting up a Rachel Plus program with tablets and laptops in Zambia. This is essentially internet access through a computer based educational program with a faux-internet server loaded with information in the selected language. Our staff, children and parents will all benefit from internet access since it is typically spotty, nonexistent or unaffordable in this area. We also plan to expand this to program to Liberia and India. If you have any questions about these projects or any other questions, please feel free to email me at angela@servethechildren.com.
Also, if you would like to partner with us on any of our current projects, you can easily do this on our project page or mail a check to the address below.
I am so thankful for all of our donors and prayer support!
Angela McGovern
Country Updates
Zambia
Pure Nard Preschool
The school year in Zambia started late on February 1st instead of January 4th because of a rise in COVID 19 cases. However, school has been going very well so far.
What’s new?
- Increased number of students since 2020
- Added second baby class for a total of 4 classes: 2 baby, 1 middle, 1 reception (kindergarten)
- We thank God that Reception teacher Felistus and her new baby Evalyn are doing great!
- We met with parents to encourage them to continue being active participants in the school activities to continue promoting quality education.
Sustainable Pig Farming Project
Progress is happening! Pure Nard Ministries plans to complete the first half of the pig pen very soon. Then they will start adding pigs to the pen while finishing construction.
Why pig farming?
- Provide sustainability, food security and life skills training
- Provide job training in livestock husbandry skills for Teen Challenge participants
- Provide several jobs for people in the community
This self-sustainability approach to ministry has a long-lasting impact and will continue to give those we serve in Zambia opportunities for income generation to fund ministry operations and development.
Prayer Requests
Pray for this year’s new staff and students as they transition, for Felistus and her new baby, the sustainability pig farming project and for the health of all the staff, students, and the young men in Teen Challenge.
Liberia
Action Faith Institute
AFI is grateful to God for the support from STC! The entire school was out of water recently and water had to be fetched outside of the school grounds, holding up the school schedule. STC’s donation helped AFI purchase a hand pump for water, as well as COVID supplies such as water barrels, sanitizer, soap, and masks.
Romeo’s Success Story, by an AFI Staff Member
Romeo Ballah is a 10-year-old 4th grader with a unique servant heart. He lives right beside the school in an unfinished building with his unemployed father. Romeo comes on campus often to help clean up the school in appreciation of his sponsorship from Serve the Children. Romeo does this voluntarily, which means a lot to us because it fulfills the motto of the school, “Learn to Serve” and speaks volumes about a grateful heart. We believe Romeo will be a great leader with a servant heart.
Prayer Requests
For the growth of the computer lab, for sponsors for many other students in need of sponsorship, and for all of the students’ and staff members’ health.
India
The Lasina School and Emmanuel Education Center
Despite pandemic challenges, the staff in India have continued to persevere by the Lord’s grace. The school in Lasina is still closed, but the teachers travel to the students’ homes to teach them and provide homework.
Emmanuel Education Center in Mumbai reopened in September! We thank God for the dedicated teachers who educate children well in the Mumbai slum in such difficult times.
- All the children and teachers there are well
- The Center runs 6 days a week for about 40 children.
- We provide one nutritious meal and education per government curriculum.
Vocational Training
Classes for Mumbai slum youth who have dropped out of school are going very well. 20 boys and girls are completing basic computer courses and 20 girls are in basic tailoring classes. Completing these courses will give students a marketable skill and the needed confidence to learn more and get jobs or start their own small businesses.
Prayer Requests
Pray for the safety and health of our staff and children. A second wave of COVID has hit India and the new strain is spreading across the country. Please also pray we can continue to provide nutritious food to our children at Emmanuel Education Center.
What’s New at STC?
Meet our New Partner: Action Faith Institute
STC is passionate about serving the children and families of Liberia by partnering with local leaders who understand how to best serve their own communities. We are excited to introduce our newest partner, Action Faith Institute (AFI) in Paynesville Liberia! The school began in 2001 with elementary grades and now provides Nursery through 12th grade on two campuses, graduating 30 to 40 students every year. Our goal is to help AFI grow their small computer lab into a larger program.
AFI’s Objectives for the Computer Program
With STC’s partnership we believe can achieve these goals:
- Improve classroom learning for students and teachers
- Help our students learn how to use the Internet for research purposes
- Improve the overall learning program of the school to fit in the demands of the 21st century
- Help create jobs for students after graduation from high school
- Prepare a generation of young people skilled in information technology to help empower their own lives, families, communities, and the nation at large
- Help empower community members who are interested in computer education for self-sustainability
LITTLE KORMASSA’S STORY, Told by an AFI Staff Member
There are several children in the AFI school who have lost one or both parents and are no longer hopeful. Some children have not lost parents, but their parents cannot afford to send them to school or afford a daily meal for their kids. For them, survival is the order of the day with no plan to educate their children. Every year there are several children with very sad stories at the school. This is the reality unfolding in Liberia today.
Little Kormassa lost both her parents and lives with her aunt along with her two sisters and her brother. Her aunt cannot afford to send them to school. She sells fish in the market just to feed them every day. The aunt heard about Action Faith Institute and decided to take a step of faith to bring all of the kids to the school. She begged us to have them come to learn how to read and write. Since she has been enrolled at AFI, Little Kormassa has been lively and hopeful for a better tomorrow. This shows in her performance in her K-1 class and how she relates to her friends. We strongly believe that helping Little Kormassa and her siblings means bringing heaven down to them.
Thank you for partnering with STC to help make a difference for children like Little Kormassa across the world.
New Sponsorship Coordinator
A big thank you to Celina, for all her hard work on sponsorship! She was a joy to work with and a huge asset to the STC team. We wish her all the best.
Meet Our New Sponsorship Coordinator, Tina Sidorko
First and foremost, I’m a devoted disciple of Jesus committed to advancing the Kingdom of God through His love! I live in Tacoma with three fabulous roommates. We love community and providing a safe place for people to be seen, known and loved in our home. Serving as Hospitality Director at my church and caring for others there also brings me great joy. My passion and care for children and families started early. I was born in Belarus and moved to America as a small child with my family when we immigrated on refugee status because of religious persecution in Belarus.
I enjoy a great cup of coffee with a good book when it’s raining and a great cup of coffee and being out in nature when the weather permits. My life is full of the Lord’s goodness and grace! I am excited to work with Serve the Children because I believe in their mission to offer hope and a future through God’s love to underserved children and families. Before the pandemic, I was preparing to go to India with Doug Collier and a team in August of 2020. I have gone on mission trips with other organizations to Mexico and Uganda. Every time I’ve gone, I’ve been incredibly blessed to see God at work in those countries, telling His people they matter deeply. I’m also passionate about sponsorship because I know it is life changing for a child. I am thrilled to be part of the incredible work that God is doing through STC! If you have any questions about sponsorship, please email me at tina@servethechildren.com.
2020 – It was still a good year!
We cannot ignore the hardships many of us went through this past year, but we also experienced good things. Acts of kindness in the community were uplifting and many families grew through spending more time together. I have heard stories of volunteering, bike rides, dog purchases, hikes, cooking together as a family, and more; enriching times that may not have happened if 2020 had been a “normal” year.
Serve the Children also achieved good things in 2020, in spite of the many challenges, and we are passionate about continuing to give hope and a future to children and families in 2021. Look what we did in 2020 and plan to do in 2021:
- India – The government closed the country down. People could not leave their homes to work and buy food for their families. STC stepped in and provided funds to purchase food packets to stop starvation in the Mumbai slum where our Day Center is located.
- Zambia – The teachers and staff heard about our hardships in the US but when we continued to financially support them, they were so blessed by our example of giving. Even though the amount sent by US standards was not a lot, it made a great difference to our staff in Zambia; they could support their families and the teachers were able to continue providing educational material and personal instruction for the kids so they could stay at their grade levels.
- Liberia – The country was shut down, but our teachers continued to support the children by providing homework, calling on the students to confirm that they were studying and assisting students with individual help.
- Auction – Even though we could not have an in-person auction in 2020, we still raised over $50,000 during our virtual auction, thanks to our amazing volunteers and donors. Who knows, we might have to do a virtual fundraiser again on October 2, 2021, but we will be ready!
Yes, our income was down 26% from 2019 but we continued to serve children and families in Liberia, Zambia and India. Why do people keep giving to STC when there are thousands of great non-profit options in the area? I want to list some of the reasons I have heard.
- Integrity – we are transparent. We upload our tax return onto the website for all to see and strive to keep donors informed of progress and initiatives.
- Use of funds – close to 90% of all funds raised go overseas. Our amazing volunteers who invest their time and energy make this possible.
- A great cause that makes a difference – We educate the underserved. We offer hope and a future through God’s love to underserved children and families around the world by meeting their educational, physical and emotional needs.
We have great goals for 2021 and we can achieve them through your continued partnership. Here is what we are planning and how you can get involved:
Mission Teams – We are not sure if we will have teams going overseas in 2021 but we are starting to plan to send teams out. Please contact me by email at doug@servethechildren.com if you are interested. We might go to Zambia in May, Liberia in the fall and India in October, depending on travel restrictions and safety concerns. Maybe 2021 is not your year for a trip overseas, but you could help support someone who wants to go but does not have the funds. Trips usually cost around $2,500 each.
Auction – We hope to have a live auction on October 2, 2021 but we will continue to monitor conditions and make that decision later in the year. However, planning starts now! When you see a big sale happening at a store, think about a themed basket or collection you could put together for the silent auction. Game basket, gardening basket, cooking basket, chocolate basket; these are just a few ideas. We can give you more basket ideas!
The STC Board – We are looking for a couple more board members. We have a great board! I got very discouraged at times during 2020 and every time it happened a board member would text, email or call me and tell me everything was going to be alright. Consider joining this amazing and passionate group of volunteers. Contact us if you are interested.
Sustainable Pig Farming in Zambia – We are raising $20,000 to start a pig farm at our Zambia site. They currently have a farm with 7,000 chickens and we want to add pigs. The chickens provide a source of funds for daily operations from the sale of eggs and meat. The farm is worked by the staff and the participants of the successful drug and alcohol rehabilitation program on site. These men learn a trade as they recover from their addiction. The pig farm will raise more funds and provide more training for the program participants. Please consider giving to this project.
Rachel Plus – Rachel Plus is a learning tool we are working toward using to better serve students across the world. It is a computer based educational program with a faux-internet server loaded with information in the selected language and is often delivered with tablets or laptops. We plan to use this at our Zambia school first, then expand it to Liberia and India. Our staff, children and parents will all benefit from this program. Cost is $7,000 per country for two Rachel Plus units and 40 tablets that connect to the Rachel unit without the need for internet access, which can be spotty, nonexistent and unaffordable. This is another great project to consider helping fund.
Thank you for all you have done for Serve the Children, especially in the past difficult year. We appreciate all of you and could not have achieved what we did in 2020 without you. We look forward to a great 2021, basing our faith on the great God we serve, and committing to love with His heart. God bless you.
Dr. Doug Collier
Sustainable Pig Farming in Zambia
We have an exciting project starting in Zambia. Through the help of STC, Pure Nard Ministries will be able to have a sustainable pig farm. This project is in the beginning stages with the construction of the pig pens. The team is very busy clearing driveways and digging waste pits and the foundation to prepare the pig farm site.
This project will provide sustainability, food security, life skills training and job creation. This self sustainability approach to ministry has a long lasting impact and will continue to give those we serve in Zambia opportunities for income generation to be utilized for ministry operations and development.
The chicken sustainability project has been very successful and these projects will serve as a model that can be followed by the students in the Teen Challenge program, children in the preschool and the entire community. Several people will be equipped through this pig farming project in livestock husbandry skills, that will make them employable. Also, several jobs will be created for people within the community. Thank you donors for helping this project get started and changing the lives of children and families across the world.
Thank You!
We are thankful for all of you and all your prayers and support! We started off the holiday season on Dec. 1st with Giving Tuesday. We raised $2,715 to help feed the children of Mumbai that attend our Day Center. Thanks to your generosity we are able to provide these children nutritious food and give children across the world hope and a future!
New Sponsorship Changes and Opportunities
Thank you sponsors! Your support makes a huge impact in the life of the child you sponsor and in their family. Have a look at these encouraging updates for each country and check out the great new opportunities.
Zambia: The Pure Nard School in Zambia has been back in session since September. Teachers were happy to report that the homeschool packets given to students during the COVID lockdown had a significant impact and have made it easier for students to get back into a learning routine. Your sponsorships are making a big difference in students’ lives.
India: Our Day Center provides education and food to shunned and neglected slum children in Mumbai. Many of their families earn a meager living by picking rags from the nearby dump and selling them. The recent lockdowns made life even harder. We were able to start the food program again in September and saw that many of the children had lost weight during the lockdowns; they are grateful for nutritious food. Our school in Lasina is still closed due to COVID, however the teachers are doing student house visits. Your sponsorships are helping these children every day.
Liberia: We are passionate about educating the children of Liberia and are pleased to announce our new partnership with Action Faith Institute in Paynesville, Liberia. We look forward to providing sponsorships to Action Faith and helping give their students hope and a future.
NEW! Project-Based Sponsorships: We now offer project-based sponsorships that provide essentials such as food for families, medical care and school supplies. You can easily sign up for a monthly project sponsorship through our website at www.servethechildren.com/projects.
REACH: We introduced REACH a few months ago as our new sponsorship software and it has been great for you and for us as an organization. If you have not yet signed into REACH to update your contact information and set up your monthly sponsorship payment we ask that you please do so! For instructions on how to login to REACH for the first time visit www.servethechildren.com/faqs and scroll down to “How do I log into my Donor Portal?”
Sponsorship Amount Change: The monthly child sponsorship amount will change from $25 to $30 as of January 1, 2021. We want to make the most impact we can in your sponsored child’s life with the funds you entrust to us. Sponsorship ensures a place for your child in our programs, and provides essentials such as school supplies, uniforms and food. It gives so much hope to a child across the world to know you care for them, especially in this difficult time.
Zambia Update
Good news: the Pure Nard School in Zambia is back in session! The teachers report that the homeschool packets given to students during the COVID lockdown have had a significant impact and have made it easier for students to get back into a learning routine. We are so proud of the Pure Nard staff and thankful for their hard work and dedication to the children we serve.  |
| We always appreciate your prayers for our STC children and families, our staff, and our board, especially during this challenging season. |
Thank You!
We raised over 58,000!
We are so thankful for your participation and your giving. Because of your generosity we are able to make a difference in the lives of children across the world!
The Raise the Paddle portion of our auction is still open until Saturday and any amount makes a big difference. You can easily click “Donate to the Auction” below to help us reach $60,000. If you were unable to join us for the live stream, you can still watch the auction program or watch the auction videos again!
Your gifts make it possible for the kids we serve to not just survive but to THRIVE!
These kids have a HOPE and a FUTURE because of you!
If you have any questions, please email info@servethechildren.com or give us a call at 253-858-1145.
Meet Mr. Albert
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| Serve the Children’s work could not happen without our wonderful local partners! We would like you to meet Mr. Albert who is a teacher and social worker at the Emmanuel Education Center in India. At the Education Center he teaches the local languages Hindi and Marathi to the younger students and math to the older students. He is very good with the children and they enjoy his teachings and respect him. After teaching in the mornings Mr. Albert does community visits to meet with the parents of the students and other community elders. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the imposition of the lock down the Emmanuel Education Center has not been allowed to be open. However, Mr. Albert has been a great help with the food distribution in the slum community. He also has been explaining to community members the importance of regular hand washing, social distancing, and the use of the face masks and hand sanitizers he has been distributing. We are so thankful for Mr. Albert and his commitment to serving the children and community at the Emmanuel Education Center. |
Sponsorship Program Update
Big changes are happening in the sponsorship program here at Serve the Children! We’re excited to introduce you to REACH – the new tool we’ll be using to manage our sponsorship program, donations, projects, and fundraising campaigns. One of the reasons we chose this new system was for its many benefits to you as part of the Serve the Children family.
With REACH, you’ll have 24/7 access to your data. You can edit your contact and payment information, review your donations, print your tax receipt documentation, and manage your sponsorships. You are even able to send messages and pictures to the child you are sponsoring, making communication and relationship building even easier!
If you have not yet signed in to the account that has been created for you please email Celina, our sponsorship coordinator, at Celina@servethechildren.com and she will assist you. Click Here if you want to see what the new site looks like.
Save the Date!
Save the Date for our Serve the Children Dinner & Auction October 10, 2020! We are carefully monitoring the COVID-19 situation and if we are unable to meet at McGavick Conference Center, we will have the event online.
Our theme is “A Day in the Life.” We will share with you what an average day is like for the children we serve in Liberia, India and Zambia. This is always eye-opening and inspiring. Seeing these kids and families gaining hope and a future through your support is life changing for you and for us too. We raise about 30% of our annual budget at this event each year, so we are working hard on it and looking forward to a great evening.
We do have a big auction announcement. The silent auction will be done online whether or not we have a live or online event. In April, I participated in an online auction for the first time and came away impressed. Bidding was fun and easy and I received a text every time I was outbid. No more hovering over the silent auction table! To bid on an item, you download an app onto your phone, and you are ready to bid. We will provide instruction on how to do this, so no matter your level of experience, you will be able to participate.
We will continue to explore the online option for the whole event and wait patiently for the government to give us guidance on having a live auction. Normally at this time, we would be gathering silent auction items and firming up live items, but with so many businesses and people impacted, this has been partly put on hold for a while. This might impact the number of auction items we have to offer but not the desserts! If an online auction becomes necessary, we will somehow make the desserts work. Trust me on this; I have seen some of the samples! We could use some help securing auction items if you are available.
The other day, I was sharing my concern about COVID-19 impact on the auction with one of our donors. He immediately responded with a very encouraging statement, “Serve the Children has some very dedicated supporters and they will give to you whether it is a live auction or an online auction.” Thank you donors for all you give. We truly appreciate you.
Please Save the Date for our 17th Annual Fundraiser on October 10th. We look forward to seeing you. We will keep you informed in case we need to move the auction to an online format. May each of you have good health and peace of mind in the midst of these challenging times.
Sincerely,
Dr. Doug Collier
How Can We Have and Give Hope?
The hottest commodity right now is not whatever the grocery store is out of. It’s HOPE.
How do we have hope in the midst of the uncertainty and the questions of a pandemic? How long will it last? What if we get sick? What will happen with my job? With school for the kids? Will we have enough?
And how do we give hope in the middle of it all to our STC children and families in Liberia, India and Zambia, who were living day to day before the pandemic, and who now face even more desperate challenges?
Where does hope come from in the midst of trauma? When people can’t think straight and only have the energy to deal with the present crisis, how can we have and give hope?
Firstly, as Christians, our eternal and present hope is in Christ Himself, and in His death, resurrection, rule and return. If we know Him as Savior, we have this sure hope of eternal life, now and in the future. This is not a maybe hope, like, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” This is a rock-solid, base your life on, strength and joy for today, and yes it’s going to happen hope.
Secondly, as human beings, because God is good to us, we have been given hope through the kindness and care of others throughout our lives. Parents, family, teachers, counselors, friends, mentors and all those God has provided who have cared for us and encouraged us to keep going forward, whether they be few or many.
Because we have the hope of Christ in our hearts, the love of God compels us to help others in crisis in whatever way possible, even as we are affected by whatever is happening. Spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally – our fellow humans made in God’s image need us to help them deal with crisis in practical, tangible ways. We can only do this as we depend on God for our strength and wisdom, and as we come together and support each other with encouragement and help, remembering to keep close to our Lord and take care of ourselves so we can be effective.
Hope grows when people see and experience people helping others, when there is calm strength from God instead of fear, when there is listening and understanding, and even when there is opportunity for those who are cared for to help others in some way.
We can’t do everything, but we can do something. God has prepared each of us to be and do that something for such a time as this.
Will you join us in praying for Raghu’s family and all the other children and families STC serves? Will you join us in trusting God and having hope that comes from God alone during this time? We are all in this together!
A Day in Life of Raghu
Raghu (shown in the picture with his mother and sister) is a 14 year old boy living in the slums of Ambernath in Mumbai, India. His parents work as Rag Pickers collecting plastic waste and metal to earn a daily wage to provide food for the family. Raghu does not go to school. Each morning he gets up with his family and they eat leftover food from the day before if there is any. Then Raghu along with his parents goes into the city to collect plastic bottles and metal items.
Then in the afternoon the family goes to the dumping ground where the local municipal dumps all the garbage collected from the city. Here Raghu separates the waste and looks for items he can sell in the recycling plant. He does this without wearing any gloves and often cuts his fingers due to unknown sharp objects from the garbage. The family receives their day wage in the evening and then they buy only food and go back to their slum community. His mother prepares dinner for the family. He goes to bed right after dinner waiting for another day to repeat the same routine to survive.
The outbreak of the Coronavirus has affected the whole world. It has affected the people living in slums of Mumbai immensely. The people fear they will die of starvation rather than infection from the virus. The Indian government has issued a complete lockdown for 21 days. This means Raghu, his family and many other families like his cannot leave the community to work to provide food. Life is quite difficult for Raghu’s family and all the others in the slums of Mumbai.
A Look at Romans 15:13
Romans 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God is the “God of hope”…
• the Author of our hope.
• the Foundation of our hope.
• the Builder of our hope.
• the Finisher of our hope.
The things mentioned cannot be possessed apart from God, and we can possess them only as He gives them to us.
1. There is joy (charas): an inner gladness; a deep seated pleasure. It is a depth of assurance and confidence that ignites a cheerful heart. It is a cheerful heart that leads to cheerful behavior.
2. There is peace. Note that peace comes through believing. No man has true peace apart from God. The meaning of peace with God is striking. Peace with God does not mean escapism, a quiet atmosphere, the absence of trouble, the control of situations by positive thinking, the denial of problems, the ability to keep from facing reality. The source of peace is Jesus Christ. Peace comes from knowing and having a personal relationship with Jesus. Men can have peace with God only because of Jesus Christ. It is He who reconciles men to God. The first result of justification is peace with God
3. There is hope: to expect with confidence; to anticipate knowing; to look and long for with surety; to desire with assurance; to rely on with certainty; to trust with the guarantee; to believe with the knowledge. Note that hope is expectation, anticipation, looking and longing for, desiring, relying upon, and trusting. But it is also confidence, knowledge, surety, assurance, certainty, and a guarantee. When a justified man becomes stronger in character, he draws closer to God and the closer he draws to God, the more he hopes for the glory of God.
When Scripture speaks of the believer’s hope, it does not mean what the world means by hope. The hope of the world is a desire, a want. The world hopes—wants, desires—that something will happen. But this is not the hope of the believer. The hope of the believer is a surety: it is perfect assurance, confidence, and knowledge. How can hope be so absolute and assured? By being an inward possession. The believer’s hope is based upon the presence of God’s Spirit who dwells within the believer. In fact, the believer possesses the hope of glory only by the Spirit of God who dwells within him.
These great qualities come only through the power of the Holy Spirit. God and God alone is the source of the things that give life.
Romans 15:13 comments partly based on Word Search Bible commentary content.