Pastor's Thoughts: June 2026

Summer is here, and June at New Hope Baptist Church is packed with some of our favorite moments of the year. From our youngest learners to our teenagers, something is happening this month for every family in our congregation, and plenty of reasons to invite the people around you to be part of it.

We are kicking off the month with VBS, and we could not be more excited! Each evening, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., kids will dive into Bible stories, worship, games, crafts, and more in an environment designed to bring the gospel to life for the next generation. If you have children or grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or neighbors' kids who need a place to belong this week, bring them along. VBS is one of the best weeks of the entire year, and we want every child we can reach to experience it. 

For our children in the preteen years (3rd-6th grades), camp is a milestone moment. Getting away from the usual routine and spending a few days focused on God, friendships, and growing in faith has a way of leaving a lasting mark. We are so grateful for the leaders and volunteers who pour into our preteens and make this trip possible. If your child is in this age group, don't let them miss it. Registration details are available through the church office.

Our student ministry heads to camp the following week, and if you know a teenager, you know that these days away from screens and schedules and into community and Scripture can be genuinely transformative. Pray for our students and leaders as they go, and encourage the young people in your life to make the most of every moment.

To close out a remarkable month, we are hosting a Family Movie Night right here at New Hope, and we will be showing The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. It is summertime, and what goes great with a fun movie? We will have popcorn and ice cream during the intermission. This is a free, fun, no-pressure evening for families of all shapes and sizes, the kind of night where laughter fills the room, and everyone leaves feeling like they belong.

This is one of the easiest invitations you will ever extend. Think about a family on your street, a coworker with kids, a neighbor you have been meaning to connect with, and just ask them to come. No church experience required. No agenda beyond a great movie and great company. Just an open door and a welcoming community ready to meet them where they are.

We hope to see you there, and we hope you bring someone with you.

One of the simplest and most powerful things any of us can do for the people around us is to invite them to church. Not because we have a program to fill, but because we genuinely believe that our neighbors, coworkers, and friends need what we have found: a community centered on Jesus and a message that changes everything.

What is remarkable is that this kind of invitation is woven into the very fabric of the Gospel of John. When Andrew met Jesus, the first thing he did was find his brother Simon Peter and bring him along. When Philip was called to follow Jesus, he immediately sought out Nathanael. And when Nathanael pushed back with skepticism — "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" — Philip did not argue or debate. He simply said, "Come and see." Two words. That was the invitation. And it changed Nathanael's life forever.

Later in that same gospel, when Jesus lingered at a well in Samaria and spoke truth into the life of a woman who had spent years on the margins, she ran back to her village and said, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did." She did not have a theology degree. She did not have her life completely together. She simply knew that she had encountered someone worth knowing — and she could not keep it to herself. John tells us that many in that town believed because of her word.

This is the pattern of the gospel. Someone encounters Jesus, and they go get somebody else. The invitation is not complicated, and it does not require you to have all the answers. It just requires the willingness to say to the person next to you: come and see.
June gives us a natural entry point for exactly that kind of invitation. If you know a family who might feel intimidated walking into a Sunday service for the first time, a casual evening event is often a far more comfortable first step. That is exactly what we have at the end of the month with Family Movie Night on June 26.

We also want to make the invitation as easy as possible for you. We have invitation cards available at the welcome center. Take a few, keep them in your wallet, your car, or your pocket, and look for the moment to hand one to someone this month. A card in someone's hand is a tangible reminder that there is a place for them here. You never know which invitation will be the one that changes everything.