Hope Centre Set to Make Its Own History

The day has finally come — the worship launch of Hope Centre. Nearly six years in the making, Hope Centre is not just a building in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, it is a concept breaking new ground in mission and community.

Never intended to be a church, Hope Centre was to be an extension of one man’s ministry, the vision of Pastor Bill Martin and a ministry he calls The Simple Truth.

Hope Centre is simply a place — both real and online — where people can gather for community activities and/or faith programs. It is not a Christian place but a place led by a Christian.

That is made more clear by the operation of the online community newspaper Six Rivers News (www.sixrivers.ca) and the three online radio stations linked there.

The news and radio effort serves an area that lost its community newspaper many years ago and was left to gather information from distant sources that provided little or no local news or promotion, even weather forecasts did not reflect local conditions.

While sixrivers.ca and hopecentre.ca are distinct, they fall under the same tent, owned and operated as a not-for-profit society called Six Rivers Hope Centre Ministries. All input is provided by volunteers and all proceeds which include ad revenue and rental income are channelled to support to operation. Not one cent is paid to any individual in the society.

Not Your Grandfather's Church

So, Sunday, September 26 is a big day. Hope Centre will launch its first online worship service at 10:15 Atlantic Time — actually, https://sixrivershopecentre.online.church will open at 10 AM for live chat around the coffee pot.

The unique service is certainly not your grandfather’s church. For one, it maxes out at 45 minutes or less. It also encourages conversation, well, actually chat. People are encouraged to chat with each other or Pastor Bill during the actual service. It allows for questions and hopefully a better understanding of The Simple Truth.

The chat continues for fifteen minutes after the service to allow people to connect and explore other aspects of Hope Centre’s offerings to the community.

Hope Centre planned to open more than a year and a half ago, but like everywhere else, COVID-19 reared its ugly head and Hope Centre sat and waited, still not physically open for public access and community programs. However, in some ways, COVID redirected the ministry to adapt to this strange new world we call virtual.

All are welcome for the official launch, no fanfare, just a new style worship service that tries to answer the nagging question “why are we here?”

Join us at https://sixrivershopecentre.online.church at 10 AM for a chat — bring your own coffee and it doesn’t matter if you are still in your “jammies”.

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