Our Priorities
Unity
It is imperative that Indigenous and non-Indigenous believers work together in unity—modeling reconciliation, serving one another, and sharing resources so that the Kingdom of God will expand to every part of the world.
Salvation
Proclaim the Good News of God’s grace for salvation through Jesus Christ
Reconciliation
Pursue reconciliation through truth—Reconciliation with God and with one another as we consider our history and racial tensions
Belonging
Help develop local fellowships where First Nations people feel they can belong
Church
Invite Christ-followers to a meaningful commitment to such a local church
Maturity
Encourage, equip, and mobilize those individuals to maturity in faith and in exercising their God-given gifts
Christian Lifestyle
Demonstrate an observable, practical, and relevant Christian lifestyle
Resources
Provide resources for wholeness and healing of emotional pain, dysfunctions, and grief
Families
Stimulate development and restoration of healthy marriages and families
Youth
Challenge youth to purposeful living and a hopeful future
Leadership
Model a style of leadership that freely serves for the good of others, insists on transparent integrity, and demonstrates commitment to Jesus as Lord
Cultures
Respect and encourage those aspects of our cultures that are consistent with Scripture’s teaching and values
Peace
Encourage peace among our peoples, justice for the oppressed, financial freedom and productive employment
Statement of Faith
1. The Word of God
We believe that the Bible is the verbal, plenary Word of God; fully inspired and without error, as to fact as well as purpose, in the original manuscripts; written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit; and that it is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. (II Tim. 3:16) We believe that the Word of God has been preserved in its message, and that the translations we have today communicate the message God would have us receive and teach.
2. Trinity
We believe that there is one living and true God eternally existing in three persons; that these are equal in every Divine perfection; and that they execute distinct, but harmonious, offices in the work of Creation, Providence and Redemption.
3. God the Father
We believe in God the Father—an infinite, personal Spirit who is perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
4. Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles and His teachings. We believe in His substitutionary, expiating death for the sins of all people; bodily resurrection for empowering of the new life of all who believe; ascension into Heaven; perpetual intercession for His people; and personal, visible return for His church. We believe that He was truly God and perfectly human.
5. Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who came from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and to regenerate, sanctify, comfort, teach, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ. His fullness is known as we ask for the continual filling of the Spirit, walk in obedience to, and fellowship closely with the Father. We believe He is God.
6. Regeneration
We believe that all men are sinners by nature and by choice, and are therefore under condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe that they become a new creation in Christ Jesus, but that the old nature is not eradicated. We must endure unto the end.
7. The Church
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body, of which Christ is the Head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local .church: a company of born-again believers in Jesus Christ; baptized on a credible profession of faith; and associated for worship, work, and fellowship.
We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost world. We believe that God has commanded us to teach and disciple believers, and to gather them into local churches — within the context of their own culture and environment—where they may be built up in the faith, and made effective for service.
We also believe that the scriptural method of raising funds for the church is by means of the tithe and free-will offerings of His people.
8. Satan
We believe in the personality of Satan. We believe that Satan is a liar and a destroyer, directly opposed to the work of Jesus Christ. We believe we have power over Satan through prayer, by the word of our testimony, and by the blood of the Lamb. We believe that God, in His infinite power, can bind the adversary, enabling us to do the work we have been called to do.
9. Christian Conduct
We believe that a Christian should live to the glory of God and the well-being of his fellow men: that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; and that he should seek to realize, for himself and others, the full stature of maturity in Christ.
10. The Last Things
We believe in the visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ with the angels; the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust; the everlasting blessedness of the saved; and the everlasting, conscious punishment of the lost.
11. Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God has given spiritual gifts to all believers; and that the gifts of the Spirit are available and operable during the age of grace. We believe we are to use the gifts for the purposes of glorifying the Father, and for edifying and unifying the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit.
What Drives Us
We believe that the local church is God’s plan for touching the world. Since that is a core value, we intend to do all we can to help local churches become all that God meant them to be. Our efforts are designed to encourage the local churches in any community to help the entire community experience Jesus Christ in every area of need.
Through the daily life of the ideal local church, people inside and outside the church will recognize that wholeness and healing comes by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. The local church in action seeks to attract people to a living faith that affects every area of life.
It is imperative that Native and non-Native believers work together in unity—serving one another, and sharing resources so that the Kingdom of God will expand to every part of the world.
We believe that the most effective means of serving is to become a part of another person’s world. We highly value becoming residents and participants in the communities in which we serve.
A Short History
In early 2005, a group of six Aboriginal leaders and four non-Aboriginal leaders met to prayerfully consider a new level of ministry partnership designed to advance the work of the Kingdom among Ontario’s Aboriginal population.
The participants in this group were not new to the culture, the context, or the concerns of the developing churches among the First Nations of Ontario. The discussions were built upon a foundation of respect and appreciation for what God had done through other ministries in the region. Within a few months, a unanimous decision was reached: That God would want to accomplish greater things through new beginnings—new wineskins.
That group continued to pray and to talk together. The sense of unity and common purpose grew with an exciting intensity. Through focused times of prayer and discussion, they appointed an initial board of directors, chose an appropriate name, and formulated the original vision and purpose statements. The new board took practical steps to incorporate the new organization and to register it as a charitable ministry in Canada.
In 2006, the board of directors appointed the first administrative team of Living Hope Native Ministries, and empowered that team to begin to work and plan. The new ministry began to function officially on September 1, 2006. During 2006 and 2007, numerous individuals and local churches began to build relationships with LHNM and to develop associations—both formally and informally.
More development is in process at this time. We try to view each opportunity and need as a new page in God’s story about this part of the world. Various ministries are becoming part of the network—either as partners in the ministry or as associates that share resources, ideas, and goals.
