The Upper Room Prayer Group
When I first knew what God was going to get me involved in founding New Hope Ministry, I started praying that He would go before me and prepare hearts. I asked Him to begin calling those people He wanted to be involved in this ministry. And He did. Little did I know, but He had already been preparing the way for at least 8 years!
My family and I had been living in Illinois for 15 years when God called us back to Iowa and into founding this ministry. (You can read all of the testimonies of the New Hope staff under About Us). I want to give you just one example of the incredible things God did in raising up this ministry: When we moved back to the Centerville, Iowa area and I started working on setting up New Hope, some people began telling me about a prayer group that had been meeting in Centerville for 8 years. The group was made up of Christians from several different churches in the area who had been getting together once a week to pray for the pastors and churches in the area, praying for revival, praying for something that would bring the Body of Christ together. As some people began hearing about what I was working on, each person would say, “That sounds like what they have been praying for.” Then each one ended by saying, “They meet in a place they call The Upper Room.”
When the time came that we had all the materials ready, and our Articles of Incorporation filed as a charitable organization, all we needed was a place. I prayed, “OK Lord, I’ve done everything You’ve asked, and everything is ready. All we need is a facility, and You know we have no money to pay for one.” God quickly arranged for me to meet the woman who led that prayer group I had been told about. As she shared with me her testimony and I shared with her mine and what God was doing with this ministry, we both knew He had brought us together. She then offered us the use of the top floor of a building she owns in Centerville (at no charge). It was absolutely perfect to fit our needs. This woman’s husband’s law offices had been located in this space, but he had died a couple years earlier and the space had sat empty since then. She wouldn’t let just anything in there. It was beautifully decorated and all we had to do was move in. It has a lovely corner office for mine and our Assistant Director. There is a beautiful Library with floor to ceiling oak bookshelves on each wall. There is a nice Kitchenette separating the Library and a Conference room, which holds an 18 foot oak conference table with upholstered chairs. There is a nice double room for a reception area and our Administrative Assistant’s office. We have four large storage closets and a special made Records Room. There is a separate room for our Counseling Director’s office and two smaller rooms, just perfect for counseling rooms. The most awesome thing about the whole place, though, is that the Conference Room, where we are able to hold all of our meetings and Seminars, is none other than “The Upper Room,” where that prayer group had met for eight years, praying for this ministry before they ever realized that God was sending New Hope in answer to their prayers. Isn’t that just like God to put this ministry in the very place where they had prayed for it for so long? He is so incredible. And He did one thing after another just like that to make all this happen. It is so amazing to get to work at something that God is so evidently involved in every day. You can read the many testimonies from people who have experienced God’s transforming power at work in their lives through the ministry of New Hope.