Hope Church Conference 2026 Reflections

Every year, Hope Church holds a conference that reminds me of my purpose in this life: to love God and to share His love with others. Sometimes I get caught up in the grind, but the conference is always an excellent time to reset, refresh, and remember God’s unfailing goodness.

This year was no different. With the theme “The Jesus Way,” it felt like we were going back to the basics, remembering what Jesus did on the Cross for us, and how the only appropriate response is to surrender and follow Him wholeheartedly. Our surrender will always match the level of internalisation we have of what God has done to reconcile us to Him.

It’s been about a month and a half since the conference, and I think it’s good to revisit these learnings now that the initial buzz has faded. It’s so easy to run on a “spiritual high”, I think the real test of faith is in the daily living, when life catches up and busyness seeps in. My challenge to myself was to keep holding on to spiritual disciplines and putting God first. Over the last few weeks, some days were better than others, but I’m glad my desire to be near Him still stands. He has been my rock and refuge during one of the busiest seasons of my life.

As I look back through my handy-dandy notebook, where I took notes across the Hope Conference 2026 sessions, I want to also weave in some of my new reflections post-conference.

Pour It All Out

“Whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” This verse deeply comforted me a few years ago when I was confronted with the extent of my sinfulness. Realising the magnitude of God’s grace, and the revelation of His great mercy, has shaped how I love God and others. There is a mercy and grace that can only come from Him.

The message of this sermon was to “Pour It All Out.” It starts with recognising that we owe God a debt we cannot repay, and yet Jesus calls us sinners His friends. He forgives us. It’s easy to compare ourselves with others who seem more “sinful,” but this is exactly the heart behind how Jesus spoke to Simon in Luke 7: if only you knew how sinful you are and how gracious God is, you would be far more grateful and joyful.

Pastor Jeff also traced Paul’s walk with God and pointed out something counterintuitive: Paul’s awareness of his own sinfulness actually grew as he served. You’d think serving would make you feel more “holy,” but true maturity in the faith looks like humility; a deepening recognition of our need for Christ. We need to keep remembering God’s grace, goodness, and generosity.

And finally, once we understand His grace, the only appropriate response is to pour that love out onto others. We get to see people the way Christ sees us, not as discussion pieces or subjects, but as children of God. And we can’t only see Jesus as a prophet or teacher; He has to be our Lord and Saviour.

In recent weeks, I’ve noticed myself swayed easily by what others say and think, caught up in all kinds of emotions. Revisiting these sermon notes has reminded me to stay rooted in what God says – remembering the vastness of His love and grace for me, and letting that be my anchor before I do anything else.

Faith That Finishes Strong

I thoroughly enjoyed Pastor Dishan Wickramaratne’s preaching, he has such a gift for humour and storytelling.

His sermon, “Faith That Finishes Strong”, made the point that the Jesus Way isn’t about beginning with passion; it’s about persevering with faith to the very end. Pastor Dishan shared five points on finishing strong:

1. Lordship – The Foundation of Finishing Strong. Jesus has to be our number one; our Lord. Don’t just accept all that Jesus offers as Saviour while rejecting all He demands as Lord. We often try to negotiate with God – “No, Lord,” “Not now, Lord,” or “Yes, but…” Don’t be deceived: Jesus will not be Saviour where He is not Lord, and He will not be Lord at all if He cannot be Lord of all. Our private surrender to Christ is crucial to finishing this race strong.
2. Obedience – The Proof of Real Faith. Obedience is listening, believing, and doing – that’s how lives are changed. Often we don’t lack revelation; we lack application. Christian faith is about daily obedience. You don’t finish strong only at the end, you decide how you’ll finish, every single day.
3. Resilience – Faith that endures pressure. Pressure reveals what comfort hides.
4. Purity – Guard your heart from compromise. Intimacy cannot survive where fantasy is fed. Satan often amplifies the pleasure and minimises the consequences of sin, we need to do the opposite with God, diminishing the pleasure by deepening our understanding of just how severe the consequences really are. Gifting can take you far, but character determines how far and how long. Pastor Dishan warned us against building a ministry our character cannot sustain.
5. Purpose – Live for what lasts. Will there be anyone in heaven because of me? I hope the answer is yes. Know and trust God’s will for your life – live for Him.

Be a Rabbi

The preacher opened with this key message: when someone completes an apprenticeship, they are certified to go on and apprentice others. In the same way, we’re called to take on the posture of a Rabbi and make disciples.

My key takeaways from this message, “Be a Rabbi”, were:

1. Disciple people to faith. Discipleship isn’t just for believers, we can teach and share the Word regularly with pre-believers too.
2. “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” Lead by example, by being a true follower of Christ. I truly believe our daily living is the biggest testament of Christ to the people around us, especially those we meet regularly.
3. Everyone can be a disciple-maker; a missionary.

Complete The Commission

We’re called to “Complete The Commission”, remembering that Jesus is indeed coming back, and He’s coming back for a bride that is pure. When we live right and walk straight, God will do the rest.

The preacher also pointed out several ways we can fulfil the calling Christ has given us:

1. Mature to minister. God keeps us here after we’re saved so we can grow in maturity and minister to others. Three pages of the Bible are enough to get us to Heaven, but there are 66 books to equip us for ministry. Maturity is the process of becoming more like Christ: more selfless, more humble. To whom much is given, much is required.
2. Don’t be a seedless Christian. A seedless grape’s usefulness ends the moment you eat it. In the same way, don’t be a dead-end Christian. Getting to Heaven isn’t the goal; it’s the reward.
3. The covenant with the lost. Hell is a terrible place, don’t dull it or minimise it. The severity of it should give us urgency to share the Gospel. Jesus loves the lost; pray for a heart like His, a burden for those who don’t yet know Him. We are God’s method for caring for the needy – we need to “lift up our eyes” and look beyond ourselves.
4. God’s answer to the lost. Don’t just reach the reached.
5. Reach the Back Rows. People don’t care how much you know, they want to know how much you care.

Love The Church

In old Jewish culture, no one knew the date of the wedding except the father of the groom, and the bride would wait in expectation for the groom to return after preparing a place for her. Does that sound familiar?

Everyone loves the bride; it’s her day. When you truly love the Church, you don’t mind how much you sacrifice for her. The preacher shared a quote that stuck with me: “If you find a perfect Church, please don’t join it, you’ll ruin it.”

When it comes to love versus duty, Rachel and Leah offer a clear picture. You can exercise duty toward the Church without ever truly loving her.

The preacher left us with a few thought-provoking questions:

• Are we walking to or away from Jesus with our lifestyle?
• How can people belong in the community even before they believe and accept Jesus into their lives?

He closed by calling us to dare to dream, to hold bold ideas for Christ and the Church we love. And in daring to dream, what matters isn’t the size of our faith, but the object of it. So may our faith be rooted in Christ – the unchanging author and perfecter of our faith.

Closing Thoughts

My main takeaway from the final session, and honestly, from the whole conference, was a simple reminder of how much God has done for me, and how the only reasonable response is to offer my whole life to Him, letting Him use me for His purposes and His Kingdom. It sounds weighty, but living out His will can happen in the simple, daily, mundane things: being kind to a stranger, finding a bit more courage to share about Jesus with a neighbour, carving out time to check in on a friend who hasn’t been doing too good, etc.

The whole conference filled my heart with immense gratitude, and even now, recollecting all these lessons, I feel refreshed – ready to keep running this race well.