Hi! We’re Sam & Suzie Abramian and after more than 10 years of ministry in established Baptist churches, we sensed God was asking us to pioneer for families and young adults in the costal area of North-West Norfolk.
We’ve been on an amazing journey of faith, seeing God work and provide in many miraculous ways both before and since beginning this ministry in March 2020.
During this season a new church community has emerged called Good Hope Communities which is best described as a Missional Communities model of church.
A few weekly gatherings have emerged connecting with different people, either to share Jesus with them or walk alongside them in discipleship (pictures and details below). As well as these we also enjoy being present and available in our community to meet with people personally, and have been enjoying the people and conversations God has brought across our path.
We are so thankful to Jesus for asking us to serve him in this way and we’d also like to thank the EBA and the churches that give to Home Mission which provides a reliable proportion of our income, without which it would be impossible for us to do what we do.
If you’d like to know more about our journey of pioneering or about Good Hope Communities, you can contact us through goodhopecommunities@gmail.com or visit www.ghc.org.uk.
Update October 2022
We are continuing to go on a journey of faith, learning to “unclench” some of our ideas in order to allow God to truly lead us to where he is already at work. One example of this has been with a new Friday evening youth club in Hunstanton. There has been a real desire for this in the local area for many years and we, along with others have been praying and listening to God for a long time about it.
It started on a trial basis in April with a small team of leaders encouraging a handful of young people we already have relationships with to gather and invite their friends. There is food, fun activities and a time to focus on faith. It’s flourished rapidly and now has a regular attendance of over 20 young people, all eager to come and participate. It’s been an amazing testimony of how patient Missional Listening leads you to what God is already doing in the local community.
We have also been growing in our understanding of what it really means to be available, to God and to others. By intentionally leaving more space in our diaries and not filling them with so many events, we have repeatedly experienced Spirit led encounters, especially to those who are broken and lost.
In addition to all this, our existing groups are continuing to flourish. Little Lights Baby and Toddler Group has gone from strength to strength after re-opening full a year ago. Our evening discipleship group is exploring The Prayer Course which was created by 24/7 Prayer, and Sunday Family Gatherings are also growing in maturity and number.
Most of all there is a deep sense of joy in being the family of God together as a church community, increasingly sharing life together with Jesus at the centre, which is leading to a depth of relationship together and also with others in our local community.
Little Lights Baby & Toddler Group
We have been Little Lights has been running for five years but suspend the full group since the first lockdown before restarting again on Thursday 9th September!!
We thank and praise God for the many creative and different ways the group still connected with families throughout the pandemic and that everything came together to restart this group in its new venue at Hunstanton Town Hall Community Hub. It was really amazing to see the support from Hunstanton Town Council for this group and who God brought onto the team as many of the previous helpers have stepped down due to old age or ill health.
Minecraft Encounter
The weekly Minecraft group ‘Encounter’ for 8-14yrs now has a regular small group of boys attending each week. They have focused on getting to know each other, having fun and exploring some questions about the Christian faith. Recently this has led to prayer times (in the world of Minecraft!) where amazingly everyone shares their own prayers in the group.
Living Room Groups
The Living Room gathering meets on Thursday evenings and is more focussed on discipleship. We share a meal together once a month and use a variety of discipleship resources to lead the group. Another family have committed regularly to hosting this with us and our heart is still to see this group multiply out and be led by others.
Sunday Gatherings are usually outdoors with 3 families committing regularly to coming and usually another 2 families from time to time. Our greatest encouragement has been seeing people besides ourselves inviting others along which seems to be happening very naturally. We have also noticed that in meeting outdoors in public spaces, we will often bump into other people we know in the area. For many in the group this has provided an opportunity to practise sharing their faith for the first time.
