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New Hope founder Hank Paulson, started his organization in 1971 for the
purpose of smuggling Bibles into Eastern Europe. Born in Holland and
educated in England, Paulson was inspired to begin his efforts to get
Bibles into the hands of East European Christians after a visit with
Christians in East Berlin in the late 1960s. For 18 years, he and his
coworkers at the East European Bible Mission (New Hope’s earlier name)
traveled regularly into Eastern Europe, carrying Bibles, holding camps
for Christian teenagers, and meeting secretly with Christians there,
many of whom had been imprisoned and persecuted for their faith.
After the fall of Communism, the communities Hank and his
coworkers had served asked them to stay to help train and equip East
Europeans to preach the Gospel in their own countries and throughout
the region. In response, New Hope International established
national-run New Hope Ministries in the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Romania, Hungary, and Ukraine--and continues to expand. The expansion
into Moldova from Romania has been particularly important for NPC
because of NPC’s long-standing ties with that country (see the Web site
section on Moldova).
New Hope’s special focus on children, youth, and families,
reaching out to those most affected by the destruction of their
society's moral and spiritual fiber under Communism. New Hope
International's focus on the youth of the region, its emphasis on
enabling East Europeans to reach their own countries for Christ, and
its willingness to work within existing denominations have earned it
the praise of post-Communist Eastern European religious and political
leaders. This approach has also made New Hope and made it a major part
of the re-birth and spread of Christianity throughout Eastern Europe
region in the post-Communist era.
For more information, see New Hope's Web site: www.newhopeinternational.org
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New Hope founder and director, Hank Paulson. Hank has been working in
Eastern Europe over 30 years.
New Hope Vision tour visits Budapest, the capital of Hungary. New Hope
has several people working in Hungary, and Budapest is always a
highlight of a Vision Tour. |
