hope singer

Hope and Josh Singer

She had four hours to prepare a sermon that night. It was 2016, and Hope was in the middle of a two-month internship in El Salvador. On an outing into one of the communities, the leader asked if she would be willing to speak that evening.

This would be a fine request if the term “public speaking” wasn’t synonymous with “dread” in her mind. Needless to say, Hope declined.

But with each person that approached the altar in response to her changing her mind that night, she was no longer enraptured in her distaste for speaking in front of crowds. She was enthralled, rather, by God’s expertise in utilizing the fears her instincts told her to avoid at all costs.

“I didn’t speak the language,” she said. “I didn’t know the culture. I didn’t know the people. It was something I had never experienced before. That season was some of the times when I heard the Holy Spirit the loudest, and I felt directed. He just really showed up and gave me what I needed.”

Her inclination toward God’s direction was not left behind in El Salvador.

This readiness exists most prominently in the midst of the unknown. Like the summer before Hope’s first year of college when she decided not to move away like she had originally planned. Her last-minute decision to commute to Central Michigan University would give her a reason to remain rooted in her home church—the place where she would eventually come to serve in youth ministry alongside her husband, Josh Singer.

In an era of great vulnerability as she steps into motherhood for the first time, Hope recognizes how different her life would be if the comfort of her faith was absent. With yet another new season on the horizon, she looks to God for direction in raising her son to be someone who leans on His promises.

Hope and her son, Luke

As she set out on this new journey, she felt called to step back from her career as a child and adolescent therapist after two years.

“I kind of always saw myself as a working mom,” Hope said. “My mom did that. That’s what I always saw, so I never really thought about it. But truthfully, my desires just changed. I want to be with my child and be involved in our ministry, and it was very difficult to do the job that I was doing because I felt like it pulled everything out of me. I wasn’t able to do the things that God was calling me to do because all of my energy and time was with something else.”

Through her surrendering faith, Hope allows the Lord to use her during life’s unexpected twists and turns. One of them being the humbling experience of accepting her and her husband’s current positions at the church.

At the time, Hope could’ve never predicted this ministerial role that was offered to her family. But looking back, she understands that this position has allowed for her to be a firsthand witness to the truth of 1 Corinthians 12; a passage depicting how various gifts intertwine to form the body of Christ.

Through this opportunity, she has also been able to apply her previous career skills in working with the youth. While Josh’s gifts largely reside within speaking and communicating, Hope’s natural inclination is to connect with people on a personal, one-on-one basis.

Her attentive, even-keeled personality remains constant in every circumstance, and this article simply wouldn't exist if it weren’t for her desire to get to know her students on a deeper level.

This type of intentionality has made Hope a true mentor of mine.

And through Christ’s design, I have been able to better appreciate the contrast between Josh and Hope’s differing strengths, as well as be reminded of God’s intricate plan for each person’s life.

As Hope evolves, it’s clear that she remains in tune to what God calls her to do. Whether it be on the grounds of El Salvador or in her home church in Michigan, her desire to be a vessel for the Lord radiates. She is a ready servant, and her life is the undeniable proof of this.

Hope and her family