Research based hope for churches (and leaders) who need it.

About Practical Hope

This newsletter is part of my attempt to make hope practical for churches, for Christians, and for everyone.

Have you ever noticed how many faithful people keep their hope in God’s eventual victory but give up on this world? Or on their congregation’s future?

Simply put, hope isn’t hope unless it means as much here and now as it does “ever after.”

I am Jeff Slater, a pastor who discovered the well-researched field of hope psychology and couldn’t believe nobody had brought its ideas into the church. We’re the “hope people!”

Hope is meant to be shared.

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I firmly believe that every additional voice in this conversation is used by the Holy Spirit to shape the work— to help spread hope.

About me

I am Jeff Slater, a United Methodist Elder (Pastor) and self-proclaimed nerd exploring hope and ministry in Lincoln, Nebraska.

I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. I'll skip the full call story for now, but step one was deciding to go to seminary. Step two was realizing that God was still pushing-- I had never considered being a pastor until then but have since realized it is my true call.

But step three was when I felt drawn to a Doctor of Ministry degree and discovered a well-researched field of hope psychology that had never really been brought into the church. (We’re supposed to be the “hope people!”)

I’ve since learned a love of writing and gained something of an entrepreneurial spirit to help share that hope— including with you.

I should also mention that I'm an ordained Elder in the Great Plains Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and see this project as part of that call. The first years of my ministry were spent in central Kansas. Now I am blessed to be Lead Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church and Child Care in Lincoln, Nebraska. On the side, I love music and am an explorer: I’ve gone from classical and jazz to rock to my current passion for the underground electronic music scene. My wife, Amy, is also a Pastor, and we have two boys who are utterly awesome. :)

To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com. I am grateful for all they are doing.