Five Years at Hope Nottingham: What I Know for Sure

Our CEO Dominique Scott reflects on celebrating 5 years at Hope Nottingham!

1. At Hope Nottingham, There’s Always a Plan… Even If We Don’t Know It Yet

Jeremiah 29:11 was our founder – Nigel Adams’ inspiration: “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord… ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.’ “  That verse became real for me. I joined after redundancy, the first ‘outsider’ at Hope who didn’t join the staff from a volunteer role. It was a culture shock: me with my love for clear concepts, policies and structure, and a team used to a different rhythm! Over time, I’ve seen the beauty of blending new ways with old wisdom and the fact my birth date is 29:11 hasn’t been lost on me! God’s plans may not always be clear, but they exist—and they work, even when we aren’t quite aware of them!

2. Hope Nottingham Will Keep Changing Through the Seasons

Nigel’s season was vision-driven: building Christian communities where faith speaks through the power of community, open doors, hospitality, and kindness. That hasn’t changed. But our priorities have evolved—sometimes through need, sometimes through opportunity, and sometimes through hard lessons learned. My early season was very much about infrastructure and belonging – bringing our remote teams back into the fold. Today, I’m proud of how we’ve strengthened trust, celebrated volunteers, and communicated who we are. The next season will continue with empowering our teams with training and confidence, but also to focus on ensuring our financial and operational sustainability.

With changing seasons for the organisation comes changing seasons for the people too. In the last few years we have seen familiar faces move on and new faces grace us, and whilst sometimes we grieve for those we no longer see so often, we also celebrate the gifts they bestowed and the lessons they helped us learn (intended or not!) I am proud of facilitating ultimately positive endings of Hope’s chapters…. knowing a turned page simply gives chance for a new part of the Hope story. Change can be hard and unsettling though, regardless of whether you are seen as the captain… and I do go back to that scripture to help me take a breath and remember that the plan is to prosper us and not to harm us and to be assured that…..

3. We Will Weather the Storms

Challenges come, mistakes happen, balls get dropped. Leadership can feel heavy and often times (because of the uncanny knack Hope has of reeling in those who feel deeply connected to the mission), knocks, alongside the weight of responsibility of each of the team’s roles, can feel personally challenging. But storms teach us. They push us to lean into our values: compassion, working together, trust. And after every storm? We always look for rainbows. There are always lessons of positive change to take from the most frustrating or upsetting situations, if we just take the time to look closely enough. ‘Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 3:13-14) Even the calm seas can surprise us, sending us in unexpected directions and the next thing I know for sure is…

4. There Will Never Be Enough Hours in the Day

A lesser team will rest on its laurels, do the minimum required, or write things off as ‘unachievable’. Sorry everyone, on my watch we will never do that! We’re always learning, trying, listening. The to-do list grows faster than we can tick things off—but that’s okay. We prioritize, we persevere, and we remind ourselves: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ (Philippians 4:13)  But ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up.’ (Galatians 6:9)  We watch out for weariness, because caring for each other matters as much as the work itself and….

5. Hope Nottingham Is Built on Relationships

Relationships—with God and with each other—are our foundation. They require openness, courage, and communication. Sometimes that means prayer, hard truths and tough conversations. But sweeping things under the carpet never works and I am committed to us taking the right but difficult path, over the easy wrong one. I hope I’ve encouraged collaboration and vulnerability in this, as I know for sure that ‘Two are better than one, if one falls, the other can help them up’. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12) At Hope Nottingham, we live that every day – with both our guests and fellow team members.

The last thing I know for sure? I’ve been ‘Hope-ified’ and therefore have buckled myself in ready for the next 5 years! 🌈

My Prayer for Hope

Lord, may we have Hope—in Your plans, in each other, and in ourselves. May we embrace change with courage, celebrate the uniqueness and potential of everyone we encounter, and persevere through challenges with faith and optimism. May we always remember the rainbow after the storm. Lord, may we have Hope.