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Welcome to Hope Discipleship! Hope Christian Discipleship exists to joyfully proclaim the gospel of the Christian’s Union to King Jesus – through the means of Soul Care, Discipleship, Online Resources, and Speaking. On this website we have a number of resources that are available. We will be adding on to these resources continually, so keep checking back in to see what’s new. Also, don’t forget to click the “Follow” button on the bottom right of this page and you will automatically be notified when we add a new article or resource.

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Soul Care

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Discipleship

We offer a sixteen week discipleship course where we meet live with individuals, or married couples, to work through our Hope Discipleship material – which is rooted in the Christian’s Union with Christ. If you are located outside of the Myrtle Beach area, we can set up meetings online through Facetime or Zoom. The entire course is available for $600. If you are interested in signing up for this course, please contact Tim Melton at: tunamelton@gmail.com
Scholarships are available upon request

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Online Resources

Articles and Devotionals

These are gospel oriented articles and devotionals where we delve deeper into the gospel relating to every day life and living out our Union with Christ. We also include helpful articles regarding areas of particular struggle such as depression, anxiety, addiction, marriage, singleness, parenting, etc.
* Click Here to view Articles and Devotionals

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King Jesus Video Discipleship Series:

This is an online video discipleship resource that is built around the foundation of Union with Christ.
* Click Here to view the King Jesus series

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Valley of Vision Remix Prayer Series

This is a selection of prayers, from ”The Valley of Vision”, that are presented in modern English and written in various forms of liturgy, poetry, rhythmic spoken word.
* Click Here to view the Valley of Vision Remix series

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Gospel Info-graphics

This is a series of resources that help to visually communicate different aspects of theology and Christian living.
* Click Here to view the Gospel Infographic series

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Sermons and Teaching

These are gospel oriented sermons preached by Tim Melton along with other notable speakers and teachers.
* Click Here to view Sermon series

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Supporting Hope Discipleship

Hope Christian Discipleship is a non-profit ministry. We exist totally on the gracious gifts of those who support us. Therefore, please feel free to use any and all of the resources that we place on our website – free of charge.  If you use our materials, we only ask that you:
1) Give ownership credit to Hope Discipleship,
2) Do not charge others for our materials, and
3) Consider supporting us in prayer and financial support.
* Click Here to give a financial gift to Hope Discipleship.
* All gifts are tax deductible.

Christ in you is the Hope of Glory!

Philippians 1:27

What We Do:

• Speaking and Preaching: Tim is available to speak at retreats, conferences, and church services. The only fee we require is travel and expenses.
• Hope Discipleship Resource Website: On our website, we continually write or re-post articles and sermons that are related to the Gospel – especially as it applies to Soul Care. We also preview and recommend resources by other Christian authors that we feel best reflect Union with Christ and the Gospel.
• Creating Discipleship Curriculum: In addition, we create Discipleship material using a variety of styles that is readily available on our website. We also have “hard copy” material that you can purchase through Amazon.
• Online Discipleship: We meet with individuals or small groups to work through our Discipleship material which is rooted in the Christian’s Union with Christ. If you are located outside of the Myrtle Beach area, we can set up appointments online through Facetime or Zoom.
• Soulcare Appointments: This is a pastoral shaped ministry for those struggling in particular life situations – such as marriage, parenting, singleness, work, school, relationships, family wounds, general depression and anxiety, abuse, addiction, and forgiveness. These appointments are also available through phone, Facetime, or Zoom.

What We DON’T Do:

• We Are Not Clinical Counselors: To be clear, we are NOT licensed clinical counselors so we do not “treat” or provide “professional” counseling. We are a “pastoral ministry” that offers the gospel, prayer, experienced friendship, and Spirit-led biblical Soul Care to those who are struggling.
• We Are Not a Replacement for Clinical Counseling. We are not a replacement for professional counselors, psychologists, or psychiatrists who specialize in areas of mental illness, self-harm, clinical depression, behavioral disorders, PTSD, sexual abuse, addictions, etc. If a client is struggling with issues of this nature, we would refer you to a licensed clinical counselor. However, because we do believe a clear understanding of the Gospel helps in all these situations we would be glad to walk with you in a Soul Care ministry to point you to the “Good News” of Christ in the midst of your struggle!

Hello, we are Tim and Martha Jo Melton and we have two children. Our daughter Callie is 28 and married to Drew, and our son Camp is 23. We presently live in Myrtle Beach, SC and, yes, the weather really is beautiful here all year round, just as long as the hurricanes stay away. We have over 30 years of Christian ministry experience together – mostly in Presbyterian Churches. We met at  Columbia International University (CIU) where we graduated with BA degrees in Biblical Studies and Theology. We married shortly after and spent the next 30 years in full time ministry.  During the first half of our ministry (15 years) we worked with teenagers in Presbyterian churches (ARP and PCA) where we partnered with Young Life student ministry.  During the second half of ministry, Tim went on to get his Seminary degree (MA in Theology) from CIU and transitioned to Adult Pastoral Ministry at Surfside Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Myrtle Beach, SC. Meanwhile, Martha Jo continued as a volunteer leader for the youth and women’s ministry at Surfside Presbyterian, where we both served for over 15 years.

Our Early Ministry: In the early years of our work together, we developed a high sense of relational ministry – learning to share the gospel with students in the context of trusted friendships.  These years were very fruitful as we saw many students come to a saving knowledge of Christ – many who are now serving in gospel ministry as ordained pastors, missionaries, and youth workers.  However, the success of those early years in ministry could not overcome the legalism and self-righteousness that we held in our hearts.  Nor could it assuage the lingering memories of our painful childhood experiences.  Most of our ministry energy emerged from a desperate attempt to somehow overcome these obstacles – seeking to justify ourselves through our performance. By God’s grace, in 1999 Martha Jo and I attended a conference that would change the trajectory of our lives in a dramatically profound way.

Our Shaping Influences: In October of 1999, we attended a Sonship Conference sponsored by World Harvest Mission, now called Serge. It totally changed our understanding of the Gospel and how we do ministry. Serge’s Sonship Conferences, Mentoring and curriculum, basically teaches that the Gospel that saves you is also the gospel that radically transforms you. Sounds basic, right? But what we have found in our own lives as well as the church folks we have worked with in the past 30 years, is that most of us not only have a truncated view of the Gospel, but we also only see it as only having to do with our initial salvation. We completely miss it’s power to transform us in our day to day walk and instead we either try to perform for God so He’ll stay pleased with us, or we add “Christian” to our descriptors while continuing to live our lives exactly as we had before. In 1999, we were Bible College graduates serving in ministry and we were living like we were spiritual orphans having to fend for ourselves. Looking back it wasn’t the just the teaching at the Sonship conference that made the biggest difference (although it was fantastic!) The most powerful part for us was meeting with a Sonship “Soul Care” Mentor each day who walked us through, and help us to apply, what we were learning to our daily lives. This Soul Care mentor asked us disruptive questions, exposed some ugly lies we were believing, and presented Jesus and His work for us in a way that truly put his glory and beauty on display! Our biggest joy in ministry since that time has been doing the same thing for others that was done for us during that Sonship Conference – helping people apply the Gospel in all of it’s fullness to all areas of life.

Calling and Ministry Influences: During the summer of 2018, Martha Jo and I were led by Christ to resign our ministry positions at Surfside church.  We now endeavor to serve Christ through the ministry of Hope Christian Discipleship and Soul Care. Martha Jo and I continue to immerse ourselves in the scriptures, endeavoring to believe the gospel, repenting of our unbelief, and learning to rest more deeply in Jesus’ love.  We also frequently read Dan Allender, Tremper Longman, Nancy Guthrie, Jack Miller, John Owen, John Frame, Michael Reeves, Tim Keller, Paul Tripp, Tim Lane, Chuck DeGroat, David Powlison, Ed Welch, Elyse Fitzpatrick, Jen Wilkins, Tara Barthel, Ebeneezer Erskine, Paul Miller, Sinclair Ferguson, Walter Marshall, Eugene Peterson, C.S. Lewis, and Henri Nouwen. The writings of these men and women – along with the theme of our Union with Christ – is pervasive in all that we do – in preaching, teaching, writing, pastoral counseling, and in our interpersonal relationships.

Hope Christian Counseling exists to joyfully proclaim the gospel of the Christian’s Union to King Jesus – through the means of discipleship, teaching, and training. We desire to proclaim this glorious gospel to unbelievers and believers; to all people and all races; to Christian leaders, staff, deacons, elders, and pastors; to the family, the church, and the city. We endeavor to do this so that followers of Christ might more richly understand their Union with Christ and – in so doing – continually delight in the Triune God in ever increasing joy.

Again, our ministry consists of three distinct elements:

1) Discipleship.  This is the counseling area of our ministry where a Hope Counselor meets one-on-one with individuals to help them understand the gospel through the lens of a Union with Christ. Our hope in this work is to create a consciously Christ oriented foundation that will help Christians to address specific areas of their lives with the gospel. We believe that no true change can occur in a person’s life unless they live out of a Union with Christ and learn to properly understand and embrace the gospel.

2) Teaching.  This is the curriculum area of our ministry where we will provide discipleship oriented materials on our website.  These materials include:
a) A Discipleship Video Series called, “Christian Discipleship and King Jesus”
b) A Devotional Study Guide
c) A Prayer Series called, “Refreshed in the Valley of Vision”
d) Gospel Info-graphics that visualize different aspects of theology and Christian living.

3) Training.  This is the leadership area of our ministry where we will provide ongoing training, encouragement, and counsel for church leaders so that they might be better equipped to serve and support the people that Christ has placed in their care.

Hope Christian Counseling is a non-profit ministry. We exist totally on the gracious gifts of those who support us. Therefore, please feel free to use any and all of the resources that we place on our website – free of charge.  If you use our materials, we only ask that you:
1) Give ownership credit to Hope Counseling,
2) Do not charge others for our materials, and
3) Consider supporting us in prayer and financial support.

* All gifts are tax deductible.

This Dark Guest.  This Hidden Passenger.

O Lord, at beginning of repentance, I pray this:
Bend my hands or even cut them off…

These hands

• These hands
  • Hands that should embrace you by faith,
    yet how often they have struck you
• These hands
  • Curled in fists
    hatefully driven by my wayward will
• And My eye
  • My eye has a hidden desire to seek my fame in all I do;
    to see my name in lights
• And My heart
  • My heart sinfully worships created glory, worldly honor,
    human wisdom, and the esteem of men

But to pray that you should cut these things away?
This is law not grace.
So, my repentance must grow deeper, it must have a greater goal

So, Help me not only speak the phrase “I am sinful”
but to see the sin itself – the Dark Guest, the Hidden Passenger
Help me to view my undiscovered sinfulness
Help me to know that, though my sins are crucified,
they are never fully killed

That is why I need You ever still

The Dark Guest, the Hidden Passenger – My Sins

• They live. They breathe…
• hidden in the recesses of my sinful heart
• Hatred,
• Malice,
• Ill-will,
• Self-glory – that hungers for man’s approval
  and hunts for man’s applause
• All Crucified. All Forgiven
• Yet they live, they breathe,
  longing to rise again in my sinful heart

That is why I need You ever still

O my Dark Guest.  My sinful heart! Crucified, but never fully killed!

• O my life-long damage,
• O my daily shame
• O my sin!
• Ever indwelling, ever besetting
• O the tormenting slavery of my addicted flesh
• O that Dark Guest within,
• Living, breathing,
  longing to make a home in the recesses of my heart

That is why I need You ever still

For You have not left me here without your Grace;
O Spirit of Christ, destroy this Dark Guest within,
whose hidden, lurking presence makes my life a living hell
Let the Cross stand to meet my needs,
penetrating deep beneath, in the darkness of my soul

I thank you that you help me to remember You
For to remember my sins
causes me to also remember Your Cross
The awareness of my sin
drives me once again to the comfort of Your Love
So then also bring into my mind the remembrance

• of your help,
• of your support from heaven,
• of your great grace that saves a wretch like me

There is no treasure so great as Your Cross,
There is no gift so great as Your Grace toward me
Only Your Grace and Your presence alone
can subdue the Dark Guest within

That is why I need You ever still

Now, as repentance matures, I pray –
Give me only You, and then all else –
– hands,
– eyes,
– heart,
all will be at rest.

Dream Your dream within me Christ,
and Captivate my wayward will.
Crucify my nightmare flesh
and mortify all other dreaming idols…

Slay my Dark Guest

• So that You might Live,
  • and You might Breathe,
    • as the only Living Treasure left
      • within my Captive Heart

Lord Jesus, I am sinful.

Help me that I may
never cease grieving because of my sin,
never be content with myself,
never think I can reach a point of perfection.

Kill my envy,
command my tongue,
trample down my selfish pride.

Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peaceable,

• to live for You and not for myself,
• to copy Your words, acts, spirit,
• to be transformed into Your likeness,
• to be consecrated and set apart entirely to You,
• to live completely for Your glory.

Deliver me from attachment to things unclean,

• from wrong associations,
• from the predominance of evil passions,
• from the sugar of sin as well as its bitterness;
• that I may, with self-loathing, deep contrition, and earnest heart searching,
  • come to You,
  • cast myself on You,
  • trust in You, cry to You,
  • and be delivered by You.

O God, the Eternal Everything,
help me to know that all things are shadows, but You are the Substance,

• all things are quicksand, but You are the Mountain,
• all things are shifting, but You are the Anchor,
• all things are ignorance, but You are the Wisdom.

If my life is to be a vessel used to purify a love of God amid a burning heat, so be it,
but dear Christ, sit at the furnace mouth to watch the ore that no good from You is lost.
If I sin willfully, grievously, tormentedly,
Then Shake me, Shock me, Unhinge me by Your Grace
Undress every hidden place and remove my obscure idols Christ, until I’m only Thine

In Mercy…

• take away my mourning and give me music;
• remove my sackcloth and clothe me with beauty;
• still my sighs and fill my mouth with song,
• and over my wintry heart send the summer breeze of Your Favor

Undress every hidden place and remove my obscure idols Christ, until I’m only Thine

O my Jesus, I thank You from the depths of my being
For Your wondrous grace and love
In bearing my sin in Your own body on the tree.

May Your cross be to me

• As the tree that sweetens my bitter Marahs [1],
• As the rod that blossoms with life and beauty [2],
• As the brazen serpent that calls forth the look of faith [3].

By your cross crucify my every sin;

• Use it to increase my intimacy with Your self;
• Make it the ground of all my comfort,
• The liveliness of all my duties,
• The sum of all Your gospel promises,
• the comfort of all my afflictions,
• the vigor of all my love, thankfulness, and graces,
• the very essence of all my worship;
• And by it give me the quiet rest of ceaseless praise.

O my Lord and Savior,
You have also appointed a cross for me to take up and carry,
You give me a cross before You give me a crown.
You have appointed my cross to be my portion,
but

My Self-love hates it,
My Carnal reason is unreconciled to it;
Without the grace of patience
I cannot bear it, Walk with it, Or profit by it.

O blessed cross, what awesome mercies You bring with You!
You are only esteemed as hateful by my rebel will,
And only heavy because I look to myself instead of Christ.

Teach me, gracious Lord and Savior,
That with the cross you have appointed for me, You also send me promised grace

So please help me to bear it patiently, knowing…

• That my cross is Your yoke,
• That my burden is Your call,
• That my pain is Your sanctifying fingers, shaping me for glory.

So, please help me dearest Christ, to believe…

• That Your yoke is my delight
• That Your call is my divine satisfaction, and
• That Your sanctifying grip is leading me to ultimate joy in Your presence and eternal pleasures at your right hand [4]

 

God’s Good Pleasure, Valley of Vision, p. 222

O Sovereign Lord,
Your Will is supreme in heaven and earth,
All things are orchestrated by your hands
All beings are created by just the whisper of your voice.
You are the author of our lives;
Your instruction gives us understanding,
Your providence governs our steps.

O Loving God,
We are sinners in your sight;
You have made this clear to us and if we deny it we make you out to be a liar.
Yet in Christ You have graciously reconciled yourself to your rebellious people;
You love us despite our lack of love
You care for us despite our lack of care
You lead us to flourish despite our desire to cast ourselves into ruin.

O Gracious God,
We are wretched and unable to change our steps toward destruction.
Give us the ears of faith to hear Christ,
Give us the eyes of faith to see Christ,
Give us the appetite of faith to feed on Christ;
That we might find in him music, light, nourishment, and all other graces that produce eternal joy.

You are the inviting one – – – may we listen to you;
You are the almighty instructor – – – teach us to live to you;
You are the light-dweller – – – inaccessible to man and angels,

Hiding Yourself behind the elements of creation,
But known to us in Jesus.
Possess our minds with the grandeur of Your perfections.

Your Love to us in Jesus is firm and changeless,
Nothing can separate us from it,
And in the enjoyment of it nothing can make us miserable.

Our Hearts are Prone to:

Evil,
vanity,
forwardness,
insensibility,
disorderly affection,
and backwardness to duty,

So then,
Preserve us from hypocrisy and dead formality in our worship;
Enable us to remember what you are what we are,
Enable us to recall your holiness and our unworthiness;
Help us to approach you, clothed with humility,
Let us never forget your patience, wisdom, power, faithfulness, care,
And never let us cease to respond to Your gospel invitations.