At Hope Church, we believe and identify with Jesus who came to glorify God and to provide a complete joy and a peace that is difficult to find these days. This specific joy and this perfect peace is available to all. If you have questions about living a life with more joy and peace, please reach out to us. If you would like to read more about the beliefs and identity of Hope Church, we invite you to read below.
OUR CENTRAL EXPERIENCE: ABIDING
On the eve of King Jesus’ crucifixion, He invited His followers to abide in him as a branch abides in the vine (John 15:1-11). To abide in Jesus is to cultivate a close, continual and dependent relationship with the resurrected and exalted Jesus through the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit. The Bible reveals several rewards which this union with Jesus affords, including, but not limited to: an integrated life since all of life is consciously lived in Christ’s presence, experience of divine love, purpose in suffering, fullness of joy and a life that bears much fruit. These are among the satisfying qualities that everyone longs for. They are experienced when one discovers and then remains in the knowledge that Jesus the Lord is near.
OUR VALUES: GOD’S PRESENCE, GUIDANCE & PEACE
Values are deeply held convictions. They are the reasons we do what we do in the ways that we do them. They are the basis for making decisions. At Hope Church, we have three overarching values which motivated Jesus during His time on earth and have been upheld by His followers through the centuries.
We believe that God’s presence is available for all people in all places at all times (Acts 17:26-28). Jesus revealed this reality when he declared that the kingdom of heaven (i.e. the presence and reign of God) is “at hand” (i.e. right here and now) (Matthew 4:17).
We believe that God’s guidance is available to all who seek God and ask Him for wisdom. He is the architect and maker of all things. Therefore, though we may not understand His ways, we believe God’s vision for life and our world is best and for humanity’s good. Though all whom God has made are free to accept or reject His ways; we long for His wisdom, insight and guidance to help us navigate all of life as individuals and as a community. God’s guidance is available to all who ask God for His wisdom (James 1:5-8). You can hear from God!
We believe that God’s peace is available to all. Most people struggle with anxiety and some degree of chaos in life so we provide resources and environments to help people awaken to God’s presence and receive His guidance so more people can experience His peace. When they do, rest, sleep, kindness and a centered soul become a reality. Divine peace becomes our inner experience which is then shared with those around us near and far. This is how Jesus lived. This is God’s vision for individuals, households, local churches and our world; personal and cosmic peace.
OUR AUTHORITY: JESUS
After Jesus came to earth, transformed lives, died on the cross and rose again He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Following Jesus’ ascension and exaltation to the Father’s right hand, the Apostle Peter declared, “…God has made Him both Lord (i.e. King) and Christ (i.e. anointed King)” (Acts 2:36, ESV). Later, the Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus is (among other ultimate things), “…the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18). Therefore, our leader personally and collectively is the Lord Jesus Christ.
OUR VISION: ALL NATIONS
When God created humanity, He said to our ancestors, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…” (Gen. 1:28). When God called Abram, He promised, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Six hundred years before Jesus was born a prophet foresaw the day when, “…the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14). After the Apostle Matthew spent 3 years with Jesus, he foretold that, “…in his name the nations will put their hope” (Matthew 12:21, NIV). After Jesus’ resurrection, He instructed His followers to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-20, ESV). In Revelation, the final book of the Bible, the Apostle John foresaw the day when “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9). Therefore, we pray for, long for, and work with one another toward God’s vision to see all families, communities, and people of all ethnicities lifting up, abiding in and following Jesus in all of life.
OUR MISSION: MAKE DISCIPLES
When Jesus called His first disciples He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19) So, we understand a disciple to be someone who
- Abides with Jesus
- Becomes like Jesus
- Joins Jesus on His mission of love.
After training His disciples for three years He told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18–20). Therefore, an important part of following Jesus is living in His resurrection presence and power as we:
- go to love our neighbors across the street and around the world by praying for them, listening to them, serving them and sharing the reason for our hope – the good news that Jesus is Lord of all;
- baptize those who believe that Jesus is Lord, so they can begin well (Acts 19:1-10); and
- teach those who believe that Jesus is Lord to observe all that He commanded beginning with His three love commands (to love God, one another and neighbors) and then His command to join Him and His followers in His mission to make disciples of all nations.
Simply stated, our mission is to unite with Jesus and His followers to make disciples.
OUR LOVES: GOD, ONE ANOTHER & NEIGHBOR
Love God. When Jesus was asked to reveal the greatest commandment in God’s law, He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).
Love Neighbor. Jesus also said, “and a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:39-40).
Love One Another. A few days later Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
OUR APPROACH: RELATIONSHIPS
While Jesus served people in large and mid-sized groups, His primary method for changing the world was to be with 12 men, of whom He invested most of His time with 3. Therefore, we help each other follow Jesus in all of life through intentional relationships (i.e. being together, listening attentively, caring for one another and lovingly sharing God’s wisdom and guidance when requested or we sense God’s Spirit leading us to do so) focused on meeting people where they are at and walking with them gently and kindly in the direction and at the pace in which God is leading them.
So, we gather to help children, youth and adults follow Jesus in all areas of life in relational environments of various sizes.
Community. On Sunday mornings we unite to worship God by singing, praying, hearing God’s Word read and preached, remembering Jesus through communion and being commissioned to follow and shine for Jesus in all areas of life through a benediction.
Groups. We also come together in small groups throughout the week to celebrate what God is doing, receive help to follow Jesus in all areas of life and pray together.
Family. Each day, in our homes we love, pray for and serve one another. For those who are married, we encourage and equip couples to honor God in their marriage. For those who have children, we encourage and equip parents to pray for and train their children to live with and honor Jesus in all of daily life.
Mentors. We also encourage everyone to seek out opportunities to receive mentoring and participate in the mentoring process for others.
God. Each day we encourage everyone to spend time alone with God to cultivate our relationship with Him through prayer and reading His Word. In addition, we seek to live throughout each day in union with the Resurrected Jesus, who has sent the Holy Spirit to live in His followers, wherever we go and in all that we do. Jesus invited us all into this way of life on the night before His crucifixion when He said, “abide in me” and “abide in my love” (John 15:1-11).
OUR MESSAGE: KINGDOM
When Jesus came to earth, he proclaimed, prayed about and demonstrated that there is another reality which he called the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God. His central message about the kingdom is that children, women, and men can experience the presence and power of God through faith in himself, the kingdom’s King. This is the good news (sometimes called the gospel or evangel)! Surrender to Jesus includes yielding more and more of our lives over time to His kingdom ways which brings purpose to life and more of heaven to earth.
OUR COMMITMENTS: GROW, GATHER, GIVE & GO
We seek to follow Jesus and help others do the same by cultivating the following 4 habits.
Grow
Each of us seeks to grow in Christ through believing He is Lord of all, abiding in Him, reading God’s Word and praying daily.
Gather
We gather at Hope’s campus on Sunday mornings, in one another’s homes in small groups and throughout the city as friends in mentoring relationships to worship God, learn from the Bible, pray and encourage one another to follow Christ and help others do the same.
Give
We unite to see Christ’s church become glorious by giving our time as volunteers according to the needs of the church, giving our offerings as first fruits to the Lord and sharing our resources with one another. Beyond giving to Hope in these ways, when God prompts us to be generous toward other ministries and people, we encourage one another to do so.
Go
We join Jesus and His followers in His mission to make disciples of all nations by opening our homes and tables for our neighbors and going to love them across the street and around the world in action and word, baptizing those who believe Jesus is Lord and then training believers over time to obey Jesus and all His ways.