The Mission of Hope Community Church
The Mission of Hope Community Church is to reconcile all people to God and to one another in Jesus Christ. This is based on II Corinthians 5:18, which says, "God has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation."
The Vision of Hope Community Church
"Hope is a church family centered on Jesus Christ, where we value all people, where we serve one another, where we pursue maturity in relationships and where we believe love will draw nonbelievers to Jesus, to the glory of God."
The Values of Hope Community Church
To Talk to God about Everything
(Philippians 4:6-7)
Everyone needs a father, to know that they are loved, listened to, cared for and protected. We believe that God is our Abba [Daddy] Father and we want to live our lives in constant communication with Him. This means that we desire to be in a conversation with God, all day every day, to talk and listen to Him about the small things and big things in our lives. We pray for ourselves, but we also constantly ask Him on behalf of others. Of course there are many ways to pray. We can pray Scripture, while we praise and worship in singing, when we are all alone on our knees, or while hanging out with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And in those desperate times when we’re not sure what to pray, the Bible promises that the Holy Spirit [see below] guides us and even prays for us, alongside us. Most of all, we say thanks for His presence in our lives.
To Surrender Our Wills to the Holy Spirit
(Romans 8:1-17)
We need power. We need to know that we can grow and change and become all God has created us to be. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is that One known as the Comforter, the Helper, whom Jesus sent to us to teach, guide, fill, grow and change us. But the Holy Spirit will not force His influence on us. We are called to take a step of faith and obedience to surrender our wills to Him. This is not a “once for all” action, but a daily, moment-by-moment surrender. When we live our lives in submission to the Holy Spirit a supernatural transformation begins to take place. His power begins to mold us into the image and character of Jesus Christ. We begin to live like Jesus and to reflect the holiness and righteousness of our Father in heaven. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, self-control – the fruit of the Holy Spirit – begins to characterize our lives. And that is a beautiful thing!
To Long for and Live the Teachings of the Bible
(II Timothy 3:16-17)
In our world there are many confusing voices. We all need a guide. Jesus Christ, the central focus of the church is THE guide. So, He is called the “living Word.” But the Bible, the “written Word”, foretells the coming of Jesus through the law, prophets and wisdom literature of the Old Testament. It also tells us what Jesus is like, about His character, life, teachings, sacrificial death, resurrection, promised return and especially His great love for us. In other words, His Word shows us His way! So to love Him is to love His Word. To follow Him is to follow His Word. His Word gives life to our soul. So we commit to saturating ourselves in His Word, both individually and as a community. And we commit to asking God to help us apply His Word to every area of our lives.
To Live in Intimate and Authentic Community
(Colossians 3:12-17; Acts 2:40-47)
In our culture autonomy is cultivated and applauded, yet we long for deep connection with God and others. We long for community. Jesus modeled this for us in His relationship with His Father and with the people He shared His life with on earth. Whether Jesus was meeting one on one, with His most intimate companions [the 12], or with the crowds, His type of community was marked by serving others, treating them as more important than Himself even when it cost Him dearly, boldly crossing over the cultural barriers of His day and always unselfishly pointing people to His Father. We are committed to glorifying God by pursuing this same kind of community in real, life-changing relationship with others, persevering through and dealing with the inevitable difficulties that will come. And by God’s love, grace and the power of His Holy Spirit we will live in community, like Jesus, all the way home to heaven.
To Live Out equality
(Ephesians 2:19-22; Colossians 3:11; Acts 17:26-31)
We live in a world of hierarchy, where we are tiered, ranked, separated and pitted against one another according to our supposed value. This kind of system is one factor that leads to many living marginalized, sad and oppressed lives. But whatever the methods of ranking, separating, and making distinctions brought to us by culture – racial, ethnic, socio-economic, educational, gender, age, personality, body-type and a myriad of others – the Bible teaches that each human being [and each people group] is created equally in the image of God and loved equally and personally by Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, the Bible says that the blood of Christ’s sacrificial death covers all people equally and without distinction. In other words, Jesus Christ died to bring all of us, equally, together! We understand that not everyone has believed or will believe in Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, we commit to loving all people equally in order to demonstrate to all that God’s great love is real and offered freely to them in Christ.
To Love Mercy and Do Justice
(Micah 6:8, Matthew 25:34-40; James 1:27)
In our very human world, mercy is often absent and injustice often prevails. This leaves people [and people groups] with little opportunity or power to develop into all God has created them to be. We believe the gospel of Jesus Christ values the well being of the whole person. This means that the church of Jesus must address the physical, social, economic and psychological needs of the person as well as the spiritual. We also believe that justice and mercy must be lived out among people groups. Of special concern to us are those in the body of Christ and those who live in our surrounding neighborhood. In obedience to the Scripture, we will seek tangible expressions of compassion that comfort and empower the needy and oppressed, the broken-hearted and the stranger. We also seek, in the name of Jesus, not only to empower the individual toward wholeness, but also to influence the systems and structures that end up determining how individuals are treated.