Our Mission
At Church of Hope, our mission is to "Impact the Next Generation with the Gospel." Our vision is to be a church that is actively involved in our community, serving as Jesus has called us to serve and loving as God has loved us. We pray that God will use us to bring encouragement and hope to young people and their families as they encounter Jesus Christ.
THE GOSPEL
The gospel is the good news that God is the righteous Creator, man has sinned and is therefore separated from God and facing His wrath, Jesus came to save us from our sins by living the perfect life that we can never live, dying the death we deserve, and rising from the grave conquering sin and death so that whoever believes in Jesus will not be punished but will have everlasting life.
CYCLE OF HOPE
Romans 15:13
“Now may the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
BE KNOWN to Know:
There is no greater reality than to be known by God. Now, it’s true, God knows everyone and everything in that He is God and is all knowing. However, that is not the kind of “knowing” we are talking about here. This word is the same word used in Genesis 4:1 “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived…” This is the same word in Matthew 7:23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” This is the same word used in Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection…”
A snap shot of what we mean: You can go to the White House and stand at the gate after studying everything there is to know (head knowledge) about the President but until he tells Secret Service that He knows you and you are his honored guest, you’re not getting in.
We can know God! Why? Because He wants us to. There is nothing more exciting than this. We have nothing more to brag about than this. Jeremiah 9:24 “But let him who glories glory in this that he understands and knows me…” John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” This is our great HOPE!
Organizational:
We worship together on Sunday mornings in the preaching of gospel-centered sermons, radical praise, desperate prayer, and giving of our tithes and offerings.
There is kid’s church for the younger children where they will be taught the incredible truths of the gospel.
Wednesday nights are specifically geared towards prayer for the adults. There is youth church as well as kid’s church which also have a component of prayer. The teachings for both children and youth are gospel-centered.
There are additional Bible studies running 6 weeks at a time with a month off in between. These studies consist of a rotation of women and men Bible studies.
Organic:
As individuals we need to get into the Word and prayer on our own. Parents need take the lead in having family worship at home. Resources will be provided. No one will have greater impact in the lives of youth/children than parents.
BE LOVED to Love:
True love does not come from us. The only way that we can truly love is if we have first been loved by God. 1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” God always makes the first move. We respond to that love by loving Him with the love that He has poured into us. This is not man made love, but rather, true love. How do we know God loves us? He sent His Son to be the substitute for our sin. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Now we can love others. We love out of the heart that has experienced His love. 1 John 4:11 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
Organizational:
Each member of the elder board leads their own shepherding group. Each elder recruits a younger couple to mentor and this younger couple really becomes the face of the group. These groups provide the opportunity for ministering to each other, praying for each other, accountability, and growing together in community. These groups get together once a month throughout the year with 6-8 week specific studies in the spring and fall.
Organic:
Out of the shepherding groups relationships will naturally grow and families will get together on their own for food, fun, and fellowship.
BE SERVED to Serve:
When Jesus was washing the disciple’s feet at the last supper, He was painting a picture of what He was about to do on the cross. He was showing them the purpose for His coming. Matthew 20:28, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Christ came to this earth humbly—in meekness—not looking to be served. He was not looking to be waited on. One would think that if ever anyone had a right to be served it would be the Son of God. And yet He said, “No, I have come to serve you!” How did he serve us? Well, He served people in many ways while He walked this earth and yet it was all pointing toward His ultimate serving. The giving of His life as a ransom for us. Paid in full—you have never been served like this anywhere.
It is out of this fountain that we serve each other. Once again, this is a response. This is the only thing that makes sense now as far as the kingdom of God goes. It doesn’t make sense to the world. If you want to experience greatness, be a servant? To the world, that’s crazy talk. To the believer in Christ, it’s the overflow of the heart that has been greatly served.
Organizational: We provide opportunities to serve each other through varying ministries within the church. Our goal in this is that each person would be a part of 1 to 2 ministries within the church body based on their calling, passions, gifts, and abilities.
Organic: Each person should be encouraged to serve their family members, neighbors, classmates, and co-workers.
BE FOUND to Find:
Not one of us would be saved had God not found us. He invaded our space. We don’t look for God on our own. Romans 3:10-11 says, “As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.'”
Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” If this is why Jesus came, what do we think He wants us to be doing? The whole idea of discipleship is to make disciples. This starts with people being found. Matthew 28: 18-20: “And Jesus came to them saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” This is the cycle of discipleship: All authority is His. So, go and make disciples of all nations. Once they are found they need to be baptized and then begins the process of teaching them everything Jesus taught: BE KNOWN to know, BE LOVED to love, BE SERVED to serve, and BE FOUND to find. Every one of us is called to make disciples.
Organizational:
We ask ourselves, what is our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and ends of the earth?
Jerusalem-Our circle of Elk River: We reach out in our community through sporting events (ie: sports camps, after game parties, FCA, open gyms, mountain biking events, disc golf events, fishing/hunting events), vacation Bible schools, and neighborhood BBQ’s, worship nights, arts and crafts, Thanksgiving outreach, Christmas outreach, Easter egg hunt, racing events, camping adventures, nursing home outreach, prison ministry, etc.
Judea-Twin Cities: We reach out in and around the Twin Cities by partnering with Teen Challenge Lakeside Academy in Buffalo (monthly) and Smile Again Ministries in Crosslake.
Samaria-partnering with Rosedale church in Kansas City for short term mission trips.
Ends of the Earth-partnering with a global mission field through prayer, financial support, on-going relationship building, going, and hosting the missionaries here.
Organic:
It is the call of every believer to be a carrier of the gospel to our families, neighborhoods, work places, and anyone else the Lord lays on our hearts. Each member of the church will be equipped to share the truth of the gospel. We will see the lives of those around us transformed as we pray and share the gospel.
Each One Reach One: We will ask the Lord to lay an individual or family on our hearts from our neighborhood or work place or surrounding area that He wants us to reach out to. We will intentionally look for ways (ie: dinners, activities/events) to invest in their lives and share the gospel with them.
Multiplication Factor: When each family within our church does this, we will be disciples making disciples and gospel-powered multiplication will happen.