Church of Hope began in 2006. Three pastors and a handful of people began meeting in Elk River with the sole purpose to honor and glorify Jesus Christ.
Our mission is clear. We have been called to impact the next generation with the gospel by worshipping Him, serving His church, walking in Biblical community with one another, and telling lost people the good news of the gospel!
Everything at Church of Hope springs from the well of the gospel. The gospel means "good news." The gospel is the message that God is the Holy and Righteous Creator of everything including you and I. This means He has ownership authority over all that He has made, including you and I. Man has sinned against God and this sin has spread to all mankind, so that each one one of us is born with a sin nature. The wages or payment for sin is death, both physically and spiritually. Because of sin, mankind is separated from God and has earned eternal wrath from God. Men and women can do nothing to earn their way to God to be at peace with God. All of their attempts to do so simply digs a deeper hole. Our own righteousness is filthy rags. Doesn't sound like good news, does it?! You have to understand the bad news in order for the good news to be really good. Here it is--God out of love sent His Son Jesus, who is fully God and fully man, to this earth to live the perfect life you and I can never live. He died the death and absorbed the wrath of God that every one of us deserves. Three days later He rose from the grave conquering sin and death. Whoever repents of their sin and puts their trust in Jesus and Jesus alone for their salvation will be saved. Those who do so glorify God by enjoying Him forever! God's plan for them is to make them more and more like Jesus until Jesus comes back to bring judgement to all those that did not obey the gospel and rescue and rest for all those that did obey the gospel!
What to expect at Church of Hope on Sunday Mornings: We are not a "seeker sensitive" church. Our aim is to make much of Jesus and we believe when He is glorified, people find joy, peace, and comfort in knowing Him. We aim to preach from the Bible, worship in spirit and truth, love one another as Christ has loved us, and serve in humility. We are growing as a house of prayer as we believe this is what God has called His church to be. It is our desire to see everything flow from a posture of prayer because we understand that without Him we can do nothing. So, we spend time praying together during the service. Nursery is an option for little ones through the entirety of the service. Children pre-k to 5th grade are in the service until the teaching time. At that point they go to be taught by our children's teachers the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our aim that after a short period of time, our children, youth, and adults are able to answer the question, "What is the Gospel?"
What to expect on Wednesday Nights: We come together at 5:45 pm to eat pizza and then have men's Bible Study, women's Bible Study, Youth, and Kids Club from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. At 7:30 pm we all come together in the gym for a time of Praise and Prayer until 8:15 pm.
Community Groups: Each of the Elders of Church of Hope lead a Community Group. These groups get together once a month to continue to grow in community together. Twice a year these groups meet every Sunday for 4 weeks after the service in a home to dig deeper into the Word, pray, worship, ask questions, eat food, and fellowship together.
Missions and Outreach: We believe we have been called to reach the people within our community/spheres of influence with the gospel. We do that through different outreach events (such as: neighborhood VBS, Christmas caroling/gift outreach, hosting a booth at national off-road races) to the community, as well as, each individual taking the gospel to their work place, neighborhood, and school. We understand that the mission given to the church is to make disciples of all nations. We recognize that the nations are coming to us like never before and are committed to getting the gospel to them. We do short term missions trips that are geared around reaching the nations that are coming to us. We are also involved in fighting against the modern day holocaust of abortion in our state. We plead with women to not murder their children and share the gospel outside of abortion clinics.
Growing as a House of Prayer: As stated earlier, we want everything to flow from a place of prayer. On top of the regular prayer gatherings, we set aside 3 days every quarter of prayer and fasting called "Sunup Sundown." We gather at 7 am and 7 pm in person and on Zoom each of the three days for worship-based prayer.
We would love to have you come be a part of what the Lord is doing here at Church of Hope!