The Vision of Hope

At Hope Reformed Church we seek to be a church growing in relationship with God, each other, and our community. This is a big vision for a small church, and it will require all hands on deck, “Keeping in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). Prayerfully, we believe that God will help us to accomplish this vision for His church.

 

 

Our vision grew out of a planning meeting held by our core team when we were first starting the church. At that time, we looked at our core values and spent time talking about what our church would look like in the future if we were really living out of those values. For each value we identified effects that would happen as the value was realized.

 

As we reviewed all of the various effects across each of our core values, we realized that most of the effects that we prayed would mark our church could fit into three categories or areas of focus. Our directional focus became looking upward, looking inward, and looking outward.

 

We will seek to look upward as we prayerfully focus on God’s glory, teaching and preaching from His Word, using the specific gifts and talents of each member in various ministries for all ages. As we look upward, we desire for each person in our church to be growing in a closer relationship with God. Having a personal relationship with God is the most important decision that any of us make. God told the Israelites that He would walk among them and would be their God and they would be His people (Leviticus 26:12). I often tell people in the community, “If you are in a Gospel preaching church where you are growing in your relationship with God and in Christ’s likeness, stay there. If you aren’t, you should be looking for a church.”

 

We will seek to look inward knowing and praying for each others’ needs; sharing our lives, cares, struggles, and joys; and encouraging, correcting, and forgiving each other in love. It is important for God’s people to grow in their relationships with each other. Ephesians 4 reminds us that we are to use our individual gifts to build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12). Paul goes on to write, “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16

 

 

We will seek to look outward making every effort to transform the world and not be transformed by it, being missional in our daily lives, seeking, listening to, and humbly serving any who are outside of the church. God calls each of His sons and daughters to serve as ambassadors, representing Him to the world around us (2 Corinthians 5:20). As God’s “peculiar treasure” we should reflect His goodness and grace to the world around us.

 

If you are looking for a church where you can grow in your relationship with God, with members of the church, and with the community where you live and work, we would love for you to join us this Sunday for worship. If you’re curious about what all of this means, maybe you’re just looking for a relationship, we would love for you to join us this Sunday for worship. As one of our members recently posted on our Facebook page, “We are not a church with a lot of bells and whistles – just good Bible teaching and people who recognize their need for God’s transforming power. Please consider… fellowshipping with us for Sunday worship and Wednesday Bible study!”

 

“Union is one of the most amiable things, that pertains to human society; yea, ’tis one of the most beautiful and happy things on earth, which indeed makes earth most like heaven” Jonathan Edwards (God’s Grand Design, 170).

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