Hope Church

About Hope Church

Our Vision:

To see the Gospel transform everything – ourselves as individuals, our church, our city, and the world.

Our Mission:

Love God, Love People, and Share Hope!

Our Message:

God created the world. We, His creatures, rebelled against Him. But God, in unfathomable grace, sent His Son Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins. Through faith in Jesus we have been forgiven of our sins, welcomed as sons and daughters, and empowered by His Spirit to live lives which reflect His goodness and love. This is the Gospel. This is our core passion from which all of our other desires and ministries flow.

Our Two Primary Expressions:

Sunday Gathered is our weekly worship service. For an hour and a half we gather to sing songs of worship, to hear teaching from the Scriptures, to share in Communion, and to celebrate our shared faith. Come as you are, ready to participate and to be challenged.

Grace Groups meet throughout the week at various times & locations in and around Jonesboro, Stockbridge, McDonough, Atlanta, Ellenwood, Riverdale, and beyond. As our Sunday gatherings continue to grow larger and larger, Grace Groups are where we practice the Gospel in the context of authentic community. These groups, ranging from 6-20 people, are where we’ll share our faith, reach the lost, exercise our gifts, be shepherded, and grow in Christ-likeness.

 

Core Values

1)  GOSPEL FORMATION. We desire to see the Gospel transform everything – ourselves as individuals, our church, our city, and the world.

2)  COMMUNITY. In addition to our Sunday morning gatherings, we ask all our people to commit to and fully participate in Grace Groups where they may reach the lost, exercise their gifts, be shepherded, and grow in Christ-likeness (Acts 2:44-46).

3)  AUTHENTIC WORSHIP. We are not a church that just plays music and sings songs…We will celebrate the Presence of Jesus through worship. Our worship experiences are designed to exalt Jesus Christ and to move us into a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him.

4)  FAMILY. We support the spiritual nurture of the family as one of God’s dynamic means to perpetuate the Christian faith (2 Tim. 1:5). We value Gospel-centered, life-giving, and creative ministry for all ages. HOPEville and Planet HOPE will teach your children what it means to know Jesus Christ. Our goal is partner with parents in raising up children who are committed followers of Jesus Christ.

5)  LOST PEOPLE. We value unchurched, lost people and we will use every available Christ-honoring means to pursue, win, and grow them to maturity in the faith (Luke 19:10).

6)  SERVING. We seek to equip all of our people to effective accomplish the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:11-13). Hope Church will be a church that loves our community by serving our community. We will do so through community initiatives and compassionate acts of kindness.

7)  CULTURAL DIVERSITY. We endeavor to reflect real cultural diversity in every area of the life of our church. That’s why Hope Church has a strong team of pastors, elders, and leaders, who reflect the beautiful cultural diversity of our communities.

8)  CHURCH-PLANTING CHURCH. We believe that the church is empowered with the living presence of Jesus to become His hands and His feet. We believe that the church is the hope of the world! Research shows that un-churched people are more likely to be reached through new churches rather than older, existing churches. Hope Church is committed to planting and raising up new churches throughout Metropolitan Atlanta, and beyond.

9)  GIVING. We believe that giving is a part of worship, and giving will be celebrated on every level of our church. Along with congregational giving, Hope Church is committed to giving 10% of our overall budget to missions and church-planting so that the Kingdom of God can be advanced around the world.

10) LIFE GIVING. Hope Church will “ooze” with an incredible positive energy that will permeate throughout our entire church.

 

Essential Beliefs

“In essentials, unity; non-essentials liberty; but in all things we need love.” -St. Augustine

Our Essential Beliefs are intended to promote unity and be a basis of fellowship for our church. There will always be peripheral doctrines and theological issues that committed Christians disagree upon, but the core beliefs of Christianity are non-negotiable. Below is a list of our core beliefs:

  • The Bible is the Inspired Word of God
  • There is one true God
  • Jesus Christ is the Son of God
  • Person and Work of Holy Spirit
  • The Fall and Total Depravity of Man
  • The Salvation of Humanity
  • The Ordinances of the Church
  • The Final Judgment

The Bible is the Inspired Word of God.

The Old and New Testament are verbally inspired by God and are a written revelation from God to humanity. The Bible is the authoritative rule of faith and conduct for humanity (II Timothy 3:15-17, I Thessalonians 2:13 & Peter 1:21).

There is one true God.

God is called by many different names because of the different dimensions of His personality, but God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). God is super-dimensional and eternally self-existent (Jn. 8:54-59). God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He is the creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1&2). While God is one, He has revealed Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

Person and Work of Jesus Christ

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary; that He came as all God, wrapped in human flesh (John 1:1-14). He is the second person of the Trinity. The Scripture declares his virgin birth (Matthew 1:18-23); His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26 & I Peter 2:22 & I John 3:4,5); His miracles (Acts 2:22 & 10:37-38); His substitutionary death on the cross (II Corinthians 5:21 & I Peter 2:24 & I Corinthians 15:4); His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:1-6 & I Corinthians 15:4); His exaltation to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9,11 & Philippians 2:9-11).

Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8–11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18). The nine fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) are the by-product of a Spirit-filled life and evidence of spiritual maturity. The nine gifts of the Spirit are different manifestations of the Spirit to build up the body (I Cor. 12:1-11). We are instructed to diligently seek the gifts (I Cor. 12:31, 14:1), but they must be exercised in an orderly way (I Cor. 14:26-33) in the context of love (I Cor. 13:1-13).

The Fall and Total Depravity of Humanity

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1–3, 12).

The Salvation of Humanity

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 2:8–10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19).

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37–40; 10:27–30; Romans 8:1, 38, 39; 1 Corinthians 1:4–8; 1 Peter 1:5). We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for the flesh (Romans 13:13, 14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11–15).

The Ordinances of the Church

//Baptism in Water

The Scripture teaches that all who repent and believe in Christ are to be baptized by immersion (Matthew 28:19). Baptism is a public profession of faith in Christ. It is symbolic of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is a declaration to the world that we have died to sin and have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

//Communion

The Lord’s table consists of two elements: the bread and cup. Those elements are symbolic of the body and blood of Christ. Communion is a memorial of Christ’s sufferings on the cross and a celebration of our salvation. It is an opportunity for a believer to examine himself and experience forgiveness.

The Final Judgment

There will be a final judgment in which the dead will be resurrected and judged according to their works (Matt. 25:31-46 & Romans 2:1-9). Everyone whose name is not found written in the Book of Life, along with the devil and his angels, will be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15). Those whose names are written in the Book of Life will be resurrected and stand at the judgment seat of Christ to be rewarded for their good deeds (I Cor. 4:5).