Hope is a central component of our faith.  It governs our beliefs, practices, structure, and values.  It drives everything we do. 

These are our hope-filled convictions:

We believe that there is one living and true GOD, eternally existing in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory; that this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all. 

We Believe in GOD THE FATHER, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. 

We Believe in JESUS CHRIST, God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings, His penal substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal, visible return to earth. 

We Believe in the HOLY SPIRIT, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, as well as to regenerate, sanctify, and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ; We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and He is an abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all Biblical gifts of the Spirit. 

We believe the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church at Pentecost in power, baptizing believers in the Body of Christ and releasing the gifts of the Spirit to them. The Spirit brings the permanent indwelling presence of God to us for spiritual worship, personal sanctification, building up the Church, gifting us for ministry, and driving back the works of Satan by the evangelization of the world through proclaiming the word of Jesus and doing the works of Jesus. We believe in the filling or the empowering of the Holy Spirit, often a conscious experience, for ministry today. We practice the laying on of hands for the empowering of the Spirit, for healing, and for recognition and empowering of those whom God had ordained to lead and serve the Church. 

We Believe that the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts. We hold these Holy Scriptures as our ultimate authority for life, faith, and morals. Though the various theological statements of the Church may reflect succinct summaries of biblical boundaries, it is the Bible itself to which we are in ultimate submission.  

We believe that sin entered the world through Adam’s sin. As a result all of humanity, with the exception of Jesus, inherited a sin nature and were born with hearts rebellious against God, placing themselves under God’s condemnation and righteous judgment. 

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as the substitutionary atonement in our place, and that salvation is found in none other than Jesus.  Christ’s death on the cross was the sole and complete payment for sins, fully satisfying God’s righteous wrath, for each person that turns from sin in repentance and places their faith in Christ alone by grace alone. At salvation, each person is made a new creation by the Holy Spirit, declared righteous before God, and secured as an adopted child of God forever. We believe Jesus Christ baptizes the seeking believer with the Holy Spirit and power, an experience which can be simultaneous or subsequent to regeneration.  

We believe that upon placing one’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, the believer is made part of the Body of Christ, the one universal church, of which Jesus Christ is the Head. The Scriptures command believers to gather locally in order to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, fellowship, the ordinances of baptism and communion, service to the local body through the development and use of talents and spiritual gifts, and outreach to the world to make disciples. The gates of hell will not prevail against God's church.

We believe Jesus Christ will literally, personally, and visibly return someday, at a date undisclosed by Scripture, to judge the living and the dead. Those who have received the gift of salvation will spend eternity with Christ. Those who have rejected the gift of salvation will be condemned to eternal separation from God. 

The Lord’s Supper is the united commemoration, proclamation, and celebration by believers of the new covenant in Christ’s blood, made possible through Christ’s death. We do this in remembrance of the Lord and thus proclaim His death until He comes. Participation in the Lord’s Supper should be preceded by a careful self-examination. It is an outward sign or symbol of the broken Body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. While we do not believe that the bread and juice turn literally into the actual flesh and blood of Christ, we do believe that when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper we experience the very real presence and grace of Jesus Christ with us, and that to participate in the Lord’s Supper is to experience an actual communion with the risen Christ, who indwells every believer, and so is present in fellowship with His people.  

We practice Baptism by immersion.  We believe Baptism is a public declaration of the believer’s faith in Christ, identifying with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection symbolized by immersion in water. It is the new believer’s first step after salvation. Baptism by immersion symbolizes a person’s dying to their old self and the beginning of their new life in Jesus Christ.

Although we have a strong preference for celebrating adult, believer’s baptism by immersion, we are not legalists and we do believe that God is present and at work in other forms of Baptism. As such, any prior baptism in a Christian church, whether by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling, (including infant baptism with subsequent confirmation) are accepted and recognized as valid forms of baptism at Hope House Community Church. 

Some churches practice a “Baptism of Confirmation” for children by sprinkling them. This covenant between the parents and God to raise their children in the faith began as a custom some three-hundred (300) years after the Bible was completed. While it is a meaningful experience for parents, and Hope House Community Church does recognize those coming to our church having already been baptized and confirmed as believers adhering to orthodox Christian beliefs, we do hold to the credo-baptistic view, that baptism is for those old enough to believe and publicly confess their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a practice demonstrated in the New Testament. 

As such, parents who choose to bring their child before the church may do so for the purpose of child dedication. This dedication does not say that the child is baptized or becoming a Christian at the time. Child dedication instead serves a two-fold purpose: First, it is a time for parents to commit before God and their church family that they will bring up their child to know Jesus, and second, it is a time for the church family to pray for the parents and for the child to one day come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Hope House is an autonomous church and is not governed by any other body or  organization. We are led in day to day ministry operations by our Pastor and his Board of Directors (BOD) who serve alongside him for advisement and guidance.   The church is shepherded by the pastor who is responsible for the general oversight and spiritual welfare of the church.  The BOD is comprised of church members with unique gifts and  leadership abilities, who provide provide prayer and support to  the pastor.  We keep our structure simple for the purpose of minimizing  maintenance and maximizing ministry. 

We believe Jesus is everything. He is at the center of all we do. He the rock upon which we stand, the strength through which we do all things, and the lenses through which we see all things. It is one of our ministry values that everything we do be centered upon Christ.

We believe minds and actions are transformed by the Word of God. It is not by persuasive words of human wisdom but by God's living Word that lives are changed. It is one of our ministry values that everything we do be Word-focused.

We believe our hope is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that He died for our sins and rose on the third day defeating sin and death, and because of this glorious truth we have forgiveness, freedom from sin, and access to God.  Because of the Gospel we have new life and new inheritance. We believe everything changes because of the Gospel. It is one of our ministry values that everything we do must be driven by this message of the Gospel.

We believe we receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us.  God empowers us through His Spirit to do His Gospel ministry: preaching, teaching, evangelizing, praying for  healing of the brokenhearted, liberty for the captives, and freedom for the oppressed. It is one of our ministry values that everything we do must be empowered by the Spirit.

We believe we have been given a mandate to tell everyone about Jesus everywhere we go, even to the ends of the earth.  As such, we believe we must always think with this end goal in mind. It is one of our ministry values that we be multiplication-minded in our every ministry we pursue, always seeking ways to expand, multiply, and advance the name of Jesus Christ in our community, our city, our valley, and our world. 

We believe many churches over-complicate ministry with business models and programs that deviate from the simplicity of the Gospel. Acts 2:42 describes the early church in a simple manner:  "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer."  It is one of our core values that this simple formula be at the heart of our practice of ministry.

We believe that many churches get caught up in extremes of theology and politics and ministry, and these extremes tend to polarize people, preventing them from joining in the joy of fellowship in Christ. It is one of our ministry values that we find balance in all that we do, EXCEPT when it comes to Jesus.  He is the one extreme we will always cling to.  He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one goes to the Father except through Him. 

We believe we were created for community. We believe that from the beginning of time, community has been at the heart of God, and we were not meant to be alone. We see it in the Godhead Himself and we see it in creation. It is one of our ministry values that we be community-strong in all we do concerning life and ministry.

  It is the biblical position that marriage involves the union of one man and one woman in permanent sacred fidelity. Though various cultures and customs have evolving definitions of marriage, it is God alone who has ultimate authority to prescribe and describe the marital relationship. For this reason, it is the position of Hope House Community Church that homosexuality, and all other "sexual preferences" or "orientations" are considered unnatural, sinful, and unacceptable to God.  As a result, we will not perform any marriage ceremonies between two individuals of the same sex, nor will we condone or recognize same-sex marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships even if the state or federal government passes laws that provide for recognition of such unions.

The Church also regards as sinful the intent or desire to surgically alter one’s biological sex to a different sex. Since the body is a creation of God, the Church holds sexual identity to be biologically determined, and associated gender norms are to be observed as appropriate to biblical standards. We believe that disagreement with one’s biological sex leads to spiritual confusion and emotional chaos.

To be clear, Hope House Community Church regards all forms of sexual immorality, whether heterosexual or homosexual, to be sinful and unsatisfying. Though sinful sexual expression is egregious (as is all sin), the gospel provides redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. 

Hope House Community Church is committed to being a safe place for men and women fighting sexual temptations of all kinds. For those fighting temptation and desiring to repent of their sin, the Church will be a place that will provide love, care, and direction for them. We will stand with them and join them in their fight for obedience to Christ.

The Church’s Statement on Marriage, Sexuality, and Gender does not provide grounds for bigotry, bullying or hate, as we fully believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity, regardless of his or her lifestyle. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual will be repudiated as sinful.  Those attitudes are not in accordance with the Scriptures nor the doctrines of our Church. Our church is welcoming of all individuals, though not affirming of lifestyles that Scripture defines as sinful. Any person struggling with these issues will always be welcome at Hope House Community Church.