Practicing the way

At Hope Community Church, we are committed to becoming followers of Jesus by practicing the way of Jesus. We practice the way of Jesus by:


Being With Jesus

- by submitting our lives to the work of the Holy Spirit in worship and spiritual habits

- by worshipping God together and creating space for the Spirit to transform the church


Becoming Like Jesus

- by building relationships and caring for one another's needs so that each person is able to thrive

- by spiritual habits, and deep self work surrendered to the Spirit, so we can grow deeper in Christlikeness


Doing What Jesus Did

- by sending people out into the community where we live and around the world, empowering them to love their neighbors and provide the resources they need to fulfill their call in God's Kingdom
- by living in community with other believers, living generously, and being Christ's ambassadors in the world around us


A few times throughout the year, we host the Practicing the Way Course. It’s the primer for all the ways that we engage in Practicing the Way as Hope Community Church. Our hope and desire is that EVERYONE who calls Hope Community Church home would take part in this eight week course.

BE with JESUS

Resources to help you be with Jesus.

Become Like Jesus

Resources to help you become like Jesus.

DO what Jesus Did

Resources to help you do what Jesus did.

  • Jesus taught us to pray that God’s Kingdom would come so it would be “on earth as it is in heaven.” We believe that part of the responsibility of following Jesus is to do kingdom work to usher in God’s Kingdom. 


    One of the ways we can do that is by making our community a better place to live. A place where people’s needs are met, where people are valued, loved, seen, and known, because in the Kingdom of God, that’s how it is. So we mobilize in our community collectively and individually to help accomplish those goals.


    Local Partners:

    Life Plan

    Hope Ministries

    Reach the Forgotten

    Spero House

    Luvability Ministries


    Opportunities at Hope:

    Serve at Hope (children's ministry, tech team, ushers and greeters, facilities team, meals ministries, and many more opportunities)

    Hope's Missions and Outreach Ministries (Feeding America Mobile Food Pantry, Community Garden, Prayer Shawl Ministry, Hot Dog Days of Summer, Holiday Giving, Missions Trips)


    Teaching Video:

    Kingdom Come: Kingdom People (Pastor Nathanael Lyon - October 9, 2022)


  • One of the tenets of our faith is that all people across the globe are all created in the Image of God, the Imago Dei. 

    God created us to be in community with those in our local communities but also to be a part of the full, global Church, the Body of Christ. 


    The Spirit of God is alive and at work not just in our neighborhood or city, or state, or country, but all over the world. There is much we can learn from our brothers and sisters in Christ across the globe, and there is much we can share with them. We believe that experiencing how others worship God across the globe and working in ministry alongside other Christians in other parts of the world shapes us, as we are given a more complete picture of God and of the Spirit at work in the world and within us. We believe it’s vital that all followers of Jesus find ways to expand their worldview by going on a trip to see other parts of the global Church.


    Opportunities at Hope:

    Watch for announcements about upcoming mission trip opportunities.

  • In the book of Genesis 18, we read a story of Abraham showing hospitality to three men who happened to come by his home. It ended up being angels with a message for Abraham from God. Since that moment, the rest of the history of the people of God has placed a high value on hospitality. 


    Throughout scripture those who show hospitality are honored and blessed by God. It’s in some ways a lost value in our culture today, or when people are hospitable it’s a fancy dinner where there is a pressure to be impressive, or it’s patronizing where people “reach down” to help someone who they feel is below them socially or otherwise. Yet true hospitality where we love those around us with a meal, with the opening of our homes, with invitations out to a picnic, or an event, are often lost. How do we as the people of God recapture the discipline of hospitality as part of our apprenticeship to Jesus?


    Recommended Reading:

    A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission Around the Table by Tim Chester

    Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob Goff

    The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon


    Resources:

    The Art of Neighboring website


    Teaching Video:

    B.E.L.L.S.: Bless (Pastor Nathanael Lyon - October 16, 2022)

    The Art of Neighboring  Study - RightNow Media

    The Art of Neighboring Series (Pastor Nathanael Lyon - June 2023)

  • The last words Jesus spoke on this earth to his disciples were to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Telling the world about the Gospel, the good news, that Jesus Christ is King is a critical part of being an apprentice of Jesus. This practice has taken many shapes and forms over time and has looked different as each generation and culture wrestles with the best way to reach people in their cultural context. As Paul says “to become all things to all people” so that the Gospel message can be heard. 


    To effectively do this as followers of Jesus, we have to first understand what we mean when we use the term Gospel. If we can’t define it, how can we tell others about it? Preaching the Gospel takes practice, and reflection. So in this practice we will take time to understand our own definitions of Gospel, and our own stories and how that impacts the way we preach the Gospel.


    One of the best in depth resources we know of that speaks on this is from Practicing the Way


    Practicing the Way: Preaching the Gospel


    This can walk you and your family or dinner group through the process of preaching the Gospel.