It's our 10th anniversary as a congregation. I have to take a deep breath as I type that. I am immensely grateful for the ability to type that -- to God, to of all you, to Ryan & the kids, to friends and family around the country who believed in us, and more.Tomorrow we're going to consider 5 characteristics of our congregation that served us well but we need to let go AND 5 characteristics to car...  Read More

Dear Hope Church Friends,For the first time in three years, we are not in a pandemic or recovering from closure or reacting to a looming eviction. No, we are planning for a Grand Opening! Our Grand Opening will be Sunday, April 7th -- the Sunday after Easter.This gives us two months to prepare - there is still painting to do and rooms to organize. You can join me in showing appreciation for the cr...  Read More

I am still thrilled at all we accomplished in the final months of last year, all leading to our Christmas Eve services. On 12/24, we welcomed over 200 people to worship! It will still be several months before our building is ready for a grand opening, and likely that long to get our program and ministries fully running. Still we have opened the doors for good!We have a space to gather and worship ...  Read More

I hope you enjoy this post of lists as much I enjoyed creating it! Remember we are online-only tomorrow (honoring all those volunteers hours required to have Christmas Eve worship).However, feel free to join the EBs at the ISU Women's Basketball Game as they take on the Bradley Braves today (Saturday) at 4pm at Redbird Arena! JennieTimes for Stuff on January 7(kind of an advertisement list)1. Hope...  Read More

Dear Friends,Last Friday our contractor got to a point that we could get in and work - saving thousands of dollars in labor! There were about 30 different Hope people who totalled about 225 hours of work (probably more)! In addition, our local IBEW donated the hours with 20 electricians and apprentices on Thursday, and plan to finish on Tuesday night!Why in the world are we doing all this voluntee...  Read More

Dear Hope Friends and Family,Today we start the season of Advent. It is the four weeks leading to Christmas, and also the start of the Christian year. This year we turn to the wisdom of Dr. Kate Bowler, who teaches us how to bless our actual lives - the good, the bad, the ugly.Not only will we be talking about this in our online-worship (livestream at 11am, on demand any time), but I am inviting y...  Read More

Dear Hope Church,Earlier today I heard my junior higher talking to a friend about about traditions leading up to Christmas. In his friend's house, they have a moving elf that brings them little gifts every day leading up to the big day. My son said, "Bruh, at my house an angel flies around and brings a Scripture to read everyday, and then we get a piece of chocolate from the Advent calendar."He's ...  Read More

Dear Friends,We're in the in-between, but we are so close! The anticipation of all-that-is-to-come is building! As we hear timelines from the contractors, we hesistate to put any hard and fast dates out there. However, as soon as we can determine volunteer availability (form below), we can get a sense of when we'll be ready to start Preview Services.Preview Services allow us to figure out our rhyt...  Read More

Dear Hope Church Friends and Family,You Did It!!! We've said all along that our giving campaign was not about construction, it was about community and belonging and a place to share God's love. Yes, we'll be able to pay our construction bill which puts our building in compliance with codes. More than that you all communicated that we want to continue to connect with each other and serve the commun...  Read More

More Details About 10/29/20239-10: Final Coffee Hour at Hope. This is your last chance to hang out in 1304 E. Empire, with good food and coffee!10-11:15: One Worship Service Online and In-PersonWe'll celebrate with lots of music - two original pieces!We'll receive any Open the Doors for Good pledges and gifts to add to the total received/pledged to date and celebrate that number!We celebrate all t...  Read More

Dear Hope Friends,As we've started the campaign to Open the Doors FOR GOOD, I've received great questions. One of them is: "In the 130K we need to raise, how much is fluff?" I wish this answer was different, but none of it is fluff.Some of you might remember our charge conference, where we had learned that code would require a firewall (keeps fire at bay for 90 minutes) for this building, and it w...  Read More

Dear Hope Church Friends,You are part of this congregation during a pivotal time in our history! There are lots of moving pieces as we grow our ministries for children, youth, and adults all while prepping for a move.Thank you being part of it! -- JennieFundraising & Generosity GroupFirst Meeting Tomorrow at 12:15 (Right after 11am Worship)It's time to open the doors for good in our new location. ...  Read More