Our Mission

The mission of New Hope Presbyterian Church is to CELEBRATE, CULTIVATE,

COMMUNICATE, and DEMONSTRATE the GRACE of God that is in CHRIST JESUS.

The object of our four-fold mission is grace - specifically, the grace of God that is in Christ Jesus.  Why are these two terms so critical?

Human beings are understandably proud creatures.  We take delight in our personal victories, and marvel at the achievements of scientists, engineers, architects, and artists.  But while human curiosity and ingenuity continue to propel us to great heights of knowledge, it is only by grace that we can come to know God.  This means that our accomplishments, no matter how great, do nothing to attract God's attention or earn his love.  Instead, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).  This simple truth forms the basis at New Hope for all of our relationships - with God, with others, and even with ourselves.

It is not enough, however, to say that our accomplishments cannot bring us to God.  Not only are our accomplishments too weak to place him in our debt, but our failures are so great that we are hopelessly indebted to him.  When criminals go unpunished, our sense of justice is violated.  Yet if we are honest with ourselves, we cannot possibly expect God to be gracious to us.  How can we even begin to hope, for example, that God will excuse all of our selfishness, wrath, arrogance, intolerance, and greed?  The answer lies in the fact that God's grace is revealed in Christ Jesus.  "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).  Though we are guilty on account of our sins, God nevertheless still loves us.  He sent Jesus to die in our place, so that we might be forgiven and so that God's plans - for us and for the whole universe - might at last be accomplished.  Jesus is the center of everything.  In him "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3).  Therefore, the person of Jesus - his story, accomplishments, character, and presence - are at the center of everything that we do at New Hope.