Our Values

 The four emphases of New Hope's congregational life - worship, community, witness, and service - naturally follow from the Church's mission, which is to celebrate, cultivate, communicate, and demonstrate the grace of God in Christ Jesus.  But what form does our celebration take when we worship?  What sort of community will we try to cultivate?  How do we plan to communicate the truth about Jesus, and how do we intend to serve our community and thereby demonstrate God's grace?  The following values help answer these questions.

History

Our worship is rooted in the Reformed Tradition, which is itself rooted in the "Great Tradition" of orthodoxy, held in common by all branches of the Church (Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant).  The Scriptures are our only infallible rule of faith and practice, and the Reformed and orthodox traditions shape how we approach, interpret, apply, and express this rule in liturgy, music, preaching, and observing the sacraments. 

Intimacy

Our community aspires to intimacy with God and with each other.  "This is eternal life," Jesus said in a prayer to his Father, "that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3).  Personal, intimate knowledge of God inspires us to know and love one another, and also the world of which we are stewards.  "We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).  Ignorance and pretense are deathly enemies of intimacy, and we strive to uproot them with tools like teaching, learning, sharing, giving, and confessing.  God promises that this labor, though difficult, is not in vain.  "Now we know in part; then we shall know fully, even as we have been fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).                  

Hospitality

Our witness to our neighbors occurs in and through hospitality.  As Jesus traveled from place to place, he welcomed any and all who expressed an interest in him and his teachings.  Jesus welcomed sinners as they were, without requiring them to clean themselves up first, and he shared with them all that he had – his friendship, wisdom, power to feed and to heal, in a word, his love.  As sinners ourselves, we are in no position to deny to anyone what Jesus so freely gave.  Therefore, we seek out and welcome any and all who are interested in Jesus.  We strive to create a safe atmosphere in which to express doubts and raise questions.  We use our wealth, including our facility, to meet the practical needs of members, visitors, sister churches, missionaries, and the community.

Creativity

Our service takes the form of creativity.  "If anyone is in Christ, he is new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).  As new creations, we are called and empowered by Christ to join with him in building a new heaven and a new earth.  This involves both facets of our lives – public and private – and all three of our faculties – mental, moral, and aesthetic.  "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8).  We will promote truth, justice, and beauty in our homes and in our workplaces, in commerce, labor, education, and the arts, locally and globally, by whatever means and to whatever extent God allows.