The body that has gathered to worship here has known this place at various times as “United Fellowship” from 1979-1998, Hopewell Christian Fellowship from 1998-2009. This body has known times of exhilaration at God’s mighty hand and periods of discouragement. In the year 2008, the pastor was gone and the doors were to be shut. But God began to stir the ashes and blow on the smoldering remains of this body. A core of 8-10 of the congregation felt compelled to continue to meet on Sundays.
Miraculous provision began as our hearts were filled with the sense of His goodness and His favor on us. On June 12, 2008 we met with Eric Scott from Elim Fellowship and discussed having Bernard and Sharon Evans come for 3 months to pastor us with the option of extending the time if needed. 3 months turned into almost 7 glorious years! Pastor Bernard and Sharon brought joy and life, love and vision!
God used them mightily to begin putting things in motion. Pastor Evans stated that he sensed that the building was “tired” and this was reflected in many physical ways. We had sagging roofs and major mold infestations and an unstable foundation. How would all of this restoration happen? Yet we were so grateful, we knew God was at work. We knew He was leading us.
God began turning what looked like curses into blessings. There was a pipeline going through our area that had been viewed as a very limiting restriction to the church property. Not in God’s economy. Negotiations went on with the pipeline and we would be receiving several thousand dollars! We now could start renovating the church.
We prayed and waited and realized that one historically significant section of the church was beyond repair and needed to come down. As we worked on the physical part of the property, God began showing His vision for this place in our hearts. As a symbol of newness, we were lead to change the name of the church and begin a new work. We knew that God gave us a vision for restoration and souls in this area. The new name was to be ‘Door to Hope Church’ based on Hosea 2:15. He will bring life out of the desert and a new hope. This name resonated in all of our hearts as God’s vision for the church. On September 27, 2009 we held a ‘Re-Dedication’ service for ‘Door to Hope Church’ recognizing a new day for this church.
In April 2010 Barry Smith was officially appointed as our Associate Pastor. Pastor Barry and Anita had been leading us in worship since the Spring 2009. Worship regularly ushered us into the very throne room of God. How could God love us this much? How could God lend us such humble, gracious, wise men and women. The Healer sent us His love in the form of godly leaders.
Finances continued to come in to restore the church. We had inherited a property on Smith Rd. that was in need of much help before it could even be sold. Pastor Barry and many others diligently set about getting the property into saleable condition. In May 2012 the property was sold and we now had more funds to continue the restoration. Pastor Barry worked tirelessly as we continued the physical restoration of Door To Hope Church. Over the period of a few years, the roof was replaced, air conditioning was installed, siding was installed, the building foundation was repaired, the office building was renovated, a new driveway was installed and a cross was erected on the front of the building. Door To Hope Church had a new face and a new life!
In January 2015, Pastor Bernard submitted a letter stating that he believed the Spirit was leading towards a time of new leadership and that he would be stepping away from Lead Pastor in the Spring of that year. In April of 2015, Pastor Barry was installed as our new Lead Pastor with great joy to the congregation.
Pastor Barry and Anita continue to lead the way in giving selflessly to the church. Worship time is rich and humbling. We are blessed to have a thriving emphasis on Missions. Children are encouraged in their gifts and are always a welcome part of the ministry. We are witnessing the generations worship and grow in the knowledge of our Almighty God.
We all bear scars and hurts and betrayals. His grace abides here. The Prophet Joel says He “will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten”. He has done that in our midst. At Door To Hope Church we have been well-loved. We love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) Yes, we are thankful for buildings and gathering places and His provision of those things. But that is not the essence of Door to Hope Church. Door to Hope Church manifests His love. That is why we are drawn here. His love is here. We sense it. We are learning to abide in it. We are accepted in the Beloved. And as we grow in the knowledge of His love, we are moved to extend that love to others. We humbly thank Him and ask Him to use us to lead others through the Door to Hope to meet with Him. That is His call today. We are humbled and thankful to be used in His call.