Our Vision

Hope is a unique place. We don’t think we’re “doing a better job” of reaching people with the gospel of Christ, but we do know our purpose and vision: to share and enjoy the life-giving message of Hope.

Statistics show that most unchurched people will not drive more than 25 miles to attend church- and those that do rarely get fully connected. That is why it is our vision as a church to plant at least five other churches in the Tampa Bay area, so that we might ring the city with the Hope of Christ. (If they won’t come to us- we’ll go to them!) These churches may look different than Hope- but they will be alike in several important areas-

  •  They will proclaim salvation in Christ alone, by grace alone.
  •  They will be relevant to the culture
  •  They will accept people where they are and lead them to a deeper understanding and relationship with Christ. (A safe place for wounded people.)
  •  They will focus on unchurched people.

 This is obviously a great vision- one that will require many resources. Our goal is to grow Hope Church to 1200 active members, and send a strong core of members and support to start a new church. When Hope has again reached 1200, we will send out another core to start another church. The 1200 membership is in no way meant to allow size of membership to determine the health of the body, but it is the size that can afford to plant other churches and offers the mass and momentum to accomplish this goal. 

A priority will be the addition of ministry staff. We are a church based on people, and Christ calls us to minister to people through the life of Hope Church and through missions, both local and abroad. God has blessed us with the addition of Faith Curry as our administrative assistant (part time.) We have also been blessed with Rev. Tom Edwards and his family who joined our staff (Also part time) in May of 2004. Tom is responsible for our youth and assimilation ministries. He is a licensed counselor and therapist and heads our counseling and support ministries.  

We don’t just see ourselves as a church, but a center of the community. Planned in three phases of development, we have a God-given vision of a facility that has athletic fields, a gymnasium, playground facilities and an auditorium that can be utilized by all the surrounding community. We want our center and surrounding fields to be used for neighborhood teams, homeowner association meetings, birthday parties, musical and theatrical productions, neighborhood concerts, gatherings, weddings, parties, and more!