Who We Are & What We Believe
Hope is a different kind of a church.
We believe a relationship with Jesus Christ can change your life.
It’s why we do all that we do.
But what does all of that mean?
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At Hope we focus on Jesus. And we try to see the world as Jesus saw it. A world that is broken, and hurt, and in need of being loved. Unconditionally.
We strive to be a church that encourages questions. Faith grows the most not when we’re told all the answers, but when we get to ask our honest questions. Jesus never shies away from good questions - in fact we consistently read stories where He always made time for those asking questions.
At Hope we focus on Jesus. And we try to see the world as Jesus saw it. A world that is broken, and hurt, and in need of being loved. Unconditionally.
We strive to be a church that encourages questions. Faith grows the most not when we’re told all the answers, but when we get to ask our honest questions. Jesus never shies away from good questions - in fact we consistently read stories where He always made time for those asking questions.
Core Values
There are lots of different churches in Snohomish County, and we are humbled to work side by side with them. What makes Hope unique in our community is our commitment to our 5 core values which are lived out in all that we do:
Joy +
We choose joy. Because Joy is not based on our circumstances. Our Joy is found in knowing that the Creator of the World chose us, loves us, and forgives us, every single day.
Honesty +
We always smile a little when we think "why does a church need to have honesty as a value?!" But the truth is, church is often a place where we hide our true selves, and our true feelings. You don’t have to be perfect to be part of Hope. In fact, we’ve always considered Hope to be a hospital for sinners, instead of a cathedral for the Saints.
Generosity +
We are generous with all that God has first given to us. So we are generous by giving back to our community with our skills and our finances. We are generous with our time for those who need our presence. And we are generous with the same grace that Jesus is generous with us.
Simplicity +
One of the hardest values to live consistently - we try to not be a place that simply adds more to your “to do” list. We don’t over-emphasize programs, we have a very simple budget and leadership structure. The Good News of Jesus isn’t complicated, and neither is His church.
Compassion +
We live in a broken world, a world that knows far too well we are hurt people, so we live with compassion for all people.
Partners and Affiliations
Hope began as a mission plant in the Evangelical Covenant Church. The ECC is a multi-ethnic denomination of 800+ churches who find their roots in Pietism and the Swedish Lutheran church. We were blessed by this partnership - and thankful for our time in the ECC.
In our present - Hope has joined the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The ELCA is the largest Lutheran body in America, with over 4 million members, and thousands of churches. The ELCA places a strong emphasis on being an intentionally welcoming community, an important part of our values. We are thankful for this new ELCA partnership and look forward to doing ministry with our Lutheran sisters and brothers for years to come.
Hope has also partnered with the Jesus Collective - a new International movement of churches from a variety of backgrounds and denominations who find their center in the transformational power of Jesus Christ (Often called centered-set.)
What does it mean to be a Centered Set Church? +
**1. God always looks like Jesus, and all scripture is properly read through him.**
*In a word:* **Jesus-centered**
Theological contrast: Jesus is God’s “soft side” but not the exact representation of God. The truth about God is averaged from portraits across the Bible. Every verse in the Bible carries equal authoritative weight. An idea is “biblical” if you can find a verse anywhere that seems to support it.
Secular contrast: There is no way to know the truth about God, if God even exists. There is no way to arbitrate between different narratives about God except through appeal to inaccessible individual intuitions. The Bible is outdated, supports violence and oppression, and is anti-science.
**2. To be saved includes belonging to a community under Jesus called to live the life of the future now.**
*In a word:* **kingdom-focused**
Theological contrast: God is only interested in saving souls, not creation itself. Jesus is Savior from the world but not Lord of life within it. Jesus is divine but not a model for true humanity. Christian faith is mostly about consenting to the right ideas. We are saved only as individuals and the church is incidental.
Secular contrast: There is no authority outside myself. Religion is a private matter, only within the hearts of individuals. The highest good is individual expression rather than a beloved community.
**3. Evil is overcome through the power of suffering love.**
*In a word:* **peace-making**
Theological contrast: Christendom—we try to make the world better by compelling others through force to live like Christians, regardless of what they believe.
Secular contrast: A highly polarized power-competition where everyone is constantly trying to seize control at the highest levels and impose their will on others.
**4. The Holy Spirit empowers us to partner in God’s work of reconciling all things.**
*In a word:* **Spirit-driven**
Theological contrast: Disconnection between love of God and neighbor. Jesus makes us right with God but has little to say about human relationships or human systems. It’s on us to figure out how to fix what is wrong with the world. We do whatever good we can under our own strength and wisdom. Christianity as a moral enterprise but emptied of its spiritual power.
Secular contrast: Teaching the ideals of ‘liberalism’ will allow everyone to tolerate each other across vast disagreements without God’s involvement as one in whom all things come together. The world is without God’s activity or any power but the human sort.
**5. The church is defined by our shared center, not by the lines we draw.**
*In a word:* **centered-set**
Theological contrast: Endless fracturing in churches and denominations where everyone must agree on virtually everything to worship or do mission together. A spirit of judgmentalism. Fuzziness in which a community sticks together due to history or relationship but without any common mission or purpose or shared faith identity.
Secular contrast: Full inclusion in the group requires strict purity tests. Failure to subscribe to any one piece of contemporary “orthodoxy” can result in exclusion.
Continuing Conversations
The modern American church has been engaging in some much needed conversations around challenging issues and Hope has tried to do the same. As a Jesus-centered church we don’t want to be known for our stance on issues. We do, however, want to be known for who and what we are for. With that said we feel it’s important to say:
All are Welcome at Hope. This means that regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or political persuasion, you are fully welcome at Hope. (Galatians 3:26-29) And where we have failed to welcome all of God’s children, we ask for grace as we continue to live into what it means to be a fully welcoming and truly diverse church community.
Hope Leadership
Hope operates with a simple leadership structure (as per our core values.)
Our Leadership team works with Pastor Bill to help maintain our focus on our mission to build a community of hope. Our Finance Team handles all finances and helps prepare and present the budget and giving reports. They are tasked with supporting the Mission as set by the Leadership Team. Ministry Team Leaders can be paid or volunteer and lead the various ministries teams at Hope. But all of those teams need you – Our ministry partners who give their skills and passion in this Mission and Ministry together.
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”