The mission statement of Hope Church is:
"We are a worshiping community where anyone can explore the hope of Christianity, and followers of Christ can be equipped to share their hope in every sphere of life."
We believe that Jesus calls us to bring the good news of the gospel to all people and to equip believers to live out and share their faith in all areas of their lives.
When I came on staff as the Children's Ministries Director two years ago, I set out to focus on fulfilling our mission for the children and families of our church. A beautiful aspect of the Reformed tradition is children are incorporated into worship and taught the deep truths of Scripture and theology from infancy. This summer, our children have been learning the Westminster Children's Catechism and the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The content is the same as would be presented in adult Sunday School, but some of the methods are different. We are using music, movement, art, and sometimes silly voices to help us memorize and understand theologically rich concepts.
You may have noticed some additions we hope have made our families and children feel welcomed and supported: we designed a children's bulletin, utilized a visual Apostles' Creed, transformed the family room, added speakers around the building so parents can still hear the service while caring for children, and started producing sermon specific coloring pages and note sheets. I know these additions have been a blessing to our family and I hope they've been beneficial to others.
Over the past year we have been prayerfully considering how we could specifically welcome and include families impacted by disabilities. One study of more than 400 parents of children with developmental disabilities found that nearly a third had left a church because their child was not welcomed or able to participate (Ault, Collins & Carter, 2013). This is a heartbreaking number as it reflects families who had previously been engaged in churches and found that their church was unable to include their disabled children. Sadly, many families impacted by disability never get inside the doors of a church. A separate study of national survey data found that one in three children with autism, depression, speech difficulties, or brain injury never attends religious services. Notably, physical conditions showed almost no effect on attendance (Whitehead, 2018). This suggests that the barrier to church involvement is less often physical space than a congregation's ability to welcome children with conditions affecting communication, behavior, and social interaction.
This has been a long lead-up to some very exciting news. This spring we applied to be part of a training cohort led by Engaging Disability with the Gospel. Engaging Disability with the Gospel is a ministry of the PCA that equips churches to embrace and enfold families impacted by disability. We are thrilled to share that Hope was accepted into the Room on Our Pew (ROOP) training cohort for 2027. This eighteen-month program trains churches to welcome, disciple, and enfold children and families living with disability.
On the application, we were asked why we wanted to apply and what we were most excited about. Here’s the heart of what we said:
When we were discerning how to best support families at our church, we reached out and had a consultation with Kevin Daane. We came away from that hour so encouraged. We were struck by how many small but meaningful changes came out of a single consultation. How much more could we do with a full year of training and support? That is what draws us to this cohort, and it is what we are most excited about.
We are a church plant moving toward particularization, and we want to be equipped to love and serve the families the Lord has already brought to Hope while being ready to welcome new families as well. As a church that is growing and changing, we want our disability ministry to grow along with us.
Our vision at Hope Church is that all people would find hope in Christ and be able to worship God, walk in community, and share that hope. This cohort will train us to fulfill this vision more completely. We are excited to share what we learn with you, and we are excited for the ways that this training will make us better able to serve the families the Lord has at Hope right now.