After 2 years of dreaming, planning and praying things are starting to take shape and form for a new church in downtown Muncie. God has generously provided an amazing team of people that we love doing life with and with whom we have been pleading with the Lord on behalf of the great city of Muncie. As things begin to take more definitive shape and form, we are thrilled to announce the name of the church we hope to officially launch in the fall of 2017: City Hope Fellowship.
That feels good to say.
In some ways, the name doesn't matter. It is far more important that God build us, his people, to be the people that reflect his glory to our city. But in another way, a name is important in helping us determine who we will be as a church. What things do we value? What are we trusting God for in our city?
So, why City Hope Fellowship?
CITY
We believe that the church is a foretaste of the heavenly city that is to come. And that we are called to love and serve our city, bringing the hope and love of God into every aspect of our city. We also want to be a church that is for the city of Muncie. We believe that God has placed us in this city at this time and has blessed us to be a blessing. To seek the good of our city and contribute to the flourishing of people's lives. Although we eagerly await the ultimate city of God that is to come, we will seek to, by God's grace give the world a foretaste of that heavenly place right here and now.
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the CITY that is to come.
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HOPE
Since the very beginning of this project we have focused on hope. We were compelled by the hope of Jesus to leave what we were doing in order to start a new church in order to bring hope to Muncie. We want men, women and children to be able to experience the Christian faith in the context of an authentic community of real people. Simply put, we want to bring the hope of Jesus to Muncie.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
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FELLOWSHIP
Not only do we want to offer the hope of Jesus to Muncie, but the fellowship of Jesus and his people as well. As God enters relationship with people, he invites them into his family, the church. We want this church to be a place where all people are welcome to experience the hope of Jesus and the fellowship of his people. Every race, ethnicity, income level, age, and gender is welcome to join us and to experience the hope of Jesus with us. We want to be a family that loves, serves, mourns, rejoices, and celebrates with one another.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the FELLOWSHIP, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
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So there it is, City Hope Fellowship. We will be hosting an event on October 30th to give more information to all who are interested in joining us in this adventure.