We’re Saving a Seat for You
We are here because of the good news of Jesus Christ.
We are sinners who have been rescued from sin by Jesus Christ. Though we have different backgrounds, ethnicities, opinions, and personalities, we find commonality in the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We gather each week to worship the one true God revealed in the Bible. We're grateful for the privilege He has given us to worship, live, and serve in our local community.
We rely on God's grace to give us true unity to function together as one body in Jesus Christ, submitted to the Word of God and committed to living that Word out in our daily lives.
Who We Are
A Culture of Grace
We seek to be a community characterized by grace. We pray for and actively strive for grace to permeate every aspect of our church culture. Because we recognize our deep gospel neediness, we are quick to extend grace to those in our church family, to other local churches, and to the people of our community.
A Culture of Vibrant Corporate Worship
We seek to be a community characterized by vibrant, full-hearted, participatory, unified, Christ-centered corporate worship. Because we believe that the worship of the gathered church should be corporate, not individual, we encourage our congregation to participate in every act of worship rather than merely observe. We strive to sing, pray, and preach the Word in a way that includes the entire congregation in our worship.
A Culture of Discipleship
We seek to be a community characterized by disciple-making followers of Jesus. Because we believe that the mission of the church is making disciples of Jesus Christ, we develop intentional relationships for the purpose of encouraging each other to pursue Christ, and we actively pray for and seek out relationships for the purpose of calling others to follow Christ.
What to Expect
Walking into a church for the first time can be intimidating, so we want to help you know what to expect when you visit.
We promise not to embarrass you or point you out. If you are interested, please fill out a connection card and we’ll follow up with you later. You can come knowing you are in the midst of a group of broken people, who all need God’s grace.
What to Wear
We have a diversity of people attend our services and are thankful for a congregation with a variety of dress. You'll find anything from very casual jeans and t-shirts to polos and dresses and suits. We encourage you to come as you are.
Sunday School
After our morning service and a brief time of fellowship and food, we regather for Sunday School. We have classes for all ages covering a range of topics.
Service Format
Our service is intentional, in that it follows a deliberate order of worship, but it’s not formal in style. We sing several songs, offer congregational and pastoral prayers to God, and hear Scripture read. We close each morning worship service with a benediction, with the typical service finishing about 10:45 am, followed by our Christian Ed for adults and Sunday School for children until around 12:15 pm.
Children
We believe that children are a gift from God to their parents as well as to the church. We welcome and encourage children to participate in as much of the service as they are able. We provide nursery care for children up to age 3.
Sermon
Preaching is generally expositional, meaning that it seeks to systematically work through passages of Scripture, declaring the point of a particular Biblical passage with practical application rooted in the redemptive story of Scripture. Sermons usually last around 30 minutes and are packed with material for reflection. Our sermon series regularly alternate between the Old and New Testaments. All preaching is driven by the Gospel, the Bible’s main message of God saving sinners through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Music
It is our desire to be God-centered in all we say and do. We adhere closely, though not exclusively, to the regulative principle of worship; that is, we want to practice those forms of worship that God sanctions in His Word, and that build godly character in our people. We also focus on being congregational, in that we encourage broad participation as opposed to spectatorship.
We sing a blend of lyrically rich songs both recent and historic. Those of us who are comfortable with music from one particular era have discovered that we come to enjoy other songs we had not previously encountered.
Meet the Elders
Ron Leach
Ron and Ella were part of the church's founding, were raised in Christian homes, and came to faith in Jesus Christ early in life. Ron earned his Bachelor's degree from Bob Jones University and his Master's from Ashland University. Ron taught and coached at Columbus Academy for 17 years and Northside Christian for 26 years, where he is presently a coach, teacher, and athletic Director.
Jason Brown
Jason was saved in 2003 while owning a restaurant on the OSU campus. After starting at Ohio State, he finished his studies at Baptist Bible College and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has previously pastored for churches in Louisville and Columbus. In addition to pastoring, Jason also works as an IT Consultant.
Jason and Jessica came to NAEFC in 2015 looking for a place to worship. Jason began regularly preaching when the pastor at that time was called away for active military duty. When the previous pastor stepped away to pursue the military full-time, Jason was called to assume the role of preaching pastor with a focus on preaching, teaching, and overall vision.
Jason and Jessica have two children. When he’s not reading, Jason enjoys spending time outdoors mountain biking and hunting.
What We Believe
Statement of Faith
God
We believe there is one God who has existed eternally in the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that God the Father has sovereignly purposed, before the foundations of the world, to redeem a people for Himself and to be glorified in the renewal of all things.
The Fall
We believe in a literal Adam and Eve who were created in God’s image and in a state of unconfirmed righteousness. Because of their disobedience, all of creation was placed under the curse, and sin and death entered for the first time into the universe. Humanity is now born condemned, both in the sin of Adam, and in their own sinful nature.
Salvation
We believe that salvation is an act of God where the believer accepts by faith that Jesus Christ is Lord, and is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. We believe there is salvation in Jesus Christ alone.
The Church
We believe that the church is the Body of Christ here on earth. We believe that the true church exists simultaneously in two spheres – the universal church and the local church. The universal church is the church comprised of true believers from all places and all times. The local church is the visible assembly of regenerated believers who are joined together for worship, fellowship, accountability, and mutual service. The local church administers the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and exercises authority in the area of Church Discipline.
The End Times
We believe in the bodily return of Jesus Christ that will precede an earthly millennial kingdom. At the end of days, all of the dead will be raised, and unbelievers will be judged according to their works and will be condemned to Hell for eternity. Believers will be judged based on the perfect righteousness of Christ, and the fruit of their Christian lives, and will be rewarded and live with the Triune God in the new Heaven and new Earth for all eternity.
The Bible
We believe that the Bible is God-breathed and that the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are verbally and entirely inspired. We believe that the Bible is inerrant in its original writings, and preserved by God as to be sufficient for all things purposed for it by the Lord. For this reason, we believe that the Bible is authoritative for Christian belief and human practice.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man, purposed as the redeemer of man before the world began. We believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, having been conceived miraculously through the Holy Spirit. We believe that Jesus alone lived a perfect and sinless life in obedience to the Father who sent Him. That obedience included physical death on the cross. We believe that Jesus was resurrected, appeared in bodily form to the disciples, and ascended to heaven where he serves the Church as its Priest and Advocate to the Father.
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully divine and has a distinct ministry to the New Covenant church. The Spirit convicts, regenerates, leads, fills, teaches, comforts, guides, and empowers believers so that they can live, worship, and minister as we are called and gifted to do.
Sanctification
We believe that in order to be obedient to Christ, true believers should be actively demonstrating the fruits of repentance, and growing in holiness as they mature in Jesus Christ. This should produce an observable change in the believer as their thoughts, desires, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are brought into greater Christlikeness.
Our Philosophy
Luke, the first church historian, describes members of the early church as individually and corporately engaged in the following five priorities. We seek to glorify God, that is, to delight in and display the excellence and beauty of our God, by . . .
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Exalting him through God-centered worship in the assembly and in all of life.
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Edifying the Body of Christ through preaching, teaching, and discipleship.
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Evangelizing through being and bringing the Good News about Jesus Christ to the world.
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Encouraging one another by demonstrating the grace and truth of Christ in the context of redemptive relationships.
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Equipping one another so that each member is ministering to others.
Our Organization
Jesus Christ is the Head of his church, variously described in Scripture as a body, a flock, a temple, and a family. Just as a body has bones, a flock its shepherd, a temple its blueprint, and a family its roles, so also the church is not without its God-designed structure and authority.
Hope Church is led by a group of elders who, through studying the Word and praying, seek the spiritual health of the congregation. A team of deacons serves the elders and the Body by administering the operational affairs of the church. The true ministers of the church are its members who, equipped by the elders, serve others in grace and truth.