New Hope Church Vision Statement
To build a church community of individuals in the Illinois area who live out and advance the
gospel of Jesus Christ through commitment to expository teaching, authentic fellowship, and
urgent prayer, as reflected in the attitude of the early church recorded in Acts 2:42–47.
Acts 2:42–47 (ESV)
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were
being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in
common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds
to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in
their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having
favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being
saved.
These three pillars summarize our vision as a church:
Expository Teaching
We seek to learn and teach the Bible in a verse-by-verse, expository manner. We
interpret the Bible according to the grammatical-historical method, seeking the
author’s original intent. We believe in the power of Scripture to sanctify God’s
people (John 17:17).
Authentic Fellowship
We believe the term “authentic fellowship” best captures the essence of the Greek
word koinōnia. We seek to encourage one another in love as a body, even as we
each individually seek to grow in Christ. We believe that biblical fellowship
sometimes requires sacrifice, and this sacrifice allows us to demonstrate Christ-
like love toward one another (Eph. 4:11–16; Heb. 10:24–25).
Urgent Prayer
We seek to pray with a sense of urgency, knowing we depend completely on
God’s wisdom and power to live for Christ! Jesus said, “apart from me you can do
nothing” (John 15:5). We cry out to the Lord for spiritual power, knowing the
Holy Spirit is the source of our ability to love and obey Him.
All the gospel work of New Hope Church shall be built on these three pillars to best ensure
that it is done with spiritual empowerment rather than based on human wisdom.