Hope is born!

When the Alliance church in Loudonville closed it doors there was confusion as to why the incredible faith of these people, their prayers, and belief that God was going to bring revival had not happened.


Then in 2002 when founding Pastor Charles Hill, together with a core team from Berean Baptist in Mansfield, in partnership with Converge MidAtlantic, bought and remodeled that space, they had no idea what God was about to do!


New Hope launched on September 29, 2002 with approximately 240 people and had to go to multiple gatherings the following week!  Since that incredible start, hundreds of people have placed their faith in Jesus, been transformed, and made public declarations of this through the act of baptism.

The story continues...

Since opening the doors in 2002, New Hope Community Church has been blessed by God to start four new churches in Wooster, Ashland, Millersburg and even China! New Hope Wooster and Ashland were launched as campuses before later deploying as separate entities. Wooster launched a campus that later became NorthWinds Church in West Salem; Ashland, through a number of transitions became Cross Connect Church; the space that once housed The Ridge, our Millersburg Campus, became an Assembly of God church called Abundant Life; what started as a house church in China quickly grew beyond its initial location; and we also financially support Hope Church in Rivne, Ukraine. Multiplication has always been important to us, making it one of our 5 Core Values!

Is New Hope part of a denomination?

New Hope is an autonomous church that strategically partners with Converge, and the New Hope Family of Churches to advance the mission of Jesus on this planet.  Converge is a movement of churches who believe they are better together, and while there is a celebrated theological diversity under this umbrella, the two things we all hold to are starting more churches and strengthening every church so that everyone has the opportunity to know and encounter Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior!


We often say "God doesn't care that we know one more thing until we start doing and living some more of what we already know."  As such New Hope is a unique place that is not interested in arguing or debating the issues that everyone else disagrees on... there is far too much to accomplish for us to waste time doing that!  If you would like to see a fuller articulation of our beliefs, feel free to contact us!  We have that information available, but please know that we do not use it as a bat.  We hold everything other than Jesus as loosely as possible.  After all, most of us, after wrestling with scripture and praying have tweaked our positions in the past.  We want everyone to know that we don't have to see eye to eye on the non-essentials in order to walk hand in hand!