Hope Community Church

Elizabeth and J.C. began dating in 1997 and were married in 2002. Together they have three boys: Caleb, Micah, and Ezra.  

J.C. has been an ordained minister for six years and served as both an Assistant and Associate Pastor at Desert Palms church. Recently the Lord has been cultivating a desire for them to church plant. While J.C. was serving at Desert Palms Church, his responsibilities increased as well as his willingness to follow God’s call to church plant. 

They both sense a call to plant in Queen Creek, AZ, as they have developed a burden to reach this growing suburb of Phoenix, AZ. They believe the Lord has been preparing them for this work over the past five years of ministry. They trust the Lord has used their ministry experience, including their business and counseling backgrounds to ready them for this new work.

QUEEN CREEK PROFILE

Queen Creek is not religious. Only 39.8% claim any religious affiliation. The largest religious community is Catholic, followed by Mormonism. Only 5-10% would identify as committed Christians. Therefore, there is a desperate need for a gospel-centered community that exhibits the grace and love found in Jesus’ good news.

FAMILY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT?

“Our children love to play soccer and their team has several tournaments coming up so we won’t be at church for the next few Sundays,” said one family. Another family stated, “we don’t go to church on Sunday because we don’t get much time together during the week so the weekends provide our only opportunity for family time. This is a small sampling of the type of stories you will hear from those who live in the Queen Creek area. This is their religion!

THE NEED FOR SUCCESS

There is a strong orientation toward creating an image of success, having your life in order. As was noted earlier, there is a strong family orientation in Queen Creek, which is admirable. Yet for many families, their life ends up revolving around their children to raise successful children. Furthermore, success is defined by material things and life enrichment vs. developing character and virtue.  

THE NEED FOR COMMUNITY 

Many in Queen Creek need community, and they have found them through affinity groups such as soccer, CrossFit, school associations, scouts, and various community events. For some, an organization like CrossFit replicates the type of community that is commonly found in the church. However, the gospel of God’s grace and salvation found in Jesus Christ alone is missing from these communities. 

A WAY FORWARD

At Hope Community Church, we believe that each person has an innate desire to be known, loved, and accepted. We believe there is a unique opportunity to offer a welcoming and loving community to all because they are created in the image of God.  This is how we will reach the people of Queen Creek. We want to open our lives and homes, so everyone has an opportunity to experience the faith, hope, and love Jesus Christ offers in the gospel.