We are just plain folk who love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our church believes that we have been called to practice the W.E.B. principle of Worship, Evangelism and Building the Saints. We come together on a regular basis to worship our King. Our people believe in and support many ministries in our community and across the globe. We believe that God has ordained us to lift up an anthem of praise as we worship Him with our voices, our time, our talents and our material wealth.
Should you visit us you will find us easy to locate - just 1 mile east of beautiful Gaylord, Michigan. You will be greeted by friendly people who are ready to assist you should you have any questions or special needs once arriving. Inside you will find the building decorated in earth tone colors that will help add a rich warm feeling to your experience. You will find our modern building to be very inviting and perhaps most important, you will see that we always have clean restrooms.
You will find that our services are lively and inviting. Our pastors preach a message that is contemporary and is meant to be applied to each individual's life. Our goal is to encourage believers with the Gospel. Be prepared to hear a "life-changing" message when you come.
Our music is also contemporary. We have drums, guitars, bass and keyboards and we welcome all musical instruments that will help us "make a joyful noise" to the Lord.
We also believe in giving back some of our prosperity to the Lord's Kingdom. We give our people the opportunity each week to be generous with what the Lord has blessed them with. However, if you should visit us there is absolutely no pressure from anyone in our church to give - the Bible says to "give with a cheerful heart", not under compulsion and that is what we practice at the "Hope."
We also believe that churches should be held accountable to a governing body. There are too many churches today that are responsible to no one and that can easily lead to problems. Our covering comes first through the Assemblies of God out of Springfield, MO [www.ag.org]. Pastor Norm and Pastor Barb both attended Central Bible College in Springfield, MO and Southeastern University in Lakeland FL and they both hold their credentials with the Assemblies of God.
Pastors Norm and Barb Oberlin are also held responsible to their Sending Church - Mount Hope Church and International Outreach Ministries in Lansing, MI [www.mounthopechurch.org]. Both Norm and Barb were mentored by Dr. Dave Williams, Pastor of Mount Hope Church in Lansing.
Finally, Pastor Norm and Pastor Barb are responsible in greatest part to their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ as His under-shepherds of His flock in Gaylord, Michigan. All Praise be given to Him!
(See "Our Beliefs" for further description)
