Lutheran Church of Hope

Who We Are

Hope's Mission

"Reach out to the world around us and share the everlasting love of Jesus Christ!"

Hope's Vision

"To be a Spirited (Acts 2), Growing (Matthew 28), and Christ-centered (John 13) community filled with hope!"

Hope's Core Values

1. Jesus is life. The rest is details. Jesus Christ alone is our hope, and the only real and lasting hope for the world (John 14:6). We love Him. For this reason, we don't apologize for the gospel or for putting our relationship with Him first in our lives (Romans 1:16). We strive to respond faithfully to the call of Jesus to follow Him above all else in this world which so often competes for our time, energy, and attention (Luke 14:15-24).

2. Lost people matter to God and so they matter to us.Jesus was sent to reconcile a lost world to God (Luke 15:1-32), and He calls us to do the same. We like unchurched people, and we know what a difference Jesus can make in their lives. For this reason we seek to reach out to the world around us and share the everlasting love of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20, John 20:21, 1 Corinthians 9:19-27, Lutheran Church of Hope mission statement).

3. We worship God, not tradition.Where tradition helps to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and further the mission of our church, we embrace it. Where tradition becomes a wall between God and His people, we seek to tear it down (John 2:13-22, Matthew 23:13-36, John 9:1-41). While the gospel message of Jesus Christ remains unchanged (Hebrew 13:8), the manner in which it is proclaimed must change for it to be communicated effectively in a changing world (Mark 2:21-22). In our worship and in our ministry, we intentionally offer a wide variety of options from traditional to contemporary and we remain open to new waves of innovation sent to the church by the Holy Spirit of God - all for the sake of Christian mission (Psalm 146-150, Acts 2:1-42)

4. Following Jesus is a growing experience.We can't outgrow Christian faith. As modern day disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to move from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity (Phillipians 3:13-14, Ephesians 4:12-14). For this reason we strive to bring people into an ever-growing relationship with Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19). This growth best happens in small groups (Acts 2:42-47). As we grow in faith, we turn our hearts to God, giving of our selves and our resources -- freely and cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7).

5. We are one body, united in Jesus Christ. We are a church of individuals, different in many ways, yet called together by God to be one in ministry and mission. As members of the same body, we become more effective when we work in harmony as a unified whole (John 17:20-23). Among us, love for one another is the norm (John 13:34, Romans 13:8), conflicts are resolved according to the teaching of Jesus (Matthew 18:15-17), and we seek to build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). We rejoice together, and we suffer together (1 Corinthians 12:25-27).

Denomination
Lutheran (ELCA)

Networks

Size
Large

Founded
1994



Our Services

Service Times

Sunday
  • 07:45am - Celebration with communion
  • 08:15am - Traditional with communion
  • 09:15am - Celebration
  • 11:00am - Celebration
  • 05:00pm - Celebration
Thursday
  • 07:30pm - Young Adult Service
Saturday
  • 05:00pm - Celebration
  • 06:30pm - Celebration

Leadership

Michael Housholder

Mike Housholder, Senior Pastor In the summer of 1993, Pastor Mike became the mission developer for Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, Iowa. By the fall of 1994, Hope officially organized as a new congregation and called Mike to serve as senior pastor. Since then, Hope has launched three satellite congregations, connected thousands of people to hundreds of small groups and discipleship classes, actively launched numerous Christian based local and global outreach ministries, completed five major building projects, and developed a multitude of effective ministries for children, families, women, men, singles, couples, seniors, the hurting and the lost. Along the way, Hope has become one of the largest and fastest growing churches in the nation, and more importantly a church through which the Holy Spirit has transformed countless hearts, and sent thousands into the world to reflect the light of God’s radical love. Pastor Mike was listed in the Outreach Magazine’s ”25 Church Leaders to Watch,” and is a recipient of the “40 under 40” award from the Des Moines Business Record. His story has been documented in feature articles in DSM, and the Des Moines Register. He served on the original Core Leadership Team for Alpha USA, and is a current board member for Meals from the Heartland, which started as an outreach ministry at Hope. Born in Idaho, Mike grew up in the Rockies before his family moved to the Midwest, and eventually Chicago, prior to his high school years. A graduate of Concordia College-Moorhead (1986, B.A. magna cum laude) and Luther Seminary (1990, Master of Divinity), Pastor Mike served as a solo pastor at Palestine Lutheran in rural Huxley from 1990-1993. He has been happily married to Sally since 1987, and they have three children.

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