We believe that God has called us to be a diverse community of worshippers who, gripped by the gospel of grace, consistently reach out to bring hope and freedom to the diverse people of the Columbia area and beyond. As part of this vision, we desire to impact all who come (skeptic, seeker, or follower) to become free as they live as God’s instrument of love, mercy, and justice. We are a church that loves and is committed to the Columbia area. We will always strive to welcome and include everyone who visits.
Below is a summary of our beliefs and how those beliefs move us to act. City of Hope is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). It is our joy to emphasize the sovereignty of God in all things. We ascribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith. For a full doctrinal statement go to www.pcanet.org.
We Believe the Bible
We joyfully embrace the authority and truth of the Bible. So we will strive to be faithful in sharing its truth and grace. Our priority is to open God’s word and let it speak, wherever and whenever we can. Our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ, so we will seek him in prayer on behalf of families, our neighbors, and our communities.
We Believe in the Incarnation
When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son (Galatians 4:4). Jesus was sent into the world to redeem it. He identified himself with us. How did he identify? He identified by teaching, healing, restoring, and renewing those who he encountered in life. We will faithfully identify with our community in love. Our faith in Jesus allows us to thoroughly pursue the expression of the Gospel in our homes, our neighborhoods, and in our city.
We Believe in Community
We will diligently build meaningful and transformative relationships. This is the expression of a life lived powerfully in the communal embrace of the Spirit. In community, we express the transforming power of the Spirit of God through loving and honest relationships.
We Believe in Reconciliation
In Jesus Christ God was reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). It is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we are thoroughly reconciled with God and with one another. Therefore, we will boldly pursue racial, cultural, gender, socioeconomic and generational reconciliation. We will prioritize and invest our very lives to reconciliation that is empowered by the Gospel of Jesus Christ who has come to break down the dividing walls of all kinds of tensions and divisions.
We Believe in Mission
God is a sending God. Jesus told his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). Therefore, we will intentionally seek to plant racially and ethnically diverse and Gospel-centered churches in the Baltimore/Washington DC region and beyond.