Who We Are
Hope’s first worship service in October of 1960 shows how vibrant this community of faith has been since its beginning (left). The church moved locations from the Yorkshire Fire Hall to its current location at 2 E. Main St., Arcade in 1963, but the worship services moved before the church was even through construction (right).
Hope is a community of believers who join together to support one another in responding to God’s love and our baptismal call. This congregation began as a mission start of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in 1961. Since then, while we have remained Lutheran, we have changed to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to identify with a church body that better represents our values and beliefs about women in leadership and partnerships with other church bodies.
We started as a church in the middle of a predominantly farming community. Although our context has changed with the general agricultural environment, we continue to identify with the land. We sit on 11 beautiful acres adjacent to the Arcade Village Park. Like farmers, we continue to see God’s activity in the rhythm of the day and seasons in the same way we see him in our daily lives and church year.
We are a people who know that just as our community and world are a whole lot smaller than we sometimes think, so too our family is a whole lot bigger than we know. Through Christ and at Hope, we experience more fully God’s picture of community. We long to support one another in good times and in bad. We pride ourselves on our hospitality, but don’t thank us. We are hospitable because we are genuinely glad to see you here and because we know that we are better when you are.
Whether you have been attending Hope since April 2, 1961 or are thinking about attending Hope for the first time this Sunday, we have some expectations.
As we meet, we hope to share God’s love.
As we worship, we hope to praise God’s name.
As we learn, we hope to grow in our faith.
As we share, we hope to proclaim Christ in word and deed.
And as we journey together, we hope to be Christ for one another.
