NHCC Who We Are

To Glorify God and share the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ with new hope for all of God's people.

A Five Minute Tour of New Hope Community Church.

Where We Came From: A Little About Our Past. The seeds for New Hope Community Church were planted in the late 1970's as our denomination, the Reformed Church in America, picked Southeast Aurora as a prime location to begin a church. A ministry plan was developed and funding was provided to begin. Rev. David Schutt was called as the first pastor and began to gather worshippers, meeting first in the Schutt's basement, then in local schools. On May 6, 1979, with Rev. Schutt as pastor and 52 founding members, New Hope was officially organized as a congregation. The first phase of the present facility was built and the first worship service was held on Easter Sunday, 1981. By March of 1985 the building was expanded and so was the congregation and the programs and ministry provided. In November of 1990 our present Pastor, Rev. Philip Schuiling, and his family arrived and he continues as Sr. Pastor to this day.

What We Believe: We believe that the Bible is the perfect, true and reliable word of God to us and we believe that the Apostle's Creed is a helpful summary of the teaching of Scripture. Thus, the Apostle's Creed is a good summary of New Hope's beliefs:

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, Our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting, Amen."

Our Sacraments:We celebrate the Lord's Supper on the first Sunday of each month. We also Celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism, both to believing adults and to children of New Hope members as requested. Baptism is by sprinkling, pouring or immersion, believing that God who baptizes honors each of these various modes.

Our Worship Style.Our style is blended, combining the best music and traditions of the past with fresh and contemporary music, instruments and formats of the present. Our worship is warm and the preaching Biblical, applicable and spoken with humor, integrity and enthusiasm. The goal of every worship is to honor God and provide a setting where one can encounter the living God. While the adults worship, the children are also worshipping in the Children and Worship Program, learning Bible stories, learning to pray and worship in ways appropriate to their age group.

Our Congregation. We are a very diverse group of people bound together by our common love for God. A few are from Reformed Church in America background, most are new to the Christian faith or from a variety of other traditions. We have lots of children and at the same time value our "Primetimers," the Senior's group. We are small enough (about 200 in worship) to have close personal relationships yet large enough to offer extensive programming and involvement opportunities.

Our Leadership. As part of the Reformed Church in America, our pastor and leaders are held accountable for all practices from preaching to finances-and that is a great thing. New Hope is lead by the church board called the Consistory, comprised of 5 elders (overseeing the spiritual needs of the congregation) and the 5 deacons (overseeing the financial aspects of the church and people with financial needs). Under the Spirit led leadership of the Consistory operates the church staff: Sr. Pastor, Administrator, Director of Music, Youth Director, Office Manager, Nursery Coordinator and others. Lay Leaders are the backbone of our many and varied ministries and oversee these ministries with skill and enthusiasm.

Our Outreach. New Hope is a community church in the truest sense. Our desire is to not simply occupy the corner of Hampden and Telluride, but to be an integral part of our community. It is a meeting place for groups from our neighborhood association to polling for elections. It offers services from the S.H.A.R.E. Colorado food program to a volleyball court for neighborhood kids. Centered at New Hope is New Beginnings Counseling Center, with Rev. Dr. Eugene Van Dusseldorp PhD. offering the finest in Christian counseling. In a time in which many people are looking for meaningful places to invest their lives, New Hope not only offers many opportunities, but is constantly looking for new and better ways to serve our community.

Our Community Life. Every effort is made to help each person feel at home and find a place to belong, build strong relationships and discover a meaningful way to invest their talents. The Caresystem group oversees the welcoming the beginning of the assimilation of visitors and frequent attenders. A high value is put on helping each person find friends and connect with groups in the church where they can find great purpose and personal fulfillment in using their talents. We are deeply committed to "being there for each other" in times of crisis, from the Sr. Pastor to the Stephen Ministers, 40 members trained to minister in times of personal need. We also make time for marriage enrichment retreats, men's fishing trips, Women's ministry retreats, church picnics and a host of gatherings where relationship can flourish. We also offer ChristCare small groups, "Circles of Love with Christ at the Center," that meet a variety of evenings for Bible study, friendship and service.

Learning Together. New Hope offers a variety of learning experiences beginning with the Educational hour each Sunday from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Classes are offered for all ages including wonderful children and youth programs. Additional opportunities are available through the youth program, men and women's ministries and ChristCare small groups as well as specials emphasis retreats and weekends.

Our Finances. Once per year members are encouraged to make a confidential pledge for the financial support of the ministry during Consecration Sunday. The giving of these pledges is followed that Sunday by a celebration dinner, and the church budget is based on these pledges and approved by the congregation. The ministry of New Hope flourishes as members voluntarily give of their time, talents and money as God leads them. An audit of all finances is made every year and the result of that audit as well as all financial records, are always available to the congregation. New Hope emphasizes ministry in Christ's name rather than the raising of funds.

Our Lifestyle. New Hope emphasizes a positive, Christian life style that reflects the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives and a life style attractive enough to those around us so they too will want to know the One that we have found.

Membership. Membership in New Hope begins with attending one of the regularly scheduled Discovery Classes. This seven week class explores "What it Means" to be a Christian, a member of New Hope and a part of the Reformed Church in America. Additionally, the class includes information on discovering and beginning to use one's spiritual gifts. At the conclusion of the Discovery Class, the opportunity is given to become a member.

Our Vision For The Future. During the summer of 1999 the leadership of New Hope carefully considered what kind of people God is calling us to be as well as what kinds of things we are to do and formulated the following mission statement.

"TO GLORIFY GOD AND SHARE THE LOVE AND FORGIVENESS OF JESUS CHRIST WITH NEW HOPE FOR ALL OF GOD'S PEOPLE."

Our purpose, in all that we do, is to glorify God. Every worship service planned, every program offered, every dollar spent must have as its end result to please, honor and glorify God, not the pastor nor the people nor the denomination.

We have something incredibly valuable to share and it is the love and Forgiveness of Jesus Christ. What unbelievable Good News God has given to us: He knows us inside out and loves us enough to send Jesus Christ, offering us forgiveness and a new start and the promise of eternity with Him.

How a church shares that Good News if very important. We believe Christianity must be shared the way Jesus Himself did: with new hope. It must be shared with all the freshness, hope, energy and practical application that Jesus shared with people in His day.

Jesus shared the love and forgiveness of the Father with everyone. He Cared about people that the rest of the culture overlooked or thought unworthy. He touched lepers, held children and invited a despised tax collector to be of his disciples. Our vision for New Hope is that it will ever more perfectly become a church where anyone can come, strong and well or broken, and find a community to belong to.

Other Questions? We welcome further questions and would enjoy talking to you personally and sharing more about our ministry. You can also visit our Comments page and leave us a message.

Giving Hope to Our Community

Home Who Ministr Events Find Us Contact Us

New Hope Community Church

17699 E. Hampden Ave.

Aurora, CO 80013

(303) 690-0143 Fax (303) 699-8905

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