A CHURCH FOR THE GOOD OF MUNCIE
In June of 2014, New Life Presbyterian Church in Yorktown, IN hired Josh Holowell as a church planting apprentice. The goal was to raise up a group of people to start a new church in downtown Muncie. God began to draw people together to develop the vision for this new church. The vision centered on being a church for the good of Muncie and bringing the gospel of reconciliation to the issues of the City. This led to an intentional focus on establishing a missional and multicultural church.
In January of 2017 a small group bible study began to meet in the fellowship hall at one of our partner churches, First Baptist Church, in downtown Muncie. This small group included the group of people from New Life, a group of people from our sister church in Muncie, Westminster Presbyterian, and various others from the community that were excited about our vision. The small group was focused on what it meant for this new church to be an authentically multiethnic/ multicultural church by studying the book, The High Definition Leader by Dr. Derwin Gray. This small group proved foundational to the develop of the church's culture and the family atmosphere.
City Hope Fellowship officially launched as a Church on September 10th, 2017 at East Washington Academy in downtown Muncie. Since launching, City Hope has continued to grow as the multicultural family of God and continued to learn what it means to be a church for the City.
If you are interested in learning more about how our story has shaped our mission check out our vision and values. But if you really want to experience our story you should join with us in joyful worship on Sundays; or in the diverse gatherings in our homes; or in the impromptu Saturday morning pancake birthday parties (that stretch into the afternoon); or in the craziness of a church group text message; or in the acts of justice and mercy on behalf of our members; or in the commitment to obeying the proclaimed word of God. All that to say, being a part of City Hope is not simply joining a volunteer organization, or a group of folks with a shared set of beliefs or mission, but its joining a family, the diverse family of God which welcomes all to come and be reconciled to God and to one another. We definitely have a mission and a set of beliefs and we volunteer our time together, but we do so as a family, committed to a great and globally gracious God who has made himself known to us in the person of His Son Jesus. Consider yourself invited to the dinner table.
City Hope was not started by any one individual but by a team of people committed to a common vision. This team was crucial in setting direction and launching City Hope Fellowship in the fall of 2017.
