About New Hope Church
New Hope Church is a community of people who care deeply for East Hamilton.Our Core Values
What is important to us? New Hope Church is a community of people who hold dearly to these following beliefs that are shaping us:
Faithful Presence
God is faithful. We do our best to be faithful to Him, and we believe that this faith calls us to be a faithful presence to the communities and geographies where we’ve been planted.
Humble Orthodoxy
We join in God’s work, recognizing that we see “but in part”, and yet trust His story. We strive for a humble posture in our worship, theology, serving, and fellowship.
Durable Hope
We place our hope in Christ. One day all things will be restored. Christ is already at work – He is with us in all things and at all times. Because of Christ’s resurrection, we have reason to be hopeful. We live in the “already but not yet”.
Restorative Relationships
We believe God shows up in the space between us enabling restorative relationships. Loving Jesus means loving others. In community, we care for creation, confess, repent and are transformed by the Holy Spirit. Healing and restoration is possible with God. The truth sets us free.
Everyone Belongs
We believe everyone is created in God’s image, that diversity is beautiful and marginalized voices matter. We value tradition, innovation and creativity as instruments of faith formation and strive to break down barriers so God’s people can serve and worship together.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
1 Peter 1:3-4
Our Story
In 2005, a small group of people began dreaming about planting a church in East Hamilton. To love well, this group of forty set out to get to know the residents of the Crown Point, Delta and Homeside neighbourhoods. In 2008, New Hope officially launched and quickly began building relationships in the community. Members joined the Neighbourhood Association for the Crown Point Community and launched New Hope Community Bikes.
In 2011, after worshipping together in a few different locations, we moved into the newly renovated Perkins Centre at 1429 Main Street East. Originally known as the Driftwood Tavern, the building had fallen on hard times along with the neighbourhood. In its most recent life, the building was the Jamrock, a shady bar that was often visited by police cruisers. Once known to be a very dark place, the building has been restored into a large gathering space and community kitchen where family, friends, and neighbours join together to worship God. The space is used through the week by different organizations and the additional floors above provide low-income housing.
Our journey as an emerging church plant has taken us through grief and joy, people moving on and people staying put. God has been with us along the way as we grow and learn and live in community with one another. We continue to rely on God as we discern where He is leading us. For many years, New Hope operated without a lead pastor under a lay leadership model with teams that serve together. It’s important that our vision and activities are determined by community consensus. Today, we are delighted to have a small staff team that helps hold the vision and keep us organized as we grow into the next phase of life together.
In 2018, we held a “Party in the Park” in Gage Park, to celebrate ten years of worshipping together as New Hope Church. Storytellers shared of God’s faithfulness and we sang together with friends from across the city. We enjoyed a BBQ, played games and remembered our humble roots. The cake, in the picture below, shows different aspects of our church life and things we enjoy doing together.
Meet Our Teams
Steve Dykstra
Pastor of Discipleship + Mission
Leadership Team
The leadership team provides guidance and direction to New Hope Church. This team meets regularly to care for the mission and vision of New Hope and to work on behalf of our community, overseeing all areas.
Current team members: Feona, Brigitte, Jeff, Brad M
Pastoral Care Team
The members of the Pastoral Care Team provide encouragement, guidance and support for the New Hope community, especially during times of difficulty.
Current team members: Lena, Ginelle, Marc Y, Kelly
Staff Team
Pastor of Discipleship & Mission: Steve Dykstra
Ministry Coordinator: Anya Frost
Service Planning Team
This team meets regularly to plan series, write liturgy, collaborate and plan out everything that happens on a Sunday morning.
Current team members: Brielle, Bart, Jess
Youth Group Team
Our Youth Group leaders actively lead and engage our youth, planning fun activities and nourishing faith formation for those in grades 8-12. Youth group meets every other Wednesday night from Sept-June.
Current leaders: Tim, Mark, Brad S
Speaking Team
Every week a different member of this team helps us to think through what it means to be “New Hope for East Hamilton.” We draw on the Bible (God’s written word) and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to learn about what it means to follow Jesus in our world. This team has quite a few members and it ranges from people who speak often to people who share once per year.
Finance Team
The finance team works behind the scenes to manage everything to do with New Hope’s finances. If you would like to donate to New Hope Church and the ministries we support, you can put money into the offering box or donate monthly to New Hope Church Hamilton via the Bridge app. Please speak to Wayne if you need assistance setting up a recurring donation.
Current team members: Wayne, Jeff, Jen
Safe Church Team
This team works towards keeping New Hope a safe place for all. They work to teach awareness and implement our safe church policy.
Current team: Pastoral Care Team
Other Teams
There are many others who help and share their abilities in different ways, including leading music, teaching Sunday School, serving coffee, running slides and sound and much more.