Our Beliefs
Theology Proper: God the Father is perfectly good, and ever good thing comes from Him. The Father cannot contradict Himself. He is omnipotent, meaning He can do anything that is logically possible for Him to do (Job 9:4). For example making a boulder too big for Himself to lift would be illogical. It is like asking can you make a square round table, which you cannot because necessity a round table must be round. The Father also has complete knowledge, or omniscience (Psalm 139:1). That means He knows all that is, all that was, and all that will be. John 4:24 tells us that God is a spirit and must be worshipped in spirit. We also know that the Father is alive (Matthew 16:16). God the Father is also immutable (Psalm 102:27) and self-existent (Exodus 3:14). Also Isaiah 57:15 tells that God the Father exists forever. God is the Father of all creation. He is also the Father to Israel (Jeremiah 31:9) and Jesus Christ (Matthew 3:17). As a child of God we get certain privileges. The first privilege is fellowship with the Father (I John 1:3). Next Matthew 6:9 tells us that we have access to the Father. Thirdly we have guidance from the Father (Psalm 119:9). And John 10:29 shows us that we have security in the Father. Lastly we have an inheritance from the Father (Romans 8:16-17).
Christology: Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Matthew 11:27). He is fully man (Hebrews 4:15) and fully God (Colossians 2:9), known as the hypostatic union. God sent His son Jesus to die for our sins and reconcile us to God (Romans 5:8). Jesus was sent to be our savior (John 14:6). At the same time Jesus’ humanity is important because it makes Him a fitting atonement for our sins, enables God to experience the difficulties of human life (Hebrews 4:15), allows us to see what an uncorrupted human looks like, provides us with a perfect example of what a Christian should be (I Corinthians 11:1), it shows that being human is good, and it proves God is active in our world. Jesus viewed Himself as God (John 8:58). Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:3). He ascended into heaven (Mark 16:19). Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father (I Peter 3:22). Now Jesus serves as our intercessor (Hebrews 7:25) and advocator (I John 2:1) to God the Father. Jesus has always existed and is in fact God (John 1). The Lord’s Table is done in remembrance of Jesus, because He commanded His followers to do it (Matthew 26:16-30).
Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit is God and the third member of the trinity (Acts 5:3-4). The Holy Spirit was with Jesus during His incarnation (Matthew 3:15-17). After Jesus ascended into heaven the Holy Spirit dwelled in human beings (Acts 2:1-4). When we were saved we were born again of the Holy Spirit and water (John 3:6-8). The Holy Spirit indwells in all who belong to God (I Corinthians 6:19). The Holy Spirit serves as a testimony to salvation in the life of a believer (Galatians 4:6-7). The Holy Spirit serves as our comforter (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit guides our prayers (Romans 8:26). Through the Holy Spirit believers are empowered to do the work that God has called them to do (2 Timothy 1:7). All believers have unity through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:1-6).
Trinity: The trinity is not three gods. It is three distinct personalities of one God. They are unique yet united as one. All members of the trinity are eternal and have always existed. The Son is eternally begotten, and the Holy Spirit is eternally proceeded from the Father and Son. Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:13 both imply the trinity. All three persons are accounted for in each of these passages. Some argue that the Son and the Holy Spirit are not divine, but they are wrong. Look first at Matthew 6:26 which talks about God the Father. He is referred to as our heavenly father, and as so He is pointed out as a deity. Now let us look at John1:1-17 which talks about the Son. This passage tells us that Jesus has been around since the beginning. He was with God, and He is God. Again this passage points out the deity of the Son. Lastly look at Acts 5:3-4 which talks about the Holy Spirit. When talking to Ananias Peter says “you have lied to the Holy Spirit,” and then also says “you have not lied to men, but God.” When you look at that you again see that this passage shows the deity of the Holy Spirit.
Angels: Angels are the servants of God. Exodus 23:23 shows that angels obey God’s commands. They serve various roles throughout the Bible. Angels are sent to protect us (Exodus 23:20). They are God’s messengers (Matthew 1:24). Angels also carry out justice (2 Samuel 24:17). Matthew 4:11 shows that God’s angels comfort and look over us. Lastly angels are God’s military (2 Kings 6:17). The Devil once resided in heaven (Isaiah 14:12-15). He desired to be exalted above God and so revolted against Him. Since the Devil was thrown from heaven he seeks to take down Christians (1 Peter 5:8). The Devil fights the gospel and seeks to leave humans in confusion (Luke 8:12). The Devil also tempts all believers (Matthew 4:1). According to Zechariah 3:1 and Job 1:8-11Satan accuses believers before the throne of God.
Scripture: All scripture is from God. It is useful for teaching and equipping Christians. It is also useful for rebuking and correcting Christian. Lastly it is useful for training Christians in the way they should go (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Archeology and history confirm many facts and stories in the Bible to be true. Texts like the Dead Sea Scrolls show that the Bible was not altered after Christ was born to make the prophesies fit Jesus’ life. Texts written by others such as the High Priest also confirmed the stories in the New Testament. Jesus confirms that the Old Testament is scripture (Matthew 21:42). Peter also exalts Paul’s writings as scripture in I Peter. Everything should be run by scripture to test its truthfulness. The Bible is trustworthy and reliable (John 10:35). The Bible was written by writers who were inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). Jesus said that the Old Testament was reliable and that it is from God (John 10:35, 2 Peter 1:21). Look at those verses and you can see that Jesus’ said that the Bible is the word and command of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, will endure until completion, and is the source of correct doctrine.
Ecclesiology: The church is not a building, it is God’s people (Ephesians 5:25-32). The church is the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:12-26). The church is supposed to include all races and people, not segregating. All believers share the same spirit, that being the Holy Spirit which unites us as one body. All parts of the body are necessary, and none is better or more important than another. As the body of Christ we are supposed to take care of each other as well. The purpose of the church is to build up believers and spread the gospel. The church is supposed to be the hands and feet of God, going out and serving others, not ourselves (Mark 10:44-45). Also the church is charged with taking care of their pastor (I Thessalonians 5:12-13) and supporting missionaries (Philippians 4:10-20). Lastly the church is charged with the responsibility of keeping the ordinances of baptism (Romans 6:4) and of the Lord’s Table (Matthew 26:26-30).
Hamartiology: Sin is described as missing the mark, and hitting the wrong mark. I John 3:4 describes it as lawlessness. All people have sinned (Romans 3:23) except for Jesus Christ who is a hundred percent man and a hundred percent God. All sin is done against God (Romans 8:7), and God hates all sin. Sin separates us from God. The sources for sin include Satan (Matthew 13:35), the world (John 15:18-19), and the heart. Psalm 51:5 tells us that we are born with a sin nature, and Romans 6:23 tells us that the punishment for sin is death. Revelations 20:15 confirms the punishment that awaits those who do not believe in Jesus. I John 1:3, 6-7 shows us that we can lose our fellowship with each other and with God if we continue to sin and not confess it. Sin for the believer also results darkened walk (I John 1:6) and punishment to bring correction (Hebrews 12:5-11). Persistent sin results in removal form the body of Christ (Matthew 18:17).
Salvation: Salvation is the free gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-10). Salvation was bought for us by the blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8). Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation (Acts 4:11-12). Salvation is for all every person who believes in Jesus (Romans 1:16). Jesus’ death on the cross was the substitutionary atonement for our sins so as to secure our salvation. Once a believer is saved he or she cannot go to hell, but they can be cut off from the body of Christ due to persistent sin (Matthew 18:15-20). His propitiation redeemed and reconciled us to God the Father. We enter into the kingdom of God through repentance (Mark 1:14-15) and radical faith in God’s messenger (Mark 1:15). We are only saved by belief in Jesus’ and His death, burial, and resurrection. There is nothing we can do to be saved, or to deserve salvation. It is God’s free gift to all mankind and we must choice to accept or decline His gift.
Our History
The history of New Hope Community Church is a long one. Originally the church building was constructed by the New Hope Methodist Episcopal Church back in 1871. The church saw decline and before 1924 they had ceased to use the building. It was in 1924 that a group of believers from Elizabeth Baptist Church, along with people in our community, decided to start a church here. We started using the old church building and 1928 our first preacher came to New Hope, Clarence Davis. In 1948 Herman Tash became the pastor and 2 tears later the building burned down. The body did not despair but trusted in God and with the money from the insurance company and people’s generous donations, they rebuilt the church. In 1961 pastor Lewis was about to step down, but had a revival meeting on that Easter with Pastor Roy Lauter. The church asked Roy to temporarily fill the pastorate as they searched for a pastor. That temporary position gave way to over 50 years of faithful ministry. New Hope is greatly indebted to Roy Lauter and his faithful service. Roy faithfully ministered to the body and even brought them on missions trips overseas. He saw pain, joy, marriages, and funerals, and through it all he loved his people. After he retired various other pastors filled the role, but none quite like him. Currently we continue to strive to follow God and reach our community. In December of 2018 of current Pastor Ethan VanAernam moved here to New Washington and began to pastor New Hope Community Church. We continue to strive and push to reach our community with the love of the gospel.
Our Leaders
Pastor Ethan VanAernam
Pastor Ethan has been at New Hope for nearly two years. He has severed various churches in volunteer positions and internships. Ethan is a graduate of Liberty University and is taking classes at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to Lindsey VanAernam and has four children: Abigail, Natalie, Henry, and Thomas.
Youth Director Kim James
Kim James grew up in New Hope Community Church. After moving back to New Washington she began to lead the Youth Group. The Youth not only have fun together, but also reach out to the community and help those in need. We are thankful for our Youth and especially our Youth Director.
Worship Leader Marvin Stoner
Marvin has been a leader at New Hope for many years now. He is always there to lend a helping hand. He leads us in worship most weeks and even teaches Sunday School. New Hope is grateful for his faithful service.
Pastor Emeritus-Roy Lauder
New Hope Community Church 