By
Meredith Knight
| Photos by
Kenny Richard
Photography
When Chris and his family were
searching for a church home, a coworker recommended Hope
Fellowship. They visited one Sunday fully intending it to be
one of many churches they would consider. It didn’t
take long for them to realize they need not look further.
Chris
“Hope Fellowship is an awesome church,” he
wrote in an online review. “They make you feel right at home and comfortable.
Pastor John delivers spot-on messages every week that challenge you to grow
in your faith and in your relationship with God. Also love the time of praise
and worship, great music, great kids’ programs with loving, caring
staff.”
Malia
Malia says joining Hope Fellowship is one of
the best decisions she and her family have made. “Hope has been our church
home for about a year now and I couldn’t be more pleased,” she said. “Pastor
John is a great guy who knows his stuff. No nonsense. They just get straight
to the point and preach the Word. The church always has something going on,
and there’s something for everyone! Staff is very friendly. They’re really
involved in the community, which in turn leads the attendees to become
involved.”
Others praise Hope Fellowship for being so
accessible. “You can truly come as you are — shorts, jeans, yoga pants, or a
three-piece suit. The staff is approachable, the message is relatable, the
worship is dynamic, the church family is loving, and the truth is preached
unapologetically. There are many ways to serve and many ways to connect and
find your people.”
New Prosper
Campus
If you live in the Greater Prosper area, you
know God’s been busy building a new church home off Prosper Trail even while
the Hope Fellowship Prosper family has been growing in their temporary
location on Eagle Drive. As construction is coming to an end, the Hope
Prosper family is happily planning a grand opening block party on Saturday,
September 9.
There’s a place for everyone at Hope
Fellowship in every chapter of life and every interest. There are small
groups for married couples and singles, children, youth, adults, and seniors,
and special-interest life groups for joggers, bicyclists, golfers, fishermen,
veterans, young professionals, board-game geeks, empty nesters, business
owners, foster and adoptive parents — 47 groups and counting.
“Everything we do at Hope is designed to help
our members connect and move together toward the center of God’s purpose for
their lives,” said Lead Pastor John McKinzie. “Because people matter to God,
they matter to us. It’s important to us that every person in the Hope family
considers themselves a partner in our ministry to love people, connect to
Hope, grow in community, and serve others the way the Lord would have us.
We’re a church of imperfect people who genuinely love and care about each
other.”
Connecting
in Prosper
Mike Martin is the campus pastor at the
Prosper location and he wants local families to know there’s much more going
on than just Sunday morning worship. “Hope is a community within the
community where families can connect in small groups and do life together,”
he said. “We’re all about empowering families to raise up the next generation
for Christ. At Hope, you’ll meet other parents whose kids go to school with
your kids, folks you see at the ballpark and grocery store. You volunteer
around town together. At Hope, you can connect on a deeper
level.”
Connecting
the Next Generation
At Hope, your kindergartener or first grader
sees and connects with other kids they know. “As they grow, they have other
children with whom they can discuss spiritual principles,” Mike said. “Your
middle schooler or high schooler can meet here on Wednesday nights and talk
about what’s happening at school and in their lives in a safe, accepting
environment. These connections are going on within the Hope family every
night of the week, on campus or small in-home groups. People have a chance
every single day of the week to really connect with each
other.”
Connecting
with the Community
Hope Fellowship partners with many local
nonprofits such as Wheels of Hope, Cornerstone NCT, Lovepacs, Prosper Ladies Association,
N3 Neighbors Nourishing Neighbors, and others. “We love what God’s doing in
Prosper and we want to be involved in every aspect of our community,” Mike
said. “Prosper has always been community-oriented. We’re not trying to
reinvent the wheel but are thrilled to come alongside those who are already
doing it so well, adding people and adding flavor to their good work. It’s
easy to do that here. We’re excited about growing with
Prosper.”
Meet Lead
Pastor John McKinzie
Lead Pastor John McKinzie founded Hope
Fellowship in 2000 and has led it to become a church known for its care for
the broken and desire to “help everyone follow Jesus and move them to the
center of God’s purpose for their lives.” John is married to Melissa, has
four kids, and two lovely grandchildren.
“It’s really great to be able to serve under
John because his heart has always been to love people,” Mike said. “He does
an amazing job of caring for people and serving people. The Prosper campus is
an extension of what we’ve been doing for over 20 years.”
Meet
Prosper Campus Pastor Mike Martin
Mike Martin has served in many roles at Hope
Fellowship. His current position is campus pastor at the Prosper campus.
Mike, his wife Penny, and sons, Cade and Ty, have been Prosper residents for
18 years.
“Mike really gets who we are and what we’re
about,” John said. “We’re very lucky to have him carrying on the mission of
Hope in Prosper.”
To learn
more about the Grand Opening of the Prosper campus, as well as the community
Block Party on September 9, check out hopefellowship.net/prosper.
CONTACT
2000 West
Prosper Trail
Prosper, Texas 75078
