Are you looking for a Reformed church in Ashland, Ohio? I invite you to check out Hopewell Church.
Hopewell is a new work that has just started up in Ashland. Currently, nine families compose the founding families, and this past Lord's Day they issued me a formal call to be the organizing pastor. I'm excited to be a part of this church as they are dedicated to being Reformed and family integrated. We started evening services two weeks ago. The first service had almost 100 people in attendance. Some families couldn't make it to the second service, but we still had 70 people come out. It has been a life long dream to start a Reformed church in Ashland. I initially came back to the area to plant a Reformed church. I had come into Reformed theology in college after having grown up in this area. From that point on I began to pray that a Reformed church be started here. By the end of seminary I began to think that perhaps I should give it a go. That church eventually had to close because we didn't have enough interest. Our highest attendance over the course of the 6 years was a total of 40 people. Typically we had around 15-20 though. Needless to say, it never got much momentum. Hopewell looks much more promising. That's part of the reason for the name. We even have prospects for adding a few more families in the near future. But there's more to the name than mere well wishes. Hopewell was the first church in Ashland 200 years ago. Interestingly enough, it was a Reformed church. An Old School Presbyterian minister came to town and served as the organizing pastor of a bunch of Scotch-Irish Calvinists. It is funny to think that Ashland had such a staunchly Reformed beginning, being that there is such a significant Anabaptist influence here today. But that is the main reason why we took the name Hopewell. We wanted to continue the vision our forefather's in the faith had for solid teaching and biblically grounded worship. Hopewell already has a solid crew of guys who are ready to be leaders. So it shouldn't be long until we are ready to ordain and install men as elders. Right now these men are serving as a steering committee for the plant. We've already started some leadership training too in preparation for becoming a particular church. By all means, contact me or sign up for our email list if you'd like to be a part. We want you to join us in worship and help us propagate the great doctrines of the Reformation throughout the area.
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