Hope Church sits along Wilmington Pike in Sugarcreek Township, just south of Dayton, Ohio. From this one location a congregation of several dozen staff and ministry leaders reaches into South Dayton neighborhoods, into local schools and recovery houses, and across the world to Zambia, the Philippines, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Cuba. The church calls itself gospel-centered and mission-driven, and the description fits what visitors find on a Sunday morning: an intergenerational gathering that takes worship, teaching, and outreach with equal seriousness.
Gospel-Centered, Mission-Driven
The two phrases that frame everything at Hope are gospel-centered and mission-driven. Hope describes itself as a place where a diverse body of believers can come and experience the presence of God through authentic worship and intentional community. Its stated mission is to go and make disciples in South Dayton and beyond by bringing hope to families ready to live a life of purpose.
That mission is summarized in three values. Passionate worship means knowing, adoring, and obeying God, anchored in Psalm 95. Extravagant love is love expressed in actions that are unconditional, practical, and personal, drawing from the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10. Bold witness is sharing the gospel in ways that are Holy Spirit-empowered, outward-focused, scripture-based, relationally valued, and intentionally diverse, drawn from the Great Commission in Matthew 28. The church's motto, printed under its logo, is drawn from Psalm 138: "For you have exalted above all things your name and your word."
A Faith Shaped by Nearly Two Centuries
Hope's story is unusually long. Its roots reach back to 1841, when a circuit rider named Absalom Shafer organized and taught a Sunday School in the area. The congregation carries the imprint of Methodist leaders such as John Wesley, Francis Asbury, Phillip Otterbein, Martin Boehm, and Jacob Albright, and has passed through several denominational mergers over the generations.
The present-day church grew out of two East Dayton congregations. The Wayne Avenue church had begun as a German-speaking congregation and made the bold switch to English in 1884. Across town, the Evangelical Church and the United Brethren Church merged in 1946 to form the EUB. A fire destroyed the High Street EUB church in 1960, and the congregation rebuilt on Wilmington Pike in 1962, taking the name Christ Church. When the EUB and the Methodist Church merged to form the United Methodist Church in 1968, Christ EUB became Hope UMC. In 1971 the Wayne Avenue church relocated and joined Hope UMC, consolidating the two streams into one.
Hope has called Sugarcreek Township home since 1960. More recently, in 2022, the congregation voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church and align with the Global Methodist Church, a new denomination committed to what its leaders describe as theological orthodoxy, spirit-filled living, disciple-making, and missions. The move took effect on January 1, 2023.
Through every change of name, building, and denomination, the church has continued to teach Scripture and serve its community. A statement of faith that still honors the Wesleyan tradition remains the foundation of the church, and the congregation's bylaws are available for review in the church office Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sunday at Hope Church
Hope's Sunday schedule is built around two anchors. Sunday School begins at 9 a.m., with classes for every age from birth through high school. The worship service follows at 10:15 a.m., and families are welcomed to worship together. A nursery is available for infants and toddlers during the 10:15 service. Visitors can come for either part or both.
The worship style is described as casual. The church encourages people to come as they are. Teaching is Biblical, understandable, and relatable, worked out verse by verse through the Scripture. Hope practices expository preaching, with an emphasis on reading the text and explaining what it means for life today. The music is led by the church's Worship Technology Director and a team of musicians and vocalists.
During summer months the schedule shifts slightly and worship moves to Hudson Hall. In the regular season the service gathers in the main sanctuary on Wilmington Pike. Messages are streamed on the church's YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person. For first-time guests, guest parking sits right next to the main entrance, with a sidewalk leading directly to glass doors and the Welcome Center.
From the Cradle through High School
Children and students are central to Hope's identity. The Family and Student Ministry Director, Sara Humphrey, oversees a ministry that the church describes as covering cradle to college. Sunday School at 9 a.m. provides graded classes for every age, and Hope's Hope Youth Group for teens and tweens meets separately and integrates into the larger worship gathering at 10:15.
The church's youth ministry is guided by what it calls the rule of three: whenever the church gathers for worship, an event, or service, it tries to have at least three generations present, one representing the past, one the present, and one the future. The practice is grounded in Psalm 78 and is shaped by research showing that students who build relationships with adults in the church are far more likely to stay connected to the church as they grow older. Hope regularly invites its students to lead parts of worship, serve as ushers and greeters, and sit with the wider congregation during the 10:15 service.
Nursery care is offered for infants and toddlers during the worship hour. Volunteers are needed across the children's and student ministry areas, and newcomers who want to teach, assist, or simply be present with the next generation are welcomed into the rotation.
Worship, Music, and Technology
Hope takes seriously the craft of its Sunday gathering. A Music and Worship ministry invites instrumentalists and singers to serve on Sunday mornings, at special events, and at additional services. A Media and Technology team runs lighting, sound, and visuals under the Worship Technology Director, Doug Carson, whose aim is to facilitate relevant, engaging worship environments that give space for everyone who gathers to take a next step in their faith.
The atmosphere is described as relaxed and welcoming, with Hope's Hospitality Coordinator, Debbie Lindley, leading greeters and ambassadors for visiting groups and events. The Welcome Center at the front of the building is staffed each Sunday morning to help newcomers find their way.
Beliefs and the Wesleyan Tradition
Hope's statement of faith is rooted in the Wesleyan theological tradition that has shaped the congregation since its 1841 origins.
The church teaches that Scripture, the Old and New Testaments together, is the inerrant word of God in the original manuscripts and the final authority for Christian faith and life. There is one God, infinite and perfect, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He died on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for sin, rose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now intercedes for believers as High Priest and Advocate.
The Holy Spirit glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ by convicting people of sin, regenerating believers, and indwelling, leading, and empowering them for godly living and service. Human beings were created in God's image but fell into sin and are lost apart from Christ. Salvation is found only through the sacrificial death and bodily resurrection of Jesus; all who receive Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and become children of God by grace through faith alone.
Hope looks for the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ and affirms an end-time bodily resurrection: of the believer to everlasting joy in the presence of the Lord, and of the unbeliever to everlasting, conscious punishment.
The congregation's core values line up with those beliefs. Hospitality aims to make every visitor feel at home. Outreach sees the church as a training ground for self-giving service that points others to Jesus. Passionate Worship and Prayer responds to who God is with hearts full of love and praise. Exposition is the practice of preaching the Scriptures verse by verse and explaining what they mean for today.
Reaching Out Locally
Hope believes its most important work happens outside its own walls. The Missions Ministry Director, Vicki Thompson, coordinates a network of local partners that the church supports through giving, volunteering, and prayer.
First Dawn Food Pantry is led by Restoration Church of Centerville and serves the nutritional and spiritual needs of neighbors in south Dayton. Hope volunteers help stock shelves and serve families. Joshua Recovery Ministries is a Christ-centered recovery program providing safe housing for men, women, and maternity residents in several communities across Montgomery County. Hope connects volunteers with Joshua Recovery's work as well.
Hope has been part of the Bellbrook Sugarcreek Ministerial Association since it became a Sugarcreek Township congregation in 1960, and partners with other local churches to support the Bellbrook Middle School Family Support Program, providing nourishment for students beyond the school day. The church also serves as a partnering congregation with Thrive Together, a holistic program addressing poverty through job readiness, leadership training, family activities, and a shared meal. Hope provides meals on the fourth Thursday of odd-numbered months at Fairhaven's Centerville Campus.
The church also supports The Victory Project, a privately funded Christian mentoring and personal development program for young men in grades eight through twelve in Dayton. The Victory Project is open six days a week and pairs tutoring, micro-enterprise work, and Bible study with daily meals. Hope helps recruit volunteers and participants for this work.
Across the Oceans
Hope's international mission partnerships span four continents.
In Senkobo, Zambia, the church supports Sons of Thunder Ministries, located on a 10,000-acre farm just north of Livingstone, near Victoria Falls. The ministry combines agriculture, medical care, education, job training, widow and orphan care, and church planting. Hope Church was instrumental in constructing a maternity hospital on the farm where mothers can now receive prenatal care and give birth in a safe, sanitary environment.
In General Santos City in the Philippines, Hope partners with Naomi's Heart Mission, a three-pronged ministry of feeding, healing, and teaching. The mission runs community outreach feedings for children, distributes rice, clothing, and medical supplies, and operates a Christian academy from pre-kindergarten through tenth grade that welcomes students of all backgrounds. The ministry also sponsors students seeking higher education. The founders of Naomi's Heart attend Hope Church when they are stateside.
In a region of Eastern Europe formerly part of the Soviet bloc, Hope supports a missionary family that has been serving for nearly twenty years. In their region, more than two generations grew up with little or no access to the Bible or church attendance, and roughly seventy percent of the population now identifies as atheist or agnostic. The ministry has planted several churches, operates a cultural center, and trains other missionaries in its model of ministry and disciple-making. The wife in the couple was born and raised at Hope Church and has generational ties to the congregation dating to the 1800s.
Hope also supports Hidden Treasures Ministry, an anti-human-trafficking ministry in a Latin American country. A safe house is being constructed to give women leaving the sex industry a place to stay while they learn new skills and hear about life as disciples of Jesus. The church additionally supports The Cuban Connection Ministry, founded by Cuban American immigrants who returned to Cuba after gaining American citizenship to minister to the persecuted church there.
Small Groups and Pastoral Care
Hope's Director of Small Group Ministries, Larry Stroble, oversees Community Groups that meet during the week for study, prayer, and mutual care. The church frames its small groups around the conviction that disciples grow best in honest, committed relationships where people know and are known. A small group and events calendar is available through the church's Church Center app.
The Hope Congregational Care Team, led by Karen Ward, walks alongside members during illness, loss, and other difficult seasons. Several team members are trained Stephen Ministers. The team prays for those in need, sends notes, makes visits, and offers the kind of steady presence that the church considers essential to a healthy community.
Hope also benefits from the ministry of a retired pastor, Vic Toney, who served for forty-five years as a pastor, Air Force chaplain, and Veterans Affairs chaplain. Pastor Vic encourages members through biblical counseling, Bible-centered preaching, and practical life application teaching, with particular care for veterans and the elderly.
The Team Behind the Ministry
Jason Bunger is the Lead Pastor. A former public school teacher, his stated passion is to reconcile people to God and to one another by experiencing the word of God in accurate, passionate, and understandable ways. Before joining Hope he served in other pastoral settings and has written extensively on subjects such as spiritual growth, the character of a nation, and the meaning of discipleship.
Sara Humphrey is the Family and Student Ministry Director. A former middle school teacher, she has a heart for students and watching their relationship with God develop, and serves as an advocate for students using their gifts in the church and their communities.
Vicki Thompson is the Missions Ministry Director. With a passion for the ends of the earth, she loves connecting with people of all cultures, seeking to see what God is doing, and helping to facilitate work for the kingdom through relationships with mission partners.
Doug Carson is the Worship Technology Director. He is responsible for the technological side of worship and seeks to create relevant, engaging environments in which all who gather can take a next step in their faith.
Larry Stroble is the Director of Small Group Ministries. His passion is to make fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ and to help people learn how to pray, study the Bible, and build strong relationships with other believers.
Debbie Lindley is the Hospitality Coordinator. After thirty years of teaching middle school children with special needs, she works to create an environment of friendship for all who enter Hope Church, viewing this as another opportunity to share the joy of knowing, serving, and loving Christ.
Dawn Lynn Redenbaugh is the Director of Operations. With two decades of experience in social and administrative service supporting her family's multi-generational military background, she handles the business side of the church so that others can fulfill Hope's mission and purpose.
Karen Ward leads the Hope Congregational Care Team, and Pastor Vic Toney serves the congregation with pastoral care for veterans and the elderly. Earl McClure and Tori Smith-Powers contribute regularly through writing and teaching, including a long-running written series that has covered subjects from biblical animals to the names of God to the meaning of prayer.
Christmas With a Cause
Each year Hope runs a Christmas With a Cause campaign that has funded significant Kingdom work. Past projects have included helping to build the birthing center in Zambia through Sons of Thunder Ministries, helping a school mission in the Philippines rebuild after an earthquake, helping with the founding of Brigid's Path, which cares for infants born exposed to drugs, and helping support an Eastern European cultural center where the Good News is shared.
The campaign is one expression of the church's broader conviction that generosity flows outward. Giving to Hope is available online through the church's Church Center, and the same platform hosts connection cards, event sign-ups, the small group calendar, and a newsletter signup that keeps members in touch with what is happening across the ministry.
A Place to Belong
Hope describes itself as a place where everyone is welcome, no matter where they are or where they have been in their faith journey. The preaching is Biblical, understandable, and relatable. The congregation is intentionally intergenerational, the mission is global, and the welcome is local. Whether someone comes with years of church experience or none at all, the church says, a seat is saved.