Hopewell Network of Churches

The Hopewell Network of Churches traces its history to the founding and rapid growth of Hopewell Mennonite Church in Elverson, Pennsylvania, in the 1970s and early 1980s. During the 1980s, Hopewell, part of the Atlantic Coast Mennonite Conference, began to plant additional churches during the charismatic outpouring. Within nine years the congregation planted 10 churches. This group of churches began to work together as a district within the Atlantic Coast Conference. Soon the daughter churches began to plant churches, and the fellowship grew even larger.

The Hopewell churches moved toward a more hierarchical, apostolic approach to church governance. While appreciating and holding onto many of the values of Anabaptism, the network become more interdenominational in its vision. It left the Mennonite Church (MC) in 2001 and became the Hopewell Network of Churches.

In 2010 the network consisted of 16 churches in the United States, with an approximate membership of 2,015. Most of these churches were located on the East Coast. Hopewell had established networks in Kenya, Haiti, and Mexico. The membership of these overseas churches was approximately 1,500 in 2010. These churches were also sending missionaries and short-term mission workers elsewhere in the world.

The network’s stated purpose (2010) is: "We are a fellowship of churches empowered by the Holy Spirit to advance Christ’s Kingdom by preparing leaders for ministry and mission. The purpose of the Hopewell Network is to create caring communities of dynamic Spirit-led worship, teaching, and evangelism with Elder Team leadership and small group discipleship based around common network values."

The network lists its affiliation as interdenominational. It’s periodical, Streams, began in 2006, and is issued three times yearly.

The following congregations were members of the Hopewell Network of Churches in 2010:

Congregation	City	State
ACTS Covenant Fellowship	Lancaster	Pennsylvania
Good Shepherd Community Church	Reamstown	Pennsylvania
Grace Christian Fellowship	Oxford	New Jersey
Hope of the Nations Christian Center	Reading	Pennsylvania
Hopewell Church	Elverson	Pennsylvania
Hopewell Christian Fellowship	Telford	Pennsylvania
Hopewell Community Church	Pottstown	Pennsylvania
Immanuel Christian Fellowship	Manheim	Pennsylvania
Kingdom Life Ministries	Hesston	Kansas
Living Hope Fellowship	Forksville	Pennsylvania
Living Truth Fellowship	Christiana	Pennsylvania
L.O.V.E. Christian Fellowship	Birdsboro	Pennsylvania
Petra Christian Fellowship	New Holland	Pennsylvania
Rockville Fellowship	Belleville	Pennsylvania
Spring City Fellowship	Spring City	Pennsylvania
Tierra Prometida	Gaithersburg	Maryland

Bibliography

Anabaptist (Mennonite) Directory 2011. Harrisonburg, VA: The Sword and Trumpet, 2011: 62-63.

Betz, Lisa and Lester Zimmerman. The handprint of God: History of the Hopewell Network. New Holland, Pa.: Hopewell Network, 2017.

Additional Information

Address: 565 Airport Road, New Holland, Pennsylvania 17557

Phone: 717-354-5394

Website: Hopewell Network of Churches

Maps

Map:Hopewell Network of Church - Head Office

Author(s)	Lester Zimmerman
Date Published	April 2012

Cite This Article

MLA style

Zimmerman, Lester. "Hopewell Network of Churches." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2012. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hopewell_Network_of_Churches&oldid=179642.

APA style

Zimmerman, Lester. (April 2012). Hopewell Network of Churches. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hopewell_Network_of_Churches&oldid=179642.

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