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...Our History 

Hope Church is a member of the Reformed Church in America, the oldest protestant denomination in America with a continuous history.  It was established in New York in 1628.  It is a historic denomination coming out of the Reformation when the Church was "reformed" according to the Word of God.  The Church is Reformed in belief, with a Presbyterian form of government.

Hope Church was founded in 1891 by a group of Dutch immigrants.  In 1938, the present sanctuary at 6th Street and Ontario Avenue in Sheboygan was built.  In 1982, the attached Faith Center, containing church offices and Sunday School rooms, was completed.  In 1999, the Wynveen Hope House, formerly the pastor's residence, was converted from housing to a meeting facility and is now used as a Youth Center and for various church and community meetings.

Hope Church has not only cared for our own members but has sought to bless our community and our world.  In 1958, Bethany Church was founded on the south side of Sheboygan by members of Hope Church.  The 10 acres of land on which there campus now sits was given as a gift to Bethany Church.

Through the years 20 sons and daughters of Hope Church have gone into full-time ministry over the years.  Many also served in short-term missions and gone on mission trips to several people in need in the US and around the world.

 

...Our Beliefs

…about God:

God is love. We are drawn to God by overwhelming, unconditional, irresistible love. God is one and three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

…about Jesus:

Jesus is the Son of God, fully God and fully human. Jesus is Lord of our lives. Jesus is a friend and a brother. Jesus saves. Jesus is alive.

…about the Bible:

The final truth about our salvation is found in the Bible, God-inspired words, preserved by the Holy Spirit, to help us know God and God’s will.

…about Salvation:

Because of our sin we cannot save ourselves from eternal death. We are saved by the work of Jesus on the Cross. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone.

…about the Church:

We exist to worship God and to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. We are a covenant community accountable to God and each other.

…about Discipleship:

All believers are called to be transformed and transforming followers of Jesus Christ, bringing mercy and compassionate justice to children, families and communities.

…about Prayer:

God offers us this most important way to engage in a two-way conversation with God. Prayer is vital for our lives  and our families.

…about Serving Together:

God calls both men and women to serve alongside each other as Teachers of God’s Word and to the Church Offices  of Minister of Word and Sacrament, Elder and Deacon.


 

 

The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a confessional church. This means that, as a denomination, we affirm specific statements of belief called creeds and confessions. These statements are biblically based and were written to respond to issues

by explaining in detail what the church believes about those topics.

 

Along with most Christian churches,

the RCA affirms three creeds that were written in the first few centuries after Jesus’s death:

the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.

 

Four statements of belief, known in the RCA as Standards of Unity, express what the Reformed Church believes: 

the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Confession of Belhar.