The Calling

In early 1996, Dale Locke learned from the Methodist Conference that he would be planting a church in South Florida. Pastor Dale was working in the Beeson Program at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky to get his doctorate in Biblical Preaching and Christian Church Leadership, and he was scheduled to travel to Seoul, South Korea. It was during that trip, on top of Prayer Mountain, that God laid the name of our new church on his heart: Community of Hope. In June 1996, Pastor Dale was officially appointed, and his family packed their belongings to make the trek to Palm Beach County.

Growing Pains

Dale started Community of Hope’s ministry with acts of kindness, such as handing out cold drinks on a hot day. By October 1996, he had a list of people who were interested in attending this new church that wanted to express God’s love in such practical ways. Our church grew to about 15 people during its time in the Locke family living room. But soon, there wasn’t any more room to grow. It was time to make a move. In January 1997, our church moved to Palms West Funeral Home [lightning crashes in the background]. The funeral home let our young church use the chapel without charge, which was a huge help. Here, our church body doubled to about 30 people. And again, within about two months, our church outgrew the space.

At the time, the Royal Palm Beach High School was under construction, and Pastor Dale knew from God’s leading that it was the place Community of Hope needed to be. The school wasn’t ready yet, but God opened another door for us in the meantime: the Loxahatchee Groves Elementary School cafeteria.

We’re a Church!

Community of Hope was officially launched on Easter Sunday, 1997. On November 2, 1997, Community of Hope held its first service in the Royal Palm Beach High School auditorium. We were growing, but we weren’t settled in yet. On May 15, 2011, we held our first official service in our new home located on the northwest corner of Okeechobee Blvd. and E Road in Loxahatchee Groves. This location and space has been such a blessing to our church and has allowed us to grow in ways we never thought possible.

Thankfully, God was not finished with Community of Hope. In May 2017, our church voted to merge our church with the former Good Shepherd United Methodist Church on Military Trail in West Palm Beach. And in 2019, we joined with Pastor Efraín Silva and his congregation to form COH Español, which currently meets at the West Palm Beach Campus. In 2022, we opened our doors at our Lake Worth Campus in the Florida Gardens neighborhood.

So begins a new chapter in another area of Palm Beach County that needs hope. We are still one church—aimed at interesting disinterested people in Jesus Christ and growing into fully devoted followers of Him—but now we’re in three locations and in two languages.

Our Mission

We exist to interest disinterested people in Jesus Christ and grow together into fully devoted followers of Him.

Our Values

1. Lost people matter to God and therefore to us.

2. The church is a place where broken people find healing.

3. It is the kindness of God that leads people to Him.

4. Big faith is grown in small groups.

5. Worship is a lifestyle, expressed in corporate celebration and personal devotion.

6. In Christ, we are free to be ourselves.

7. Full devotion to Christ is normal for every believer.

8. The methods will change, but the message is timeless.

John Wesley, the founder of a renewal movement within the Church of England, which later became the Methodist church, quoted Augustine saying:

“In essentials, let us have unity,
in non-essentials, let us have liberty,
and in all things, let us show charity (love).”

We consider the following to be essential beliefs:

Trinity

God
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. God is personal and is involved in and cares about our daily life. He eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal, each possessing the attributes of deity.
Genesis 1:1, 26-27; Psalm 121; Psalm 139; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14

Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, was miraculously conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, so He was both fully God and fully human. He lived a sinless life on earth and voluntarily paid for our sin by dying on the cross in our place. He rose physically from the dead, thereby demonstrating His power over sin and death. He ascended to heaven and will return to earth as judge of the living and the dead.
Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14-30; Philippians 2:6-11; 1 John 4:2-3, 15; Hebrews 1:1-4, 4:15; Romans 1:3-4; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Acts 1:9-11; Titus 2:13

The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and is present in the world to convict us of sin, guide us into truth, and remind us what Jesus taught. He lives within every Christian, empowering us to live the Christian life and become more like Christ. He gives each Christian spiritual gifts, which we are responsible to use to serve Christ and build up His Church.
John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-16; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4; 1 Corinthians 12:1-13; Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:22-25; Romans 12:4-8

Salvation by Grace

Salvation is a gift from God, which must be accepted individually by repentance and faith. This must happen on this side of eternity, here on earth. Salvation happens when we transfer from trusting in our own effort or knowledge to trusting solely upon what Jesus Christ has done.
Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6; Titus 3:4-7; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1-2

Authority of the Bible

The Bible is God’s Word to us. Human authors, under the inspirational guidance of the Holy Spirit, wrote the Bible. It is the source of truth and the final authority for Christian belief and practice.
Psalm 119:105, 160; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21, 3:15-1

Church

The community of all true believers is Christ’s body on earth—the Church. Christ desires that each believer be connected with a local church, because the Church is God’s primary way to accomplish His purposes on earth today. The purpose of the Church is to share the Gospel (the good news of what Jesus has done) and nurture Christians to maturity in Christ.
Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 4:4-16; Hebrews 10:23-25; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Romans 12:4-8

Humanity

Humanity was created by God and bears His image, though we were formed out of dust. Every human life has value, because God made us in His image and loves us. We were created to enjoy fellowship with Him. But having defied God by choosing to go our own way, our sinful disobedience separates us as unholy people from a holy and perfect God. This situation is only remedied by personal acceptance of what Jesus Christ did for humanity through His shed blood on a cross. There is no other remedy to this hopeless situation.
Genesis 1:26-27, 3:8-11; Luke 13:34; John 3:16; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6, 59:2; Romans 3:23, 6:23; 1 Tim 2:5-6

Compassion

God calls all Christians to show compassion to those in need, and stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
Exodus 34:6; Deuteronomy 15:7; Psalm 82:3-4; James 1:27, 2:15-16

Eternity

Each human being has a soul that was designed to live forever. We will either live in eternal union with God (Heaven) or be eternally separated (Hell) from God, the source of all life. Eternal life with God begins the moment we receive Christ into our lives by faith.
John 3:16, 6:40, 11:25-26, 14:1-3; Romans 6:23, 8:17-18; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Matthew 13:37-43

Stewardship

Everything we are is because of God, and everything we own belongs to God. Temporary material things are not worth living for. We will be held accountable regarding whether we have invested our life, talents, time, and resources in things of eternal value.
Psalm 24:1; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; Malachi 3:10; Matthew 23:23, 25:14-30; Acts 2:44-45