What We Believe
Hope Church Covenant
We, the members of Hope Church, believing the Bible to be the written Word of God, do acknowledge it as our only rule of faith and practice, church order and discipline.
Believing in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the sole basis for our salvation, we do confess Him as our personal Lord and Savior.
We do covenant and agree by the help of the Lord to walk together in Scriptural love and fellowship, making evidence of Christian faith our only test of fellowship.
We agree to exercise watch-care over one another in times of physical, material, or spiritual need and to express this mutual concern by the giving and receiving of encouragement, counsel, admonition, and reproof, whenever helpful within the household of faith.
We further agree to advance the cause of Christ within Hope Church as we are able, by attending its public services, by giving of our means to its efforts, by praying faithfully for its success, by seeking to conform our lives to biblical holiness, and by bearing verbal witness to the Gospel before our fellow men.
Being mindful of our own weaknesses and insufficiency, and knowing that of ourselves we can do nothing, we humbly implore God's help and guidance in our solemn endeavor to fulfill this covenant.
 Hope Church Creed
Section 1. Scripture
We believe that the Scripture, of the Old and New Testament, because of its divine inspiration, is the written Word of God. It was given through men guided by the Holy Spirit, and it is free from error in the original documents and infallible in all matters of which it speaks. The Bible should be interpreted in its literal or natural sense, its various passages compared with one another and its teachings seen as a harmonious whole. The Bible, since it is the only clear and sufficient authority for knowing what God wishes man to believe and to do, is the standard for preaching and teaching, and the only test for fellowship in the church.
Section 2. God
We believe in one true and living God, the creator, preserver, and sovereign ruler of all things, who is Spirit infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in all His perfections, chief among which are holiness and love. God, while one in essence and being, is eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To the triune God all creatures owe the highest reverence, love and obedience.
Section 3. Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who came to earth taking on human nature, being miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin, truly God and truly man. Jesus lived a sinless life in perfect obedience and righteousness and died on the cross for all who believe to pay the penalty for their sin. His death and burial were followed by His literal resurrection from the dead and His subsequent bodily ascension to heaven, where He is at the Father’s right hand interceding for believers and preparing for His return to earth at the end of the age. He is the only mediator between God and man and the only true head of the church.
Section 4. Man
We believe in the unity of mankind, which derives from our common ancestry in the first man and woman, who were created directly by God, in His image, as innocent creatures authorized to rule over the world. By their willful disobedience to God’s specific commandment, our first parents brought all men under sin, guilt, death and condemnation, so that man thereby forfeited the immortality which he would have possessed had he continued in righteousness. Since then, all have been born with sinful natures, and when capable of moral action become actual transgressors. Apart from Christ, all are dead in trespasses and sins, at enmity with God, and unable to do anything to earn God’s favor.
Section 5. Salvation
We believe in salvation offered freely to all men on the sole basis of the redemptive activity of Jesus Christ and appropriated by faith alone. Jesus, the Word made flesh, perfectly kept the law of God on behalf of those who believe and bore the punishment rightly belonging to them. God now commands all men to repent of their sins and believe in Christ. Those who do so are justified before God and credited with the righteousness of Christ. Saving faith is always associated with the new birth (regeneration), which enables the believer to love God and to begin a life of holiness. While not contributing to salvation, good works in the life of the believer are the results of his new life.

Salvation is applied by God through the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin, effects regeneration, brings sinners into the family of God (adoption), imparts eternal life and progressively supplies the strength which enables the believer to grow in faith and service (sanctification). Salvation will be completed when believers are cleansed from all sin and corruption, being glorified and made immortal with Christ at His second coming.
Section 6. The Church
We believe in the church, of which the Lord Jesus Christ alone is head, and which consists of all true disciples. As members of this universal church, believers are to join themselves into local churches in organic union of those confessing the lordship of Christ who assemble for worship, fellowship, the preaching of the Word of God, the faithful observance of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, edification, discipline, and service to God.

While voluntarily associating with other congregations of similar faith (as e.g., in denominations) in order to enlarge its ministry, each church is responsible to Christ for the governance of its affairs, including determination of its structure and the selection of its officers, within the framework of Scripture.

The local church is responsible for thpte nurture of its members, and its members are responsible to accept its guidance and discipline. The local church also is to bear a world-wide witness to Jesus Christ.

The local church, in obedience to the commands of its head, Jesus Christ, observes two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the outward sign by which one confesses personal faith in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the sole ground of his acceptance by God, and it rightly consists of the believer’s public immersion once in water. Baptism is a prerequisite for membership in the local church.

The Lord’s Supper, or communion, is the public sharing of the bread and the cup by Christians in remembrance of their dependence on Christ’s death. By receiving the elements in faith, a believer spiritually partakes of Christ. Both ordinances are to be observed under the direction of the church and the believers are to receive baptism once (signifying regeneration), and the Lord’s Supper repeatedly (signifying sanctification).

The church shall also provide opportunity for and encourage its members to employ other means of grace, such as prayer, Bible study, and Christian service. In commemoration of Christ’s resurrection, His church celebrates the first day of the week as the Lord’s Day by worship and acts of spiritual enrichment.
Section 7. Intermediate State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the righteous to life and immortality and the wicked to eternal death and destruction. Physical death will hold men in its power only until Christ returns and summons the dead to rise. Prior to their resurrection both believers and unbelievers continue in an unconscious condition which the Bible calls sleep. Neither reward nor punishment is bestowed during this intermediate state, both the saved and the lost awaiting their resurrections and the vindication of God’s righteousness in the revelation of their hearts at the final judgment.
Section 8. Second Advent
We believe in the return of Jesus Christ to this earth, the blessed hope of the appearing of our great God and Savior. The Lord Jesus will come again, personally, literally, and visibly in power and great glory. Thereafter He will raise the righteous and the wicked, judge all mankind, punish the wicked, reward the righteous, cleanse this earth by fire, and establish the eternal kingdom of God on the earth made new.

In raising believers, Christ will cleanse them from all sin and corruption and clothe them with immortal bodies fitted for eternal fellowship with God and one another. Unbelievers, however, He will raise in their corruption to final judgment in which with Satan and his angels they will be condemned to final and complete destruction. After suffering in the judgment fires as long as justice requires, the wicked will cease to exist. Sin and death will thereby disappear from God’s creation.

Scripture prophecy provides an outline of human history leading up to the Second Advent of Christ and describes conditions which will mark the coming of the end. Believers are to study the prophecies, long for His return, and live watchfully since the Lord’s appearing, while imminent, will be at a day and hour not now known to man. The church prays, “Even so come, Lord Jesus.”
 
 History of Hope Church
Hope Church was established in Lenox in the summer of 1958 when New England School of Theology moved from Brookline, Mass. and became Berkshire Christian College.  The Church was the result of the vision and dedication of the faculty and staff of the College.  Thirty-four charter members, including several former members of an Advent Christian Church in Pittsfield, called Rev. Raymond Bowden as their pastor.  He served until 1969.  The church worshipped in the college chapel for about ten years.
In 1965 the small congregation purchased the seven acres of land the church now occupies and the following year built the present sanctuary.  After Pastor Bowden resigned, Dr. Carlyle Roberts served eighteen months as interim.  The church then called Reverend Lorne Ross, who served from 1971 to 1990.  During Pastor Ross' tenure, the Fellow-ship Hall/Christian Education wing was added to enhance the ministry opportunities.  In the fall of 1990 the congregation called the Reverend Douglas Foss as Senior Pastor.  Reverend Foss began his ministry in January of 1991.
Over the years several youth pastors and assistant pastors have served at Hope Church.  From 1982 to 1994, Mr. James Perkins served as Associate Minister of Youth.  Mr. Mike Tuttle has served in this capacity since September of 1994. Mr. Wesley Ross has served as Associate Minister of Music since 1977 and as Minister of Worship and Music since 1987.
Hope Church is a member of the Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Conference of Advent Christian Churches and the National Association of Evangelicals. 
 
A Community Evangelical Church