Gene's Story

When I sat down to write what Hope C3 means to me I didn't know where to start so I am going to start with who I am and where I came from.

I grew up in church my whole life and going to church just seemed like the right thing to do. Even when I was a child when my parents quit going to church I would go on my own. At six years old I would get up and get dressed and walk a half a mile to the church near my house. My first year of college when all of my friends moved away to college, I started to hang out with some friends from school and got pretty heavily into drinking and smoking pot. This was a stage in my life that lasted a little over a year. The problem that I had was that everyone else was having fun and I enjoyed it but I had this voice in the back of my head telling me that I was in the wrong.

It was March of 1999 when my best friend Brandon came home from college and told me that his dad was starting a church and I should come and check it out. I knew I needed to be there but at first it was hard because they knew me really well and they also knew what I had been doing. The most amazing thing happened though; they loved me and accepted my problems and helped me through them. They didn't look down on me because of what I had been going through. Pastor Paul Cole told me, "It is not what you are going through that defines you it is where you are going."

After being at Hope for a little over a year my dad past away and two years after that my mother went on to be with the Lord. This was the hardest thing I had ever experienced. When my dad died it was unexpected and right in front of me. I called 911 on my house phone and Pastor Paul on my cell. It was one in the morning and he answered it and his entire family showed up at the hospital at the same time we did. During the death of both of my parents the church saved my life. I can't put into words what the church and the people in the church mean to me. It is a place of hope, a place that you can go for help and direction for your future.

Pastor Paul and Judi Cole are two of the most amazing people I have ever met. They have sacrificed so much for the church and they would not change a thing except maybe more peoples lives being touched. Their passion and zeal for people is none like I have ever seen. There is nothing that they would not do for someone in need. I have seen Pastor Paul go and get guys from crack houses; I have seen them both walk numerous amounts of people through life changing problems.

The Youth Pastors Brandon and Meredith Cole both have a desire for the kids like I have never seen. They are dedicated to seeing the kids of the church and the surrounding area come to know God in a way that will change their life forever. They spend countless hours working on ways to bring kids into the Kingdom.

If you are reading this and you are looking for a church I highly recommend you coming and checking us out. Whatever you are going through God loves you and he will use the people at this church to show you his plans for your life and that He loves you.