Our vision for Hope Community Church is to see a city and university transformed by the power of the Gospel through worship, missions, serving our community, and campus ministry.
What our worship will look like:
·Clear and faithful preaching of the Word of God
·Worship which is Christ-centered and Gospel-focused
·An unashamed and unwavering commitment to the confessional standards of the Reformed faith
·Kingdom-focused prayer
What our worshipping community will look like:
·A commitment to discipleship for the equipping of a strong, healthy church
·A strong focus on families and fellowship
·Mutual accountability of the membership
What our commitment to missions will look like:
·Working to start a Reformed University Fellowship at Jacksonville State University
·Reaching out to our community through evangelism and acts of mercy
·Working with the Alabama Church Planting Network to start other PCA churches in surrounding areas and throughout Alabama
·Supporting PCA missionaries in the United States and overseas
The Hope Community Church plant will be a congregation within the boundaries of the Evangel Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America, a national denomination holding to the historic truths of Christianity. Steve and Ann have been assessed and approved for church planting by the PCA Mission to North America Church Planting Assessment Center.
The project is closely affiliated with two organizations. The first is the Alabama Church Planting Network. The Network seeks to promote, start and support Gospel-centered churches throughout Alabama by creating a missional, regional network that supports, trains and empowers church planters. The Network is led by Rev. Corbett Heimburger, Assistant Pastor at Altadena Valley Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
The second is Faith Presbyterian Church in Anniston, Alabama and pastor Rev. Rick Searle. Faith’s Session will provide direct oversight and resources for this new work. Faith is currently working to plant a Hispanic church in Anniston. Rev. Searle is also very actively involved in the Alabama Church Planting Network. Steve serves on the staff at Faith as Assistant Pastor for Church Planting.
For further information on the Hope Community Church project, please feel free to contact:
Rev. Corbett Heimburger Alabama Church Planting Network C/O Altadena Valley Presbyterian Church 4660 Caldwell Mill Road Birmingham, Alabama 35243 205-967-0680
Rev. Rick Searle Faith Presbyterian Church 4100 Ronnaki Road Anniston, Alabama 36207 256-238-8721
We have established a mailing address for the church plant. Our address is:
Hope Community Church, PCA Post Office Box 448 Jacksonville, Alabama 36265
We will have some exciting news to share about the church plant in the next couple of weeks. We want to encourage you to continue praying for us as we move forward. The pace will pick up considerably after Christmas. A new Bible study will begin and we will begin working toward our first public worship service.
Steve and Ann Mayes are natives of Mississippi.Steve is from the small town of Lake and Ann is from the neighboring town of Newton.They were married in June 1989 in Newton.At that time Steve worked as a bridge inspector and Ann served as an elementary school teacher.
Just one year after their wedding, Steve accepted God’s call into ministry.After doing pulpit supply for several months, Steve was called as interim pastor and eventually as pastor of a Baptist church near Union, Mississippi (1991-1993).While serving there, their first child Beth was born in 1992 in Jackson, Mississippi.Steve earned his college degree in Biblical Studies at William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in May 1993.
In the summer of 1993, the Mayes family moved to Birmingham, Alabama for Steve to begin seminary work at Beeson Divinity School on the campus of Samford University.In July 1994 Steve was called as pastor of a Baptist church in Jacksonville, Alabama and served there until the fall of 1998.While in Jacksonville their second child Ben was born Birmingham, Alabama in 1996.Steve received his Master of Divinity degree in May 1997.
In October 1998, the family moved back to Mississippi in anticipation of Steve’s pursuit of a doctoral degree.Steve was accepted into the doctoral program at Baylor University. Plans for further education changed in May 1999 when Ben was diagnosed with a brain tumor which affected his optic nerve and caused him to be blind.As a patient at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Ben underwent chemotherapy.Ben’s fight against cancer ended in July 2005 as he went home to be with his Lord.
Steve was called as the pastor of a Baptist church in central Mississippi in 2001.In June 2005, Steve and Ann welcomed their third child, Timothy, who was born in Jackson, Mississippi.After serving six and a half years at this church, Steve resigned in October 2007 in order to move to Jacksonville, Alabama to pursue a PCA church plant there. Steve began working for Kraft Foods International as a Senior Sales Representative in November 2007. In May 2008, an opportunity opened for Steve to work as a full time hospice chaplain for Alacare.
In February 2008, Steve was licensed to ministry in the Presbyterian Church in America in Evangel Presbytery. Steve and Ann attended and successfully completed the Church Planting Assessment Center of the PCA in June 2008 and were recommended as church planters. In November 2008, Steve's ordination was transferred into the PCA and he was called as the Assistant Pastor for Church Planting by the Faith Presbyterian Church in Anniston, Alabama. Hope Community Church was also recognized as a mission church by Evangel Presbytery in November 2008.
A new church is coming soon to Jacksonville, Alabama. On November 11, 2008, Evangel Presbytery gave its approval for the planting of a new church in the Presbyterian Church in America. Hope Community Church was granted mission church status. This action was another step in the process of starting a new PCA church which began over a year ago.
In November 2007, Steve and Ann Mayes and their two children, Beth and Timothy, moved to Jacksonville to begin working toward this church plant. Steve had resigned as a pastor in a Southern Baptist church in Mississippi in order to return to the familiar surroundings of Jacksonville where he had once served as a Baptist pastor during and after seminary. Steve completed the requirements of Evangel Presbytery to transfer his ordination into the PCA and has been called to serve as the Assistant Pastor of Church Planting for Faith Presbyterian Church in Anniston, Alabama which will serve as the "mother church" for this new work. In June 2008, Steve and Ann successfully completed the PCA's Assessment Center for Church Planters and were recommended for church planting.
This blog will host future posts which will go into further detail about Steve and Ann's background, the reasons for planting a PCA church, and will track the progress for the ongoing work in Jacksonville. Your questions and comments are welcome, but we would especially ask for your prayers for this exciting new work which will be known as Hope Community Church.
