Our WUMC Merchandise Shop is Live! Share your faith and spark conversations in the community by grabbing WUMC gear today.Shop WUMC Merch Here!

A Word from Pastor Jill

Wow! Every year I am more and more humbled by the work I get to be a part of at Hope Church. Just like every year past, I am blown away by these numbers. Statistics aren't our goal at Hope, but they are a great way to see a bird's eye view of the work our community is doing. Because of YOU - your faith, your generosity, your dedication - our collective efforts are truly changing lives.

Have you ever wondered where your offering is going? Been curious about what other small groups are up to, besides your own? Do you watch our baptisms every month and wonder how many we do in a year? This is where we house all the different workings of our church in one simple place for you to view - so you can see the work of our church on a wide scale, even though you are a part of it on a small scale.

We're all part of the body! Just different parts. Take a look at what our arms are doing and what our feet are doing - there's so much happening at Hope Church, and we're so glad you're involved. This extended letter can include a testimonial from a church member, a longer letter from the pastor, or even a more detailed intro from your communications manager! It expands as long (or as short!) as your church needs it to be. Vivamus eu euismod ipsum, at sagittis ante. Vestibulum et ex vel est varius maximus. Aliquam at orci justo. Proin laoreet purus tellus, ac tincidunt nisl pellentesque eget. Mauris quis mollis sapien. Praesent aliquam gravida lorem, vitae auctor nisi tempus ut. In ornare congue viverra. Nullam ac feugiat ante. Fusce porttitor, dolor ac ultrices placerat, diam augue consectetur turpis, quis feugiat nisi nisl in mi. Donec imperdiet urna vulputate sodales efficitur. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae;

Maecenas eu dui nunc. Vestibulum nec orci tellus. Curabitur tortor erat, mattis et malesuada vel, egestas in libero. Morbi tempor faucibus felis quis molestie. Maecenas commodo, est vel lobortis eleifend, dui nunc posuere orci, eget fermentum arcu mauris vestibulum lorem. In iaculis urna vitae orci lobortis, non rhoncus nisi interdum. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. In non pretium nibh. Donec mauris odio, iaculis a nunc eget, ultricies iaculis felis. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Morbi et lobortis nisi. Duis ultricies volutpat vulputate. Curabitur orci lorem, posuere a ante quis, accumsan tristique massa. Cras elit nisi, lobortis eleifend feugiat quis, pretium non neque. Nullam a erat in augue volutpat pharetra et in ex. Ut ac dui at sapien tincidunt blandit.

Proin venenatis odio urna, et egestas elit maximus non. Vestibulum molestie nunc et diam tempus, ut elementum velit consequat. Cras condimentum, metus eu facilisis porta, nulla tortor ultricies tortor, sit amet convallis nunc magna vitae est. Nam ornare dolor nec mauris laoreet, ut sollicitudin ligula pharetra. Mauris malesuada finibus leo, ut malesuada quam posuere accumsan. Integer non porta orci, et congue neque. Suspendisse ullamcorper vel ligula ac ullamcorper.

Attendance

380 average weekly attendance

Which is a 10.1% increase from the previous year! Attendance isn't everything, but we think it's a helpful tool to see how our engagement is growing!

Take Your Next Step

80

average weekly online worship viewers across 17 countries. 170 new social media followers welcomed — extending the reach of God’s message far beyond our walls.

100

kids (birth - 5th grade) ministered to monthly

18

students (6 - 12th grade) ministered to during reNEW Youth meetings

690

enrolled across our our Early Childhood Music School and Kid's Morning Out Preschool

44

enrolled in Messy Church Camp Summer Program

80

average weekly online worship viewers across 17 countries. 170 new social media followers welcomed — extending the reach of God’s message far beyond our walls.

100

kids (birth - 5th grade) ministered to monthly

18

students (6 - 12th grade) ministered to during reNEW Youth meetings

690

enrolled across our our Early Childhood Music School and Kid's Morning Out Preschool

44

enrolled in Messy Church Camp Summer Program

133 adults grew in Sunday School

This includes brand new members and newly committed members alike!

61 joined short-term studies

exploring everything from storytelling to prayer

54 found encouragement in small groups

In addition, 39 journeyed through the Pastors’ Bible Studies on Galatians, Psalms, and Ruth, and 11 committed to a 24-week Covenant Bible Study

27 women gathered for retreat

finding rest, renewal, and deeper connection with God and one another.

Next Steps

25 new members in 2025

With 8 baptisms this year!

Music Ministries

24 new singers and players joined choir, bells, and orchestra, with 4 coming for weekly voice classes. Our Early Childhood Music School taught over 650 students in more than 1,650 classes. ECMS also provided scholarships that allowed four students to participate—covering a total of 90 classes—so every child could experience the joy of music. 217 families were helped by 15 partner churches and 36 partner agencies
We put on 17 events!

Local Outreach

30,500 fliers were handed out around the neighborhood for local events

Kids Morning Out

49 children were nurtured this year, including 14 who graduated to kindergarten. Families received $7,343 in scholarships to make participation possible. The KMO community was enriched with 15 visits from the Williamsburg Regional Library Book Mobile and 15 chapels with the WUMC pastoral team. Children also created 150 handprint turkeys that blessed families through our Thanksgiving Meals ministry.

Respite Care Ministry

With 1,716 visits, this ministry was filled with laughter, music, and friendship. Members sang 72 renditions of “Brown Eyed Girl,” broke a record by keeping a balloon in the air for 7 minutes, and received the gift of music from Lou-Anne, who led them in song 11 times this year. Behind the joy is a deeper truth: Respite provided a safe, life-giving community for caregivers and their loved ones, supported by $162,436 in tuition, $8,555 in donations, and $14,465 from fundraising events.

Where Two or Three are Gathered

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” – 1 Corinthians 12:27  [Jesus said,] “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.” – Matthew...

Read More

Missions

1 in 13 church people went on a short-term trip in 2018

This is a free form section where you can plug anything unique to your church! If you want to push users to a Mission Trip, link out to our snazzy Missions Layout (below). Or maybe you want to add a contact form here, so you can hear from members about which part of this annual report surprised them. You could simply add a thank you message, for everyone who served, and contributed to, your church's work in the last year.

Get Started in Missions