| On May 6, 2001,
a group of thirty men, women, youth and children met in a private home
in Cape Coral to engage in a Sunday morning Bible study together, with
a prayerful eye on whether or not the Lord might choose to bind this
group into a full-fledged church.
On the next Sunday, the group had grown
to forty seven people, which was followed by more than sixty people
the subsequent Sunday. It was beginning to look as through God
intended for this body of believers to begin a new work in His name.
Still, the group bathed the matter in prayer together as well as in
their personal prayer life.
Soon, the group moved to a larger home
in the area, to accommodate the steadily growing group of worshippers.
On June 10, the group prayed for God's leading as they voted to be
faithful to His call to begin a new work in Cape Coral, Florida. Two
weeks later, the name "New Hope Baptist Fellowship" (NHBF)
was adopted.
God's leading has been unmistakable as
He blessed the new church week after week. He provided adequate
funding to move to a public auditorium and to call a full time pastor.
After much prayer, the church voted unanimously to call Rev. Mike
Faircloth as the first pastor of our congregation. Bro. Mike began his
work in our church on July 1, 2001.
In the few short weeks that followed,
the church has been blessed to see several people come forward to
declare Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and to follow Him in
Believer's baptism. Membership has grown to over 125 people in just
seven weeks. In this short time span, New Hope Baptist Fellowship
reached an attendance high of 172 people on August 5, 2001. God has
blessed NHBF with a body of believers who truly love Him and are
careful to ensure that the church is fully submitted to His authority.
As a result, it's easy to sense a unique feeling of love, warmth and
friendship when in the presence of our fellowship.
While our growth has been rapid thus
far, the church realizes it's responsibility to reach the lost in Cape
Coral and beyond. Complacency in not pleasing to the Lord. NHBF has an
active visitation and witnessing program in place to reach out to our
community.
The membership of
New Hope Baptist Fellowship is very honored and excited about what God
has done in such a short time in our church, but we are much more
excited about what He'll do in the future as we prayerfully strive to
serve Him. |
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