Church We aim to proclaim the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ, apply all of the Bible to all of life, and be the church for the glory of God.
9112 Guilford Road
Columbia, MD
21046
| Tuesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 5pm |
| Friday | 9am - 5pm |
| Sunday | 9:30am - 12:30pm |
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Hope Bible Church posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Send a message to Hope Bible Church:
In 1995, the Leake family left Maryland for California where Tom would attend The Master’s Seminary, not knowing where God would lead them afterwards and having no expectation of planting a church. However, while he was in seminary, God gave him a growing burden for church planting, and the need seemed particularly evident back home in Maryland. That conclusion was particularly reinforced at the time by way of Roger and Robin Zeender’s encouragement. Not having any support from other churches or organizations, Tom shared his burden with Dr. Alan Plumley, whom he eventually convinced to help him plant a church. Before returning to Maryland, Tom communicated his vision to many friends and ministry contacts, challenging them to help with the church plant. Although many were encouraging, only the Leakes, Plumleys, Zeenders, and two other families committed to the church plant by January 1997. During the six months prior to the Leakes’ return from California, Tom and Alan led this core group of five families (using taped or written messages from Tom and other forms of communication) in planning for the formal start of the church. Newly-ordained Pastor Tom Leake and his family returned to Maryland in early July of 1997, and the inaugural service of the new church was held on July 13th.
In the beginning, our name was Grace Discipleship Church. We met in a small commercial space on Main Street in Laurel, which was owned by and graciously made available to us by Robin Zeender’s dad, Elmer Williams, who also had a heart for church planting.
Membership and attendance grew very slowly for the first few years. Although the Lord added five more families the first year, we were still very small. We focused on the basics: worship, preaching and teaching the word, fellowship, and evangelism. For the first several years, we shared a fellowship lunch together every Sunday, building strong relationships. In October 1999, the Baltimore area was experiencing fierce thunderstorms virtually every day. On a Friday evening, just two days prior to our next Lord’s day, one member driving by the building noticed some fluorescent stickers on the windows. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the Laurel City Hall had deemed the building unsafe for occupation and we were, in essence, “evicted.
Without a place to worship, the church body was relegated to meeting in the Zeender’s backyard for three consecutive Sundays. By God’s grace, although the storms persisted from Monday through Saturday, He provided three beautiful sunny Sundays for us to meet. We were in awe.
