How old is Community of Hope?

Community of Hope Church began in the fall of 1996 with eight people in Dale and Beth Locke’s living room. The church held its first public worship service on Easter Sunday, March 30th, 1997, at the Loxahatchee Elementary School with 261 people in attendance.

I’m new…now what?

The best bet is to check out our welcome page for new visitors! We also invite you to visit this page for a special greeting from our Lead Pastor, E. Dale Locke as he explains a little bit about our church's vision and mission and what you can expect when you arrive on any given Sunday morning.

Is Community of Hope affilliated with any denomination?

Yes, Community of Hope is a faithful member of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Actually, our church began as a mission extension of the Broward/Palm Beach District of the United Methodist Church. Pastor Dale received his Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and Beth Locke has a Master's degree in Christian Education also from Asbury. Asbury Seminary is an evangelical, Weselyan seminary that finds its roots in the ministry philosophy of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church.Having said all this, it is important to know that Community of Hope does not place undue emphasis upon Methodism, or denominationalism of any kind and that the church body has wide representation from every denomination, and a strong number who have had no church experience prior to Community of Hope.

Why do we meet in a High School?

Community of Hope had its beginnings in our Lead Pastor's living room as a small group. The church officially marked its public beginning in the cafeteria of Loxahatchee Groves Elementary School, on Easter Sunday, March 30, 1997. Later that year, Community of Hope packed up and moved to the cafeteria of our current address at Royal Palm Beach High School, and then finally moved into the auditorium on November 2, 1997.Currently, our church owns 25 acres of lush prime real estate on the northwest corner of Okeechobee Blvd., and "E" road. In June of 2004, we moved our church offices from the Ewing Optical Shop to our L.E.A.D. (Lead, Encourage, Assimilate, Disciple) Center building on our church property. Our church is currently developing the next phase of our church property. Click here to view the latest site plan in development.

What kind of music should I expect? How should I dress?

Ever since Community of Hope began, our church has held strongly to the value that all kinds of people matter to God. And because we believe this so strongly, it has led us to value people over any preconceived ideas as to what church must be like. This is reflected in our worship style that is both modern and ancient, authentic, and genuine. It is also relected in our appearance in that we do not place upon people a standard as to how to dress. It was God himself who said in 1st Samuel 16:7: But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person's thoughts and intentions."