Blog

A recent article by a Luther Seminary professor was most alarming: he wrote, “If current trends continue in church membership and worship attendance, the ELCA will basically cease to exist within 30 years.” Perhaps the pandemic changed these trends, maybe it accelerated them.

Read More

On my first day working at Lutheran Church of Hope in July of 2003, I was unpacking my books when Pastor Mike walked into my office and said to me, “Let's go for a ride. We will be gone much of the day.”

Read More

At the end of 1992, OB-GYN Dr. Caroline Boehnke-Becker moved with her family to West Des Moines. High on their priority list was finding a Lutheran congregation. Lutheran Church of Hope was listed in the yellow pages, but when Caroline and her daughter showed up for worship, all they found was a vacant lot. They then chose the next church on the list.

Read More

Jesus was the founder of the Christian Recovery movement. Everywhere he went, he responded to people who needed to recover something which had been lost, something central to their relationships, attitudes and health. Jesus wanted people to recover their spiritual and emotional health.

Read More

The Hope Lenten and Advent projects, which have raised many millions of dollars, were inaugurated in 2007 quite unexpectantly. A service organization named “Kids Against Hunger” invited Hope to partner in an effort to feed hungry children in the impoverished nation of Haiti. The U.S. military was offering to transport the food to the island at no cost.

Read More