ABOUT HOPE
Connecting others to God, his people, and his mission.
Hope is a worshipping community where skeptics, believers, the unchurched, dechurched, those who are busy, stressed and the spiritually curious could find a place to explore faith, find belonging and experience the hope of Jesus Christ.
Our Purpose
To Worship God.
“Worship is meant to awaken us to the presence of God so that we may actually live our lives differently as a natural response of being alive in Christ.” Our purpose in life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Glorifying God is critical to forming our souls and living into the blessing we are meant to be to our community.
Our Mission
To Make Disciples.
This is the same mission Jesus gave to the church 2000 years ago, ‘go and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them (Matt. 28). Our hope is to respond to this resounding call with humility and joy. If we simply be the church we will be a blessing to Wilmington and beyond.
Hope Community is affiliated with ECO, the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians. ECO is a new movement of reformed churches across the US. This movement is centered on Christ and committed to helping churches flourish in an ever-changing world.
Read more about the core values at www.eco-pres.org.
Our Leadership Team
Nate Stratman: Pastor
For the past 21 years Nate has been in ministry which is a bit ironic for someone who never wanted to be involved in church in the first place. Nate met his wife Kim here in Wilmington while she was a teacher and Nate was a youth pastor at a local church. They have two lively daughters, Ruthie and Ellie.
Life took the Stratman family west for a season to First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs where Nate was a pastor on staff while completing his Masters of Divinity from Fuller Seminary. The Stratmans returned to Wilmington in August of 2016 to start Hope Community. Nate holds his undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas (Go Hogs)!
Nate’s greatest joy in ministry is helping others connect or reconnect to God through worship, community and serving others. Feel free to contact Nate at Nate@hopeforwilmington.com!
Blake Mueses: Senior Program Coordinator
Blake Mueses grew up in Wilmington, NC and is a proud graduate of New Hanover High School and Meredith College where she earned a degree in Business Administration and International Business.
After Meredith Blake joined the Peace Corps and served as a Community Economic Development Volunteer. She was sent to a rural community in the Dominican Republic where she met her husband Juan! The pair moved back to Blake’s hometown in September of 2016 and joined Hope as it was just getting started. Blake and Juan have two sons, Jax and Owen.
Blake fills the difficult role of ‘air traffic controller’ for Hope Community Church. She helps the church to communicate, organize, and connect to one another and the mission of Hope Community.
Eric Metts: Worship Coordinator
Eric Metts is a native Wilmingtonian, New Hanover High School graduate and Cape Fear Community College graduate with a degree in Business Banking and Finance. He is married to his lovely wife Brittani who serves the Brunswick County School system. Eric’s deep passion is music and he has been working professionally as a musician since age 14, playing a variety of venues and local churches in the Cape Fear region. Each year he plays over 200 shows as a solo acoustic act.
As the Worship Coordinator at Hope Community, Eric carefully selects the the worship sets and arranges the musicians (as well as performing) for Sunday gatherings. We are grateful for his unique gifts and the spirit He brings to Sunday services.
Ali Jo Meier: Community Life Coordinator
Ali Jo Meier was born and raised in Wilmington. She attended East Carolina and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health. After college, she moved to Colorado Springs and started working with various non-profits doing human services for 10 years She eventually obtained a Master’s degree in Family and Human Development from Arizona State University.
Maggie Kroeker: Hope Kids Coordinator
Maggie was raised in rural Kansas and attended Kansas State University. She received her Masters Degree and has worked with a variety of populations as a Speech-Language Pathologist for over 10 years.
Maggie married her husband Brady in 2013. After living in Kansas, Florida and Tennessee, they have happily settled in Wilmington and are excited to be a part of Hope Community. Brady & Maggie have two children, Miles and Milly, who also love being a part of our church and can be found running around, feeding animals, or swinging on the tree swing every Sunday.
Maggie serves as the Hope Kids Coordinator at Hope Community. Her role includes developing and implementing curriculum and working with volunteers and staff to coordinate care for the little ones at Hope. She also enjoys creating a calendar full of special events and playdates throughout the year to help parents and their children to connect up, in and out.
Shay Yarborough: Hope Kids Coordinator
Shay grew up in Fresno, CA and graduated from Fresno Pacific University with a degree in Early Childhood Development.
Throughout college she worked as a preschool teacher and volunteered as a teacher in children’s ministry.
Her husband, Billy, was in the Marine Corps and they lived many places where Shay taught second grade and worked as a substitute teacher. Shay and her family moved to Wilmington in the spring of 2020 for Billy’s new career with nCino and started attending Hope that summer.
Shay is our elementary coordinator who works closely with our volunteers to provide curriculum that will lead the children to connect up, in, and out. She also organizes events throughout the year for the elementary aged children to build relationships and grow within our community.
Elders
Steve Risley
