Our History
Nearly two hundred years of worship in this community, carried by families who would not let go of this church no matter what happened to the building.
Beginnings in 1837
New Hope traces its beginnings to 1837. In those first years the congregation included both white members and enslaved Black members from the plantations nearby, worshiping in the same building under very different circumstances.
A congregation of its own
After the Civil War, the Black members of the congregation purchased the church building and reorganized themselves as an A.M.E. congregation. They kept building. A new frame sanctuary was completed in 1910, raised by the hands and the giving of the families who called this place home.
During the twentieth century the congregation left the A.M.E. Church and joined The United Methodist Church, where New Hope remains today as part of the South Carolina Annual Conference.
Traditions that hold us together
One of the oldest is the 5th Sunday All Day Meeting. Whenever a month carries a fifth Sunday, ministers from around the area gather at New Hope and the day is given over to worship, preaching, singing, and eating together. It is one of the clearest pictures of who this church is.
In the 1960s, members of this community organized as Joshua's Army and marched from Loretta Bridge to the church. That walk is part of the memory of New Hope, a reminder that faith here has always had feet.
Fire, and what came after
On September 6, 2020, the sanctuary that had stood since the 1950s was destroyed by fire. It was a hard loss. It was not the end of the story.
The congregation kept gathering. Today New Hope worships at the New Hope Community Life Center at 152 Heywardridge Ln, and the work of this church continues as it has since 1837. Buildings have come and gone in these 180 years. The congregation has not.
On the historical record: much of the history above is preserved on South Carolina historical marker number 8-73, erected in 2017 by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. You can read the full marker text at the Historical Marker Database.
Our Mission and Vision
Our mission is to know Christ, to grow together as a family of faith, and to serve our community with open hearts, open minds, and open doors.
Our vision is a church where everybody who comes through the door gets known by name, where the children and the older members learn from one another, and where the love of God turns up in this community in ways folks can actually see and put their hands on.
Our Connection
New Hope is a congregation of The United Methodist Church and a member of the South Carolina Annual Conference. Being part of a connectional church means the ministry of this congregation is tied to the ministry of United Methodists across South Carolina and around the world.
New Hope at a Glance
A rough picture of the congregation today. Figures are approximate.
