Craig Strickland

Pastor Emeritus, Hope Church Memphis @Hope Church

Last 34 Years: I left the security of being the executive pastor of a large, established church to found Hope Presbyterian Church in a Memphis suburb with the commitment to reach unchurched people in the area. With a core group of twenty-three, we rented space in a restaurant and a Christian school for over seven years while building seven homes for working poor families. Using a telemarketing approach, telephone calls resulted in a first Sunday attendance, September 25, 1988, of 304 people with an average Sunday attendance thereafter of approximately 150. Hope has grown from an average attendance of 350 in 1996 to and has been one of the top ten fastest growing churches in the country. Over adults attended at Christmas 2011. Our staff has grown to over one hundred with an annual income of approximately $13M. In sixteen years, we have completed six capital campaigns and built five phases of our facility. Hope now consists of 75 acres of property with square feet of ministry space with worship seating for including a state-of-the-art recording studio. Perhaps one of the most telling examples of the heart of Hope lies in urban ministry. In a city that has had a history of racial polarization; Hope has sought to make a difference for Christ in the lives of people who need to see reconciliation through the eyes of Christ. Over Hope folks are involved in urban ministry. My focus will always be on vision-casting and preaching; however, early in 2008, without knowledge of the impending downturn in the economy, I began to specifically teach on getting out of debt using personal video interviews with Dave Ramsey. I sent over personal, hand-written thank you notes to members and attenders who were making significant investments in Hope Church. I also planted seeds by thanking all first-time-givers with a hand-written note.