What Would You like to Know About Us?

We are a small, non-denominational, Bible-believing Church at 2506 18th Ave., Forest Grove, OR

To see all Sermons in Word Files, go to Recent Sermon Notes.

For Audio Files of recent Sermons, click HERE

To hear Audio files of the Prophecy-Series Bible Study, click HERE.

Our Statement of Faith

We Believe

• in the inerrancy of Scripture; that the Bible (Old and New Testaments) is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, authoritative Word of God.
• that there is one God, eternally existent in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• that God the Father is the personal and sovereign Creator of all things, and Ruler over all things, as The Most High.
• that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, that He was born of a virgin,  provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious death on the Cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, ascended back to the right hand of God the Father, and ever lives to make intercession for His Church.
• that the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Godhead, indwells every believer from the moment of rebirth. (We also recognize the full “mystery” of the Godhead: Specifically, God the Father points out God the Son as the Creator. However, God the Son states that all three members of the Godhead indwell the believer in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we do not pretend to understand these seemingly conflicting facts, but we are faithful to teach them accurately.)
• that all people are by nature lost and separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the Grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, who, through His shed blood, is the propitiation (“settlement; full satisfaction of God’s Righteous Judgment”) for the sins of the whole world.
• in the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ with His Church to rule on the earth during the Millennial Kingdom.
• in the two New Testament ordinances of Water Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, neither of which is necessary for one’s salvation. We believe that once truly born-again, the believer can never be lost, but is kept by the power of God.

We Reject:

• The “Positive Confession Movement” which teaches that God can be commanded to heal or work miracles according to man’s will.
• the “Prosperity Movement” which teaches that it is God’s will for every believer to be wealthy.
• human prophecy that supersedes the Scripture.
• the incorporation of humanistic and secular psychology and philosophy into Biblical teaching.
• the overemphasis of spiritual gifts and experiential signs and wonders, to the exclusion of Biblical teaching.

Our History

In response to God’s leading we began holding services in September of 1993. After 7 months of meeting in a recreation building at a mobile home park we moved to the Forest Grove Residential Center where we continued to minister and grow. In October of 1998 the Lord blessed us with the opportunity to purchase our present building.

Our Denominational Position

True Hope Christian Fellowship is not aligned or affiliated with any organization or denomination. We believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God and, as such, the only true and reliable source of guidance and education in matters relating to Christian life and church activity. We are determined to follow the doctrinal teachings of the Bible without confusing them with man-invented rules and traditions.

Our Pastors

• Original Pastor, and Pastor-emeritus Pat James (founding pastor, retired from active service) (Passed away, June 18th, 2018.)
• Pastor Richard Banham (Trained at Biola University, was in teaching/preaching ministry (full or part time) since 1957. (Passed away May 29th, 2020. Served beside Chet Bishop for the last seven years of his life.)
• Pastor Chet Bishop (Trained at NTBI and NTM, in teaching/preaching ministry (part time) since 1976.
• We believe in multiple leadership: others will be listed as God provides them to us.

The Church has no employees: current pastors are self-supporting, and accept no pay for their service (though a housing allowance has been provided, since November 2020). Church giving goes to maintain the facility, to support missionaries and further the work of the church as a whole.

We count it a privilege to serve.