Today a little piece of me shattered.

For almost ten years, Nick and I attended Grace Church in Middleburg Heights. It’s where we met, it’s where we got married, and it’s where we attended church as newlyweds, but a couple months later, when we heard that a church was to be planted by Grace in Olmsted Falls, God very obviously called us there.

Somehow date night one night led us to the informational meeting held at what used to be Olmsted Performing Arts, and despite our reservations, we pursued even further. We began attending the meetings held every Sunday in a room at Grace — a room that was often filled to capacity, brimming with people eager to follow God’s call in planting a church. We were there even though we knew almost no one else. We were there even though we knew we probably wouldn’t live in Olmsted Falls permanently. We were there even though we had no clue what to expect. And we were there when Pastor Joel wrote the words “Hope Community Church” on the wipe-off board at the front of the room — and it was most appropriate; the room was filled with hope.

Before we knew it, we were rolling huge storage cases around, setting and stacking chairs, and worshipping on a portable stage, only to tear it all down as soon as we were done — but no doubt about it, we were a church. It may not have gone smoothly every week, but the sheer amount of effort and teamwork and joy that went into every service was establishing and exemplifying Who we were there to serve, and we did so with hope — hope that God would use our abilities, hope that He would bring people desperate for Him through those doors every week, and hope that everything would work out for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose, despite our weaknesses, as He promised. God was definitely at work.

And five years later, a building we never expected to own and a community we never knew could be so strong will now no longer bear the name that so many of us have come to know and love.

Hope Community Church is officially Grace Church, Olmsted Falls Campus — a satellite of the church we originally grew from, a step carefully orchestrated and planned with the belief that, through merging these two churches, we will be “better together” and able to more effectively impact our communities and the world for Jesus Christ.

I know in my soul that this is so so good. The auditorium that has sat virtually unused for so long will now be utilized to its full potential. The parking lot we never could quite fill up will now be filled with people eager to hear the love of Christ. The love the church members have for their community and the body of Christ as a whole will surely grow even more than it has these last five years.

But in my heart, I am dismayed.

So much has gone into making this church what it is today — I can recall the worship team rehearsals twice a week every week for upwards of a year and a half, the many nights of watching kids for Alpha or ESL, the late nights Nick spent doing who-knows-what in the ceiling, carrying out what he knew would help the church thrive technology-wise. 

I could go on and on about the community — how I loved saying every week that I knew everyone coming up the driveway as we pulled into church. How the time the hospitality team decided that for one month they would not provide snacks in between services (a very beloved aspect of our church community) there was a holy upheaval the very first week and snacks promptly returned the following Sunday. How so many of us were involved in two or even three ministries just to get us off the ground, but you’d never hear grumbling: always joy, always love, always hope.

Looking around today at the people I’ve known for five years, or even less, that made up Hope Community Church, I feel like I’ve known them my entire life; they’re like family. Part of me doesn’t want my family infiltrated — perhaps a strong choice of words. Nick assures me this is more like marrying off your child; you’ve raised them and loved them and nurtured them all you can, and now it’s time for them to join arms with another, with the intention to grow. It’s such a great analogy, but still so difficult for me to grasp.

I know this spirit will not be lost and all our efforts were not in vain, but I’m still uneasy nonetheless. Nick always likes to joke that there’s two things people don’t like: the way things are, and change. It’s funny, but it’s also totally true. I loved the way things were for Hope Community, and bringing in a whole other group of people and way of doing things makes me nervous, but I also have faith in the leadership of both churches, as well as in the fact that God will bless His church if we are truly performing what He has called us to do.

Both the Hope and Grace teams have done a wonderful job at being intentional about communicating why this merge is happening. I heard from one person that the reason for the merge is because Hope wasn’t growing, but that is totally not true. We began with maybe 100 people back in that room at Grace, and I believe lately we’ve had an average of 350+ attendees. We purchased a huge building for such a small church, and although we’re not growing fast enough to keep up with all that comes with owning such a large building, we knew from the beginning that purchasing it was ambitious, but we had faith in God’s plan — and this merge is very obviously part of it.

Things never went as expected for Hope Community; at every turn, God was guiding and blessing and providing — this merge included — for the church as a whole, as well as on an individual level. Nick and I have experienced our fair share of struggles and roadblocks throughout our time at Hope, but by the grace of God, we always overcame and were constantly called to remain there. God had a plan for His church, and we are grateful for the opportunity He gave us to be a part of it.

My faith alone has grown exponentially in the last few years — more than it has ever in my life. God is working; he’s working on the church, on His people, and on furthering His Kingdom. It is evident, and we are blessed with the opportunity to share this with even more people. Although I may need reminded of this, I will trust in God’s perfect plan. I have faith, and by God’s grace, I have and will always have hope.

❤️ Leah Artman