Church Planting

Building Hope in the City is a mission organization, directing a large portion of its efforts and resources to seeding and launching new worshipping communities, or aiding existing urban congregations in launching new worship ministries. The purpose of these new groups is to share God's Word and the fellowship of His people with urban neighborhoods and across cultures. Not only do new churches typically grow faster than established ones, but they have a greater ability to adapt more quickly to reflect the needs of the communities they serve.
Current church plant efforts underway:

• Arab Mission  
• African-Immigrant Mission
• Trinity Lutheran Church Satellite at West 85 th Street

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Hope Centers for
Refugees and Immigrants

BHITC’s cross-cultural mission efforts are leading to a new and exciting vision: The Hope Center for Refugees and Immigrants, a multi-site BHITC ministry that will partner with area congregations to welcome families from any and every culture with resettlement assistance, including linking them to new American friends/mentors, English/literacy instruction, employment assistance, and more. This blossoming ministry builds on the work God is already doing, directing new refugees and immigrants to Northeast Ohio every year.  

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Urban Family Learning Centers

Free weekly tutoring, street evangelism for at-risk children and youth, life skills and employment training — these outreach programs demonstrate the love of God to those in need and provide our urban partner congregations with new outreach tools and meaningful opportunities to serve their neighbors.
Urban Family Learning Centers are currently underway at:

• Trinity Lutheran Church
• St. Luke Lutheran Church
• Gethsemane Lutheran Church
• Luther Memorial School
• St. Peter Lutheran Church
• Zion Lutheran Church (Akron)
• New Hope Baptist Church (Akron)

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Congregational Renewal

Building Hope in the City's efforts to aid urban congregations and ministries in embracing renewal and experiencing turnaround is based upon the lessons learned at Trinity Lutheran Church from 1992 to today under the pastorate of Rev. Jeff Johnson. The congregation, once the verge of collapse, thrives today as a center-city congregation, bringing together a diverse cross-section of rich and poor, urban and suburban, American and immigrant to the glory of God and for the purpose of serving Christ and His Kingdom.

Pastor Johnson and Trinity's staff members offer urban congregations their insights, know-how and advice so that the "turnaround principals" that were used at Trinity might be tailored and applied in other congregational settings. Efforts also include:

Congregational Consulting
Building Hope in the City offers congregations and their leadership teams consulting services for creating healthy ministry models and systems, starting new outreach efforts and resourcing urban congregations.

Pastor-to-Pastor Coaching
Pastor Johnson provides ongoing leadership coaching to several congregational pastors in Cleveland, Youngstown and Cincinnati. Through these relational networks, young urban pastors are gaining support and leadership skills designed to strengthen congregations.

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Leadership Training

Missions and ministries are put in motion by God through the prayers, work and witness of His people. That's why Building Hope in the City serves as a gateway for hundreds of volunteers entering into urban mission, exploring service opportunities as they discover the place and people to whom God has called them. We provide volunteers with healthy and ongoing doses of training, reflection and reassessment. The process is yielding a stronger church throughout the city and helps surface leaders for the future. It includes:

• Service Retreats and Events - Building Hope in the City creates one- or multi-day urban immersion experiences for large and small groups who want to serve together in urban ministry, including its CitySERVE event each spring that garners more than 300 area Christians for a day of serving Christ in the city, and its Blanket Drive events for area youth groups that minister to homeless individuals on city streets.
• Urban Ministry Training - Christian volunteers from across the region partake in educational sessions on a variety of key "urban issues," including understanding poverty, cross-cultural communication, team-building and more.
• Specific Ministry Training - These task-specific trainings offer know-how on subjects including tutoring, ESL, ministering to children, etc.
• Urban Church Planter Theological Training - Building Hope in the City provides its missionaries and lay leaders who are entrusted with Word (proclamation) ministry, and any interested volunteer with a curriculum of theological, doctrinal and practical ministry courses, all of which are taught by local Lutheran pastors. To learn more or sign up for the next class, contact Rev. Jeff Johnson at (216) 281-4673 or brian@buildinghopeinthecity.org

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Building Hope in the City | 2031 West 30th Street | Cleveland, Ohio 44113
Phone: (216) 281-4673 | Fax: (216) 281-4406