Our story begins in March 2024… Or maybe in March 2020… Or maybe a long time before that. I guess it all depends on perspective.
For generations, Christians in Hudson’s Hope have gathered to worship God, study His word, and love and serve the community they we all call home.
In the past, Hudson’s Hope was home to numerous different bible-believing churches — individual gatherings of believers who loved one another and the community, and were united around the Gospel and Christ as head of the church, even as they expressed their faith differently, worshipped differently, and embraced the unique role they were each called to fill. Like all churches, there were ups and downs, but the legacy of faith stood firm,
At various times, different members of these churches worked together to operate a Christian School, Maranatha Christian Academy, laboured together in prayer, and served together on various societies, to reach our community.
Over time, as our community became smaller in numbers, so the number of churches meeting regularly dwindled. Two churches — Peace Valley Community Church and Hudson’s Hope Bible Fellowship — persevered throughout this time. And after years of praying for unity, these two diverse churches united under then pastor Tim Viers, coming together as a Baptist church, as part of Fellowship Pacific.
After Pastor Tim left to lead Port Hardy Baptist Church in 2019, the church called Luke Hughes-Bunger — a recent bible college graduate from the UK with a history of missions work in Canada — to pastor the church. Luke and his family arrived March 2020.
The years that followed brought plenty of incredible highs, but also some unimaginable challenges. COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, a rapidly changing community, financial challenges, and the inevitable, necessary, mutual sacrifices and accommodations necessary to continue to walk a middle path together as Christians from very diverse backgrounds throughout all presented their own challenges.
Over time, it felt ever more as though continuing to walk the middle path together was no longer meeting the needs of the church and wider community, and seemed as if God was leading us down two exciting, but different paths. Some of the leaders and members within the church felt a draw to pursue and explore bold new methods and models of ministry, and partnerships that seemed to lead to a parting with The Fellowship, and drastically re-imagining of what it meant to be church, while simultaneously, Luke and several other members, past and current, felt a pull and call towards pursuing a more traditionally evangelical way of worshipping together.
And equally, neither group could afford to continue to employ a full time pastor.
Increasingly, it became clear to that true Christian unity didn’t necessarily demand uniformity. Indeed, perhaps the best way to demonstrate unity in Hudson’s Hope was to radically pursue the vision and call God has given each of us, while celebrating our diversity by actively blessing, encouraging, and loving those he has called to do things differently. God seemed to be showing us that biblical unity can sometimes mean remembering the fact that Christ’s Church is bigger than any one individual gathering, and realizing we are better positioned to reach our community by fully embracing the vision and identity He has given us, even as we champion others he is leading in a different direction.
Parting can be painful, of course. But we prefer to think of it as multiplication, rather than division.
Therefore, in February 2024, House of Hope Community Church agreed to release Luke as pastor, and withdraw from The Fellowship, blessing him to pursue other models of ministry within the community, or beyond.
Feeling a strong call to continue to minister, both within the Fellowship, and within the community of Hudson’s Hope, Luke was called as a Community Chaplain, working directly with The Fellowship’s national Chaplaincy program, while also establishing Hudson’s Hope Chapel.
We began meeting in March 2024, gathering together in the home of our chaplain. We’re still small — and we like it that way.
We love House of Hope, their leaders, and their members. They are part of our story, and our shared legacy, and we bless them as they step into the next phase of their story, just as we trust they love, and encourage us in ours.