About us

Hope Chapel began when a group of local Christians heard God leading them to start a Prayer Centre for Bristol. They providentially discovered the 200-year-old Hope Chapel that had recently closed as a church and were invited to begin a new church in the building in the year 2000. As the team went away to seek God about how to shape this church, three other dreams were added to the dream to build a prayer centre for the city. They’d met Andy, who sold the Big Issue in Clifton Village. He was interested in Jesus, but the culture of church was too middle class and uncomfortable for him.

The dream to be a family for people on the margins of society came in part from this relationship with Andy and the desire to build a church where he would feel at home. Prompted by Jesus’ insistence that children have direct access to Him, another dream was to form a church that children love, where children would be central to the life of the church. The fourth dream was that Hope would be at the heart of the community. These four dreams continue to shape Hope’s focus today as we seek to be a flourishing community where people encounter Jesus, love one another and are connected with their calling.