To fulfill our mission statement of seeing communities thrive, we love partnering with churches with the same vision of community transformation. Our partner, Urban Hope Community Church, shares this same vision of Gospel-centered community development. Founded six years ago by Pastor Alton Hardy, Urban Hope is committed to growing as a missional community of Christ that takes an active role within Fairfield’s community. A Selma native, Pastor Hardy, worked at a church in Michigan when he felt God’s call to move back south and planted a church in the Fairfield community.
Aside from regular church meetings, Urban Hope takes an active role within various parts of their community. Pastor Hardy believes, “To tell people about Jesus and not address issues here in Fairfield is an oxymoron.” The church is deeply invested in Fairfield High Preparatory School and Miles College, the leading educational institutions in Fairfield. They believe that it is vital for the church to be involved in all aspects of community life, but particularly with education. Urban Hope also runs a community development non-profit that aids individuals who lack necessary physical resources. To reach young men in the Birmingham area, Urban Hope also hosts a weekly basketball game designed to bring men from all Birmingham areas together for healthy competition and to hear the Gospel preached.
In October of 2019, Urban Hope began gathering people from across the city of Birmingham together for a monthly prayer meeting. This diverse group spent an hour every month praying for the city, confessing their sins, and growing closer together before God. This group continued to meet and pray together through Covid-19, feeling God’s spirit move even amidst the worldly turmoil. After the death of George Floyd this past June, their prayer gathering had nearly 400 people come together to pray for the nation and the city. Since then, these revival prayer gatherings have been moved to every third Saturday morning of the month to be more accessible to the community. As a result of these meetings, Urban Hope’s congregation has doubled in size and seen many hearts and lives changed not only within Fairfield but also in the Birmingham community.
For the past six years, Urban Hope has shared space and met within the Church of the Reconciler. However, they have the opportunity to purchase a building in the heart of downtown Fairfield!
As they continue to grow and move into their next chapter, we are looking forward to seeing them proclaim the Gospel in Fairfield. For more information on Urban Hope, you can contact Michael Bowen at mbowen@urbanhopecc.com or visit their website at https://urbanhopecc.com/. Weekly worship is at 5:00 pm inside Church of the Reconciler at 4607 Gary Ave Fairfield, AL 35064.
