In the fall of 2002, a group of families began meeting together to pray and explore whether God was leading them to start a church on the westide of Spartanburg. After many coffee and prayer meetings, God provided the opportunity for a group of men to meet with a gifted Bible teacher who was serving as an interim pastor at a small church in Boiling Springs, SC. This group of men explained how God was leading them, along with several other families, to start a church on the westside of Spartanburg. The interim pastor informed the men that he was not interested in starting a church. However, God had other plans. After several more meetings, the interim pastor felt God was leading him to join these families to start a church. These families called Richard Smith to be the pastor.
Early in 2003
That same group of men began meeting with Richard to develop the vision, mission, and beliefs for the church. During a dinner meeting at Denny’s restaurant, God provided a name for the church through a random conversation with a waitress. The church name would be Hope Point. Just as a lighthouse provides guidance and hope to ships at sea, we wanted the church to be a place where people like this waitress could find the hope of Jesus – Romans 15:13
