Adult Sunday School.
Two classes, two teachers, one room. Tom Carter teaches at 8 and Rich Smith at 9:30, both in the Steele Conference Room in The Barn.
Both hours are open this Sunday.
Living in the Light of Christ’s Return.
Led by Tom Carter
What does it mean to live as people who believe Jesus is coming back? This study works through what the Bible teaches about his return and the hope it gives. Rather than settling debates or setting dates, it keeps the focus where Jesus put it: staying awake, staying faithful, and living with expectation.
Sundays at 8 AM · Steele Conference Room
No sign-up
Open Bible, open discussion.
Led by Rich Smith
A weekly walk through Scripture, unpacking meaning and relevance for today. Group discussion, practical teaching, and an open invitation to everyone in the room to bring questions, observations, and challenges to the text.
Sundays at 9:30 AM · Steele Conference Room
No sign-up
Tom Carter.
Retired senior pastor · Author · Teacher
Tom was senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dinuba before he retired and brought his teaching to New Hope. He has written several Christian books, among them They Knew How to Pray, 13 Crucial Questions Jesus Wants to Ask You, and 40 Days to Fall in Love with Your Bible, which an Adult Sunday School class at New Hope has studied.
- Education M.Div. (Fuller Theological Seminary), D.Min. (Westminster Theological Seminary California)
- Currently Teaches the 8 AM Adult Sunday School class
Rich Smith.
Retired pastor · Day-one merger member · Teacher
“New Hope is my home. It’s a place where I have grown up and the place where the people who love me live.”
Rich and Regina started attending Ashbrook Church in 1982. When Ashbrook and the original New Hope merged on October 18, 1992, they came over with the rest of the group. Rich has been at New Hope from day one of the merged church.
Rich served on the pastoral team the whole time, until he retired. He now leads the 9:30 Adult Sunday School class.
Rich grew up moving constantly, never more than a year at any one school. He has said it left him craving stability and roots, and that New Hope gave him that home.
- Church home since 1982 (Ashbrook, before the merger with New Hope)
- Pastoral team From the 1992 merger until he retired
- Currently Retired; teaches the 9:30 Adult Sunday School class
Bible study at New Hope, going back decades.
Three photos from the New Hope archives. A different room back then, long before The Barn opened in 2021, but the same practice. Open Bibles on the table, coffee cups, real questions, real conversation.
Rich has led Bible studies at New Hope since long before The Barn. The class moved to the Steele Conference Room when The Barn opened in 2021. The practice of opening the Bible together, asking real questions, and learning how to live the answers stayed exactly the same.
The Ray & Mary Lou Steele Conference Room.
When The Barn opened in 2021, the conference room was dedicated to Ray and Mary Lou Steele. Through their faithful giving, God provided what this church needed to expand what we can do for the families and community we serve.
The room bears their names as a reminder of what God can do through faithful people, and as an invitation for the rest of us to be that kind of faithful.
"New Hope Community Church is grateful for the way the love of Christ is demonstrated through your compassion for people, your concern for Christ's Kingdom work, and your very generous support of time and finances to support the ministry of Jesus through this Church Family. You have allowed God to work through you to turn dreams into reality and we are very thankful."Plaque dedication, October 2022
No sign-up needed.
Show up, and bring a Bible if you have one.
Steele Conference Room
Same room for both hours, inside The Barn at the north end of campus by the parking lot. Coffee and tea are in the pavilion.
Sundays at 8 or 9:30 AM
Tom Carter studies Christ’s return at 8. Rich Smith leads an open discussion of Scripture at 9:30.
Walk in and pick a chair
Join the discussion when you want to, or sit and listen.