Sundays at New Hope
One class, offered at two hours, in the Steele Conference Room. Two teachers, one rotation. Show up to either hour and you'll get a Bible, a chair, and a roomful of people working through Scripture together.
What we're studying right now
8:00 AM
Led by Tom Carter
A 12-week study working through each commandment carefully. Why God gave them, what they look like applied to everyday life, the deeper meaning within each one, and why obedience still matters. Plus the new commandment Jesus gave his disciples and how it ties to the whole. Set up for real conversation, not just lecture.
9:30 AM
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.
8 AM Teacher
Retired senior pastor · Author · Teacher
"I never wanted to be a cowboy, a policeman, or a professional athlete. My one passion was to become a pastor."
Tom grew up in a Christian home and trusted in Jesus as his Savior at a young age. He has served in full-time pastoral ministry since 1976. From 1982 to 2020 he was senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Dinuba, a 38-year tenure that shaped a generation of families in the Central Valley.
He retired from the pulpit in June 2020 and brought his teaching to New Hope. He is the author of more than ten Christian books, several published in India, South Korea, Nigeria, and Brazil. His class is conversational and substantive, the kind of teaching that rewards bringing a Bible and a pen.
9:30 AM Teacher
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 his wife Regina started attending Ashbrook Church in 1982, which means Tim Rolen has been their pastor for more than four decades. 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.
For most of those years Rich served on the pastoral team. He retired from staff in January 2023 and now leads the 9:30 Adult Sunday School class as a layperson, a continuation of the teaching he's been doing here for decades.
Rich grew up moving constantly, never more than a year at any one school. That childhood gave him a deep ache for stability and belonging, and a clear lens for what New Hope offers people who walk in carrying their own version of that ache.
From the archives
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 been leading Bible studies at New Hope for so long that several of the people in these photos still come to his class. The class moved to the new 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.
About this 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
How it works
Show up. Bring a Bible if you have one, borrow one from the back if you don't. The teachers will know your name by the third visit and you'll know theirs by the second.
Where
Same room for both hours. Easy walk from the sanctuary foyer. Coffee and tea are in the pavilion.
When
Same class structure, different teachers. Pick whichever hour fits your Sunday.
What to bring
Spare Bibles are at the back of the room. NIV is the most common translation in the room.
First time
No sign-up, no Connect Card requirement, no spotlight on visitors. Pick a chair anywhere.
