Sixty people, a coffee shop, and a lot of folding chairs
We started as The Village Chapel in 2007. Nineteen years, four buildings, and one name change later, we are still doing the same thing: opening the Bible and trying to live it.
To become like Jesus by learning and living the Word
We base everything we do on God’s Word. The goal is not a full room. It is people who take what they heard on Sunday and actually use it on Tuesday.
Worship
Each Sunday we come together and worship God through singing, prayer, and the study of His Word.
Outreach
We were made to serve God and other people. We look for the places in the Lompoc Valley where that is needed.
Relationships
Church is not a room you sit in. Growth Groups, studies, and the patio after service are where people actually get known.
Discipleship
We show you the ways of Scripture, then we send you out to live them and come back with questions.
How we got to Rucker Road
Saturday mornings at The Village Coffee stop
A group of sixty people wanted to reach Vandenberg Village and the Lompoc Valley with the Gospel. The church was born in prayer meetings held every Saturday morning. Pastor Chuck Musselwhite and his family moved to Lompoc that December, with Jennifer eight months pregnant with their third child.
First service at The White Oak Inn
The last Sunday in January. Word spread quickly that we taught the Word of God in a casual setting, and the room filled up.
Portable church at Buena Vista Elementary
Sixteen months after the first service we needed more space, so we moved into the school and rented offices nearby. Being portable was a challenge, but it bonded the group. Those years are full of memories of slinging chairs and setting up the worship band before sunrise.
A shuttered doctor’s office becomes a sanctuary
After six years of setup and teardown it was obvious we needed our own space. There were very few options in the Village, but God opened up a closed doctor’s office at Constellation and Burton Mesa. Eighteen months of renovation later, we held our first service there on the first Sunday of March.
Sold the building, then waited
We needed more classroom and office space, so we sold and tried to buy the Coast Hills Credit Union building across the street. The deal fell through. We rented our old building for two more years while we looked.
Five acres, 11,000 square feet, and a new name
We leased the old Mission Hills Baptist church on Rucker Road. Six weeks of renovation, first service on Sunday August 13, and The Village Chapel became Hope Chapel Mission Hills.
Chuck and Jennifer Musselwhite
Chuck and Jennifer started this church in January of 2007. Through the years they have watched God work in the lives of a lot of people in this valley.
Chuck teaches from the ESV, verse by verse, and writes most weeks: sermon recaps, devotionals, and a Pastor’s Update that tells you what is going on around here. If you want to know how he thinks, the blog is the fastest way to find out.