Hope Christian Church has been in existence since 1951. Founded by Harold Blackburn, the first congregation of about 20 members was originally organized as the Fairview Park Christian Church, and met at the Masonic Temple Building on Lorain Avenue.

In 1955, the name was changed to Westlake Church of Christ, and services were moved to the Westlake Municipal Building at the corner of Dover and Hilliard in Westlake, while the new church building was being completed at 28370 Bassett Road. The congregation met at that location for 48 years, adding on to the building four times to accommodate its growth as necessary.

When that growth continued, the congregation voted unanimously in 2002 to purchase a 31-acre parcel of land at 32625 Detroit Road in Avon to construct a new facility. The name was changed to Hope Christian Church in January of 2003, and construction began that year. Services were held at Westlake High School during the period of construction, and we have been meeting at the Detroit Road location since October, 2004.

Since 1951, there have been 9 ministers of the congregation: Harold Blackburn, Richard Hostetter, Gerald Finnie, Jack Lawrence, David Ladd, Charles Craig, Jr., and Tim Hanze;  and three associate ministers: Dean Rase, Paul Wingfield and Rolland Bryar. Our current ministers are Bob Bauer, Executive Minister, and Neal Nemeth, Worship Minister. The mission of Hope Christian Church is “Helping People Find Hope in God.”