It's just ok. it is the best church to go to in Hattiesburg as there are no Spirit-filled churches…read morethat are not off in doctrine other than Hope. i have been going here for a year now and at first, I was glad to find it. the pastor is very nice and a happy sort of man and he has some good lessons on Sunday, they are not deep nor intellectual at all, just basic good messages. It is not a super anointed church and is not Spirit-led at all, meaning he is still writing his own sermons each week, instead of spending time in the Holy Spirit and with God studying on a daily basis and then showing up to preach and going with whatever the Holy Spirit has told him at that split second. Those kinds of preachers are powerful. There is very much a standard order of service. sing three or four songs, many of which are not Scriptural because if you listen to the lyrics, they are all about me me me and what I do do do, when worship songs should only be about worshipping God and Jesus. I am not interested in singing songs about me and what I can do. after the three or four songs, the pastor's wife, who is a nice woman, goes up to do her spiel about announcements for the next twenty minutes. good thing this is not a Holy Spirit led church because that in itself would quench the move of the Spirit. then they do one more song to try to get back into it, but it is too late, the mood was broken by all the announcements. i really hate formulaic churches. but, like I said, this is all Hattiesburg has to offer. I like that they do believe in the Holy Spirit and I like that the pastor is a joyful guy, seems nice. Seems there is a lot of pressure to raise the money for the new building, though. That is supposed to be God's job to provide that and the pastor just has to be faithful to what God wants to say and do. No need to pressure the people tp give more. The pastor supports Israel, as all churches should, so that is also great. They never say. "open your Bibles" and instead do the projection thing making people lazy in the Word. they also use the NIV, which is not a translation but a copyrighted version which omits verses proving the Diety of Jesus. they dont know that or they would not use that version, but I have found Hattiesburg very much stuck in the 70s when the NIV was a trend. This church has its roots in the Pentecostal church, but have left behind the beehives but many adhere to the women with no makeup thing, aka WORKS. They also maintian the constant clapping Pentacostals do. another Spirit quencher. You cant possibly hear the Holy Spirit, or your own spirit for that matter, with all of the clapping. my biggest thing that disappoints me about this church is that after a year, I personally do not have a pastor. the pastor probably has no idea who I even am, and you have to go through the church secretary for everything, and they really are not open to anyone bringing any new ideas in or anything like that, which is a shame. Hattiesburg is a VERY CLIQUEY place, in churches especially. I was sad to see that at Hope. You can see the clique on a special night service or worship service or some other special event. They are the founding members of the church and they populate the front two rows, all hang out together socially. I dont happen to believe in a front row in chirches. think about it, Jesus never had a VIP section. I feel the front should be reserved for the sick or the oppressed or even the lonely, not just the cool kids. I will still keep coming to the church, but I have not made one friend at the church and Ill bet no one knows my name. they do say hello and in the beginning, you do get love bombed quite a bit, but I was in hospital and even asked for prayer about it and not one person called to see if I needed anything or wanted prayer more than an email respinse to my prayer request. that really upset me so while I do go occasionally now, I dont get involved. i dont check my emails, so whatever. I guess what I am saying is, unless you are a part of the clique, or like everyone else go with your family, I find Hope Church to be a very lonely place and I guess unless you are part of the clique, you arent going to have that pastor relationship, either. So, on a basic level, at least they can help people get saved and I am all for that, but there still needs to be a real Spirit-led church planted here where there are actual opportunities to serve other than being a greeterat the front door. My heart is just not in Hope Church at all, so I mostly just stay home and watch better preachers on YouTube and that is the sad truth. In the beginning I had a real hope for Hope Church, but it is not the one for me.