Sunday Morning at Hope Rock Community Church
There are some traditions that make a town feel like home. In Hope Rock, Sunday mornings begin with the sound of church bells echoing through the ...
Keep ReadingIn Hope Rock, Sunday mornings begin with the sound of church bells echoing through the Colorado mountains. Families arrive carrying well-worn Bibles, children race one another across the lawn before the service begins, and neighbors greet each other with warm smiles and handshakes.
At the center of it all is Hope Rock Community Church—a place where faith is more than something spoken from the pulpit. It’s lived out every day through acts of kindness, compassion, and service.
If you wander down the hallway after the morning service begins, you’ll probably hear laughter coming from the children’s classroom. That’s where you’ll find Noah Ross.
Most of the week, Noah is the town veterinarian, caring for everything from nervous puppies to aging horses. But on Sundays, he trades his stethoscope for a Bible as he teaches the children of Hope Rock.
Noah never rushes through the lesson. He kneels beside little ones to answer their questions, laughs at their wonderfully imaginative observations, and somehow remembers every child’s favorite animal.
He understands that children don’t simply hear about God’s love—they experience it through the people who take the time to care for them.
But there’s one tradition that has become especially dear to the children of Hope Rock.
Whenever a child celebrates a birthday, Noah arrives early with sheets of colorful construction paper, scissors, markers, stickers, and just enough tape to hold everything together.
By the time class begins, a handmade birthday crown is waiting.
No two crowns are exactly alike. Some sparkle with glitter. Others feature bright stars, smiling dogs, mountain scenes, or Bible verses carefully written across the front.
Each one proudly displays the birthday child’s name.
Just paper. A little tape. A few crayons. Yet every child wears that crown as though it were made of gold.
Perhaps that’s because Noah understands something many adults forget. Children don’t measure love by the size of a gift. They measure it by the time someone was willing to spend making it.
I imagine Charlotte wearing one of Noah’s birthday crowns with the biggest smile imaginable. She’d probably refuse to take it off after church and wear it all the way home, carefully placing it on her bedroom shelf that evening so she could admire it for weeks to come.
That little paper crown says something much bigger than “Happy Birthday.”
“You are seen.
You are loved.
You matter.”
Isn’t that the very message Jesus shared with the children who gathered around Him?
A paper crown. A patient conversation. A handwritten note. A loyal dog waiting at the door. These small acts become treasured memories because they tell people they belong.
As I wrote A K-9 Mountain Promise, I wanted Hope Rock to be the kind of town where people genuinely care for one another—not because they have to, but because that’s what love does.
Perhaps that’s why I enjoy visiting Hope Rock so much. It reminds me of the kind of community we all long to find.
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” — Matthew 19:14 (NIV)
If you’d like to spend more time in Hope Rock, I’d love to invite you to my Facebook Live Book Launch Party on Tuesday, June 30, from 6:00–8:00 p.m. Eastern. Here is your link: https://www.facebook.com/events/865412972497944
We’ll meet the characters, share behind-the-scenes stories from the writing of A K-9 Mountain Promise, enjoy fun giveaways, and celebrate the release of the book together. Want to read the story? Here is your link.
Who knows? You may even discover a few more charming traditions that make Hope Rock feel like home.
I’d love to see you there.
