After the loss of their second child by miscarriage, God placed in Pastors Bobby and Lisa's hearts the desire to give birth to a baby church. It was from here that Pastor Bobby and his family founded Hope Assembly of God Church in La Vernia, Texas, and God strategically brought together a team committed to developing and growing a church.

In August 2002, Hope Church began in a home with 17 people in attendance. On January 5, 2003, Hope held its first public worship service in the La Vernia Primary School, and celebrated with the official dedication of the church on March 30, 2003. After that, Hope purchased acreage at the corner of Hwy 87 and FM 1346 and continued to meet at the La Vernia Primary School, growing steadily from year to year.

In December 2008, Hope purchased additional property and buildings formerly owned by Parker Lumber at the corner of W. Chihuahua and Nicholson, and with a team of extraordinary volunteers and contractors renovated the facilities in record time to become Hope’s new home, opening the doors in January 2009. An adjacent home was also purchased and renovated to serve as Hope’s new offices on Nicholson.

In 2009 Hope continued to grow in attendance and improve on the existing property, and in October 2009 Hope sold the original acreage on Hwy 87 to newcomer to the community H.E.B. This considerable step in the life of the church allowed Hope to give a generous donation to each of the Local, U.S. and World Missionaries supported by Hope.

In January 2010 with the help of a phenomenal launch team, Hope launched an additional Sunday morning service to accommodate the growth in attendance. Further improvements, additions and renovations were also conducted throughout the year on the existing campus and to the ministries and leadership team at Hope to more successfully accomplish the Lord’s purposes in our community.

In November 2010 it was announced that another baby church was about to join the Hope family. The Hope New Braunfels Campus (HNBC) was birthed out of a desire to further impact our geographic region for the Kingdom of God. We became one church with multiple locations. HNBC launched on January 23, 2011 as a video satellite campus, though periodically Pastor Bobby among others presented the Sunday messages in person. Additionally, several La Vernia families graciously committed their time and talents to serve in New Braunfels across all areas of ministry. Many new families were added to Hope in the New Braunfels community from the launch until the fall of 2012. On September 9, 2012 it was announced that the satellite campus endeavor in New Braunfels was to come to an end and while bittersweet, a new church to be pastored by Hope’s precious friends and former Worship Pastors David and Aimee Sanchez was to be planted at HNBC’s former location. HNBC closed its doors on Sunday, September 30, 2012 and Real Life Community Church was born under the Sanchez’ leadership the following Sunday.

Throughout 2012 Hope has experienced considerable renovations to the facilities in La Vernia. The sanctuary was extended from its original location, additional space was allocated for children’s ministry rooms and restrooms, and new areas such as a cry room, additional restrooms, storage, an office for Pastor Bobby, a meeting room and a spacious kitchen were built. Externally and internally the architectural touches of dry laid stone, sand shade tile, warm tones on the walls and bright colors in the children’s rooms bring a whole new look to the building’s humble lumberyard origins.

As we move into the future we anticipate The Blessed Hope - Jesus’ return. But as we wait we stay focused on The Great Commandment to love God and love others, and The Great Commission to go into all the world proclaiming the Good News that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. We will continue to connect with God, connect with others, discover our gifts and abilities and use them to impact our world. And by doing this, the vision of Hope to “reach and equip people for successful Christian living” will carry on!