Running head: WHAT ARE THE INITIATION RITES OF BECOMING A NON-DENOMINATIONAL

CHRISTIAN? 1

The Initiation Rites of Hope Church

Tatum Bralley

Arizona State University

Initiation Rites of Hope Church 2

Abstract

This project over non-denominational Christianity was based on my prior experiences in

this religion and the differences that I noticed when researching the process Hope church used

for becoming a baptized and saved non-denominational Christian. I went through multiple

programs to see the ways their church is organized and how I can become more devoted to my

faith. I considered the population of this church and the location to find their system in gaining

attendees. I attended Connect groups with other Arizona State University freshman women my

age to gain more knowledge on the basics of Hope church beliefs. I received a red book about

the basics and a foundations book that described the knowledge necessary for baptism. I also

attended growth track every Sunday for four weeks to understand the commitments to the

church that are required to become a church leader.

Keywords​: Christianity, the Bible, sermon

Initiation Rites of Hope Church 3

Initiation Rites

Section 1, Question Bank

The purpose of my inquiry was to identify the process to become a follower of Jesus

through Hope church which is non-denominational Christian. I hope to discover what specific

initiation rites of passage the church uses when it comes to becoming a part of their program. I’m

curious to discover the approaches that the mentors and leaders use to bring new members into

the facility, whether they are open to rejection or become pressuring for others to come. I want to

observe the reactions that members give me when I ask them controversial questions and find

how each individual's answers are similar/different.

Central Research Question

Why did you choose Christianity out of all the religions?

What concepts from the Bible did you know before attending Hope church?

General Inquiry/Observation Questions

What concepts from the Bible did you know before attending Hope church?

Who are the leaders of Christianity that we have today and what is their unique purpose?

What is the history of the Bible as identified by Christianity?

What places are mentioned in the Bible that we recognize today?

Who were the Disciples in Christianity? What was their responsibility?

Initiation Rites of Hope Church 4

General Interview Questions

What is the importance of the Bible to you? How do you recognize its purpose daily?

How did your baptism impact your interaction with God?

Why is attending Sunday Sermon every week a principal routine for you?

What are traditions in Christianity and how do you celebrate them yearly?

What holidays are regarded towards Christianity? Which ones are you supposed/encouraged to
attend church on?

Interview Questions for Specific People

Pastor Brian: Christianity is questioned as being a cult, what are your thoughts on this?

What is mandatory in the process of building a new church (physically)?

How is the location chosen?
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Section 2, Sites of Inquiry

Sites of Inquiry Contact / Location Dates / Times

Hope Church, Pastor Brian Smith, Hope Sundays, 7 pm to 8;30 pm,

non-denominational christian church pastor,​ ​1100 N Central Attended 9/9, 9/16, 9/23,
church, Found:Re Hotel Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85003 9/30, 10/14, 10/21

Connect group, Ucent study Jenny Shields & Mimi Okpe, Tuesdays at 4 pm to 6 pm,
room, ASU Downtown church ministry leaders, 10/16, 10/23
campus Phoenix, AZ

Section 3, Inquiring into Objects /Artifacts

You will conduct a hands-on investigation of objects and artifacts to discover their significance
to the group. Their value may be functional, symbolic, or otherwise. This section might include
prepared questions and selected responses, descriptive observation notes, and a reflection on how
the objects that you’ve observed represent the community you are studying.

Part 1, Summarize the experience, including responses and notes (~200 words):

The object that is considered the most important for my community, Hope church, is the

Bible. The Bible is celebrated and integrated into every event that the church members organize,

whether it is Bible study to gain a closer connection to God or volleyball on Tuesdays. There was

always a point where a prayer or scripture from the Holy Bible was brought up. In connect

groups we had to utilize the Red book, a book that goes over the Bible basics and discuss

scriptures from the Bible that are represented in our lives. Most members of connect group used

the Bible app on their phones. This made me realize that the most significant part of the Bible

was the material that was contained in it, not the physical Bible. When I attended church or

Sunday Sermons on October 21st, I found that the pastor references the Bible in every life
Initiation Rites of Hope Church 6

comparison he makes for each one of his points. He would start out with the big idea and

transition into a scripture, or quote, from the Bible that backs up his statement. From there he

would break down the scripture and its main points which he would have us write down.
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Part 2, Principle Quotes or Observations with an explanation of value:

1. “And it was appointed for men to die once, but after this judgement, so Christ was

offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear

a second time, apart from sin, for salvation”(Hebrews 9:27) The significance of this

scripture describes how Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins so that we may

be forgiven by God and have the ability to be sent to Heaven after our death.

2. “for all who have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) The

significance of this demonstrates the consequences of choosing sin and becoming short of

God’s glory which means that you were not saved by Him.

3. “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord”

(Romans 6:23) The significance of this is discovering how having a relationship with

God allows you to have eternal life after death in Jesus.

Part 3, Reflect on the process, occurrences, and results of this research, including inferences
about the significance of your observations and interview responses. (~300 words):

This research from the Bible was based on Pastor Brian Smith’s sermon about God’s

purpose for our lives. The main idea for this Sunday Sermon was that “God doesn’t want us to

just live for the here and now. He wants us to live our lives in light of eternity. God made you to

last forever!” The results of this research show the standard knowledge that Jesus Christ died for

all of human sin so that we may become saved by God and experience eternal life after death.

The notes made by Pastor Brian explain the concept of physical and spiritual death further

enunciating where eternity can be spent: heaven or hell. I attended Sunday Sermon on September

30th to accumulate this information that Pastor Brian explained to church attendees. My
Initiation Rites of Hope Church 8

inference based on the information that I was given illustrates the idea that if we do not become

spiritually alive by the time we die, we (the human population) will be sent to hell for eternity. I

interpreted this sermon as a push for Christ’s followers to give their life to him. This approach on

such a negative subject made me feel uneasy about my life’s decisions and guided me to reflect

on the approach that I have made towards God. When I discussed this sermon with my tuesday

Bible study group, I found that everyone knew about the concepts of heaven and hell, but did not

fully comprehend the actions that it takes to change your God-given path. To reiterate these

concepts, the group leaders, Mimi and Jenny, showed us the “1981 book” that describes the

journey to God. The process includes changing from spiritually dead to spiritually alive through

a special prayer to God. In this experience, one must give God full control of their lives and

commit to him every day.

Section 4, Inquiring into Place

You will conduct an on-site investigation of a location to discover its significance to the group.
This value may be functional, symbolic, or otherwise. This section might include prepared
questions and selected responses, descriptive observation notes, and a reflection on how the
objects that you’ve observed represent the community you are studying.

Part 1, Summarize the observation, including responses and notes (~200 words):

I attended a leadership conference at the Christ’s Community Church that was near
Arizona State University West campus. This conference went over the process of building our
church across the nation and connecting other peers to God’s grace. At this leadership meeting,
we praised Him through singing a collection of three songs that praised Jesus. These songs were
all about opening up our lives to God’s presence and encouraging Him to move in our lives. The
main idea of this meeting was planting a seed which Pastor Brian built onto when he had each
member grab a pumpkin seed from a bucket. He has us watch a video on the process of a
pumpkin seed growing roots and turning into a pumpkin. Then he told us to imagine those roots
being our connections to our peers. Through those roots we would spread God’s word and
expand our church. At the very end of this reflective time, Pastor Brian told us to choose what to
Initiation Rites of Hope Church 9

do with our seed, keep the word of God to ourselves and keep our seed, or distribute in into the
bucket of soil and give God’s love to others.

Part 2, Principle Quotes or Observations with an explanation of value:

4. “Reproduction = Be fruitful and multiply...” (Genesis 1:28) The significance of this is

demonstrates the purpose that God has for each of His followers to guide others to Him.

5. “Relationship = Let us make man...” (Genesis 1:26) The significance of this shows the

steps that we have to take in order to effectively follow God and be born again into His

kingdom of faith.

6. “God created you for His purposes” (Proverbs 16:4) This idea represents the intentions of

God in creating human beings, their purpose and movements that He causes.

Part 3, Reflect on the process, occurrences, and results of this research, including inferences
about the significance of your observations and interview responses. (~300 words):

This research was conducted on September 9th at a Sunday Sermon that Pastor Brian

lead. I received this information from taking notes on Pastor Brian’s content in his sermon that

day and writing his main points that he made. The big idea of this Sunday Sermon was the

concept of making the most of your dash. Our dash is represented by the tiniest amount of our

lives that is spent on Earth as a human being. This idea of our dash between life on Earth and

eternity in either Heaven or Hell is bound from the points made by multiple scriptures; Acts

13:36, Ecclesiastes 3:11, and Romans 1:18. In my notes from this sermon, Pastor Brian brought
Initiation Rites of Hope Church 10

up the 3 truths about ‘Why we’re here’. The first reason mentioned was the belief that “it is not

about you - it starts with God” This concept presented is supported by the scriptures from

Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 21:6 which go over God’s intentions and process of life. The second

truth was the belief that “God created you for His purposes” which is connected to the first truth

as well. Proverbs 16:4 reiterates His basis on what each of us is meant to do. We were created

specifically for His use, not for our selfish reasons. The last truth that Pastor Brian went over was

his stance that “God wants to reveal Himself to you”. This statement in itself illustrates God

trying to share Himself with the world but not being able to push through our wall of selfish

intentions. He cannot reach us without our desire for him.

Section 5, Inquiring into Activities/Events

You will conduct an on-site observation of an event or activity to discover its significance to the
group. Their value may be functional, symbolic, or otherwise. This section might include
prepared questions and selected responses, descriptive observation notes, and a reflection on how
the objects that you’ve observed represent the community you are studying.

Part 1, Summarize the observation, including responses and notes (~200 words):

On Tuesday, October 23rd I went to my connect group (Bible study) with four other

women that attend Hope church. At this meeting we started out by telling the other women what

our highs and lows of that present week were. I observed that most of us college students in

connect group were struggling to find a happy medium between work and social life and college
Initiation Rites of Hope Church 11

courses and homework. Three out of four of us expressed our hardship with the newness of a

college lifestyle versus the used-to concept of high school balancing. After this introduction for

the group, we proceeded to do our prayer for this Bible study Tuesday and start learning. On an

average Tuesday connect group, this would be the point where we would open our Red Books

written by Hope church, and follow its’ order of concepts. On this day though, we did not use it.

The leaders decided to change the routine and establish a start to Bible study by stating prior

knowledge of God and reading the Foundations book obedience to the Holy spirit section.

Part 2, Principle Quotes or Observations with an explanation of value:

7. “1. Acknowledge God’s word to you when you hear it, even if you don’t like what he

says”. The significance of this is discussing obedience to God and the simplicity of His

intentions. This first main idea restates the necessary steps to be considered obedient in

His eyes.

8. “2. Admit that you cannot perform His will in your own strength” This idea is significant

to represent how we cannot fully immerse ourselves in the faith in God without letting

Him having full control of our lives.

9. “Ask the Lord to give you His strength”. The significance of this is shown through the act

of surrendering your life to Christ. By giving your life to Christ, you are able to gain His

strength.
Initiation Rites of Hope Church 12

Part 3, Reflect on the process, occurrences, and results of this research, including inferences
about the significance of your observations and interview responses. (~300 words):

Through this process of being reminded of God’s purposes and also relearning the steps I have to
take to follow Him, I observed that most of the current college women in my connect group has
relatively close experiences with growth towards God throughout childhood. I inferred that of all
of our different experiences, the churches that we each went to throughout our lives each
maintain simar standard beliefs about the basics of our religion. Found that we all understood
the basics of Jesus’ birth, the meaning of holidays, and the importance of following Him. when it
came to the concept of baptism, each woman had a differing understanding of what baptism
does. I grew up thinking it was a rite of passage and once you reach a certain age you get
baptized to show your dedication to the church. Talli believed that baptism was a way to be born
again and connect to God. After each lady describing what they thought baptism was, the leaders
read from the Foundations book to identify the connection between baptism and growth; baptism
is a way for you to give your life to God and cut yourself away from your past sins, no matter
how extensive the damage. Seeing that I will be getting baptized on November 4th, I asked how
else we can be saved by God and was told the four ways described in the Bible; repent, get
baptized, receive the Holy Spirit, and be saved by the Lord.

Section 6, Inquiring into People/Person

You will conduct an interview and/or survey of people representative of the group you are
researching. Their value may be functional, symbolic, or otherwise. This section might include
prepared questions and selected responses, descriptive observation notes, and a reflection on how
the objects that you’ve observed represent the community you are studying.

Part 1, Summarize the observation, including responses and notes (~200 words):

In my most recent experience of a baptism Bible study group on Tuesday October 23rd, I
found that my values growing up are relative to what the Ten Commandments state. As a kid, I
decided to save myself for marriage, never to consume alcohol, and stay loyal to my parental
figures. I found that the Foundations book is specifically dedicated to the process of becoming
baptized, something that my other experiences in Christianity were lacking. Hope church has a
system for the knowledge they want their followers to understand, they provide special materials
to further the connection that each member has with God. It is almost a program within a
program, they include every member in a Bible study or connect group to build connections with
other members. Then, each group discusses concepts in the Bible to understand them and have
the ability to build more groups off of that basic knowledge. From one group of newbies stems
multiple groups teaching new members and then we have another venue for learning about God.
This meeting about baptism visualized God’s process of expansion across the world.
Initiation Rites of Hope Church 13

Part 2, Principle Quotes or Observations with an explanation of value:

10. “The word baptize comes from the Greek language and means to dip to plunge, to

immerse” The significance of this is to explain the meaning behind why we perform

baptism and what water baptism symbolizes

11. “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism...” (Romans 6:3-11) The

significance of this is to describe the significance of baptism in water and the process of

repenting for past sin.

12. “Before something can be buried, it must be dead” The significance of this concept is

showing how in order to be baptized in the name of the Lord we must be willing to bury

our old selves in the water and be reborn again.

Part 3, Reflect on the process, occurrences, and results of this research, including inferences
about the significance of your observations and interview responses. (~300 words):

After going to this hour long baptism Bible study , I found that I had a stronger understanding of

what I knew from childhood that was right and what was altered from the Bible’s scriptures. I

knew a little about baptism but was surprised to learn about the circumcision that happens

between my old self and my born again body. When I become baptized Christ will cut my old

self from the born again self that I will have, repenting for my sin and being raised from my

spiritual death. I learned that rather than me cutting my old self away, Jesus will, causing me to

be raised up with Him through faith in the working God, who raised Him from the dead. I

learned that Colossians 2:11 talks about the cut made without hands to explain the spiritual

cutting away of sin that will happen during baptism. A man point that stuck in my head from our
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discussion of baptism was the phrase “If you do not bury your past, your past will bury you”. My

church leader Jenny mentioned that when I brought up my conflict with committing my life to

Jesus Christ and pursuing baptism. This phrase stuck with me during that baptism Bible study

and became heavy on my heart when it came to thinking about my commitment to the process of

giving my life to God. It talks about how if I don’t choose to bury my old self with its sin then it

will come back to control my life until I die.

Section 7, WP3 Proposal

The major outcomes that I found in my research was that most members I had

interviewed or listened to, had relatively similar experiences; most grew up in a Christian church,

went, never truly understood the teachings, and went because they were told to. None had a

personal connection with God and the ones that did, did based on convenience. I based all

responses on my starter question “Have you previously attended a church in Christianity? What

beliefs do you remember and still have from that time?” The research that I gained was mostly

based on Pastor Brian’s statements and main ideas from the weekly Sunday Sermons. I was able

to record one of my connect group Bible study sessions with Jenny, Talli, Mimi, and Tenisha. In

this session, I noticed that each woman had a past experience going to church with parents. None

of these women had ever converted to Christianity from another religion. The questions that I

formulated are important to conducting my research on the initiation rites of Christianity to see

how Hope church beliefs differentiate from other churches. My research is solely based on how

Hope church distinguishes themselves from what would be identified as the basics of

Christianity. I am trying to determine if this church has any beliefs or stances on the Bible that
Initiation Rites of Hope Church 15

have been altered from the standard concept of the Bible. So far, I have seen how Pastor Brian’s

personal bias on certain topics that are considered controversial in this day and age, have clouded

his judgment based on what the Bible states; for example gay marriage and abortion. There is a

scripture in the Holy Bible that states that we are not supposed to judge or we too will be judged.

I also observed that the attendees and members of Hope church consisted of college students

currently attending Arizona State University and past students. The demographic was strictly

based on students in college within the valley of Arizona. Given my research, I propose an essay

that will inform its audience about the role of Hope church in the religion of non-denominational

Christianity.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dzi9heW3GiBHWGvcM-MzlR1r-yxXSsQz

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1iL3WAveSpS92QZ6FdifEQJ1RbTm2ufq2

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VB4DoikASgYH7jJgOis8aEFXkGt7dKap

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1R7JILNrJI2B76RMABZKNXYm_XTYfZn0E

References

Input interviews in APA citation template from resources