The history of Hope Community Church is a story about a valley and a mountain and the God who is hope and light in and over it all. It is about people, motivated by love, serving their community and seeking good for their neighbors.

In Shades Valley, just southeast of the city that would soon be Birmingham, AL, W.S. McElwain built Cahaba Iron Works. By 1873, the Irondale furnace shut down, but the people living nearby and the name remained. The people of the McElwain community pivoted to new occupations farming the land, opening a dairy. As needs developed, they worked together to meet them. Children needed education, so a school was established. Christians in the area needed a place to meet, so they pooled their resources and built a small church house.

On December 27, 1895, before the building was furnished, a small group of people - full of faith and hope - gathered for the first official meeting of McElwain Baptist Church.

From its practical and humble beginnings, McElwain Baptist Church was consistently led by its volunteer members between and alongside preachers and pastors. Together, they were committed to worship God, study the Bible, and care for people. Members led the congregation in hymns long before pianos could be purchased or players could be paid. Sunday school teachers faithfully prepared lessons for children and adults alike. In those early days, care for the neighbors looked like wagon rides to church, collecting clothes to be renewed and remade, sponsoring education for those who could not afford it, inviting Howard College students to preach, and purchasing Christmas presents for area children.

As the area around Birmingham grew, the community of McElwain did too. McElwain, like other suburban areas, saw the surrounding woods transformed quickly into neighborhoods after World War II as many moved away from the city and into larger homes. Not surprisingly, the membership of the church reflected these circumstances. Continuing through the 1960s, membership increased as babies were born and new neighbors were welcomed almost constantly. In order to accommodate such growth, the church built new buildings and hired more staff. They started new programs and found new ways to serve the immediate and surrounding communities. They kept supporting the advance of the gospel globally. 

Overall, the decades following this period of rapid growth were marked by change inside and outside the church. Internally, families with young children became couples with empty nests.  With each transition in ministerial leadership, the congregation shifted. With each shift, differences would rise to the surface. Externally, the neighborhoods intersecting at the church campus were evolving as well. The population nearby grew more diverse in many ways - race, age, marital status, and occupation to name a few. With such fluctuations, it is not surprising that the number of people gathering as a church waxed and waned. Yet, in this era, McElwain’s care for the community continued as they supported the senior adult, the single parent, and the refugee. The church, anchored by hope in Jesus and knowing the gospel is for all, moved forward even when smaller in number. 

When changes came again to the valley, some slowly and some suddenly, God led the remaining group of people - full of faith and hope – to look to Him and up the mountain.

Just 8 miles southwest and up the mountain, Shades Mountain Baptist Church with its own century-long history of being a light on a hill, had grown from Bible lessons under a shade tree in 1907 to a congregation of thousands at the edge of Vestavia and Hoover.

Like McElwain, Shades desired to see people transformed by the love of God and the person of Jesus across the country and around the globe. These parallel visions made Shades a natural fit to come alongside and support McElwain. On November 1, 2020, Shades Mountain Baptist Church adopted McElwain Baptist Church. Characteristic of adoption, McElwain Baptist church adopted a new name. This name echoes the church’s historic vision running back to 1895 while casting that vision into the future.

McElwain Baptist Church is now Hope Community Church. We are the same loving congregation with new leadership and a renewed vision to serve this community. At Hope, you will find imperfect people with imperfect histories redeemed by Jesus’s death and resurrection. This is our hope, and we long for you to know the God who has remained constant since the beginning and who makes all things new.