About Us
In this Page:
Our Motto
"A people offering the truth and beauty of Jesus Christ"
Our Mission
We exist to serve and transform the Columbia community and beyond with the hope and beauty of Jesus Christ.
Our Vision
We believe that God has called us to be a diverse community of worshippers who, gripped by the gospel of grace, consistently reach out to bring hope and freedom to the diverse people of the Columbia area and beyond. As part of this vision, we desire to impact all who come (skeptic, seeker, or follower) to become free as they live as God's instrument of love, mercy, and justice. We are a church that loves and is committed to the Columbia area. We will always strive to welcome and include everyone who visits.
Our Values
Biblical
We joyfully embrace the authority and truth of the Bible. So we will strive to be faithful in sharing its truth and grace. Because our hope is in the Lord we will seek him in prayer on behalf of families, our neighbors, and our communities.
Incarnational
We will faithfully identify with our community in love. Jesus was sent into the world to identify with it. How did he identify? He identified by teaching, healing, restoring, and renewing those who he encountered in life. Our faith in Jesus allows us to radically pursue the expression of the Gospel in our homes, our neighborhoods, and in our city.
Communal
We will diligently build meaningful and transformative relationships. This is the expression of a life lived powerfully in the communal embrace of the Spirit. In community, we express the radical power of the Spirit of God through loving and honest relationships.
Reconciling
We will boldly pursue racial, cultural, gender, socioeconomic and generational reconciliation. For it is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we are thoroughly reconciled with God and with one another. Therefore, we will prioritize and invest our very lives to reconciliation that is empowered by the Gospel of Jesus Christ who has come to break down the dividing walls of all kinds of tensions and divisions.
Missonal
We will intentionally seek to plant racially and ethnically diverse and Gospel-centered churches in the Baltimore/Washington DC region.
Our Leadership
Irwyn Ince, Pastor
Irwyn Ince is the senior pastor of City of Hope Church. Irwyn and his wife Kim moved to Maryland from Brooklyn, NY in 1995, and have been residents of Columbia since 1997. The Ince family has been a part of the Presbyterian Church in American since 2002 when they joined Mount Zion Covenant Church in Bowie, MD. Irwyn served as a pastoral intern at Mount Zion as he completed his Master's degree at Reformed Theological Seminary, Washington. In 2006 Irwyn left his full time employment as a project engineering manager with Motorola to become the pastor of Mount Zion. In February 2007 Mount Zion merged with New Town Church to form City of Hope.
Irwyn enjoys spending time with his family, coaching youth football, and working out. He and Kim have four children, Jelani (15), Nabil (12), Zakiya (8), and Jeremiah (3).
Jeff Rickett, Co-Pastor
Jeff and Val Rickett have been part of the Presbyterian Church in America since 1992. In that year, they started attending Chapelgate Presbyterian Church in Howard County. In 1994, Jeff and Val moved to St. Louis, MO to attend Covenant Theological Seminary. While in St. Louis, they helped a multiracial core group to plant a church in the city.
Upon graduation, they returned to Chapelgate until 2001 where Jeff was Associate Pastor, specializing in small groups and pastoral care. He then served as the pastor of small groups at Broadneck Evangelical Presbyterian Church near Annapolis, MD until January 31, 2005. He came to Columbia to plant a multi-racial church.
Before being called to the pastoral ministry, Jeff served in the banking industry for nine years and Val taught 2nd grade for 12 years. Jeff enjoys playing tennis (he has a recurring and unrealistic dream of winning the US Tennis Open) running, wrestling with his children, and a good conversation with friends and acquaintances. Val enjoys reading, caring for her children, and hanging out with friends over a good cup of coffee.
Jeff and Val have two living children: Samuel (10) and Amanda Grace (9).
Martin Gallagher, Ruling Elder
Martin, his wife Laurie, and their son, Hugh, live in Arnold, MD. Before coming to City of Hope, they were members of Broadneck EP Church and Annapolis EP Church. Their ministry concerns tend toward family ministries, encouraging men, women and children to be reconciled through the love and grace of Christ. Martin writes scripture-based music, and enjoys spending time with his family. 
They are currently in the middle of simultaneously reading at least 15 books, all of which are interesting and worth finishing sometime in the next decade.
Martin works as a Senior Software Engineer in the Columbia area, and Laurie teaches for the Annapolis Classical Tutorial Service. Hugh (12), has yet to determine the course of his life and career, but is considering remaining 12 for the rest of his life.
David Horrocks, Ruling Elder
David and Amy Horrocks live in Ellicott City, where they are raising six children. They have attended City of Hope, and before that, Mt. Zion Presbyterian since 2002, when they moved to Maryland from Philadelphia. 
Married in 1991, David and Amy are both graduates of the University of Pennsylvania, where they met as members of the Tenth Presbyterian college union.
David holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and is a Senior Vice President with Erickson Retirement Communities. The whole family is involved in Christian Athletic Association sports leagues, where David coaches soccer and baseball.
Tom Miller, Ruling Elder
Tom and his wife, Alyson, live in Laurel, MD. Tom teaches math at
Laurel High School, and Alyson teaches history at MLK Middle School. They are both actively involved with student government, Bible club, and different sports at their respective schools.
They eagerly anticipate the arrival of their first child sometime in April.
After growing up in Illinois, Tom attended the University of Maryland, where he earned a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering and a Masters of Arts in Education. He met Alyson during his junior year of college and proposed to her nearly four years later. In their third year of marriage, they most enjoy reading, playing card/board games, and travelling during their long summer vacations.
Tom has been involved with City of Hope Church (and its predecessor, Mt Zion) since 1999, his sophomore year of college. He currently teaches youth Sunday School and helps lead a Community Care Small Group.
Leonard Simmons, Ruling Elder/Pastoral Intern
Leonard lives with his wife Theresa, daughter Victoria, and son Leonard, Jr. in
Suitland, MD. Leonard works as an Emergency Responder in the Washington area and Theresa is a High School teacher. Leonard is a graduate of Howard University and has been taking courses toward a Master of Arts Degree at the Reformed Theological Seminary to develop his Biblical teaching gifts. He is primarily interested in serving by teaching from a perspective which reveals how reformed Christian theology offers relevant answers to today's questions and appraisals of religion and ethics. Leonard and Theresa have served and participated in various ministries, some which include: Men and Women's Ministry, Prison Ministry, coordinating elements for worship service, Adult Bible Study and the Mission's Team.
Mark Samuel, Pastoral Intern
Mark and Laura Samuel met through their involvement with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at the University of Maryland. While in school, they both began attending a Mount Zion Covenant Church and became members. Shortly after graduating, Mark and Laura were married and started leading the church's youth ministry together. Mark also began his seminary education,
taking the first steps toward discerning a possible calling to
full time pastoral ministry. Now at City of Hope Church, Mark and Laura continue to co-lead the youth ministry (Youth Explosion) with Ronny Wahba and Tiffany Hogan. Mark is also serving as a pastoral intern.
Mark currently works as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill, and Laura teaches fifth grade at Forcey Christian Academy. Both enjoy the outdoors--camping, biking, and hiking. Mark is fond of reading fiction, and enjoys an occasional game of Settlers of Catan (a board game). Laura is an avid scrapbooker and enjoys spending time with children.