Hope Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Rev. Rufus Smith IV (Senior Pastor, successor to founding Dr. Richard Craig Strickland)

Founded See website

Denomination EPC

Service Times Sunday morning (see website)

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.hopechurchmemphis.org

Pastor Credentials See website

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

EPC confessional — Westminster Standards, Trinitarian orthodox.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

EPC affirms inerrancy per denominational standards.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not detailed.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

EPC Reformed — sola fide, penal substitutionary atonement.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

EPC denomination permits ordination of women as teaching elders at the local-church level (unlike PCA which bars); Hope Church's specific practice not extracted — yellow pending verification.

EPC permits women teaching elders; Hope Church specific practice not confirmed — verify

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Elder-led plurality; Teaching Elders (pastors) + Ruling Elders elected for 3-year terms.

Strong

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

EPC churches default to Reformed expository preaching.

Strong

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Not detailed in fetched content.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

EPC is moderate Reformed; some EPC churches have adopted soft DEI language — verify in person.

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) — rubric yellow since EPC is confessional Reformed but permits women elders at local option; still substantially greener than mainline PCUSA.

Strong

Assessment

National directory entry — web-verified pastor, website, and Facebook. Visit website for full theological details.

#pca#memphis#tennessee#needs-review#denomination-corrected-2026-04-30

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

MAJOR correction: EPC not PCA. Website live domain is hopepres.com — directory should update. EPC permits women elders at local option — verify Hope Memphis policy specifically before final green. | [2026-04-30 denomination correction: Presbyterian (PCA) -> Presbyterian (EPC); reason: EPC (not PCA), Rev. Rufus Smith IV Senior Pastor]

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source hopechurchmemphis.org
[2] Live source hopepres.com
[3] Live source hopepres.com/elders
[4] Live source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Presbyterian_Church

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.