About Us

About Hopelands Church

Hopelands church is a place to be transformed by the message of Jesus Christ – to receive, know, and share hope, birthed in the Central Highlands of QLD Australia.

Our name speaks of WHO we are and WHAT we desire to do: to share the message of hope found in Jesus Christ, to the lands in which we live.
Our name is a joyful, prophetic declaration that our church is an earthly place of belonging with Kingdom activation, for Jesus-centered impact and the advancement of the Kingdom of God.
The duplex of hopelands gives us a mirror to the concept of a spiritual world meeting our own.

In the same way that we are both body and spirit. A resultant dyad exists where one becomes inseparable from the other.

As such “Hopelands” is now treated as a single word, without a veil to keep them apart.

Core Purpose

Living out Kingdom-of-God realities bringing the hope of Jesus Christ to change lives, impact communities, and touch nations.

Our Tag Line – “As Above So Below”

Our tagline subtly taps into the adventurous spirit of our church’s pioneering heritage. Complementing the simplicity of our name by introducing depth and providing an indication of experience.

It speaks of the manifestation of a desired condition & effect—as citizens of Heaven, we desire to see tangible Kingdom-of-God realities (condition) unlocked in our earthly lives (effect).

‘Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what’s best – as above, so below’.

Matthew 6:9b-10 MSG

Hopelands Leadership

Tony and Helena Harrold

Tony and Helena Harrold

Lead Pastors

Tony and Helena are currently our Lead Pastors since July 2010.

Tony’s desire is that all Christians will grow into spiritual maturity so that they can be all that God desires of them and go forth and make disciples of all people.

Over the years Tony and Helena have served in various positions from youth leaders to small group and short course leaders to Sunday school teachers and leaders.

Tony and Helena have five children. In addition to their church commitments they operate a beef cattle business.

Pastor Helena also regularly leads the worship service, she has a real heart of worship. Tony is a Chartered Accountant (no longer practicing),Board Chairperson at Gems Christian Education (ECC & OnTrack College) and he and Helena are members of Ministers Fellowship International (MFI).

Ross & Lorraine Grierson

Ross & Lorraine Grierson

Pastor & Elders

Pastor Ross Grierson is on staff part time & oversees pastoral care, Hopelands Community Care and our Adult life groups and is a regular speaker in our Sunday services.

Ross & Lorraine are also Elders and are long standing members of the community and Hopelands Church – Ross is a long serving school chaplain and Lorraine is the founding principal of Emerald Christian College. Together they are valued members of the church and community, many call on them for wisdom and support.

David and Olga Kirk

David and Olga Kirk

Elders

Elders David and Olga are part of our group of founding members over 40 years ago. Olga was the Lead Pastor from 2000 to 2010 and continues to minister in the church today. David is a great source of knowledge concerning the Scriptures and is therefore a great Bible teacher. Together they are members of Ministers Fellowship International (MFI).

Sarah James

Sarah James

Hopelands Kids

Sarah leads our kids ministry team. A group of energetic adults and youth that run a dynamic kids program during our Sunday morning service. Sarah has a strong commitment to leading children in growing their faith and belief in Jesus, using her creative skills to develop an engaging program.

Guy and Sonia Burton

Guy and Sonia Burton

Elders

Elders Guy and Sonia have served within Hopelands Church for a number of years and have volunteered in many different areas in the church since they were young children. Guy also serves on the Board of Directors.

Robert Grierson

Robert Grierson

Missions Director

Robert & Doris are long serving members of Hopelands Church. In 2023 Robert was appointed as Hopelands Missions Director. Robert regularly keeps in touch with the various mission contacts of Hopelands Church so that church members stay informed and know how to best support them. Robert is a team leader within our Philippines outreach team.

The Bible and Salvation

  • We believe in the plenary-verbal inspiration of the accepted canon of Scriptures as originally given. The Scriptures are infallible, inerrant, and the sole and final authority for all matters of faith and conduct. (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:13).
  • We believe in the eternal Godhead who has revealed Himself as one God existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinguishable but indivisible. (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
  • We believe in the creation, test and fall of man as recorded in Genesis: his total spiritual depravity and inability to attain to divine righteousness. (Romans 5:12 -18).
  • We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of men, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, very God and very man. (Luke 1:26-35; 1 John 1:18; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6).
  • We believe Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day, and personally appeared unto His disciples. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 4:25).

God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

 
  • We believe in the bodily ascension of Jesus to Heaven, His exaltation, and personal, literal and bodily coming again, the second time for His Church. (John 14:2-3; I Thessalonians 4:13-18).
  • We believe in the salvation of sinners by grace, through repentance and faith in the perfect and sufficient work of Christ by which we obtain remission of sins. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 9:12,22; Romans 5:11).
  • We believe in the necessity of water baptism by immersion in the name of the Eternal Godhead in order to fulfill the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:34-36; Acts 19:1-6).
  • We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a real experience at, or subsequent to salvation, with the Scriptural evidence, namely speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. (Acts 2:1-4; Acts 8:14-17; Acts 10:44-46; Galatians 3:14 -15).

Heaven, Hell, Sin and the End Times

 
  • We believe in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit as enumerated in 1 Corinthians 12-14, as manifested in the early Church.
  • We believe in the Spirit-filled life, a life of separation from the world and perfecting in the fear of God as expressing the true Christians faith. (Ephesians 5:18;2 Corinthians 6:14; 7:1).
  • We believe in the healing of the body by divine power, or divine healing in its various aspects as practiced in the early Church. (Acts 4:30; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 12:9; James 5:14).
  • We believe in the table of the Lord, commonly called the Communion or the Lords Supper, for believers. (1 Corinthians 11:28-32; Matthew 26:26-28).
  • We believe in the reality and personality of the devil, and eternal judgment in the Lake of Fire for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:14-15).
  • We believe in eternal Life for believers (John 5:24; John 3:16) and eternal punishment for the unbelievers. (Mark 9:43-48; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:10-15).
  • We believe that there is one true universal Church, made up of genuine believers, but this one universal Church is also composed of many local churches in given localities. These churches are under the sovereign headship of the Lord Jesus Christ, exercising autonomous government under Him, administering all its local affairs and ministry, as well as the propagation of the Gospel. (Acts 15:22; Matthew 16:18; Matthew 18:15-20).
  • We believe that government is ordained of God, and the powers that be, are ordained as ministers of God to us for good. To resist the powers and the ordinances is to resist the ordinance of God. We are subject, not only for wraths sake but for conscience sake, rendering to all their dues, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour. We declare our loyalty to our government and its leaders, and will assist in every way possible consistent with our faith in the Scriptures as Christian citizens (Romans 13).