A Multi-Ethnic Family on North Kirby Street
Hope in the Valley Baptist Church sits on North Kirby Street in Hemet, California, where it serves as a multi-ethnic, inter-generational congregation where families from many religious backgrounds, including none at all, find a place to belong. The church's motto - "The Gospel: Believe it. Live it. Share it." - frames its entire ministry around helping neighbors near and far experience the good things God intends for them. As a cooperating church with the Southern Baptist Convention, Hope in the Valley pairs its commitment to historic Baptist beliefs with a busy calendar of ministries that serves the San Jacinto Valley in both English and Spanish.
Sunday Mornings at HVBC
Sunday is the heart of the week at Hope in the Valley. Two English-language worship services fill the Worship Center at 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM, and a Spanish-language service is held simultaneously at 11:00 AM in the Fellowship Hall. Between the two English services, from 9:30 to 10:30 AM, Sunday School classes meet for every age group, and a staffed library in Room 221 is open from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM.
For first-time visitors, the spacious parking lot is monitored by a friendly parking security crew, and the church is clear about dress: "What's in your heart is more important to us than what you wear." Suits or shorts, both are welcome. Services typically run between one hour and one hour fifteen minutes. Visitors are not asked to stand, raise a hand, or give money. The offering is reserved for those committed to the HVBC family, and the Welcome Center in the lobby offers a small reminder of the visit afterward. Services are livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube, and recordings of recent sermons are kept in an online video library.
Children's Ministry
Hope in the Valley invests heavily in its youngest members. Nursery care is available during both Sunday services for babies through four-year-olds, where staff plant gospel seeds by helping little ones love and trust in Jesus. All nursery and children's classrooms sit in the main hallway of the Worship Center, just past the lobby and main sanctuary doors.
Children's Church meets during the 11:00 AM service in Room 223. Here, kindergarten through fifth-grade students hear the same sermon their parents hear, but at their own level, and reinforce it with crafts and activities. Jennifer Urias serves as the church's Children's Ministry Director and is also involved in AWANA, Sunday School, and the puppet ministry.
AWANA, the international Scripture-memorization program, takes over Wednesday evenings from September through May at the Game Square. Designed for children ages three through high school, AWANA combines Bible teaching, games, and discipleship aimed at helping kids know, love, and follow Jesus Christ.
Vacation Bible School rounds out the summer ministry calendar. Each year, VBS brings a week of Bible lessons, energetic worship, creative crafts, games, and snacks for children ages three through sixth grade. The most recent program, "Illumination Station," invited kids to discover how God's truth brings light into their lives.
Youth
Middle and high school students find their home at HVBC through a strong youth ministry led by Pastor Miles Hansen, who studied for several years at Gateway Seminary for his Masters in Theology. He and his wife Jeana are parents to Simon and Soren.
The High School Youth Group meets every Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 PM in Room 213, where students enjoy games, hangouts, deep Bible study, and heart-to-heart small groups. Sunday School is offered separately for junior high boys, junior high girls, and high school students.
The summer highlight is X-Treme Camp, held each July at Verdugo Pines Bible Camp. Students who have completed sixth grade through twelfth grade spend a week diving into God's word, worship, games, and fellowship, with transportation, meals, cabin lodging, and a camp t-shirt all included.
Men, Women, and Marriage
Hope in the Valley offers rich ministry pathways for adults at every stage of life.
For men, the calendar centers on three anchors: a monthly Men's Breakfast held on the second Saturday at 8:00 AM in the lobby, with great food, fellowship, and a guest speaker; Band of Brothers, a Tuesday-evening men's Bible study at 6:30 PM in the lobby; and an annual Men's Retreat at Victory Ranch. The most recent retreat, themed "Faith of a Mustard Seed" with guest speaker Pastor Mike Levitsky, welcomed men of all ages for a weekend of teaching, worship, and recreation. Mighty Men rounds out the ministry with service projects, church events, and outreach that build up men and their families.
For women, HVBC offers TEA Talk ladies' Bible study on Tuesdays at 6:30 PM in Room 124, plus a Ladies Bible Study on Wednesdays at 10:30 AM and 5:45 PM in Room 121. Happy Hands Crafters and Quilters meet on the first and third Mondays and Thursdays from 10:00 AM to noon, bringing sack lunches and working on personal craft projects in community. Secret Sisters provides a year-long encouragement ministry through a secret gift exchange and prayer. The women's calendar also includes the Women's Tea, periodic retreats, and a Women's Conference. The 2025 Women's Retreat, with guest speaker Becky Fant, offered tri-tip dinner, horseback riding, crafts, and reflection time away.
Marriage ministry takes couples away together each fall for the annual Marriage Retreat. The most recent retreat, set at Silver Pines Lodge in Idyllwild, offered a relaxing weekend of meaningful sessions, fellowship, and time away, with limited spaces available.
Mid-Week and Bible Study
Wednesday evenings bring the church family back together. From 5:30 to 7:30 PM, the Game Square fills with AWANA children while the High School Youth Group fills Room 213. A Mid-Week Service launches the season at 6:00 PM in the Worship Center, with worship, biblical encouragement, and fellowship. Three adult Bible studies meet simultaneously: Bible in One Year in Room 115, a co-ed class working through Scripture from Genesis to Revelation; and the General Adult Bible Study in Room 121, led by John Patterson, focused on understanding who we are in Christ.
Tuesday evenings include GriefShare at 6:00 PM in Room 122, TEA Talk ladies' Bible study at 6:30 PM in Room 124, and Band of Brothers men's Bible study at 6:30 PM in the lobby. Mondays start the week with Prayer for Revival in the Worship Center from 8:00 to 10:00 AM. Happy Hands Quilters gather at 10:00 AM on the first and third Mondays in Room 220.
Spanish Language Ministry
Hope in the Valley operates a thriving parallel ministry in Spanish, called Esperanza en el Valle. Pastor Santos Gonzalez leads the Spanish Language Ministry with zeal and a deep love of God. An 11:00 AM Spanish service meets every Sunday in person in the Fellowship Hall, and a Spanish Bible Study gathers on Thursdays from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall as well. The Spanish ministry has been a church-planting force in its own right, having planted several churches around the world.
Worship, Drama, and Puppets
The arts have a strong place at HVBC. Worship Pastor Jonathan Beatty, a California Baptist University graduate in applied theology, leads the music ministry and is passionate about bringing people together across life experience and culture to worship God in unity. He and his wife Desiree live in Hemet with their son.
For those drawn to drama, Nancy Lopez directs the Drama Team, a group of godly men and women serving the Lord through words and physical illustration. The team welcomes people of all experience levels. The Eyes That 'C' Puppet Team, founded and led by Ministry Coordinator Emma Brummett, has been bringing joyful service to the church for many years. Both drama and puppets are woven into the church's worship services and special events.
Celebrate Recovery and GriefShare
Hope in the Valley runs two Christ-centered care ministries to walk alongside people through some of life's heaviest burdens.
Celebrate Recovery gathers Fridays at 6:30 PM in Room 124 for anyone experiencing hurts, habits, or hang-ups, whether from past abuse, family dysfunction, addiction, anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem. The program offers the tools and relationships needed to work through brokenness, with no prerequisite of church attendance required. A separate Thursday gathering in Room 222 is currently on hiatus.
GriefShare meets Tuesdays from 6:00 to 7:30 PM in Room 122, providing a friendly, caring group of people for those grieving the loss of someone they love. The program walks participants through one of life's most difficult experiences with a Biblical framework of healing.
Outreach and Community Events
HVBC opens its campus and its calendar to the surrounding Hemet and San Jacinto community. The Evangelism Team exists specifically to deliver the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the area in a way they can understand and respond to.
Signature community events include Round Up @ Hope, a free Western-themed afternoon with live music, food, games, a waterslide, kids' activities, and giveaways; Trunk or Treat, a safe, candy-filled alternative to door-to-door trick-or-treating with creatively decorated trunks; Drive-Up Prayer, where a prayer team meets drivers in the parking lot to pray without anyone needing to leave their vehicle; and Service Day, monthly workdays to beautify and care for the church campus.
Other recurring events include Community Nights of Worship and Prayer, hosted in rotation with other local churches; Family Fun Nights; Nerf and Nachos Nights; Family Movie Nights; Fraud Prevention Classes; All Church Prayer gatherings; and Ice Cream Sundae Sundays between services, with proceeds going to send students to summer camp. The congregation partners with Operation Christmas Child each fall.
Missions Beyond the Valley
Hope in the Valley is committed to taking the gospel well beyond its own community. As part of the Southern Baptist Convention, the church contributes to the International Mission Board, which sends missionaries around the world, and partners with individual missionaries who share the same calling.
The church has adopted an unreached, unengaged people group located in Africa, a commitment that has involved years of research, strategy, and short-term missions teams. Locally and globally, HVBC has joined other churches in planting new congregations, and the Spanish Language Ministry has planted several churches around the world.
Every summer, the whole church is invited to participate in an annual missions trip to Mexico, partnering with various ministry programs over the years. Members who cannot travel can give through the online portal, the in-person offering to the Harry Tuchfarber general mission fund, or through specific offerings such as Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong, and the California Missions Offering.
What We Believe
Hope in the Valley holds to the historic Christian faith as expressed in its statement of belief. There is one living and true God, eternal and triune, who reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit without division of nature, essence, or being. God the Father reigns with providential care over His universe. God the Son, Jesus Christ, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and made provision for the redemption of men from sin through His substitutionary death on the cross. The Holy Spirit is fully divine, exalts Christ, convicts of sin, and empowers believers and the church for worship, evangelism, and service.
The church holds that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man - totally true and trustworthy, with God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter.
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The ordinances of the local church are two: baptism by immersion of the believer following salvation, and the Lord's Supper as a memorial of Christ's atoning death until He comes.
The church teaches that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
Pastoral Leadership and the Road Ahead
The pastoral team is led by Dr. Dale Garland, a graduate of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (now Gateway Seminary), who has pastored in California for more than 25 years. He leads, encourages, and strengthens Christian men and women as they reach new levels in their relationship with Jesus Christ. He and his wife Susan have four children.
Pastor Santos Gonzalez leads the Spanish Language Ministry. Pastor Miles Hansen serves as Assistant Pastor and Youth Pastor, and the congregation has been working through the process of his becoming the next Lead Pastor following Pastor Dale's eventual retirement. Pastor Jonathan Beatty leads the music ministry as Worship Pastor. Emma Brummett serves as Ministry Coordinator and director of the Eyes That 'C' Puppet Team. The church's spiritual heritage is also preserved through two published prayer journals from a previous pastor, Johnnie Patterson, linked from the site.
The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, closed for lunch from 12:00 to 1:00 PM, and Friday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Visitors and members can reach the church at (951) 487-8830 or hvbchurch@hvbchurch.com, and giving is available online.