“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Lubbock is referred to as the “Hub City” because of its location and the fact that many towns on the South Plains make trips to Lubbock for various reasons. Some speculate that this name came about as a result of it being a “train hub” back in the era of train travel. Regardless, it still holds its name today.

Hope Lutheran Church and School is located in Lubbock and is a growing and thriving ministry in Area A. In the early 2000s, Hope attracted families from Farwell, TX, located close to the New Mexico border where Highways 60 from Amarillo and 84 from Lubbock converge (about 90 miles from Lubbock). Interestingly enough, it is named after the brothers who built the state capitol building located in Austin. They were compensated by a large area of land that became the XIT Ranch and made their home on the southwest corner of the ranch in what is now Farwell.

After years of being active members at Hope, Pastor Eric Hiner suggested several years ago that maybe it might be time to place a ministry in Farwell, located about 90 miles from Lubbock, that might serve them and the community. The seed was planted as was hope in God’s Spirit to guide the members at Hope and the families in Farwell.

The ministry started small with the families who made the trek to Lubbock for church each week, meeting once a month in the back of Michael and Donna Ratke’s local business, “Annie and Martha’s Artisan Bakery/Godfather’s Pizza.” After a period of time, the ministry sought a grant from the Texas District, and a number of Hope’s members who attended worship in Farwell participated in the Evangelist Training. To date, five members of the overall group in Farwell have gone through the training (about a quarter of all members at Hope have been certified in the Evangelist Ministry).

Recently, Hope Lubbock and its Farwell ministry brought in a family who had no church home. The family had a baby earlier in the year and had the first baptism from the Farwell ministry! Shortly after that, a young man who had not attended church and had never been baptized was baptized as a result of this ministry.

We give thanks to the hope God has given us through our Farwell ministry from Hope Lutheran Lubbock. We are thankful for the number of members trained in the Evangelist Ministry and for the newly baptized members of the body of Christ. God’s Spirit is truly at work!