Higher Hope Partnership with The Dominican Republic an Interview with Pastor
Mike Schooley by Ben Tobias
Pastor Mike Schooley is the founding pastor of the Higher Hope Church in Horseheads, NY. A few years ago, he contacted Global Reach about connecting with one of our international fields – a request we LOVE hearing! – and after talking with him about Higher Hope’s goals we put him in touch with Latino Ministries Directors Caleb & Christina Acosta. The Dominican Republic seemed like a perfect match! No one knew, of course, how COVID-19 was going to disrupt the world in 2020, so it was a tremendous blessing to see Higher Hope move forward in global mobilization. We’ve asked Pastor Mike to share some of his thoughts and the lessons he and the church have learned so far. Pastor Mike, please tell us some of your story at Higher Hope. When the church first got started, how did global mobilization fit into your plans? We started the church in 2006 in my home area of upstate NY. My wife and I previously had been with Chambersburg Church of God (now Grand Point Church) where we spent six years, but felt a call to return to our home area to reach people in upstate NY. Although it is a small town region, there is a great spiritual need here in NY. As we walked through the start of the church, we knew we wanted to be an Acts 1:8 church. We wanted to be witness in Jerusalem - we wanted to be a city on a hill here, serving, giving, and connecting with the needs and people of this area. Judea - we also wanted to care for ministries in the states. doing mission trips to NYC, work projects in NJ from the damage of the hurricanes, to Washington DC. We try to engage our young people in the power of in states missions because these trips are so powerful in our lives. Samaria - we wanted to make an impact in an area that is not like us. For us, we prayed that we could impact the city of Elmira - praying for a church plant, and doing a few things along the way to reach into the city and build relationships with people there. And also to the ENDS OF THE EARTH. So we wanted to be part of what God is doing around the world. From the first few years we prayed that we could support missionaries but also have a connection with a place overseas that we could really partner with and focus on fanning into flame what God was doing there. As we looked around at what other churches were doing, such as Exponential Church partnering with a sister church in Haiti and Grand Point Church partnering in different places as part of their mission, along with a few other churches as well, I was encouraged and challenged to continue to pray and look.
There are many different ways to engage cross-culturally, so what led you to focus on the Dominican Republic? One of our goals as a family is to take each of our kids when they become a junior or senior on an overseas mission trip. A few years ago, I was planning a trip for my son who loves baseball and connected with an organization in the Dominican Republic where we could play games, do baseball clinics, along with connecting with kids, feeding the hungry, and connecting with the local church. The Global Advocate 11
