About New Hope Grimes
Our Story
Over the years, God has blessed New Hope, causing it to grow into a thriving, vibrant church body.
New Hope Assembly was founded by Pastor James Weaver and his wife, Susan. Pastor Weaver had been asked by the Iowa District of the Assemblies of God to start a church in Urbandale. A core group of 17 individuals from Berean Assembly of God in Pleasant Hill (our mother church) launched New Hope on Sunday, October 7, 1990.
As our church continues to expand, we are excited about the vision for New Hope Grimes — a permanent campus where we can gather, serve our city, and see lives transformed. We believe God is doing something special in Grimes, and we can’t wait to step into all He has in store for this new chapter.
Our Pastoral Team
Zach & Meryn Hill
Campus Pastor & Worship Pastor
Pastor Zach Hill is a graduate of North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has been serving in ministry at New Hope since 2015. He and his wife, Meryn, serve at the Grimes campus—Zach as campus pastor and Meryn as worship pastor. They are parents to three boys, soon to be four, and enjoy spending quality time together as a family.
- Hobbies: Golfing, camping, hunting, and anything with family
- Music: MBL Worship, Forrest Frank, LANY
- Favorite Restaurant: St. Kilda, TNT’s
- Sports Teams: Detroit Lions
- Dream Vacation: Europe
Emma Appleby
Kids Pastor
Emma began attending New Hope with her family as a high school student in 2016, and it has been her favorite place in the world ever since. She graduated from North Central University in 2023 with a degree in Children, Youth and Family Studies, then served as a children’s pastor at a church in central Minnesota before joining staff at New Hope in 2025. Emma is passionate about building a foundation of truth for the next generation and creating a space where they can encounter Jesus!
- Hobbies: Hanging out with friends and family, anything creative, playing music/leading worship, thrift shopping, reading, and spontaneous adventures of any variety!
- Music: Jesus Image, MBL Worship, Bethel Music, classical, Gable Price & Friends, indie folk rock, and just about anything from the ʼ70s or ʼ80s
- Favorite Restaurant: Tupelo Honey, HomeGrown, St. Kilda, Main Street Cafe, Chipotle
- Dream Vacation: I would love to take a few weeks to drive down the Pacific Coast all the way to Mexico, camping and surfing along the way! Also — Appleby, England.
Jeff Hill
Senior Pastor
Pastor Jeff and his wife, Jeanne, are both graduates of Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. Jeff’s degree is in biblical studies; Jeanne’s is in accounting. They have five children.
- Hobbies: Spending time with family and grilling.
- Favorite Music: My favorite genres are worship and smooth jazz. My favorite artists are Elevation and Gateway Worship, Euge Groove, and Wayman Tisdale.
- Favorite Restaurant: Agave Grill
- Favorite Sports Teams: Chicago Bulls
- Dream Vacation: European River Cruise
Our Core Values
Our Mission is to go to Heaven and take as many people with us as possible.
We live this out through our core values:
What We Believe
The Bible
We believe the Bible is God’s Word. It is accurate, authoritative, and applicable to our everyday lives.
One True God
There is one true God, The Creator of all things, who exists eternally in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (this is commonly known as the Trinity). The Lord Jesus Christ is both God and man and is the only one who can reconcile us to God.
Sin & Salvation
Though originally good, humanity chose to defy God and go its own way, a choice perpetuated in every person to this day. That sin separates us from God and prevents us from knowing Him personally. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, gave His life to pay the penalty for sin and restore our opportunity for a relationship with God. We can receive this by turning from our own way and trusting Christ as the Forgiver of our sin and Leader of our life. This begins a lifelong process of spiritual growth and maturity, by which we become closer to God and more like Jesus.
Baptism & Communion
We practice two ordinances which illustrate and demonstrate our faith in Jesus: Baptism by immersion in water as a public profession of personal faith in Christ, and Holy Communion (the Lord’s Supper) as a symbolic remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death for our salvation. You can learn more about baptism here.
The Holy SPirit
We believe God’s Spirit is active in the world today just as He was throughout the Bible. He empowers Jesus’ followers to spread His message, serve His purposes and reflect His character. The Holy Spirit also expresses Himself through healings, miracles, and other spiritual gifts.
The Church & Its Mission
The Church–the worldwide community of Christ’s followers–exists for the purpose of worshiping God, encouraging others, equipping people for ministry and spreading the message of Jesus around the world by all means, including ministries of love and compassion.
The Return of Jesus
Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead, ascended to heaven and will one day physically return to rid the world of evil and reign over a new heaven and earth. Ultimately, God will restore all things to His intended purpose and every person will face the truth about his/her life and forever live with the consequences, either fulfilled in eternal life with Christ or suffering an existence without Him.