In 1980, Jay and Fayma Humphrey, home missionaries from Elysian, MN, helped to start new church work in Elysian, Janesville, Waseca, LeSueur, and Mankato. The work in Mankato began at the request of Dave and Cathy Marshall, transplants from Illinois looking for a Southern Baptist church. Along with them, Jay was able to reach a number of others in the Mankato area, several from contacts in Alcoholics Anonymous. The work was at that time called the Mankato Southern Baptist Chapel. They began meeting for Bible study and had just begun meeting on Sunday mornings when Mike and Carolyn Miller were called to pastor the new work in September, 1981. At that time they were meeting in the downtown YWCA and held Sunday School and worship services.

One exciting development in those early days was the presence of Mike Purple at Mankato State University campus. Mike was a 2nd year student worker with the Home Mission Board and did a great job on campus and also in bringing students into the church. As the church slowly grew, the emphasis was on outreach and member development. In addition, a number of international students came to the church from countries like Nigeria, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Kenya.

In the spring of 1983, a significant group of college students suddenly began attending the services, causing the church to outgrow the living room of the YWCA. In the summer of 1983, the church looked for other locations to meet and finally was offered the facilities at Woodland Hill Funeral Home. The group met there for one year, rent free. The funeral director picked up students at MSU in his limousine, classes were held all over the building, including in the casket room, visiting rooms, and in the mausoleum. Though it sounds morbid, it worked well and there was surprising growth in that year. In the fall of 1983, the church constituted as Hope Baptist Church. During this period the church looked for property around Mankato and finally purchased three acres for $40,000 on the hilltop south of Glenwood Cemetery. In the fall of 1984, the church moved next to its property by renting the Mankato Seventh-Day Adventist Building for Sunday morning services. Pastor Bill Cook of the Adventist church was helpful in working out the arrangements for renting until the church would be built.

The church had gone through a complete turnover in members by the time it moved to the Adventist building. Developing leaders was a constant challenge due to the turnover, but the congregation experienced healthy growth. During that period, Rick Mauderer, a MSU student, began leading the music in worship services and was a catalyst for more spirited worship and the gathering of additional musicians.

In January, 1987, the Miller’s were appointed to be missionaries with the Foreign Mission Board to the island of Taiwan. Also in January, 1987, the church voted to construct a church building the following summer. The building program was truly a miracle and testimony to the commitment Southern Baptists have to missions. From 1986-1987, the church received over $90,000 for materials for the building. In addition, four work groups helped erect and complete the building, including a group of 80 from Northern Alabama and groups from Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas. Nolan and Lorraine Ashabranner of Texas served as the project coordinators, living on site in a small motor home. KEYC-TV and the newspapers gave major coverage when the Alabama group built, wired, roofed, and hung sheet rock---all in the first week! Many likened it to an old-fashioned barn raising. The church was certified for occupancy in October.

That summer, the Miller’s left Hope to serve in Taiwan. John Greenway served as interim pastor as the church sought a new pastor. That search led them to Rick and Dorothy Monds, who began to pastor in January, 1988. Attendance for worship services at that time ranged from sixty to eighty people. It became apparent that different agendas were operating in the church. About half of the congregation was of a charismatic persuasion and the other half was of a non-charismatic persuasion. Though the church did not experience a split, most of the families of the Charismatic persuasion had left by 1992.

During Mond’s tenure at Hope, two home fellowship groups met to focus on evangelism, fellowship and Christian growth. Evangelism strategies included the use of the "Jesus" video, prayer walking, and continued to do summer outreach activities like Vacation Bible School and Backyard Bible Clubs. Several adults and children were saved over the years. Some became members of Hope Baptist Church while others became active in their Lutheran Churches in which they grew up. The church baptized 3 to 5 people each year (about 10% of the number of the average worship attendance each year). Christian growth and renewal was enhanced by offering programs like Experiencing God, Fresh Encounter, and Total Church life. In addition, the church made attempts to work with Christian organizations on the MSU campus.

In November, 1995, Rick and Dorothy Monds left Hope after nearly eight years to pastor a church in East Texas. A five member search committee consisting of David Carlson, Charlie Johnson, Roberta Olson, Don Pepper, and Rebecca Allen was selected. During the interim period, Jim Roettger, David Carlson, and Charlie Johnson did the bulk of the preaching. The church continued to minister in the community, including starting a Single Parent’s Night Out ministry, doing an inner city project in Minneapolis, and offering a wonderful Vacation Bible School.

In August, 1996, the church called Mike and Carolyn Miller to serve for a second time as pastor. A number of developments took place after 1996. The church instituted a membership class called Starting Point. It revised the constitution and bylaws of the church, developed a mission statement and instituted a new ministry organization. The church added its first staff position in May, 1999 when Dale and Janelle Johnson moved from Texas to serve as associate pastor. They left to pastor in Kansas in April, 2001. The church continued to be primarily a younger congregation, but was greatly blessed by the arrival of a number of older (45 & up) people to the congregation.

Hope’s utilized special events targeted to the community such as Fun on the 4^th of July. Fun on the 4^th offered a prelude of food, games, and music before the annual fireworks show at the campus. Youth groups from Louisiana and Texas helped a couple of times with Fun on the 4^th. Another tradition that developed was the fall Harvest Party, an alternative to Halloween. Hope also had softball teams in the community league that gave the church exposure. Recently, the church has worked with area organizations in a family-oriented Mardi Gras celebration.

In addition to ministry in the community, Hope continued its tradition of missions involvement. In the summer of 1997, mission work began in LeCenter and a group of Sudanese led by Pastor John Bakou began worshipping at the church in 1999. In addition, mission trips were done in 2000 to Wisconsin and in 2001 to Winnipeg, Canada.

In March, 2002, Mike and Carolyn Miller were appointed to serve again as missionaries to Taiwan. A five member search committee consisting of Vicki Best, Jeff Chambers, David Hawco, Tom Jackson, and Kerri Morrow was selected. During the interim period, Gary Creech, Allan Ellison, Doug Gifford, Steve Melvin, and Russell Thornburg did the bulk of the preaching. The church continued to minister to the community, through the "Fun on the 4^th" event in July, Vacation Bible School in the summer, and a Harvest Party in the fall.

Jon Campbell, along with his wife Lorri and children came to Hope in March 2003 as Hope’s next Pastor. During his tenure, the church experienced growth at times but saw many people leave for various reasons. The church continued on with many of its activities but there was great growth in the VBS program as well as the "Fun on the 4^th" event. Various other outreach activities were used to help reach our community. The church was also able to support and encourage people on short-term mission trips to Taiwan in helping Mike and Carolyn Miller.

In 2004, the church officially adopted as part of its constitution the "2000 Baptist Faith and Message". A discipleship program for the church was implemented at the beginning of 2005. A high percentage of the congregation attended numerous classes as part of this program. A Wednesday night children’s program was started in the fall of 2005 called "Treasure Seekers" based on curriculum from Children Desiring God. In addition to teaching, the program also incorporated singing and games. The "Frontline" youth group was also started through the leadership of Tiffnie Jackson and it has provided the youth with solid, Biblical discipleship training. This group saw much growth in attendance which came primarily from youth outside of Hope.

In 2005, the church also changed its organizational structure. The church incorporated an Elder board (previously called "Leadership Team") and also added a Deacon Board. In the fall of 2007, the church changed its purpose statement and added a vision statement and a list of core values.

In December 2008, Jon Campbell resigned and left Hope in order to pursue a PhD degree at Southeastern Seminary in North Carolina. A five-member search committee consisting of Phil Carlson, Becky Gilbertson, Tom Jackson, Kerri Morrow, and Dan Vance was selected. The committee searched and sorted through hundreds of resumes, prayed fervently, and spent many hours to determine the next man who will lead the church in fulfilling its purpose and vision. During the interim period, the church members continued to be active in small group bible studies, whole church activities, and other events in support of the church’s purpose and vision.

In June 2009, the church called Michael Indorf to serve as its next pastor. Now a new chapter of ministry opens for Pastor Michael, as he comes to Hope Baptist Church in Mankato with his wife Bonnie and their two youngest children, Matthew and Deborah. Let us join Michael in praying that God will give him grace to faithfully preach God’s word, proclaim God’s gospel, and lead God’s people.