LEADERSHIP

Arundel Hope is Pastor of Ariel Bowen United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.  From June 2009 to June 2015, he pastored Laster Chapel United Methodist Church.  Rev. Hope was appointed by the North Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church to start a new congregation in the South Fulton area in 2003.  The new congregation called Oak of Moreh UMC started with 8 members in a small house in Fairburn, Georgia and grew to 102 members by the time it was merged with Laster Chapel. This church start was a vision of Rev. Hope while he was serving as Associate Director, Office of Church Development, North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has served as Senior Pastor, Grace UMC, Covington, GA and Barnesville Parish, Barnesville, GA, Youth Minister Ben Hill UMC and Student Assistant at Bowen UMC, Atlanta. Rev. Hope is a graduate of Morehouse College, Atlanta, Gammon Theological Seminary—ITC, 
Atlanta, where he earned the Master of Divinity with a concentration in Sociology of Religion and Community.

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In 1990, Rev Hope was ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church and in June 1992, he became an Elder in full connection in the North Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

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Throughout his career he has utilized his skills for the improvement of God’s community while serving both church and community. Since 2004, he has served on the Local School Advisory Council for Oak Knoll Elementary School and Board of Advisors for the Business and Technology Department for Creekside High School. He has also served on several other Boards including the Newton County Hospital Chaplaincy Advisory Board, Shepherds Gate Hospice and Newton County Habitat for Humanity.  Presently, Rev. Hope is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Pittsburgh Neighborhood Resident Leadership Team, Inc.  He has worked in conjunction with the Mayor of the City of Atlanta, City, County and State officials to address the challenges of inner-city communities such as homelessness, crime, education and economic development. In 2018, Rev. Hope was inducted into the Morehouse College, Martin Luther King International Chapel's Board of Preachers and in 2019 published his first book, On Broken Pieces.

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Rev. Hope has served on many Conference and District Committees, including Council on Finance and Administration, Commission on Religion and Race and the Board of Ordained Ministry. Rev. Hope has two children, Neva, and Malcolm.