# @hopewdm on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BqfECksgN_y
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/16339441-hopewdm-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/8f67f3ec0f.jpg
- **Posted:** 2018-11-22T14:06:34.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** HOPE (@HopeWDM) — https://gondola.cc/HopeWDM

## Caption

This must be the place. 
Nope, it’s not the semi-famous “this must be the place” wall painting outside RoCA (Restaurant on Court Avenue). It’s even better than that … it’s holy ground where God shows up, all the time, for a church called Hope. 
20+ years ago, I stood right here (see photo above) with Tom, a Hope charter member and deeply spiritual dude. Back then, this was a corn field, not a church building. It was Tom’s idea to walk this field together on that crisp fall afternoon in 1996 … and to pray. 
Our Hope Vision Team had been searching for months, all over West Des Moines, for a place to build. We were way past full, growing out of our new church facility (now Grace West) and building addition before we moved in. It wasn’t so much, “If you build it, people will come” … it was more like, “People have come, you better build it!” So, Tom and I walked and prayed over this 24-acre field on the corner of Ashworth & 74th (now Jordan Creek Parkway), and we both immediately felt God stirring our souls. This was our “field of dreams” … 
This must be the place. 
I called the real estate agent on the “Land for Sale” sign. He laughed and told me there’s no way a church could afford this land. Undaunted, Tom found out who owned the property, and invited him to worship. After the service, the land owner told me he couldn’t speak for his co-owners, but he would donate his portion (1/3) of the land to us for free. Just like that, as God would have it … 
This must be the place. 
Since then, God has rained down phenomenal blessings upon this holy ground. In this room where Hope gathers, God’s Spirit fills hearts, love changes the atmosphere, atheists become believers, miracles happen, and souls are saved. 
God’s plans for Hope have always been bigger than our dreams. We’re just along for the ride, and for that reason, it just keeps getting better. This room is holy ground for thousands, including me … 
This must be the place. 
#PiecesFromHope #ThankfulPieces
Mike Housholder
Senior Pastor

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## Tags

thankfulpieces, piecesfromhope

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