Late 1960s Olive Freeman, member of Oakland First Covenant Church and fourth-grade teacher at Lazear Elementary School in the Jingletown neighborhood of Oakland, reaches out to needy families among her students
1971-2 Olive starts Harbor House ministries using a donated house at 2728 E.10th St.; HH eventually becomes sponsored by the East Bay National Association of Evangelicals
1980s Harbor House develops into a multi-service community development organization; Bill Squires, Barbara Franzen, Dan Schmitz, and others get involved leading the Good News Club children’s ministry including many new refugee families arriving from Southeast Asia and settling in central Oakland
1988 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) starts its OaklandUP program; Celia Yeh (Pascual), Scott Loo, and Albert Hong are early participants
1989 Dan Schmitz moves into Oak Park Apartments
1990 Further IVCF alums arrive and move to/around Harbor House, including Nic Bekaert, Josh Horner, Yung Ouyang, and Brian Campbell
1992 Russell Jeung, Suzy Kim (Tran), Helen Shor, Rob Swift, Scott Loo, and Sharon Lane get involved with Harbor House and some move to the Oak Park neighborhood
1994 Others continue to get involved and some also move to the neighborhood; “Oaks” ministry starts (1/18/94?) led by Nic Bekaert, Brian Campbell, Helen Shor, and Scott Loo; there are later explorations into starting a church to disciple Harbor House youth by Olive Freeman, Bill & Cathy Squires, Barbara Franzen, Maria Crane, Pastor Gloria Solomon, Yung Ouyang, and Nic Bekaert
1995 Josh (Kaufman) Horner joins the church planting group and becomes its leader
1996 “New Hope East Oakland Fellowship” (NH) organized, originally with Vineyard Christian Fellowship connections; first public gathering Feb. 25; first baptisms take place (Sarah Squires, Viet Tran, Ky Luu, at Alameda Beach)
1997 Bill & Cathy become the first NH homeowners in the neighborhood; first NH wedding takes place (Nic and Maurine [Hart] Bekaert)
1998 NH incorporates; Dan Schmitz and Bill Squires succeed Josh Horner as NH pastors; Oak Park Apartment lawsuit initiated
1999 NH affiliates with the Evangelical Covenant denomination; continues to follow a “cell church” strategy of mostly meeting as small groups in individual homes and all coming together once a month for a Celebration worship service
2000 Oak Park apartment lawsuit won
2003 Purchase, renovation, and expansion of 2626 E. 16th property completed, funded in part by individuals’ proceeds from the lawsuit and donations from Mustard Seed Preschool/Berkeley Covenant Church and others; Little Sprouts Preschool starts
2004 Easter Sunday: Ten baptisms, all of Southeast Asian Americans with roots in the NH community
2005 Youth basketball ministry started & led by Lou Kim Tran and Pin Chou
2006 Weekly Sunday worship at Youth Employment Partnership (YEP) starts; explored Southeast Asian American expressions of worship via the “New Urban Voices” grant project
2009 Explored hip hop music and culture via Young Urban Voices grant project, including teaching visit from Asylumz and Art Nites
2011 Neighborhood Tutoring ministry starts with Servant Partner interns; exploration of responses to human trafficking, commercially sexually exploited minors, and prostitution on International Blvd
2013 Youth Minister José Durante fatally injured in a hit-and-run accident outside a NH gathering Sept. 20; several longtime NH members depart over differences over strategy and leadership
2014 First annual church retreat at Little Basin site (former NH retreat sites: Quaker Center, Redwood Glen, Mission Springs); Black Lives Matter spreads nationally and many NHers get involved
2016 Debates at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship affect numerous IVCF-affiliated NHers; national elections polarize communities and affect many NHers; initial NH-YEP program partnership effort starts
2017 NH office moved to YEP; new connections made to nearby Volunteers of American re-entry facility; growing homelessness crisis spreads near YEP and across Oakland
2018 New monthly shower ministry for unhoused neighbors
2019 Food service ministry to Turning Point transitional emergency housing; “True Home” worship renewal Calvin Grant Project begins exploring embodiment and postcolonial spirituality; sister church relationship with 23rd Ave. Church of God develops into periodic joint Sunday worship services and community outreach projects
2020 COVID-19 leads to weekly Sunday Zoom worship starting in the spring; church office moves to 23rd Ave. Church of God
