As a child, Mike Smith said he hated going to church. The son of a Baptist preacher, he did not have much choice.

“When I was old enough the first thing I did was run from it,” Smith said.

From the seventh grade on, Smith battled drug addiction, alcoholism and later an injury he sustained in the Navy that left him disabled.

When he returned to church years later, he found his struggles helped him to gain a fresh perspective that has guided his leadership as founding pastor to Hope Community Church for the past 18 years.

Smith and the congregation celebrated those 18 years of serving the Niles community Sunday, May 21. Several speakers talked about how the church had helped to impact their life, in honor of the anniversary. The church also celebrated with music.

“Along the way the church has grown like crazy,” Smith said. “I think part of that is just from being broken and [that I can begin] sympathizing with people that are generally hurting.”

Smith said he started the congregation in 1999 out of a garage in a house on Niles’ south side. Having outgrown the space and the next locations that preceded it, the congregation buckled down and bought 20 acres of land at 2390 Lake St. in 2002.

The church features a sanctuary, kitchen area, large classrooms and office spaces.

Looking back, Smith jokes that he did not think the location all the way through.

“We did something wrong here,” Smith said. “You never buy property out in the middle of a corn field.”

But if trends continue, that space might be just right for the church that has expanded quickly in 18 years. The space now serves more than 1,000 parishioners. One of those congregation members is Smith’s father, Ron Smith.

Ron now credits Smith’s earlier struggles as helping him to have a connection with those in the community who may face similar struggles.

That empathy inspired Smith to help the church serve the Niles community. For 10 years, the church offered a food bank out of one of the congregation member’s homes. When the flood of donations became too much for one resident’s basement, the church began donating to the Feeding America program.  Once per month, the church hosts the program and those in need can fill a shopping cart full of food.

“We have given out thousands of megatons of food since we started,” Smith said. “If someone called the church needing food, we always sent three weeks of groceries to them.”

For those struggling to make ends meet with their bill, Smith said they offer utility bill aid, which comes from the church’s “Benevolence Fund.” Smith said the church gives $1,600 to $2,000 each month to those in need, whether a community or congregation member. 

When asked why the church has strived to help struggling community members, Smith said it is just what is supposed to be done.

“We are commanded to,” Smith said. 

The church was also able to donate $10,000 to the Pregnancy Care Center, 527 E, Main St. when congregant supplied record donations in 2008.

Additionally, Smith said he tries to keep those in the congregation fired up about what they believe in. Perhaps this has helped the church’s growth.

“I am a firm believer in innovating or dying,” Smith said. “Every two to five years, you need to innovate or change something, just to bring back some excitement or enthusiasm.”

Prior to serving as a pastor for Hope Community Church, Smith was in the Navy for four years in San Diego and San Francisco, California. His accolades also include working as a youth pastor for seven years. 

Reflecting on his difficult past, Smith recalls the moment when he changed his mind about church.

Smith wandered into the First Baptist Church in Niles in the 1980s, and was kneeling inside the church when some men gathered around him.

“They said, ‘what are you here for?’” Smith said. “I said, ‘I just want to come back to the Lord, but I do not know how.’ They said, ‘You just did.’”

From that moment on, several of the church members mentored Smith and he was encouraged to do the same through his own pastoral work — a goal he still maintains as pastor to Hope Community Church. 

“I was humbled and amazed that God could use a trainwreck like me,” Smith said.