ASHLEY & JAy SMITH

SENIOR PASTOR

God called Pastor Ashley to be Senior Pastor in March, 2022, after 3 years as Hope Church Corning Campus Pastor and over 10 years leading an executive ministry team in Pennsylvania.

Pastor Ashley and Jay are high school sweethearts who started dating in 2001 and were married in 2007. They have two children; and live in Wellsboro, PA. Jay works in manufacturing as an Operations Superintendent. They both met Jesus when they were dating in high school and are passionate about sharing his rhythms of grace, God’s goodness, and the Holy Spirit’s help. Both are Enneagram 1’s: Reformers, driven by a mission to help people become more of who they were created to be by connecting them to their Creator.

Besides spending quality time with her family, Pastor Ashley loves reading, kayaking, shopping at Maurice’s, supporting local restaurants on date nights with Jay, and coffee.​

THE TEAM

John cuomo
business administrator

In the summer of 2013, John and Elise were introduced by mutual friends at a wedding. They exchanged numbers and have been smitten ever since! For these two sweethearts, 2016 was a year to remember. They both were called into ministry at Hope Church; and John accepted a position on staff. The events weren’t done! In September of 2016, in the presence of their family and friends, they tied the knot! Since then, God has taken them on a journey of learning: Learning a life of ministry; learning how to grow in relationship with each other; and, in 2020, learning how to be parents with the arrival of their sweet, little girl in October (yeah, right in the middle of the pandemic). Before the birth of their daughter, Elise worked as a private nanny for a working family in the southern tier; but her heart was always to raise a family of her own. That job received another customer in the fall of 2023!


To describe John and Elise fully would definitely take some time and likely the hearty use of a thesaurus. John loves Jesus, his family, music, watching and playing sports (J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS), and a good dad joke. If it sounds fun, or is some sort of competition, John is usually down. Elise brings needed structure and strength to the home. She’s an apt cook, loves to read, hikes, family vacations in the Adirondacks, and the beautiful trees changing in the fall.


John and Elise believe raising their children to love others and love Jesus is essential to make a difference for the next generation.

Jacques gakwaya
hope youth director

Jacques joined Hope staff in 2015. Prior to being on staff he was a part of inner city mission work in Pittsburgh. He has been the Hope Youth director since 2021. Jacques has always been passionate about people. He wants to see the next generation discover who God created them to be and find true freedom in Jesus. He believes all people belong in God’s family and are worthy of love, no matter your age or background.
Whitney is the Hope Preschool Director. She is passionate to see children be nurtured and grow into kind and independent adults. Whitney is amazing at hosting and is always looking for people and ways to connect them to others. She loves to use food and activities to create a comfortable environment for people to feel heard and at home.

Jacques and Whitney met at Hope church in 2011. They fell in love while on a long term team mission trip in Ghana, Africa in 2016. They got married in 2018 and now have 2 children and are expecting baby number 3 in November. Both Jacques and Whitney experienced God in powerful ways during their teen years. They were both called individually by God to impact others who haven’t discovered Jesus overseas on the mission field and in their local church.

The Gakwayas love spending time with their kids, fun wrestling, travel adventures, time at the park, and simply being wild and free in their home. They also love date night, hosting people, and traveling as a couple to new places.
Jacques loves playing soccer, volleyball, and anything with fun activities! Whitney loves to hangout with other moms and enjoys cooking!
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mary gillis
host director

Mary has been on staff since 2018. In the last year and a half she has become the Director of Host Teams. As one of our Worship Leaders, she is passionate about worship and developing worship leaders.

Eric has worked at Corning Inc. for a decade, most recently as a Development Scientist in the company's Mobile Consumer Electronics market. In 2022, he joined the Hope Church staff part-time to support creative media projects.

Mary and Eric met at Hope. After knowing each other for 2 years they started dating, ultimately getting married in April of 2023. In a lot of ways, these two are opposites. Mary is an enneagram 8, The Challenger: self-confident, assertive, straight-talking, and decisive. Eric is an enneagram 6, The Loyalist: committed, security-oriented, reliable, and trustworthy. Yet they appreciate the way their differences complement each other and make them a great team.

They both grew up in Christian homes which laid a foundation for their relationship with God. At 16, Mary’s relationship with Jesus changed to something intimate and personal. Eric started to trust God in a brand new way in the years after college, moving from repetitive religious practices to a real relationship with Jesus. They are passionate about sharing how they have personally experienced God’s grace, goodness, and unconditional love.

They love to cook together, find good restaurants, watch new shows, and take walks after dinner. Currently, they spend most of their free time renovating their first home.

Pastor david hackett
pastor

In September of 1975, Jesus visited and saved both Pastor Dave and Debbie. They have served as Pastors in three churches since that time. Pastor Dave was the second pastor of Hope Church serving as Senior Pastor for 27 years from 1988-2015.
They have raised four children and have 8 grandchildren.
As a Pastor and a Teacher, Pastor Dave, has helped establish three Christian Schools, visited and taught overseas in several nations, and helped establish and oversee a unity movement among the churches of the Twin Tiers. His battle cry has been for unity in the church according to Jesus’ cry in John 17: That we might be one that the world might know the Father has sent the Son. The experiential knowledge of God in worship and prayer has been their life pursuit.
He and Debbie are currently delighting in seeing a second generation of young leaders press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus at Hope.

emily martinez
hope kids director

Emily Martinez began as Kids Director in January of 2023 after teaching at Hope Church’s school Hope Christian Academy for five years.

Emily and her husband Felipe met at Hope Church summer of 2017 and got married the summer of 2019. Felipe works in construction as a self-employed contractor.

They both met Jesus as kids but chose to really give their lives to Him in their late teens and are passionate to show the next generation the grace, freedom, and help that the Holy Spirit has given to them.

Emily is an enneagram 2 with a desire to help others while Felipe is an enneagram 7 who loves to have fun no matter what he is doing. Together they are a super fun and helpful team!

Besides the things they love to do as a couple like fancy date nights or game nights with friends, Emily loves to read, go for walks, and color-coordinate her planner.

mariah morse
groups director

Mariah joined Hope Church Staff in 2022 in the role of directing and coaching communicators. She is passionate about using her gift of communication to train others to speak from a place of passion and burden that only comes from having a real relationship with Jesus. She currently serves on the worship team and has a huge heart to continue to grow in the area of leading worship and to invest in the next generation of worship leaders.

Mariah is part-time at Hope, and a full-time teacher for the Corning Painted-Post School District. She is entering her seventh year teaching, and her fifth year teaching 5th grade. She loves the opportunity to invest in the families of the Corning Community.

noah schultes
production director

Noah started working at Hope Church in the summer of 2015 after graduating from Corning Community College with an Associates in Engineering Science. He also attended Hope Christian Academy from Kindergarten through 8th grade before going to Corning High School.
Noah and Rachelle met at Hope Church, got married in 2018, and are expecting their first child. Rachelle is a Nurse Practitioner in Lawrenceville, PA. Rachelle comes from a legacy of family missionaries around the world, and Noah grew up going to Hope Church. Noah is passionate about the purpose that Jesus has given to him: to help others find and grow in their purpose connected to Jesus and to experience His freedom and grace in their lives.
Rachelle enthusiastically loves and cares for people with the same love that she has received from Jesus. She is a master at planning vacations, which is one of their favorite things to do. When they aren’t away they love drinking coffee, trying new food, hiking, backpacking, riding bikes, going to fun events, and riding motorcycles.

bishop harry jackson
founding pastor

Hope Church was pioneered by Bishop Harry Jackson in 1981. From our foundation we have always been a multicultural and multigenerational church that meets people right where they are. In 1988 Pastor Harry was led to move to Maryland to found Hope Christian Church, where he was an advisor to multiple Presidents of the United States. Hope Christian Church is currently led by his daughter, Bishop Michele Jackson.