Minister Hope Dukes

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16 KJV

Minister Hope Dukes is the daughter of Jean Lunn and the late Donnell Dukes and the proud mother of three sons, Marquese, Jaylen, and Donnell Dukes. She is an author, preacher, speaker, entrepreneur, ministry leader, community advocate, and domestic violence survivor whose life is a testimony of faith, resilience, restoration, and purpose.

Minister Hope’s mission is to motivate, empower, and inspire others to embrace self-love, pursue personal and spiritual growth, and become the best version of themselves. Through her testimony, ministry, writing, entrepreneurship, and community service, she encourages people to understand that their past does not determine their future and that even the most painful chapters of life can be transformed into purpose.

Minister Hope currently serves at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, under the leadership of Rev. Douglas L. Williams, III. Her heart for ministry extends far beyond the walls of the church. She is passionate about serving women, children, families, and individuals experiencing difficult seasons and using ministry as a vehicle to meet both spiritual and practical needs within the community.

Her journey in ministry began long before she entered the pulpit. Raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, Minister Hope spent much of her life serving at her family church, Church of the Meek in Harlem, New York, under the pastoral leadership of the late Rev. James R. Neeley Jr. There, she served faithfully in numerous areas of ministry and developed a foundation of faith, service, and commitment to God’s people.

Following the loss of Pastor Neeley, her beloved grandmother Josephine Lunn, who helped raise her, and several other family members, Minister Hope continued pursuing the call God placed upon her life. On May 28, 2023, she was licensed to preach the Gospel and has remained committed to using her voice, experiences, and testimony to encourage others and glorify God.

Minister Hope also believes strongly in education. She earned an Associate Degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Bergen Community College in 2013. On May 17, 2020, she graduated summa cum laude from SUNY College at Old Westbury with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religion. Her theological studies have further strengthened her commitment to biblical teaching, ministry, and serving God’s people.

In addition to ministry, Minister Hope is the founder and owner of My Hope Enterprises, which encompasses her entrepreneurial endeavors. Before expanding her businesses, she spent approximately seventeen years working in the automotive industry throughout the tri-state area. During her career in automotive finance, she became known as “The Credit Doctor” because of her determination to help customers obtain financing when others had given up.

Seeing individuals with damaged credit forced into high-interest loans inspired Minister Hope to create My Credit Hope in 2006. Her goal was to educate and assist people in repairing and rebuilding their credit so they could position themselves for better financial opportunities. That same desire to empower others has remained a common thread throughout her entrepreneurial journey.

However, some of Minister Hope’s greatest assignments were born not from her successes, but from her most difficult seasons.

In 2021, Minister Hope experienced a deeply painful season that caused her to cry, pray, and seek God for direction. In the midst of that season, she asked God what He wanted her to do with what she was experiencing. From that place came her first book, MY HOPE: 52 Devotions to Find Hope Again, released on October 23, 2022.

What began as Minister Hope’s personal journey toward finding hope again became a message for others who needed to know that difficult seasons do not last forever.

Her newest book, On the Devil’s Hitlist, takes that message even further.

Drawing from experiences of adversity, spiritual warfare, survival, faith, and perseverance, On the Devil’s Hitlist speaks to what happens when life seems determined to destroy you, but God continues to preserve you. The book serves as the foundation for the I Survived on Purpose Book Tour, through which Minister Hope shares her testimony and encourages audiences to recognize that survival is not simply about what they escaped; it can also reveal what they were preserved to accomplish.

As a domestic violence survivor, Minister Hope is especially passionate about empowering people to understand that abuse in any form is never acceptable. Her experiences have strengthened her commitment to helping others recognize their worth, rediscover their voice, rebuild their confidence, and believe that life can exist beyond what they have endured.

Whether she is preaching, writing, building businesses, serving her community, or simply sharing her testimony, Minister Hope desires for her life to demonstrate one central truth: God can take what was intended to break you and use it to reveal purpose.

Her message is simple but powerful:

“You didn’t just survive; You survived on purpose.” 🎯

And the testimony that continues to define her journey is:

“Satan thought he had me, but I got my HOPE back… and I am showing the world how to get their HOPE back too.”

— Minister Hope Dukes