Pastor Rob Campbell believes in the Social Gospel. For him, the word “faith” is an action verb - it is supposed to be put in motion. He believes that men and women of God are called to leverage their beliefs to address the current problems and issues of society.

“What we do on Sunday mornings at church is to preach the Gospel and show folks the path up to Heaven. By contrast, we created New H.O.P.E CDC as a way to bring Heaven down to earth, for people of all faiths and religions, to help relieve the burdens and stresses on their shoulders.”

Pastor Campbell grew up in poverty in Charleston, Missouri. And yet, he considers himself one of the lucky ones. He knows his life would have likely followed the same path as so many of the kids he grew up with - a path that, for them, included gangs, sometimes prison, and too often early deaths.

What saved Pastor Campbell, what altered the course of his life, was the random encounters with a handful of adults who saw something within him, some kind of promise and potential, something worthy of a chance.

“When you’re on the receiving end of someone else’s kindness and love, it changes everything. You go through life with a debit of gratitude, and you spend your years just trying to pay some of it forward.”

That desire led to a life of service that started with a 26-year career in the United States Marine Corps, culminating in the rank of Major. Following the military, Rob moved to Wilmington in 2004 to become the Lead Pastor of New Beginning Christian Church. Upon his arrival, the congregation numbered only a couple dozen members and was in financial ruins. With his revitalized, contemporary, vision-focused leadership, NBCC was able to get out of debt, build a new multi-million dollar sanctuary, and in time become one of the leasing African American-led Churches in the Cape Fear Region.

One of his proudest accomplishments was leading the congregation to purchase a 22-acre plot that the church is currently using to build 68 units of affordable housing for senior citizens. Future plans call for the construction 128 units of workforce housing for gainfully employed residents of New Hanover County who can no longer afford to live in this area.

“We have a housing crisis in this town. We have an education crisis, too. Drugs, recovery, homelessness which plague so many areas are also a problem here. I believe each of us was put in this town, at this time, to help solve these issues.”

In 2021, Pastor Campbell established New H.O.P.E CDC to help find solutions. The Non-Profit works as a non-religious entity advocating for low-income, marginalized, and underserved folks, who do not have a voice.

Pastor Campbell’s other community involvement includes serving as the President of the Wilmington Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, Chairman of the Board, East Carolina Community Development Incorporation, a non-profit that builds affordable housing, and an Advisory Board Member Trust Bank.

Pastor Campbell has been married to his wife Kathy for over 35 years. The couple has four children: Leah, Tiffany, Kyle, and Brent. In his spare time, Pastor Campbell is an enthusiastic bicyclist with a personal goal to one day accomplish a long-distance cycling adventure.