When you think of survival for a church, you might be prone to look within to see what each of the members can do to support the whole. That is an excellent thought, because it is vital that each person has opportunities to use the gifts and skills that God has given him or her. But our plans or methods are often not God’s.
Eduardo Lopez Lorenzo and Eric Bothur work together to beautify the church grounds.Six years ago, the members of South Beltline Baptist Church in Columbia decided they would reach out to a young church plant, Iglesia Hispa?a de la Comunidad, and the community by providing a physical home for the new church. It wasn’t going to be easy. One church spoke Spanish, the other English. But providing a place for a homeless church was the right thing to do. It was also God’s thing to do, and Eric Sloan, pastor at South Beltline at the time, knew it.
In the early days, Iglesia Hispa?a had only a small core group of people. Having a safe and secure place to call home, however, they were poised for growth, and growth has come. Now the Hispanic congregation often has 50 or more people worshipping together each week.
The two churches haven’t just shared a building; they have cared for and supported each other. They share expenses and work together to care for the building and the ministries. Each church has unique resources to share. The older congregation has more assets in buildings and experience, and the younger church has more youthful labor, expertise and energy. Together, needs have been met, and God has been glorified. The churches have also been able to intimately and consistently pray for each other so that both congregations can reach out to the lost in the community and reach the world for Christ in different ways.
When a work day is held, both churches come together and work side by side to get the job done. But it doesn’t stop there. When Iglesia Hispa?a has a homecoming celebration, South Beltline helps in the kitchen or in the nursery, so that more members of the celebrating church can participate. And when there are manual jobs to be done, the Iglesia Hispa?a members pitch in to make sure everything is cared for.
From left: Lorena Avenda?o, Kristi Bothur and Janet Gonzalez.God has an interesting and awe-inspiring way of putting puzzle pieces together. South Beltline offered to help a struggling new church. In turn, this young church with few resources has helped support an older church that has fewer workers. Iglesia Hispa?a’s members have also instilled some youthful energy and passion into the lives of the older congregation.
If we are willing to be used of God, we can rest assured that God will use us for good. He may even use our offering for our own good just a short while later.
Let’s rejoice in the partnerships God is using to reach the lost for Christ.
– Bothur is bivocational pastor of South Beltline Baptist Church and a professor at Midlands Technical College and the University of Phoenix.