Pastor Hugo Preza, of Iglesia Biblica Gracia Sobre Gracia in Henrico County, was just days away from not having a meeting space for the nearly 100 Hispanic church members. As the clock began to tick, Pastor Hugo reached out and connected with Sergio Guardia, Hispanic Leadership Catalyst at SBCV, and Raúl Santamaria, Hispanic Church Planting Strategist at SBCV, for help.
Reaching out for help resulted in a partnership between Iglesia Biblica Gracia Sobre Gracia and Staples Mill Road Baptist Church. Pastor Jim Booth met with Pastor Hugo and offered the use of Staples Mill Road Baptist Church free of charge. After several months of meeting, both churches are grateful for the partnership.
Pastor Jim stated, “The partnership with Pastor Hugo and Gracia Sobre Gracia is going great. Even with our four worship services on Sundays, we were able to find times for them to meet on Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings. This seems to be working very well for both congregations. Though they have large numbers of people coming, they always leave the facility as if no one had been here. This has been an easy and enjoyable partnership so far.”
Because of partnership, a church continues to meet and reach others with the Gospel. Because of partnership, two different congregations work together to reach their community.
“I would encourage every church to be open to hosting a solid SBCV sister church like Gracia Sobre Gracia. This kind of partnership fits perfectly with our mission as a church. If a church has space available to share, I would encourage them to let the SBCV know of their availability.”
Hugo is grateful for the SBCV and because of partnership, he knows that he is not alone. “Being associated means having found a group of people who have the same Lord, the same faith, the same feeling of carrying the Gospel to the last of the earth regardless of nationality, language, and social condition with which one can work in unity and harmony,” said Hugo. ■
