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Rather than being discouraged by unemployment and
poverty, the church is imitating the actions of the
early church in Acts, according to the Pastor, Ismael
Gaspar. The congregation lives by an active faith that
gives sacrificially and trusts God will provide all of
its needs.
“My vision and my purpose are to be more direct
in presenting the Lord Jesus as their Savior,” Gaspar
said. “If I can help them in that way, that is the best
way. And then I can help them with some kind of food
each week or when it is necessary.”
Each month, the 150-member church supplies food
and basic necessities to 1,600 people in the community.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas is partnering in
this ministry with a monthly grant through the Texas
Baptist Offering for World Hunger, and BGCT Local
Transformational Missions provided a refrigerator and
freezer.
The majority of food comes through offerings and
donations that church members sacrificially give. Ladies
in the church sort the food and distribute it Wednesday
and Friday nights.
“If anyone has a need, he should put it in the hands
of God,” said Laura Mireles, a member of the church and
leader of the women’s ministry. “If you feel like He
will never answer, He knows when to answer. Just have
faith in the end He will keep you.”
 For the past two
years since she, her husband and 10 children joined the
church, Mireles said the congregation has encouraged her
and helped her family after their house burned down.
“We had only the clothing we had on, but the church
here at Progreso gave us clothing,’’ Mireles said.
“They gave us love and food. They have never left us
alone, and they have always cared for us. This is proof
that God lives, that Christ lives.”
After the Mireles’ house burned, a mission team from
Austin helped repair a small house so the family would
have a place to live. When they lived in their original
home, many people in the community would come to visit.
Now that they have a smaller house, only the pastor
comes to visit, Mireles said.
“We cried over that house for one night,” Mireles
said. “Then we held hands and said we are not going to
cry anymore because God is in our hearts. And those are
just two-by-fours. It’s just lumber. And since that very
day, I serve my God day and night.”
The BGCT is in the early stages of Texas Hope 2010,
an evangelistic effort to provide every non-believer in
Texas the opportunity to respond to the gospel in his or
her own language and cultural context.
Iglesia Bautista Sublime Gracia is an example of what
the BGCT hopes to see happen across the state. Since the
beginning of the church, Gaspar and the members have
been active in meeting the physical needs and sharing
the gospel with those around them.
Although the church is currently growing, it has not
always been this way. Growth and fruit in the
congregation took much time and effort.
Gaspar, who started 15 other churches, had a dream
four years ago to start a second Baptist church in
Progreso, one that would be the hands and feet of Jesus
to the people there. Going door-to-door on his horse,
Gaspar invited his neighbors to come to the church and
offered children a ride to church. Later, Gaspar sold
the horse to purchase property for the church building.
“At the very first service, I only had one person in
the congregation,” Gaspar said. “Little by little,
people started attending the services and people were
getting saved. Then we began to baptize people.”
Building a sanctuary has been a long journey of a
couple of years. Church members began holding services
and opened a food pantry in a small building on the
property while plans were made for a new sanctuary. They
prepared the foundation for the new sanctuary and prayed
that God would send a way to finish the rest of the
building.
“Vashti Baptist Church in Bellevue sent the money for
the rebar, bricks and cement needed to build the 10-foot
walls,” said Domingo Quintanilla, ministry associate for
the Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association. “Cheyenne
Solis with Buckner was able to get another church to
come down and build the roof on the church.”
Now, the sanctuary is finished and filled with pews
donated by Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.
Outside the sanctuary, children play on a playground
given by the Buckner International Colonia
Program.
Growing the church came at a sacrifice, with the
pastor working nights at the school district to provide
for his needs and the needs of the church.
“We are working bivocationally, but God has met our
needs,” Gaspar said. “I work with the school district
here in Progreso and I also work as a nurse. My
employment with the school district has really been a
blessing. All the students see me there, and they know I
am a pastor here. “
The members also continue to expand the ministry,
praying for direction on how to better reach the
spiritual and physical needs of the people in their
community. Gaspar is also praying for a way to obtain a
warehouse for the food pantry so that they will have
space to meet more of the needs in the
community. |