Church loses everything, gains ministry opportunities

HITCHCOCK—Last fall, Hurricane Ike left Primera Iglesia Bautista with nothing. One building was filled with two feet of water. Another building filled with four feet of water. Everything was damaged and needed to be replaced.

But Pastor Leonardo Diaz said God delivered the congregation. It managed to be a source of calm in its neighborhood following the storm and rebuild its facilities with the help of friends across the state. The congregation recently rededicated its facilities.

Churches statewide discovered the congregation’s needs, Diaz said. Some connected through the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Others did so through the Galveston Baptist Association. Often, connections were made through friends of friends.

First Baptist Church in Paris partnered with Primera Iglesia Bautista in the recovery process. The Paris church raised $18,000 for its Southeast Texas brethren for building supplies as well as teams to do the construction.

“They’re the ones God had in mind who would not give up in faith, because we have no flood insurance. When we saw the devastation, we knew it would take a God-sized miracle,” said Diaz, who recently was honored with the Texas Baptist Exemplary Bivocational/Smaller Membership Church Pastor Award.

The choir at Primera Iglesia Bautista in Hitchcock leads in worship at a rededication service for the church facilities after the building was severely damaged by Hurricane Ike. (PHOTOS/Courtesy of Primera Iglesia Bautista, Hitchcock)

Bill Kennedy, a member of First Baptist Church in Paris, said the church cherished the opportunity to build a relationship with Primera Iglesia Bautista. “I feel like we were doing what God wanted us to do. There have been a number of times in my life when I felt I was in God’s will. That’s how I felt throughout this.”

The assistance helped the church rebuild as well as reach out to its neighbors. Members of Primera Iglesia Bautista handed out bottled water following the storm. They also provided backpacks and school supplies to area children and offered mounds of clothes to the community. Most recently, the church held a Vacation Bible School in an effort to share the gospel.

The congregation’s commitment to reaching its community embodies the spirit of Texas Hope 2010, a Baptist General Convention of Texas initiative to share the hope of Christ with every Texan by Easter 2010.

“I always thought that God has a purpose for us just being there because the people need to know about Jesus,” Diaz said. “We need to be the light there. We’ve been really blessed by the help that has been coming in.”