Hispanic, Anglo congregations blend into one united fellowship

DENTON—When Kenny Robison first met Rafael Natividad, the two pastors meshed well. Robison had water and Natividad popcorn at a University of North Texas Baptist Student Ministry event.

Months later, Robison prayed as he drove through the neighborhood surrounding Memorial Baptist Church, where he served as pastor.

He recalled the minister he had met and liked so well, but he couldn't recall his name or that he was pastor of Primera Iglesia. He only knew the day he had told his congregation about years before had come.

"When they asked me to come as bivocational pastor, I told them it was with conditions, and one of those was that they be open to some sort of transition. At the time, I didn't know what it was, but I knew the community was changing," Robison recalled.

After five years as pastor, he felt the time for a new beginning had arrived. Robison called the associational office, and the staff helped him determine perhaps Natividad was the person he was trying to remember.

Robison called Natividad. The two pastors then took their first drive together through the community near Memorial as they discussed the possibility of merging their two congregations.

"Before Pastor Kenny initially contacted me, we were already looking to either build or relocate as a congregation," Natividad said.

Primera owned four acres of land, but the church had not received the zoning necessary to expand its facility.

"We were discouraged as a congregation. We were thinking: 'Well, God, what's going on? What are you doing? Why close these doors? We've outgrown our building, so where are we going from here?'" Natividad recalled.

While the church's members had thought about selling their property and moving elsewhere, a merger was not on the radar.

"When Pastor Kenny contacted me, it was a whole new direction we hadn't even contemplated, much less considered as a possibility," he said.

The two pastors talked about the possibilities for a couple of weeks and then asked their congregations to pray for a month.

After that time, the churches began to talk more seriously about a merger and began having fellowships together on Wednesday nights, so that they could begin to get to know one another.

On Oct. 31, 2010, both congregations voted overwhelmingly to merge into a new congregation called Life Fellowship Community Church.

From the beginning, the hiccups have been few, the co-pastors said.

"There are differences in culture, but both congregations have learned there is no such things as groups anymore—we're all one family now," Natividad said.

"We've accepted one another and our differences. We're learning that while there are differences, we're a church and that's my brother and that's my sister, and we're going to encourage each other, put up with each other and bless each other."

While both pastors acknowledge the fellowships and barbecues that preceded the merger helped, they believe the camaraderie they share also has been important.

"We hit it off immediately," Robison said. "And because we hit it off so well, and they see we genuinely love each other, that's made it easier for the congregations to genuinely love each other."

The transition also was easier because of the way God had positioned the leadership of the two churches, Natividad said.

"Where they were lacking, we had someone. Where we were lacking, they had someone. … When we came together it was perfect," he said.

"We didn't have to add Hispanics to some areas to make it seem fair. That's who we had. It just fell into place. You go down our leadership roles, and it's not blended on purpose. That's just how God did it. There's no doubt God was in this."

As co-pastors, Natividad and Robison alternate preaching series on Sunday mornings. Whoever is not preaching on Sunday mornings preaches on Wednesday nights. Sunday nights are left for small groups and fellowships.

In the beginning, Life Fellowship had one bilingual service with Natividad providing the Spanish translation regardless of who was preaching.

The pastors didn't want to have two services, because they didn't want two churches but a single unified congregation.

A few months ago, the church started an English service primarily to offer something for Anglo visitors who might not be immediately comfortable in a bilingual service.

They found some Hispanics are attending the English service, and some Anglos still are attending the bilingual service.

"They don't speak any Spanish, but they enjoy the fellowship—they enjoy being with their brothers and sisters in Christ," Robison said.

The second service seems to be helping the congregation reach out. With a single service, New Fellow-ship was running about 90 people in worship, now that number is closer to 130.

In the first year of the congregation's life, 43 people made professions of faith in Christ.

While it is not uncommon for Anglo congregations to turn over the keys to Hispanic congregations in transitioning communities, Nativi-dad said, that is not what is going to happen at Life Fellowship Community Church.

"They're here to stay, and we're here to stay. And we see it as a God thing completely," he said.

The next challenge is to move beyond some seeing Life Fellowship as a Hispanic-Anglo congregation, Robison said.

"That's what we are, but that is not what we have living around us in a five-mile radius. Our calling is to be a Great Commission, Great Com-mandment church," he said.

"What we're trying to do is reach people. We don't care what their skin color is or what their ethnicity is."