Glorious Grace Church
COMMUNITY/COMUNIDAD: Share a description of the community you are called to reach.
- Pastor Tony was called to serve in the Spring Branch area, which was established in the 1830s. In the 1970s, there was a great push to build apartment complexes in the area. In the 1990s, many Hispanics came to live in this area of Houston. In those years, he attended the schools in the Spring Branch School District (SBISD). Low-income families as well as middle class people who live in houses populate the Spring Branch area. There are thousands of immigrants and immigrants from the second generation in this area.
CALLING/LLAMADO: Share about your experience of God leading you to start a church.- Tony lived with his family in Spring Branch. He graduated from Spring Woods High School and saw the need to serve the community. There are many churches in the area and this new congregation wants to collaborate with them to work in the advancement of the gospel.
VISION/VISIÓN: Tell us 5 words that are key elements of your vision.
- Serve… Together… Missional… Evangelism…Jesus Christ
REACHING THE LOST/ALCANZANDO A LOS PERDIDOS: Share the story of someone who has come to know Christ and is now a part of the church.-
On May 1, 2011, the church baptized two people who had been attending the church since January 2011. There was great joy to see the conversion of Wilson and Tiffany Cruz. They hope to see them grow in the gospel and in good deeds.
GOD AT WORK/DIOS TRABAJANDO: What is the most exciting thing God has done in the church?
- God allowed them to serve the community in August through the distribution of school supplies and in December for Christmas, they distributed boxes with food to low income people. They hope to have more opportunities to serve the community together through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
LOOKING AHEAD/MIRANDO HACIA EL FUTURO: What would you like to see God do during the next year?
- Tony would like to see more lives changed with the gospel and would like to see the Lord provide them with a more permanent place to worship.
EXPERIENCE/EXPERIENCIA: What has been the most challenging or surprising thing you've experienced in church planting?- Tony says that every time a new challenge comes in the process of planting Glorious Grace, he always remembers the words from books written by other church planters. One area he is working on is how to deal with people to equip them for the ministry.
WISDOM/SABIDURIA: What resource or words of wisdom would you pass on to other church planters?
- Tony says that a church planter needs to be sure of what he is going to do – be sure that God has called him to the area where he wants to plant. He recommends reading many books written by other church planters – reading the Bible regarding how the new church will function (what values are in the Bible to be incorporated in the vision of the new church). He also recommends studying the community in which you will serve, praying a lot and getting the support of other people to form the core group to pray and work with him.
NEED/NECESIDAD: How can people pray for you or partner with you?- Pastor Tony’s prayer request is for the Lord to provide workers – to bring people who are committed to God’s mission so they can help to evangelize the Spring Branch area of Houston, which needs the gospel of Jesus Christ.
| Current Contact Information: | UBA Directory Listing / Website |
| Location for Worship Services: | 9783 Long Point Rd., Houston, TX 77055 (as of Oct 2011) |
| Date of First Worship Service: | July 11, 2010 |
| Type of Facility: | Own Church Building |
| Discipleship Structure: | Small Groups in homes |
| Language of Worship: | Bilingual: Everything is presented in both English and Spanish |
Interview conducted by Alex Martinez, UBA Staff.