ALICE — With a growing congregation of nearly 100, space started to get limited at First Christian Church of Alice.
Pastor Moises Vasquez said there was no way the church would be able to afford a $380,000 remodel, but a blessing, disguised as a disaster, made its appearance in 2024.
In late September last year, Vasquez remembered arriving at the church and being welcomed by water pouring out of the building’s doors. A main water valve had burst in the church.
“It was about 5 to 6 inches of water in the entire church,” Vasquez said. “It was devastating.”
Vasquez, who became pastor of the church in January 2024, said the flood occurring during his first year was a test from God.
“We had a congregation of around 70 that quickly grew to 100 my first year, but they all dispersed because of the flood,” Vasquez said. “We prayed on how we wanted to keep the flock together.”
The church was able to hold services at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds for six months before holding services at Robstown’s Iglesia Cristiana Bet-El.
Vasquez said the church received financial help for the remodel from International Consulting Engineers, Texas City Electronic, Servpro, Church Mutual Insurance, Disciples Church Extension Fund and Texas Geo Tech Land Surveying Inc.
On Sept. 27, the church was able to finally open its doors to the community. More than 70 people were in attendance to celebrate the opening in worship.
Vasquez said not all of the congregants live in Alice. He said most travel from Corpus Christi, Robstown, Kingsville, Mathis, Agua Dulce, San Diego, Hebbronville and Beeville.
“We did our best to keep our congregation together, and we learned how to do so through adversity,” Vasquez said. “(God) wanted us to go through something difficult together to grow stronger. The biggest lesson we learned is that the church is not a building; it’s people. We want to believe that all this happened for the good.”
Melinda Vasquez, chairwoman of the church’s board and sister to Vasquez, said she was not too worried at first about the flood until she realized the extent of it.
“We thought we might lose people, but we see more people today than before,” Melinda Vasquez said. “It’s been crazy to see God move in all the details on how he orchestrated this huge problem into a huge blessing.”
Dan Simmerman, vice chair of the board, said the flood tested everybody’s patience, but agreed that God blessed them with a “bigger sanctuary.”
The church offers a children’s program, a student program for teens, Bible study on Wednesday and a Sunday service.
“Even though we’re not open every day, we’re accessible every day,” Vasquez said. “We’re just a small church in Alice trying to reach people.”
For more information on the church, visit fccalice.org.
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John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Have a story idea? Contact him at john.oliva@caller.com.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: First Christian Church Alice reopens one year after ‘disastrous’ flood
Reporting by John Oliva, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
