Across The Nation
Agape Church of the Open Bible
Although Gina and Lauro Reyna started broadcasting Sunday services and hosting a women’s group online in February of 2021, their church, Agape Church of the Open Bible, will hold its first official service Sunday, August 8, 2021, in Des Moines, Iowa, at a venue called Starts Right Here (SRH). (SRH is a program designed to serve inner-city youth in a supportive, empowering environment.)
We asked the church’s co-founder, Gina Reyna, some questions about her and her husband’s new venture.
Message: What drew you and your husband, Lauro, to Iowa?
Gina: We were working with INSTE Mexico and living in Denver, Colorado. We had already visited INSTE’s global offices here in Iowa a couple of times. The plan was emerging for us to move and the Lord confirmed this. We saw His hand in the way everything happened from our children’s willingness to move again to the grace and favor with which our visas were approved. We crossed the border into Iowa with our two youngest children at night on February 1, 2019, driving our truck and pulling a big U-Haul with some belongings (mostly books). It was quite an adventure crossing over the mountains during a blinding snowstorm.
Message: What made you decide to plant a church?
Gina: We have served the local church for more than 30 years in different ministries and as associate pastors. In January 2001, the Lord brought us to this country with a religious visa, and we settled in Colorado, where we co-founded and co-pastored a church. When the Lord brought us to Iowa, we knew that part of His plan was for us to start a Hispanic church again, and He has confirmed this.
Message: What types of promotion have you done to announce the launch?
Gina: We have used our social networks (Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) and our web page to promote Agape. We published information about our workshops in a Hispanic magazine and on two radio stations in Spanish, and we have met and invited people to be part of Agape Church.
Message: What are some of the outreach events you have done?
Gina: In addition to serving as pastors, Lauro and I are psychologists, so we developed professional, biblically-based workshops for families and couples, which we held at Journey Church of the Open Bible on Saturdays throughout the month of July. (Journey Church, our home church before the launch, has helped support us in this venture.) These workshops covered interesting topics such as how our spouse’s brain works, how to resolve marital conflicts, the tools to improve communication with our children, and the importance of having a family life project.
We also invited families to an outreach held Sunday, July 25, at Pete Crivaro Park in Des Moines, which is very close to SRH. There we gave away hot dogs, snow cones, and sodas. We passed out flyers, invited people to our meetings, and offered to pray for their needs.
Message: Describe the people you are most trying to reach.
Gina: We want to reach Hispanic families that have migrated to Iowa, especially those who do not have extended family here. Iowa has a total of 39,791 Latino families, and most of them are from Mexico. According to the Iowa Data Center in 2020, Mexicans represented 74.8 percent of the Hispanic population. In 2019, Latinos constituted 6.3 percent of the state’s total population, and according to the 2020 Woods & Pool Economics Inc., Latinos are projected to constitute 12.1 percent of the state’s total population by July of 2050. Most are young, so we want to focus on discipling youth along with their parents. We have a lot of work to do!
Message: What is your vision for the church?
Gina: Our vision is to be a relevant church, a place where there is love and grace for all, regardless of who they are, a place where everyone can know the Lord, praise Him, and serve Him freely and understand that they can know what God’s will is for their lives and do it.
We want to reach Hispanic families, disciple them, and challenge them to live their faith and share the good news, spreading the kingdom of God. We desire that they will identify themselves as citizens of heaven and part of a spiritual family they can trust, love, and care for.
Message: What excites you most about Agape?
Gina: The great challenge is getting Hispanics from different countries, backgrounds, and traditions to unite as brothers and sisters in the faith so they can worship God together. Our desire is for them to know the Word deeply, to serve one another, and to take their place as part of the body of Christ in this country. We want to be a spiritual home that is a true family in the faith. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19, ESV).
Message: How can we pray for you?
Gina:
- For the Lord to give us greater wisdom and discernment to reach out to our Hispanic brothers
- For people who will be part of our team who have a heart willing to serve the Lord and the Hispanic community
- For the restoration of Latino families that are geographically separated
- For a unity among Hispanic believers and those of other nationalities
- For God’s provision during the church planting and for our dream of having a place of our own in the future where we can have activities during the week such as workshops, ongoing biblical counseling for couples and families, classes, and prayer meetings.
Darrick Young, pastor of Journey Church of the Open Bible, said, “Like many other communities in America, the Hispanic population in Des Moines is growing, as the nations are coming right to our doorstep. We are excited that God brought Lauro and Gina Reyna and their family to our community and to Journey Church. As we send them out to plant Agape Church, we eagerly anticipate the opportunity to celebrate lives being changed in the Hispanic community. We, along with Fort Des Moines Church of the Open Bible and West Des Moines Open Bible Church, are so pumped to partner with Agape and see what God will do!”
Central Region Church Planting Director Kevin Starkey said, “Laura and Gina have grown modest ministries into large ministries, have helped plant churches, and have a lifetime of both scholarly and practical preparation for this moment. Their blend of family outreach, community training, and counseling will undoubtedly endear them to their target audience. Moreover, they genuinely love people who may be initially drawn by the Reynas’ infectious joy but won over by the love of God that emanates from them. Laura and Gina truly make the job of a church planting director easy.”
To learn more about Agape, visit their website at www.agapeobc.org
On September 19-21, pastors from around the country gathered for the 2024 Open Bible National Hispanic Conference, held in Antioch, California. Attendees of the conference numbered close to one hundred and represented nineteen different Open Bible churches. Templo Santo Community Church was the hosting church for the conference, and our theme was “CHANGED: Transformed to Transform.” We were blessed with the presence of powerful speakers: President Michael Nortune, Dr. Nicholas Venditti, and Pastors John Mendez, Michael Zakarian, and Caleb Plummer.
The Church as a whole, the Open Bible denomination, and Hispanic Ministries are needed for such a time as this.
The conference started with a welcome dinner where pastors and leaders were able to reconnect with old friends and connect with new friends who were first-time attenders. We had a powerful night of worship during which President Nortune spoke a prophetic word about entering a new season. God has opened a wide door for Open Bible, and new opportunities are on the horizon for our ministries.
Throughout the following days, we heard challenging messages on embracing our vision (Dr. Venditti), navigating culturing changes (Pastor Mendez), loving and embracing the next generation (Pastors Zakarian and Plummer), and depending on the presence of God (President Nortune). In addition to these incredible sessions, we had the opportunity to explore the beautiful city of San Francisco and the surrounding areas.
In our closing session, Pastor Mendez encouraged us that we were chosen for this time in history. The Church as a whole, the Open Bible denomination, and Hispanic Ministries are needed for such a time as this.
As we concluded with a time for more fellowship, here are a few of the things we heard people saying:
“This conference exceeded my expectations.”
“I felt the love and unity within the Hispanic Ministries.”
“The messages were relevant for our time.”
“Best conference ever!”
We look forward to what God has in store for Open Bible’s Hispanic Ministries. We believe that a door has been opened for our dream to come to life – having a Hispanic ministry in every state in this nation.
About the Author
Jorge Navarrete
Jorge Navarrete was appointed as the senior pastor of Templo Santo Community Church in May 2002. Prior to that, he served as youth pastor, Sunday school teacher, member of the Board of Elders, and as church administrator for Templo Santo. In May 2017, Jorge was appointed to serve in his current role as Director of the Hispanic Ministries for the West Sector. Pastor Navarrete also works for the Supreme Court of California as the Clerk/Executive Officer. He has served in this role since 2016.
There are over 10,000 homeless citizens in Lee County, Florida, but thanks to a creative nonprofit idea and a fully sponsored shower trailer, Open Bible Community Church (OBCC) has found a unique way to serve them.
Located in North Fort Myers, OBCC is pastored by Joe and Pat VanEst. When Hurricane Ian hit their county in 2022 and homelessness exploded, pastors Joe and Pat responded by founding “Hope Ambassadors,” a nonprofit designed to empower individuals through disaster relief and ongoing rehabilitative efforts.
Beginning by providing food and hygiene kits to homeless communities, the team soon realized there was a need for showering facilities. Through a string of miracles and one philanthropic donor, a shower trailer was purchased, and Hope Ambassadors now owns the only shower trailer in Southwest Florida. Housing two rooms and ten total shower units, the trailer visits two homeless communities twice a week and has already provided nearly 500 showers to families in need.
“This has totally changed the thinking of our church,” says Pastor Joe VanEst. “We are building relationships with these folks, and it’s only a matter of time until we can share Jesus with them.” Already, the church has seen growth from visitors who have come to church after using the shower trailer.
Hope Ambassadors is quickly building relationships with other local nonprofits that provide services like haircuts, food, and clothing. Future dreams include creating a commercial kitchen that would create nutritious, freeze-dried meals for hungry families. Hope Ambassadors’ mission statement is “To heal communities in the spirit of unity,” and thanks to God’s grace and provision, they are well on their way.
“This has totally changed the thinking of our church”
Rehoboth Open Bible Church has stood strong for forty-five years. Our journey began in the cozy apartment living room of Revs. Easton and Joy Grant in Brooklyn, New York, with seven adults and seven children. As the years passed and our congregation flourished, outgrowing the capacity of two hundred set by the NYC Department of Buildings, the church initiated a second service in 1998 and began an arduous search for a new, larger home, a journey that has tested our determination and resilience.
Finding a suitable space to meet [in Brooklyn] is daunting, with people seeming to occupy every square inch
Brooklyn, one of the most densely populated counties in the United States, presents a unique set of challenges for churches. Finding a suitable space to meet is daunting, with people seeming to occupy every square inch. There are no new spaces for churches in New York. Currently existing churches were originally built in the 1800s, often by Catholics and Presbyterians; modern churches must convert commercial spaces or purchase existing spaces occupied by older churches or temples. Even when property can be found, political and business environs do not want such valuable real estate removed from the tax roll and often restrict access by religious non-profit organizations. Thus, most churches in Brooklyn are classified as storefronts, utilizing small commercial retail spaces or the front rooms of homes.
When we were appointed as pastors of Rehoboth in 2011, the search for a larger facility was already ongoing. Four months into our role, we drove by a former Jewish temple on 888 East 56th Street which had a sign saying, “For Sale or Triple Net Lease.” Despite our uncertainty, we called the listed number and met with the owner.
Most of the property was in a deplorable condition, requiring eyes of faith to visualize its value. Based on the redlining lending practices of the neighborhood and commercial banks’ refusal to lend to churches, the likelihood of acquisition was slim to none. Negotiations were painful, but after numerous meetings and much prayer, two years later we achieved an owner-seller financing purchase. That was the first miracle in the journey to 888, since we would not have been able to qualify for financing on the open market.
The purchase consumed all the church’s savings and more. Despite this, God provided monthly mortgage payments of $16.1k while funding the church’s day-to-day operations, our second miracle.
888 East 56th Street is more than a building. It continues the legacy of bringing Rehoboth’s soul to life.
We launched a three-year capital campaign in 2015 that proved God’s power in Rehoboth’s life at a new level. Like Gideon, God used a small group to catch the vision, amassing funds exceeding the pledged amount by nearly forty percent! God’s faithfulness gave birth to the third miracle – providing the equity needed to match our upcoming construction loan.
In 2019, six years after purchasing the property, we obtained a construction loan and refinanced the seller’s note at a lower interest rate, providing more funds for renovation – miracle number four.
With much excitement after the groundbreaking in December 2019, construction began in March 2020. Three weeks in, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, sending NYC spiraling. The city that never sleeps shut down tight for three months. While COVID-19 kept us all enclosed, our property renovations were in limbo. Unattended projects suffered, material prices quadrupled, and labor costs followed suit.
The challenge of dealing with unscrupulous consultants, renegotiating contracts, finding new subcontractors, confronting disfavored lending practices, and seeking to manage construction timelines was an enormous feat. But God provided miracle after miracle by granting favor, stretching finances, creating new alliances, empowering us with new boldness to advocate, and providing the changes we needed while keeping our integrity intact. As one major devious player on the project stated, “With all that I have done, you should not be here. I know God is with you.” To which we say, “Yes, Amen!” God is with us.
On Palm Sunday, March 24, 2024, we held our final service at our previous address. Afterward, we marched to 888 East 56th Street with a police escort and a drumline, waving palm branches and flags in joyous jubilation. Our seniors who were unable to walk traveled via cars behind the marchers. All reveled in the moment, singing and giving God thanks as we beheld the miracle on East 56th Street and rejoiced in what God had done!
Upon arrival, we introduced ourselves to the community, recited Psalm 24, opened the doors, and let the King of Glory in! We then held our first service at 888, celebrating jubilantly the fulfillment of the biblical promise our church name represents. The founders of our church chose the name “Rehoboth,” taken from Genesis 26:22:
And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So, he called its name Rehoboth because he said, ‘For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land’ (NKJV).
888 East 56th Street is more than a building. It continues the legacy of bringing Rehoboth’s soul to life, providing room to become, belong, and believe for those who are here and those who are yet to come. What God said with His mouth, He has fulfilled with His hands this day for His glory. He has made room for us!
About the Author
Leroy and Dalton Spencer
Leroy and Dalton Spencer are the lead pastors at Rehoboth Open Bible Church, in Brooklyn, New York. They have been members of Rehoboth for over 25 years, serving in various capacities before assuming the helm in 2011. They are passionate about advancing the kingdom of God, prayer, and caring for the sheep with a good shepherd’s heart. Leroy and Dalton believe people are our greatest asset and fully embrace the mandate to bring them to maturity by equipping them with the Word and life skills.
