The Chamber of Commerce might portray Vacaville as an idyllic community in a picturesque valley between Sacramento and San Francisco, but Pastor Reggie Brown knows the city’s challenges firsthand.

 

He’s particularly concerned about the children.

 

“The biggest needs in our community are single-parent homes and divorce,” he says, “and, because of that, a lot of children who are on the periphery of life. Many of them are in a place of not caring about the future. Many have no idea the future is even coming, for that matter.”

 

Concern for the children has led Grace Community Church of Vacaville, a predominantly African-American congregation launched in 2006, to focus much of its attention on young people. A tutoring ministry improves their chances at succeeding in school – and in life. Field trips help them understand that life can be different than what they experience every day.

 

“We take kids on field trips so they can see different places and experience different things,” Reggie says. “We took them to the Oakland Coliseum to meet and talk with players from the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics. We took them to a university campus for a step show put on by the Greek organizations, and professors were there to talk to them about different career paths they could take.”

 

Grace Community Church grew out of a burden that Reggie shared with a small group of friends. They began meeting in November 2005 to talk about planting a church. In January 2006, they started a Bible study in the community center, and on Easter Sunday they held their first worship service.

 

He finds great joy in watching the Holy Spirit draw lost souls to Christ and persuade them about becoming obedient disciples.

 

“We had one young lady named Linda who accepted Christ on the first Sunday of 2007,” he says. “At first she said she didn’t want to be baptized, but as we taught about baptism over the next few weeks, she understood the need. Right in the middle of the church service, she said, ‘I want to be baptized.’ Soon after that, her brother and son both accepted Christ.”

 

Making an impact on a community of 94,000 people requires every member to be trained and mobilized.

 

“One of the things I learned in the Air Force was Total Quality Management, getting things done at the lowest level in order that it might function smoothly and better,” he says. “We hold people accountable, but we also give them the freedom to get things done at their level. We are building a body of believers who are empowered to do the work of the Lord.”

 

Having a ministry partnership with California Southern Baptist churches – and vital resources through the California Mission Offering – makes an enormous difference for a young congregation like Grace Community.

 

 “A church can have a desire to produce empowered believers,” Reggie says, “but until they partner with someone who has the ability to facilitate that desire, they just spin their wheels.”

 

Having someone to turn to like Joshua Smith, the California Southern Baptist convention’s African-American church starting specialist, has made a big difference.

 

“He has helped us 10,000-fold more than we could ever repay,” Reggie says. “The prayers of the churches and the resources available to us are a tremendous benefit. I really thank God for this partnership.”

 
“The church should be a place where people can come and get their spiritual thirst quenched,” Reggie says. “It’s the only institution on the face of the planet that can offer what people really need.”

The 2008 California Mission Offering will support other church starts live Grace Community. The theme is "Bright Hope for Dark Days" with a statewide goal of $500,000. More than $180,000 has been allocated for starting churches in California through the offering.