CommonCall: Perseverance through struggle

BRECKENRIDGE—Inocenio and Paula Briones understand struggles. They have experienced plenty in their lives, marriage and ministry.

“I’ve cried a lot,” she confessed. “It’s been a challenge. There was one point when we nearly separated. We went through a lot.”

But when they look at how God is blessing Iglesia Bautista Luz del Mundo in Breckenridge, where he is bivocational pastor, and the mission congregation their church started a few months ago in Acuña, Mexico, they also understand the rewards of perseverance.

Early challenges

Since they met 22 years ago, Inocencio and Paula Briones have faced struggles, but they insist God has sustained them. (Photo / Ken Camp)When the couple met more than 22 years ago, she was a single mom living in low-income housing—and she was, by far, more stable than her future husband.

“I used to be really bad into drugs and alcohol,” he admitted. “I was really depressed and didn’t know what to do. Somebody told me to go to church, because there were good-looking girls there.”

He visited the Hispanic ministry of First Baptist Church in Breckenridge and discovered his friend steered him to the right place. Before long, Inocencio and Paula Briones married, but nothing else changed about his life.

“I couldn’t go anywhere in this town without getting into trouble,” he acknowledged.

Making a faith commitment

Hoping for a fresh start, they moved—first to Albany and later to Graham. While they lived in Graham, a life-threatening car accident brought him to the point where he was ready to make a commitment to Christ.

Once he gave his life to Christ, he began traveling to Mexico on evangelistic mission trips, as well as sharing his faith throughout the area where he lived. So, when his pastor started a mission in Breckenridge, the minister sent Briones there to preach. But before long, the pastor withdrew his support.

“That hurt me,” Briones admitted.

Iglesia Cristiana la Luz del Mundo has faced challenges, but Paula Briones created this display to chronicle the victories God made possible. Even so, he continued to lead the mission congregation, which initially met in an 800-square-foot house and later in the homes or yards of members. Eventually, the congregation secured a storefront corner building downtown, where they worshipped six years.

For three years, Leon River Cowboy Church sponsored La Luz del Mundo, and the mission received financial assistance from the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

“We grew from 20 to 40 in attendance,” Briones recalled. “People were getting saved, and God was blessing.”

Greatest setback

But just about the time the three-year commitment from the BGCT and the sponsor church ended, the church sustained its greatest setback. Multiple families left. Some moved away to other towns; others moved their membership to other churches. Membership dwindled to four—Inocencio and Paula Briones and one other couple, Juan and Janie Martinez.

Between health issues that developed and the drop in membership, Briones decided to quit. So, he discussed it with the other three remaining members of the congregation.

“My wife was happy. The deacon said he understood and would respect my decision. But the deacon’s wife got up in my face,” he recalled.

New beginning

He agreed to continue as pastor, and the church began to rebuild its membership. At one point, he received a phone call letting him know the local Assembly of God church wanted to make its facility available to rent.

“Two years earlier, we had laid hands on that building, asking God for it,” he recalled. “Once we moved, we started growing, and people started getting saved.”

IInocencio Briones dreams of a new digital sign at his churh that can let people in town know about activities involving the congregation—and that spells his name correctly.n August, La Luz del Mundo will mark its fifth anniversary in that location. On a typical Sunday, 70 to 80 people gather in the church’s sanctuary, which seats 100 comfortably.

But on several occasions, with chairs lining the aisles, the church has filled with up to 150 worshippers. Nearly all of the congregation’s members were not Christians before they started attending La Luz del Mundo.

“Last year, we had a three-day revival meeting outside,” Briones said. At least 10 people made professions of faith in Christ.

Fellowship and prayer

Briones credits the growth at La Luz del Mundo in part to the warm fellowship at the church, noting, “We have a potluck meal every Sunday.”

But Paula Briones offers another explanation.

“My husband is on his knees every morning at 5,” she said. “Every day, he begins with prayer.”

‘Cross over a river’

For about two years, Briones prayed his church would start a mission congregation.

“God has blessed us, and we wanted to extend that,” he said.

One night, he dreamed he was supposed to “cross over a river” and help start a church. When he shared his dream with the pastor of a church in Acuña, where he had worked on mission trips, the pastor introduced him to a member who felt called to be a church planter.

“When we talked, he told me: ‘I’ve been praying for three months for this. I’ll do it,’” Briones recalled.

In February, Iglesia Evangelica Linage Escosido constituted as a mission with eight members. Within a month, the congregation drew about 40 worshippers.

Dreams for the future

Briones—who works in facility maintenance with the Albany school district—accepts no salary from La Luz del Mundo. He hopes the offerings his church members give each week eventually will enable their congregation to purchase the building where they meet and to expand it.

“God has something else for us,” he said. “It’s been hard, but we want to do what the Lord has told us to do. We are going to keep going and not give up.”

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