English
English
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SpanishWhen James Flores came in view of a call to pastor Lamar Street Baptist Church, it was a high moment. Although he had served another local church as a volunteer and then as a bivocational student minister, Lamar Street would be his first pastorate.
The crowd that Sunday was nice for this small West Texas congregation. About half of the 60 people there were friends and family. The other 30 people in attendance to hear Flores preach represented a very good crowd for the church.
“I’d fallen in love with the pastor search committee,” Flores said, “and was bonding with some of the people. It was like visiting with family.”
But like other churches, Lamar Street came with challenges. Growth had stalled. Old conflicts lingered. Flores saw a need for revival. After contacting the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention about its Regenesis church health and renewal process, church members began to meet to discuss the ministry of their church as well as to pray together.
Those meetings were a game-changer for the pastor.
“Regenesis taught me to love the people God has placed in the church He called me to,” Flores said. “I realized that it was not just about me as a pastor. We must remember what God said.”
A little before Flores was called to pastor in February 2025, Tanner and Brittney Gomez were looking for a church. They’d visited Lamar Street a few times, but Tanner wanted to go back when he saw Flores had been called as pastor. He knew the pastor from when Gomez was an umpire for games that Flores’ children played in.
“Once we started going to church and Bible study,” Brittney reflected, “I feel like our home life changed automatically. I felt a different relationship with God.”
Tanner’s testimony includes struggles with addiction and abuse. Discipleship and time in God’s Word was critical in his maturing faith.
“Regenesis taught me to love the people God has placed in the church He called me to.”
“The more I learned of God’s Word, seeing God’s faithfulness from the beginning, [the more] it helped me with my doubt, my trust issues,” Tanner said. “We wanted to start a new chapter in our lives together.”
During the transitional season of welcoming a new pastor, which included some tense moments for the church, Brittney, and later Tanner, began attending the Regenesis meetings. Though the first thought in beginning the process was revival for the ministry of Lamar Street Baptist Church, it was also an occasion for personal revival for the Gomez family.
“At first, I felt like this was a waste of time,” Tanner said. “I didn’t have any hope that things were going to get better.”
“I had different feelings,” Brittney countered. “At our first [Regenesis] meeting, I knew that we were supposed to be at Lamar Street Baptist.”
“At the first meeting I attended,” Tanner explained, “I’ll never forget it. God showed me what it means to have faith in Him, to follow Him, to go out and spread His Word because you love Him. I saw all these people taking time out of their lives to do that. That first meeting changed my life.”
Tanner and Brittney were two of the 15 people Flores baptized during that first year of his ministry in Sweetwater. They also volunteered for leadership positions in the church, singing in the service, leading a women’s Bible study, helping with Vacation Bible School, and making the weekly announcements. And there were other signs of life across the church.
“The more I learned of God’s Word, seeing God’s faithfulness from the beginning, [the more] it helped me with my doubt, my trust issues. We wanted to start a new chapter in our lives together.”
“We’ve had more people step up and want to serve,” Flores said, “and our prayer meetings are growing. People are wanting to invite people to church. They’re so excited about the direction we are going. It all goes back to Regenesis, because of the things we’ve learned and implemented from there.
“I’m excited about where our church is headed and how many want to go there. A year ago, I could tell you where I wanted the church to go, but I didn’t think the church agreed. Now, we’re all headed on the same path. We all have the same vision. I am so much more at ease now.”
Flores is a bivocational pastor, like a great number of pastors in Texas. He works for a local company that makes gear for police departments. Like other bivocational pastors, his days are full and his time off is precious. That is especially true as he is serving a growing congregation.
“Somebody asked me, I think it was after my first year, ‘So how was your first year?’” Flores said. “It was lonely. I felt like I was alone sometimes. If you asked me that today, I don’t feel lonely. Now, do I feel busy? Absolutely! Sometimes I go straight to the church after my day job to work on a sermon.
“But sometimes I’m just alone with God in the building, just thanking the Lord for what He’s done.”
