La Creu Alta Baptist Church is located in the highest point in Sabadell, a city outside Barcelona, Spain. Its name means “high cross.”
One of only three Baptist churches in the city, La Creu Alta has a membership of 101 and a Sunday evening service attendance of about 160. The 47-year-old church maintains strong ministries in education, evangelism, social work and children.
Pastor Lorenzo Gonzalez, who has led the church for eight years, said the church enthusiastically joined the partnership efforts by forming a relationship with Lebanon Baptist Church, Falkville.
And the two churches plan to continue their partnership until the “Lord tells us otherwise.”
Partnering together since the beginning of the Alabama-Spain partnership, the churches have built friendships that are “amazing” said A. Ray Lee, pastor of Lebanon Baptist Church.
While the Alabama-Spain partnership officially ended Dec. 31, 1999, “we felt like the Lord wasn’t through with our partnership yet,” Ray said.
Gonzalez agreed.
“There is no fixed date when it might end,” he said. “We are both seeking God’s will and will continue until God ends it.”
Ray, his wife Effie, and others from the church have taken three missions trips to the area. The Rays also stopped by the church while in the country on a school project for Effie. She is a Spanish teacher, has studied in Spain and often takes students on tours of Spain.
Gonzalez also spent about 15 days with the Rays one summer and is planning to send a group from his church this summer to work with Lebanon Baptist.
The Decatur-area church also has helped La Creu Alta financially, even though it is a small, rural church of about 90, Gonzalez said. “They have sent money to help do work on the church, help with the social ministry and with the prison ministry at the church,” he said.
The Alabama church has also helped send teenagers from La Creu Alta on missions trips to Equatorial Guinea.
“This summer we will send some of our members to the church for a month,” said Gonzalez.
“They’ve asked us to bring a group of four to work with children, Hispanic churches, and the social ministries in Morgan County. They have a social center they want us to work with, and collaborate as volunteers and see the general work thy do there,” he said.
Ray said he also hopes to take the group to the State Board of Missions office in Montgomery, Samford University in Birmingham and other agencies such as the Decatur branch of the Children’s Homes.
“If Lorenzo comes, w will do a crusade and have the others give testimonies,” Ray added.
He said there will be home meetings, Bible studies, missions emphases and youth meetings.
Gonzalez said he plans to send the social work deacon, the education deacon and her husband and the youth leader.
Gonzalez is still deciding whether he is coming and what dates they will be here.
The group will stay in church members’ homes while in Alabama.
“We want it to be a two-way partnership, and we have a need they can help us with,” Ray said. “A true partnership has to work both ways. We’re looking forward to them coming.”
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