PAHOKEE—A Florida Baptist church’s decision to give away a church property is helping another congregation strengthen its roots and expand its vision for serving the Pahokee community.

Grace Fellowship recently gifted its Pahokee property to United Missionary Baptist Church, a congregation that had been renting the facility and ministering from the location for years.

For pastor Jeff Robinson and Grace Fellowship, the decision grew out of a desire to steward what God had entrusted to the church with generosity.

“The Lord has been gracious to Grace Fellowship, and we want to share that and be generous,” Robinson said.

The Pahokee property had itself been gifted to Grace Fellowship before Robinson became pastor. Over the years, Grace Fellowship conducted outreach in the community but found it difficult to maintain a consistent ministry presence there.

Eventually, United Missionary began renting the facility. As the congregation established its ministry there, the two churches also partnered through various community events.

Over time, Grace Fellowship recognized that United Missionary and pastor James White were positioned to continue growing the ministry from the property.

White, who is from nearby Clewiston and is well known in the area, said his vision extends beyond what happens during the church’s worship services. He wants the congregation to reach Pahokee through service and use the facility as a resource for the community.

“Pahokee is an isolated community in dire need of growth and development,” White said. “The work I intend to do is designed to be an outreach to get some of that work done.”

Among those plans is the establishment of a school. White said the congregation intends to use the facility in ways that contribute to the betterment of the community and allow the church to reach entire families.

That desire also is behind plans to change the church’s name, creating an identity White hopes will communicate that the congregation welcomes and seeks to serve the entire Pahokee community.

Rather than retain a building for which Grace Fellowship had no specific future ministry plan, the church chose to give it to the congregation already using it to serve the community.

For Erik Cummings, Black Multicultural Catalyst for the Florida Baptist Convention, the transfer demonstrates what can happen when churches view their resources through the lens of Kingdom cooperation.

“It is a powerful testimony when a church chooses to partner with another congregation and pass on a property or asset that helps to position them to minister to the needs of a changing community,” Cummings said.

He described the relationship between Grace Fellowship and United Missionary as a “Kingdom collaboration” that will help ensure the gospel continues to go forth from the Pahokee property for years to come.

“I am excited about the prospects because cooperation and collaboration are key values to our fellowship,” Cummings said.

For White, joining the Florida Baptist Convention also gives United Missionary an opportunity to develop relationships with churches beyond Pahokee as the congregation pursues its vision for the community.

“The fellowship we will be able to enjoy with other FBC churches will be strength to our church,” White said, adding that he looks forward to the congregation “being a part of something that is different and that is growing.”

The partnership gives United Missionary both a permanent place from which to pursue its ministry and a larger fellowship of churches with which to serve.

For Grace Fellowship, giving away the property was less about relinquishing an asset and more about placing it in the hands of a congregation prepared to use it.

What Grace Fellowship once received as a gift, the church has now chosen to give again, helping another congregation put down deeper roots in Pahokee and use the property to share the gospel and serve its community.