Buckner Missions Coordinator, Pastor
Leading Church by Faith and Works
By Scott Collins

PENITAS, Texas – If seeing is believing, Omar Chavarria has 20/20 vision.

When Chavarria became pastor of Iglesia Bautista Manantial de Vida in 2003, the congregation of 15 members was meeting in a garage and praying for the day when they could buy ½ acre of land.

But Chavarria, who also serves as a missions coordinator for Buckner Border Ministries in the Rio Grande Valley, had another vision. Where church members saw a small partial of land and limited growth, their new pastor saw five acres and unlimited possibilities.

Today, a brand new building sits on five acres and more than 230 people are involved in the church’s ministries every week. Working with Buckner, church members are reaching out to a nearby colonia where thousands of low-income residents live.            But between the garage and the five acres was a journey of faith and belief for Chavarria and the congregation.

It started when Chavarria located a vacant piece of property he believed God has led him to. He discovered it was owned by an oil company, so he called the oil company inquiring about purchasing the land. A month later, Chavarria got a return call from the president’s assistant saying the company was not interested in selling the land.

“I told her, ‘My Lord that I am serving wants that land and he needs that land to reach out to this community. Tell him (company president) I’m going to be praying for him,’” Chavarria said. The assistant told Chavarria he should write a letter to the company president, which he did.

On May 10, 2004, the assistant called Chavarria and said the oil company president had changed his mind and was willing to sell the land to the church. Chavarria set out immediately trying to find financing for the $100,000 the church needed. But banks and the Baptist General Convention of Texas told him it was too much money for the small congregation.

And while members of the congregation wanted to buy the land, they expressed doubt and fear about the money. “I told them we needed a bigger vision,” Chavarria said.

In the meantime, before the church could find funding, Chavarria received a call from the oil company saying that 15 percent of the land was owned by another individual and everything was on hold four to five months. The individual wanted to know who was going to buy the land and how it would be used. “I prayed for that man, too,” Chavarria said.

Finally, on Sept. 30, 2004, everything was finalized. The land owners had decided to give the land to the church, but with a catch. “They told me we had only two years to begin building or we would have to return the land,” Chavarria said.

That’s when Chavarria literally took the first step in getting a building built. He started prayer walking around the five acres – every day for three hours; he walked from one end of the property to other praying that God would provide a building. He put four stones on each corner of the lot and walked inside the stones.

“I thanked God for giving us this place,” Chavarria said.

For three months, Monday through Friday, Chavarria walked the lot, three hours every day. At the same time, he was also putting his faith to work by seeking help from the local Baptist association and other resources.

That’s when he met Jorge Zapata, director of Buckner Border Ministries. Zapata explained Buckner’s colonia work in the Valley and learned that Iglesia Bautista Manantial de Vida was also working in the colonias. The church and Buckner began working together.

Chavarria explained the predicament the church was in needing to start construction on a building or return the land. Zapata said Buckner could help by recruiting church groups wanting to do mission work in the Valley.

By spring break 2005, Living Hope Baptist Church in College Station, Texas, showed up with 60 volunteers to lay the foundation for the building and erect the frame. First Baptist Church, Madisonville, Texas, followed in June with a team and $16,000 to finish the framing.

Unknown to Chavarria, the oil company had sent a worker to watch the church’s progress. The man took photos of the volunteers working on the building. Three weeks later, a check for $50,000 arrived in the mail with a letter from the people who owned the land stating they wanted “to support the ministry because we can see that you are serious about your work.”

Six months later, in December 2005 a second $50,000 check arrived bringing the donation to $100,000 cash in addition to the five acres. To this day, the benefactors remain anonymous to Chavarria and the church.

“The Lord was talking to them everyday because of our prayers,” Chavarria said. “We didn’t do anything. We just asked and we received it from the Lord. I don’t know the person, but the Lord knows them and their hearts belong to the Lord. People like these God uses for the enlargement of his kingdom.”

With the money in hand, the church was able to continue work on the building. And when other needs arose, Chavarria said finances always seemed to arrive just in time -- $7,000 for concrete; $5,000 for architectural work; $5,000 for a septic system.            For the past several months, Chavarria has been working with Buckner, first in a part-time position funded by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and now in a full-time role as a mission coordinator, working with groups coming to the Valley from all over the United States.

The dual responsibilities as pastor and Buckner employee enable Chavarria to continue as pastor of the church because of the income he earns from Buckner. “It’s a blessing because the church income was too low,” he said.

Between his work with Buckner and the ministries of the church in the colonia, Chavarria has become known throughout the neighborhood as the “colonia’s pastor,” a role he gladly accepts. Along with providing mission teams to perform light construction on dilapidated homes, Buckner also offers food, clothing and other help to families living in poverty.  With the growth of Iglesia Bautista Manantial de Vida, much of Buckner’s ministry is funneled through the congregation.

“The church and Buckner are working together and we are seeing many more blessings,” he said. “It’s a great blessing for me to be working with Buckner and it’s a big blessing for Buckner to be involved with the church.”