TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Churches Spread The Word

ADVERTISEMENT

By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 9, 2008

CARROLLWOOD - In La Casa de Amistad, the fellowship hall of Iglesia Bautista de Carrollwood, all languages are welcome.

The placard outside says it is the house of friendship.

Inside, unity is literally written on the wall.

At one end, words such as joy, freedom, peace, family and faith are painted in cursive. Each word is intertwined, switching from English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese.

The diversity in linguistics is not surprising.

After all, it is a church where three congregations, speaking three languages, share the same place of worship.

On Sundays, there are three worship services - one each in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The cluster of buildings at 2905 Smitter Road is home to the Spanish-speaking Iglesia Bautista de Carrollwood, the English-speaking Carrollwood Christian Center and the Portuguese-speaking Igreja Batista da Paz.

"It is complicated, but it's a blessing to be able to serve that many people in one location," said Aura Jordan, wife of Guillermo Jordan, the pastor of the Spanish-speaking congregation.

Iglesia Bautista de Carrollwood has been ministering to Hispanics since 1991. It started as a mission at Carrollwood Baptist Church, where members met in a trailer on the church grounds on Ehrlich Road.

A year later, its 25-member faithful moved to a converted house to Smitter Road, behind the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library.

Since moving there, the church has built a 250-seat sanctuary and accompanying fellowship hall and grown to about 225 members. In addition, two other churches have come aboard.

Jordan's son Jose heads the Carrollwood Christian Center. As was its predecessor, the church was established in January 2007 to fill a need.

The 40-member congregation was an English Sunday school class for the Spanish-speaking church. Many of the members' children and Anglo spouses did not speak Spanish.

"There was a need to keep families in which one or two of the members' main language was English," Guillermo Jordan said. "The youth of the congregation felt more comfortable and could understand the gospel more in English."

"The English church provides an opportunity for our young members to participate in the development of the service and the program of the church," he said.

A few months later, the Tampa Bay Baptist Association called seeking room for a Brazilian congregation that was meeting in Town 'N Country. It needed a centralized location to reach Portuguese-speaking populations in southern Pasco County.

"We opened our doors because they needed a better place to meet and grow," Guillermo Jordan said.

On Sundays, the English congregation holds worship service at 9:30 a.m. while the Spanish church runs Sunday school. At 11 a.m., the two congregations flip-flop. At 7 p.m., the Brazilian church takes over the sanctuary.

Throughout the week, each church coordinates prayer meetings, Bible study and evening worship services at different times.

Each church is different not only in language, but also in worship style, Jose Jordan said.

The English-speaking service offers contemporary Christian recording artists, and the Brazilian church has a charismatic feel with a live band.

Of the three, the Hispanic church is the most traditional with its use of hymns and a choir.

Gloria Alfonso, a member of the Spanish-speaking church's Golden Years club, has been worshipping with Iglesia Bautista de Carrollwood since 1993.

The senior group meets Thursdays for a prayer service and lunch, followed by an afternoon of card table games.

Alfonso said she found the Hispanic congregation after moving to Tampa from Dayton, Ohio.

"This group is more like family," she said. "If someone is sick, they bring them food. The pastor, we can call him at any time. He's available to help in some way."

Ivette Sotomayor, also with the Golden Years club, has been attending the church for three years and said she loves its familial feel.

"This is a beautiful church. The people are very friendly. Here they teach you the word of God. We look after each other," she said.

The fact that they share the church buildings with two other congregations is a benefit.

"The more the merrier," she said. "It gives the opportunity for people of the other languages to learn the word of God - to praise him and to worship him."

Guillermo Jordan said many joke about how they have members representing every country in Central and South America, with people hailing from Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Chile and Brazil.

The subtle differences in culture unite rather than divide the group.

"It's not felt. There's no point in which we identify each country," he said.

Jordan points out that there is a saying that everyone's last name is "de Jesus," or of Jesus, and that they all come from El Salvador, which means "the Savior" in Spanish.

"We have experienced the diversity and the variety, and we have been able to enrich lives and to understand better the heart of God," he said.

IF YOU GO

THE CHURCHES: Iglesia Bautista de Carrollwood, Carrollwood Christian Center and Igreja Batista Da Paz

ADDRESS: 2905 Smitter Road, Carrollwood

CONTACT: (813) 962-6808

SERVICES: 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday

PASTORS: Guillermo Jordan, Jose Jordan, and Domicio Chavante

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT