Grace Bible Church excited about new facility
Representatives from Grace Bible Church, Sanger Bank and Whitworth Construction meet at the site of the new Grace Bible Church in Sanger in early March.
Grace Bible Pastor Tommy Bosworth with wife Charisa and children
Grace Bible Church will have a new home in the near future. Construction is already underway at the new location on North 5th Street Loop (next to the Sanger Post Office). Tommy Bosworth, Pastor of Grace Bible is very excited about the future of the church. Grace Bible was a plant from Denton Bible Church in the 1980s and has met in the same location on the downtown square in Sanger for thirty years. Several members of Denton Bible who lived locally wanted to bring the strong biblical teaching Denton Bible was known for to Sanger. “We still have a couple of families who remain at Grace from these early years,” said Bosworth.
Tommy and his wife Charisa came to Grace as newlyweds in 2006. Tommy served as a pastoral intern for three years before becoming pastor in 2011. “We initially came to Grace because we wanted to ‘down-shift’ from the big church experience to a smaller more family-like church. Participating and ministering in Sanger has been a tremendous joy and learning experience for me.”
Tommy received a BA in Bible Exposition from The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, CA in 2005 and his ThM in New Testament from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2012. Charisa was born in Denton but raised in Stephenville, TX. Tommy was raised in Chattanooga, TN and they met at The Master’s University in CA.
A new building has been in the works for fifteen years, but encountered various obstacles along the way. “We owned ten acres of land east of town on 455, but determined it was too far away from town to serve our community effectively. In 2017 we sold that in exchange for the more centrally located property next to the post office. I spotted the sale through an online real estate search,” Bosworth said.
“We are thankful for the generous giving of our members to jump start the building project in 2017 as well as Sanger Bank for financing the remaining funds required for the project. Happily, the landlord of our current facility, Jonathan Whitworth, is also our contracted builder for the new project. We are thankful for his long-standing diligence and partnership with us.”
The Bosworth’s family, Whitworth’s (Jonathan, Amy and Brandon) and Sanger Bank’s Charles Fenoglio, Margaret Long, Don Long and Cindy Pruett, along with others, were on hand for a ceremonial picture in early March, before the COVID 19 pandemic.
Amy Whitworth said Wednesday, construction is continuing through the pandemic, but rain has slowed them down. “That’s what is taking so long to get it off the ground.”
Sanger Bank is proud to help with the financing. “It is an honor and a privilege to serve our customers and our community. Sanger is growing and the staff at Sanger Bank is here to assist our community with all of its financial needs. We have been locally owned and operated since 1987. Come and be part of our family and grow with us,” said Don Long, Director of Sanger Bank.
The main purpose for the new building is to have a facility that is more efficient for Grace Bible’s purposes. The building they have rented on the square for thirty years is very old and in need of more repairs than they want to invest in it. Long-time residents of Sanger will remember when this building was a grocery store (McDaniel’s). “My wife’s father, Jimmy Harris, grew up in Sanger and actually worked in the facility when it was a store. He is able to point out exactly where the aisles used to be and the products that used to be on the shelves,” said Tommy.
They also want to own the church property instead of continuing to rent. This is to their long-term financial advantage and will also communicate that they are here to stay. “In the Lord’s grace we want Sanger to be better off because we are here.”
Bosworth wanted to recognize Randy Woodruff and Lee Allison, as well. “Both of these men are deacons in our church and have invested significant portions of their life bringing this building project to fruition!”
Philosophically, Grace Bible believes the good life flows from a right relationship with God and the church is equipped like no other institution to meet this need in Sanger. “We hope our efforts will come alongside other gospel-believing churches in Sanger to make our town a better place,” Bosworth added.
They hope to worship in the new facility before the end of the year.
Sanger Bank’s Margaret Long, Charles Fenoglio, Cindy Pruett
and Don Long
Jonathan and Amy Whitworth with son
Brandon at the construction site of the future Grace Bible Church in Sanger. Whitworth Construction is the general contractor for the project.