Our History

The Amazing Faithfulness of God 

- Pastor Eric Jordan

Jesus says in (Matthew 17:20,21) “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” 

This is a testimony of how God moved mountains for a small time preacher, me. In 2006 I was praying in the chapel of a hospital in Austin Texas. This was not an ordinary prayer; it was a prayer of desperation. My wife and two week old daughter were admitted in the hospital because of post-birth complications. As you can imagine I was concerned, and as they were being attended by the nurses I went down to the hospital chapel to pray. ‘Nothing will drop you to your knees more than seeing your wife and child suffer.’ As a preacher I knew nothing was more powerful than Prayer; the Lord had shown me His faithfulness through prayer many times before. As I knelt before the alter praying for my family, the Lord strangely spoke to me; not that His voice was strange, but the subject matter was. In His still quiet voice He command something unexpected, something other than what I was praying; in fact, it was light years from what I had ever conceived. “It’s time for you to go” He said.

'Well, that was unexpected and somewhat confusing.’ At first I Ignored it thinking it was just a voice in my mind, but about five minutes later; ‘It’s time for you to go.’ Now the voice has my attention. ‘Go where, Lord?’ I asked, thinking He was telling me to leave the chapel and attend to my wife and daughter. Curiously, I continued to pray and a few moments later a more demanding but still gentile voice. ‘It’s time for you to leave your church and plant another church.’ Well this was a surprise on multiple levels. First, I was expecting the Lord to answer my prayer about my wife and daughter. Second, I was very comfortable at the church I was attending; I was, “Sitting in the second chariot” as it were, not taking on the arrows that are surely hurled at the first (chariot seat) of the Pastor but supporting him and encouraging him from a safer backseat. 

As I got off my knees I headed to the hospital room to check on my wife and daughter, but it was as if I was in a haze, a different reality and oddly, I can’t remember anything after that. I contemplated what the Lord said for a couple of weeks, praying, meditating, really seeking the Lord’s voice again but of no avail, silence! The chapel encounter happened in December and two months had passed by and I had not been obedient to what God called me to do. That month in February all hell broke loose in the church I was attending; no need to get into specifics, but it was not good and many people left the church. Looking back, I now know why God wanted me to leave two months earlier. I stayed another month to try and help the church through this difficult time but to no avail. Still intimidated by what God told me in the chapel I begin to seek the Lord again and had a (Gideon’s fleece) moment. But the Lord was patient and gave me a divine confirmation, and by faith, what little faith I had, He began to open up doors; and in two months, without any advertisement, minimum funds, no congregation, I found a facility and we had our first worship service on Easter Sunday and 60 people walked through the doors… hallelujah, God really does add to the church.

So, on April 2007 A Breath Of Praise Community Church was born. Our mission is to Teach the Bible, Make Disciples for Christ, and Plant churches around the world.

In 2015 we help plant a Hispanic church in Round Rock, TX, which is still growing today. And in October of 2022 we planted A Breath Of Praise Church- Brownwood. This church plant is just as miraculous! In December of 2021 we gathered our prayer warriors and prayed every morning the month of December at 5:00 am for two hours inquiring the Lord where to plant our next church. 4 months later, I was driving through Brownwood to preach at my brother’s church in Abilene TX. On the way back, passing through Brownwood I heard that quiet, still voice, “This is where I want you to plant a church.” Again, this was a surprise…. ‘Brownwood’ I thought’ - What is in Brownwood, what good can come out of Brownwood Lord? What about the suburbs of Austin, San Antonio, even Dallas? Surely not Brownwood. However, the tug, the pull to Brownwood was too strong, it wouldn’t leave me alone. I told my wife. ‘I believe the Lord is calling me to plant a church in Brownwood.’ She looked at me in bewilderment and panic and said, ‘Do we have to move there?’ I said no. She was relieved.

The following weeks a made a couple of trips to Brownwood to get a feel, a sense of the town of about 18k people; it was friendly and polite. Yet, when I reached a poor economically depressed part of town, the flats as it is known, I began to feel the heart of God for this community. To be honest, I had never felt this kind of sensation before and began to weep. It was as if Jesus was allowing me to feel His pain for His sheep in that community. The next day I called my cousin who used to live in Brownwood, he still had ties there and would visit Brownwood frequently. “Jan, I believe the Lord is pulling me to Brownwood to start a ministry there. Do you know a church that would let me hold a Bible study in their church?” ’He said try my childhood church, they might; not too many go there these days.” I called the Pastor of that Methodist church, after I told her the vision of our church in that community she became very excited and said, ‘Yes, we don’t hold Wednesday night services, you can have that evening if you like and we won’t charge anything.’ I was blown away! We both began to praise God on the phone. 

It turns out, she being white, had been praying for an African American Pastor to come to this mostly black community because their congregation had dwindled to about 7 people. So, the following week I started a Wednesday night Bible study and 2 people showed up, the following week, 5, then 10; and soon we had 15 people steadily showing up on Wednesday night. After about four months I asked Pastor Teri could we began a worship service at 9am on Sunday’s since their worship service started at 11am. She was more than gracious and encouraged it. February of 2022 we had a (soft opening) worship service and over 20 people showed up. The next week 25 people, then 40 people, until October when we had our grand opening. That was a special day. Our sanctuary seats 120 at full capacity. It felt like the whole neighborhood showed up that day. Local churches and pastors came by to show their support and we packed the church with 139 people…. hallelujah!!! As of today we average 52 on Sunday, 18 on Wednesday Bible study, and membership, “if they all showed up at one time” about 72.

In two in a half years we have baptized over 80 people, mostly adults. Raised up 7 solid leaders with 4 more in training. We have tremendously successful Outreach programs for the community; and it is the largest Black church in Brownwood, though our congregation is multiracial. We’re engaged with City Officials, formed relationships with Howard Pain University and local schools, developed needful ministries, including (Adopt a student ministry) and (Nursing Home ministry); and currently working on a (Mentorship Program) with HPU. We’ve helped people be delivered from drugs and alcohol, reconciled marriages through Biblical Counseling, by which I have a certificate from SWBTS in Fort Worth. But it gets better! 

In 2022 post-covid, the Methodist church we used as our meeting place lost the majority of their congregation; in addition, the World Wide Methodist denomination was splitting. So, this local Methodist church in Brownwood decided to leave the Methodist denomination all together leaving them with a hand full of members and no support. They came to me and proposed a plan to transition because they were closing. Only the hand of God could do what happened next. In the contract they would leased the building to our church for 1 year for free, and at the end of the year, if all was well they would give us the title to the church building and land for $1. Today, ABOP-Brownwood owns a 6,500 square foot building, fully furnished with commercial kitchen, 3 bathrooms, 2 offices, and fellowship hall.

Only the sovereignty of God could orchestrate such a miraculous outcome. I wonder many times, ‘What if I didn’t obey the call to Brownwood.’ All the glory goes to my Savior Jesus Christ! What has happened in Brownwood, in our church, and community is nothing but a providential move of God. The neighborhood is being revitalized because of the faithfulness and hard work of ABOP. Hope has been restored, excitement is growing, and the future is bright. Our church has become the “Light House” in the community, even in the midst of darkness that has plagued that community for the last 40 years. The amazing faithfulness of God can often be wonderfully overwhelming when we experience His providential hand in our lives. “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)