Wedding Venue to Church Home
A New Worship Place for the Bride of Christ
International Victory Christian Church (IVCC) has been faithfully saving funds for several years to purchase a dedicated church building. Through careful planning, the church—led by Pastor Michael Liga—located a facility to call home. This spring, the church closed on a loan with the Foundation to acquire a wedding venue property to convert into its new place of worship. IVCC’s vision is to share the gospel with all people in their community, to change lives, to restore and strengthen family relationships, and help parents raise God-fearing children in a Christ-centered home. This new facility will allow the church to boldly push further with these visions, enabling the church to reach more people and build deeper connections with one another.
Originally located in Pearland, south of Houston, IVCC has met in the afternoons in Calvary Baptist Church’s building for over fifteen years. In the first month of each year, the congregation does a 21-day chain of fasting and prayer.
“Prayer is very important so God will move, and revival through evangelism and discipleship will be effective, not just as an event but an encounter with God.”
“Prayer is very important so God will move, and revival through evangelism and discipleship will be effective, not just as an event but an encounter with God,” says Liga. They also do regular overnight worship sessions, bringing the church together through praise. These habits enabled the church to remain aligned with God’s plan as they patiently waited for the correct timing to make this important move.
The time of waiting and saving funds was not without struggles, however, as the church needed to meet in the afternoons, rather than the usual Sunday morning worship. This atypical schedule unfortunately caused a few members to step away over the years. Thankfully, the church has a strong community of core members who adapted to the schedule, allowing it to thrive despite the meeting time.
Pastor Michael Liga advises any church looking to purchase a new facility to consider operating in the afternoons at an existing church’s fellowship building to save funds that would be spent on leasing costly commercial space. The money can then be invested in certificates to grow the funds while in the transitional period. Another piece of advice he gave is to utilize church pledges, to ensure the entire church is on the same page and is driven to the same financial goal, instead of solely relying on individuals. Finally, Liga suggests prospective church shoppers search for land with a viable structure already in place, rather than attempting to build from the ground up. The new IVCC building may have started as a wedding venue, but it will soon become a beautiful house of worship for Pearland.
Even in the initial stages of this project, Pastor Liga is already looking to the future. “Another reason why we decided to purchase a new facility is that this building will become a legacy for our children and grandchildren. Imagine the impact of this building on their lives, growing up and worshipping in their sanctuary that their parents built,” says Liga, emphasizing this project lays the groundwork for those who continue to build the church into the future. He also sees the potential that comes outside of Sunday worship, such as pastoral care and counseling for individuals and families in times of need. Lastly, the space allows for fellowship among believers, to support and encourage one another over a cup of coffee. This new facility may represent many years of waiting, but it also represents many years to come of fellowship, teaching and praise to the Lord who made it all possible.
- Written by Ruben Johnson
