GREATER FAITH MINISTRIES BUYS NEW PROPERTY IN COLTON

(COLTON, Calif.) Greater Faith Ministries, a church focusing on community outreach, hopes within the next three years to do even greater things than now with its newly purchased property in Colton.

The church of approximately 60 members raised enough money recently to purchase about five acres near Interstate 215 off the Washington/Mount Vernon exit.

“I am so proud of our congregation for what it has accomplished,” said Pastor Kermit Brazier. “It was through church offerings and community contributions that we were able to purchase this land.”

Eighteen years ago, Greater Faith Ministies was born. For the last seven years, it has met at the San Bernardino Hilton on Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino. It is starting to outgrow its current meeting place, and the congregation also feels having a Sundays-only place limits what it can do.

Ideally, Greater Faith Ministries wants a place that can be a resource for those in need. It already considers helping the less fortunate its greatest ministry, Pastor Brazier said.

“The community is the church,” he said. “Our mission is to feed, clothe and shelter the community, and to teach them the principles of the word of God; to care for those who have nothing until they are able to function on their own.”

The church has helped a number of people on a case-by-case basis. But when it moves to its own building in Colton, Pastor Brazier would like to be able to add to that ministry. He won’t develop any specific projects until he meets with Colton city leaders to discuss his ideas, but knows he’d like the new ministry to include creating jobs for people.

He also will have to discuss the church building itself with Colton officials. Now that the property is purchased, the next step is for the church to hire an architect who will work with the city to develop plans for the new church. Only after the city approves these plans, and the church raises money to cover building costs, can construction begin.

But if all goes well, by 2011 the growing and faithful congregation will be blessed with a beautiful new church, and Colton will be blessed with a great resource for helping the area’s less fortunate.

For more information, call Pastor Brazier at (909) 354-1276.