"I Will Persist Until I Succeed" - In 1984 Roy L. Smith moved to Andrews, Texas with his wife Carla, son Georvarsey and daughter Lakeisha to pastor True-Lite Baptist Church. The church consisted of around 90 members at the time and was considered a black church.

Even back then, Roy Smith lived and expected that not every man be perfect, but continue to strive to be what God required him to be. In 1991 his non-compromising of the gospel, eventually lead to a mutiny at True-Lite Baptist Church, thus Roy Smith decided, it was time to move on. He went back to Midland, Texas with over half of the True-Lite congregation. Moving back to Midland, Texas was a feat. There was really no place to praise and the account balance from True-Lite Christian Fellowship was nothing.

That didn't stop Roy Smith. He decided that he would have church in the den of his house. Man! This was an inconvenience. Every Saturday night, chairs had to be out and the kid's rooms were used as Sunday School classes. This was not very popular with the children. God blessed, and at the end of the year, the church was able to get a loan from Norwest Bank and buy a church on Tejas. This was truly the evolution of True-Lite Christian Fellowship. Roy wanted to keep the True-Lite name because it said something. However, it was no longer a black church or a Baptist Church but a non-denomination church.

God continued to bless and in 1999 the church was able to add on and more members came. Around this time, Roy sat at his kitchen table and came up with a church vision where he saw white, black and Hispanic people worshipping together. The kids in the church had their own facilities such as a gym and a playground. Initially, people thought God had taken True-Lite as far as he wanted to, and Roy's vision seemed a little far fetched.

In 2004, Roy's paper dream materialized at 3001 North "A" Street. This was exactly what he had dreamed about. There was a gym, a playground and he was blessed with the money to extend the sanctuary. If you go to Andrews, Texas, you won't be able to see True-Lite Baptist Church. It was recently torn down due to it being an eye sore in the community. The congregation of True-Lite Christian is now mixed with all races, and at times there is nowhere to sit if you get to church later than 11:00 AM. Roy even has an Assistant Pastor and eight Associate Ministers under him and a wife that can really sing!

Yeah, he finally did it! The little black boy from the southeast side of Midland finally made it and he has not only God, but a whole city behind him.

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• The Scriptures: We believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God and is inerrant in the original writings. The Bible being the revealed Word of God is the ground and foundation from which all claims of truth will be substantiated. The Word of God is alive and quick! Through God's sovereign hand, the Scriptures have been preserved and are the supreme and final authority. (See II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12.)


• God: We believe that there is only one true and living God existing in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each is a distinct Person, but all of one essence and all having the same nature, perfection and attributes, and each is worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence and obedience. (See Genesis 1:1-3,26; Matthew 3:1,17; John 1:1,14, 10:30, 14:26, 15:26; Matthew 28:19.)


• Jesus Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, shed His blood on Calvary in our place, was buried, rose again and ascended to the Father according to the Scriptures. (See Luke 1:26-33, 22:20, 24:46.)


• Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, God and co-existent with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the Chief Agent in the regeneration of the soul, the Chief Convictor of sin and the Chief Comforter of the believer. The Holy Spirit is also the giver of spiritual gifts to the believer. (See John 16:1-13; Acts 5:3-4; Titus 3-5: Matthew 3:11; Ephesians 1:13-14; I Corinthians 12:1-11.)


• Man: We believe that man is the direct creation of God - body, soul and spirit. Therefore, man is not in any way a result of evolution, but is made in God's image. The sin and fall of Adam resulted in the fall of creation and mankind both physically and spiritually. (See Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:10, 5:12, 8:18-23.)


• Salvation: We believe that all who, in faith, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are born again by the Holy Spirit and thus become the sanctification and glorification. (See Ephesians 1:7; Romans 10:9-10, 5:7-11; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22; John 17:16-22; II Corinthians 5:17; I Corinthians 6:19.)


• Church Outreach: The outreach of the church is in response to the Great Commission and Great Commandment of Jesus Christ. In loving response to God's gracious act of salvation, we extend our love and the Good News of Jesus Christ to the entire world. We seek to provide caring support, conduct vital religious education and teach others to obey the commands of Jesus Christ.


• The Sacraments: We believe that the Sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper were established by Christ and are vital signs of God's grace and will for our lives. In these sacraments, we strengthen and confirm our faith in Him.


• The Lord's Supper: The Supper of the Lord is a sign of the love of Christ, our love for one another and our redemption by Christ's death. For those who rightly and worthily accept this sign with faith, the bread which we break is a spiritual partaking of the body of Christ; and likewise the cup of blessing is a spiritual partaking of the blood of Christ. All who accept Jesus Christ as Savior are welcome to participate in this sacrament.

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The Word of the Lord; "Then sayeth He unto His disciples, the harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into his harvest." Matthew 9:37-38. Who are the laborers? We, the church, are!!!!!!!

True-Lite does not choose to exercise the option that would suggest or even resemble a "let's wait posture." The church's relationship of responsibility to God is this, "Love God and Love People." This church believes that this time in history that we are establishing is time that has been entrusted to us, and we take it personally. As Satan attempts to take siege of the family, marriages, the culture, and all else to his government, this church's response to his advance is, "NOT ON OUR WATCH!!"

Christ designed the New Testament Church, which is made up of His disciples, to be in "this world" His "irresistible force" and that is exactly what we will engage both to be and do.

The vision is simple, "to make disciples of men" and to teach them those things which He has instructed. Matthew 28:16-20. To make men to know that no struggle is too big for God, no question is unanswerable, no problem is too difficult. The resurrection of Christ trumpeted the Good News that because He was, we can. This church will refuse to allow our growth in numbers to make of us an enemy of the cross. Rather, we will cause our growth to be the force that embraces and gives birth to the kingdom of God as He gives to us the harvest of men. As people are groping for something that can restore the shattered bonds of family and community, as they grope for something that will make sense in this life, we endeavor to recommend to them that Jesus is the answer to all of man's dilemmas. We, this church, must show the culture that surrounds us that Christianity is more than our private belief, it is more than personal salvation; we must be poised to demonstrate that Christianity is the comprehensive life system that answers all of humanity's seemingly perpetual questions.

We, the church, exist to be all of that, and more. If this church is going to be that above described picture, it is going to take from you your personal commitment in a major way. If you will only commit, the scripture declares in Matthew 19:26, "Jesus beheld them and said unto them, with men, this is impossible; but with God, all things are possible."

Thus we pray with John Wesley, and we say:

"Lord Jesus, take full possession of our hearts and raise there Your throne.

Command there as you do in Heaven.

Being created by You, let us live for You;

Being created for You, let us always act for Your glory;

Being redeemed by You, let us always give to You what is Yours;

And let our spirit cling to You alone for Your name sake, Amen."

DO YOU BELIEVE?

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