Pastor Sergio Garcia and his wife, Sophia, previously attended Fellowship Church of Houston for 6 years where they both served the Lord as the young adults directors. Sergio also served for 4 years as evangelism director. He and his wife, Sophia, had 5 children when Sergio first surrendered to God’s call to plant a gospel-centered church in the historic Near Northside of Houston. So in October 17, 2010, the Garcia family along with a faithful handful of Christ-followers began to gather together as a core group in their home. Their vision became to sow the seed of the gospel in the hard ground of the inner city by planting a gospel-centered church that reaches broken souls with the transforming message of Christ. This was a call to sacrifice the comforts of their own home in the area where they lived at, in order to live as missionaries amongst the people they were reaching. This way, not only is the power of the gospel being declared to the people but also being demonstrated by their lives before the people. Their earnest desire is to develop disciples from the community that become beacons of light in their own homes and missionaries to their community. The name of the church is Kerusso Grace. The word ‘Kerusso’ means ‘to herald’ or ‘to proclaim,’ which emphasizes the driving passion that unites the group to proclaim the grace of God to all people.

Kerusso Grace was born out of a prophetic call to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named.

It takes only a few minutes to discover the prevalence of drugs and poverty that plagues our community. Located just north of downtown Houston, Northside Village has one of the lowest public school graduation rates in the city, and although gang violence has declined, the area is still influenced by prison gangs and ex-prisoners exiting the nearby city jail. Other social wrongs exist like homelessness, a high rate of broken divorced families, and alcoholism, but the deepest and darkest secret we face is human trafficking.

So how do we respond to the devastating sin of modern day slavery and the rest of the injustices that have for so long corrupted our streets?

The only answer is the cross of Jesus Christ.

We believe the only way to save the lost and “seek the welfare of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7) is through gospel proclamation and the good deeds that flow from lives devoted to God. Like Nehemiah, whose heart was broken over the news that Jerusalem was being destroyed, our hearts are weighed with agony when we hear and see the devastation brought upon our city because of sin.

God called us to take a stand by planting a church here, and praying and believing that He will give the growth. It is our hope that Kerusso is the seed of a fruitful, gospel community that believes in the never-changing Word of God.

Salvation is of God the Father alone. He redeems lives through the life-transforming gospel of His Son Jesus. He makes a new people, with a new identity, and by the Spirit, gives them a new community in the church.

But “how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14)

This is the gospel we preach, the grace of God we proclaim as agents by which it is spread; and the power that redeems our culture and restores the beauty of this historic place.

Missio Dei