Hmong Christian congregation dedicates west Modesto church Saturday

A congregation in Modesto since 1985, Central Grace Hmong Alliance Church finally owns a church of its own. It will have a dedication of the 918 Sierra Drive building at noon Saturday.

Central Grace Hmong has more than 200 members, a roughly half-and-half mix of older people and young families with children, said pastor CherTeng Vang. It is part of the Hmong District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance and its membership extends from Stockton to Merced, with most from Modesto and Delhi.

For nearly four years, the church has shared the Sierra Drive building with Central Baptist Church, which has owned it. Central Baptist, Central Grace Hmong and a Cambodian congregation previously met in another, smaller facility Central Baptist owned on Sutter Avenue. But in September 2011, all three congregations moved to Sierra, to the building that once housed Sierra Vista Children’s Center. It also is home to Youth for Christ.

Central Grace Hmong owes its home to the “good heart of Central Baptist Church” and pastor Wayne Bridegroom, Vang said. In a reversal of his church long using facilities owned by Bridegroom’s congregation, Central Baptist agreed to sell the Sierra Drive building to Central Grace Hmong and now will be the tenant. Escrow closed in May 2014, Vang said.

The two, plus the Cambodian congregation, share the building for services, Sunday school classes and other gatherings. Youth for Christ occupies the top floor. The arrangement makes for busy Sundays, but it’s worked out well, Vang said. For instance, the Cambodian congregation is rather small and typically holds worship services in a room other than the chapel.

Bridegroom and his congregation have had a “pivotal role in improving and helping the west Modesto community,” Central Grace Hmong member and Ceres resident Thou “Tu” Yang said in an email to The Modesto Bee, adding that “many other neighborhood community groups regularly use the church facility for meetings and events, including Congregations Building Community.”

“In the past, Pastor Wayne and the Hmong CMA youth group have done several get-out-the-vote door-knocking walks in west Modesto to improve voter turnout, and statistics show that it has made a difference,” Yang wrote. “West Modesto continues to have opportunities for improvement, and the location of this church will continue to play an important role in bringing the west Modesto community together.”

Saturday’s dedication event will start at noon with a tour of the church, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m., Yang said. A reception will follow. Central Grace Hmong has invited the mayor, its City Council representative, its county Board of Supervisors representative and the chief of police to attend. District representatives from the Christian and Missionary Alliance also are expected to attend, Vang said, and anyone from the neighborhood or the community in general is welcome.

“We have been here since 1985 and this is the first church we have purchased,” Vang said. “We are really, really thankful for that and could not have done it without the Central Baptist Church. They have been there all along, helping us, guiding us.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2015 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Hmong Christian congregation dedicates west Modesto church Saturday."