Courtesy of the North American Mission Board
MARRERO, La. (NAMB) – Church business meetings are not normally fertile ground for happy accidents.
But Ames Boulevard Baptist Church’s tiny remnant of elderly members unintentionally set a miracle in motion when they voted to hire Troy Gause to mow their grass.
Every year, 700-800 Southern Baptist Convention churches cease to exist.
“That’s how I got to know the church,” Gause said. “I started taking care of their property and learned how they’d dwindled down to just a few faithful members. They were probably just a couple months away from closing their doors.”
When longtime Ames’s members like Linda Morrow realized “Troy Gause, landscaper” was also “Troy Gause, church planting missionary,” they began to pray.
“He’d just started a church but needed a place to meet,” she said. “When we met, it was so clear God was putting us together to replant something new.”
Now, the sign out front says Cross Community Church, and the name is not the only thing that’s changed.
“There’s life back in this building,” Gause said. “Baptisms are happening, salvations are happening, and this church has been raised from the dead.”
Prayers on multiple fronts are requested for Gause and Cross Community Church:
- Humility and understanding as members of Cross Community Church face change;
- The new believers Gause has baptized to grow in their faith; and
- Growth and a gospel witness that the surrounding community will see and be drawn to.
Gause and Cross Community Church were featured in an article about the 2026 Week of Prayer for North American Missions. The week of prayer was held March 1–8, but churches are asked to pray for them regularly during 2026.
