By Rick Burnette, CBF Field Personnel

Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana, a bilingual congregation, is planted in LaBelle, Florida, 25 miles north of the farmworker town of Immokalee and 35 miles east of Ft. Myers. The church was established in 1981 by Pastor John Gallegos, a fifth-generation Baptist preacher.  

Born to farmworker parents in Traverse City, Mich., his family traveled through much of the U.S. to harvest produce, including tomatoes and watermelons in Immokalee and cherries in Michigan. During the 1960s, when many Tejanos were moving to southwest Florida for work, Immokalee became his family’s home base.   
 
Immokalee is where he met his wife, Helen and where they began their family. 
 
In his 20s, Pastor John felt the call to preach, eventually leading to the establishment of Primera Iglesia Bautista. In 1987, the congregation purchased almost five acres of land on the south side of LaBelle. The property included a small building that initially housed the church. In 1992, Primera built its current sanctuary, with one of their construction partners being South Venice Baptist, a CBF Florida/Caribbean Islands-affiliated congregation.  
 
Previously working in the fields himself, Pastor John and many in the Primera congregation, have first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced by immigrant farmworkers. Having never taken a salary for his pastoral role, John Gallegos continues to serve the Primera congregation while leading efforts to meet the spiritual and physical needs of those around them, especially the farmworker community.

In 2021, I had the privilege of meeting John and Helen Gallegos for the first time during a visit by members of South Venice Baptist. I was immediately impressed by the Gallegos’ down-to-earth manner and the testimony of their long-term ministry presence.  
 
Prior to our introduction, I would often drive past the church on my way to Immokalee. During these commutes I noticed its spacious property.  
 
Upon meeting Pastor John, I was ready to propose a collaborative effort to establish a 15-tree tropical fruit orchard on the church’s property. Future crops of mangoes, avocados, carambola and other produce would be shared between the church and Cultivate Abundance’s farmworker clientele. 
 
Pastor John seemed receptive to the idea, telling me that he’d pass the proposal along to the church. I was thrilled with their ultimate approval.  
 
On July 17, 2021, members of Primera and South Venice church, as well as CBF Florida, Misión Peniel and Cultivate Abundance, planted the 15 fruit trees and held in a dedication service. Although Primera doesn’t identify as a CBF church, the congregation obviously values being collaborative in the mission of God. 

The following year, Southwest Florida was devastated by Category 5 Hurricane Ian, with coastal communities suffering extensive wind and storm surge damage. Potential CBF involvement in recovery efforts were hampered by the lack of lodging facilities for disaster response teams.  
 
Even prior to the hurricane, we struggled with the lack of lodging facilities for volunteers hoping to assist with the gardening and food-sharing activities of Cultivate Abundance and our host partner, Misión Peniel.         
 
So, in early 2023 I bounced another idea off Pastor John. What if we recruit CBF volunteer teams to assist Primera with upgrading the church’s small educational building?  
 
CBF engages in a four-R disaster response approach, readiness, relief, recovery and resilience. The Primera initiative would cover the first R, readiness, enabling future volunteer and disaster response teams to be comfortably housed.  
 
Ideally, the building would contain a few showers and toilets while still being available for Sunday School. Groups could sleep there or in the sanctuary with the church’s screened-in pavilion, equipped with a kitchen, available for feeding teams.  
 
With the church’s approval, I took the idea to CBF Global Missions, as well as CBF Florida/Caribbean Islands. They were all for the initiative, with Global Missions relocating a fully supplied tool trailer to LaBelle and CBF Florida supporting the ongoing engagement of Kenny Phillips, the state organization’s disaster response specialist who also happens to be a contractor.   

To get things started, Troy Willingham, an architect and member of FBC St. Pete, developed blueprints to obtain a building permit and guide our efforts. 
 
Since November 2023, five volunteer teams have engaged, representing FBC Pendleton, S.C, Trinity Baptist (Seneca, S.C), Crescent Hill Baptist (Louisville, Ky.), FBC Rome, Ga. and a Missouri team made up of members of Englewood Baptist Church and Second Baptist Liberty.

Referring to her church’s involvement with the project, Julie McCormick shared, “The mission team from FBC Rome was privileged to serve as the Hands of Chris in Immokalee and LaBelle.” She also expressed her appreciation of how Primera is expanding its reach into the community. Along those lines, Pastor John notes that collaboration with these CBF churches is enabling Primera to do more for the community and beyond.

So far, these CBF congregations have provided approximately $12,000 to kick start the work. As expected, the Primera congregations serves as the core of this project. Having already invested thousands of dollars into the initiative, members are continually engaged.

Remaining renovation work for Primera’s educational building includes:

• Replacing insulation, drywall and flooring
• Installing interior sinks, showers and toilets
• Upgrading the water heater
• Installing a new central air conditioning system
• Finishing the installation of Hardy Board lap siding and the application of exterior paint.       
   

Approximately $35,000 will be needed to complete this effort.

Additional volunteer team, along with accompanying funding, are still needed. We estimate that between May and December 2024 at least five teams of five to 20 members will be needed to complete the effort. There are also opportunities to participate in growing and sharing nutritious and culturally prepared food in Immokalee.

Looking towards the ultimate impacts of this initiative, CBF Florida Coordinator, Tammy Snyder, states, “CBF Florida and the Caribbean cares deeply about the Primera LaBelle project. This beautiful partnership with Primera LaBelle will have a lasting impact on repairing, rebuilding, and enriching people’s lives.”

CBFers are indeed cooperative. And this partnership in LaBelle demonstrates that we also value collaboration.

For more information about this project, contact Rick Burnett and rburnette@cbf.net