Today we’d like to introduce you to Emilio Frias.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am the lead pastor of Nova Church in the Alief/Westchase area of Houston. I also have the opportunity to serve and lead at an amazing organization called Attack Poverty. I was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and moved to the States when I was eight years. old.
At that age, I started serving at our local church at the time dressing up as a squirrel and leading the younger kids (4 and under) in their time of worship and during their Sunday School lesson. It was a fun time but as I look back, it was during that time that God was working something in me for what was to come for my life. My mom taught us at an early age to serve wholeheartedly to fill whatever need lay ahead so that is what we did faithfully for six years. For me, this is how “ministry” began. I learned a lot and in our time there, I served in various capacities at our church but as with everything, a season came for something new.
On September 2002, Lakewood Church launched their Spanish service. Our family decided to check out the service that day and as they say, the rest is history. I wanted to get involved in church, but I also wanted to be “cool” and act like I could run my life without anyone telling me what to do at 14 years old. During this time, I made some poor decisions at school (Alief Hastings High School) that landed me with a $750 fine, community service hours and a brief stint at the Alternative School in the Alief School District. I was trying to be a rebel but even in those moments, God used the circumstances before me to connect me with my purpose. Remember, I told you I wanted to get plugged in and serve? In order to complete the community service hours, I got plugged into the Spanish Ministry at Lakewood and this is how I started serving in the media department. What was supposed to be a brief stint of three weeks to complete the community service hours, God turned into 15 years of amazing lessons, experiences and service.
Ultimately, my wife and I served faithfully at Lakewood Church under the leadership of Pastors Joel Osteen and Danilo Montero as the Spanish Youth|Young Adults Pastors before stepping out into the calling of launching Nova Church in the Alief/Westchase area. Nova was birthed in my heart at 13 years old but became a reality around our dining table in a conversation. It was during this time that God began to challenge me to start dreaming GOD SIZED dreams once again and to trust Him in the process. Through it all, we knew that every experience and season was preparing us for this very moment. Nova Church held its first services at Alief Budewig Intermediate on September 2018. At Nova, we believe that no matter what chapter of their story someone might be in, we want to guide them and help them see the NEW things God can do with and through them. Our vision is simple, we dream to see people seek God, connect with one another and always strive to inspire others with their lives.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been an exciting journey but as with anything, there has been many seasons of growth.
One of the biggest things I faced growing up was getting people to accept me in the position I was despite the fact that I didn’t come from a pastoral family. People would cancel me out before getting to really know me. This helped me to lead better in the long run because I learned not to cancel someone out because of a bad decision, a past mistake but rather on what God wanted to do with and through them.
In this current season, we have faced some things that have stretched our faith. As a church plan, our main focus before staring was fundraising. It was something I was not accustomed to, so it placed me in a season of stretching and out of my comfort zone to see a dream and vision come to pass. We worked hard for nine months before the launch date and started a church. It wasn’t easy. We were doing this on our own as an independent church/entity and without the financial backing of an organization. So it was truly starting from nothing but a call from God. There was no guaranteed success but we went for it because we knew it was what God wanted us to do. A week after our 1st year anniversary as a church, our 22ft. Trailer was stolen along with $50,000 dollars worth of equipment. That’s was a huge blow as everything we had worked for was gone. So we had to start over. Thankfully we recovered the trailer minus all of our equipment and through this we were full of hope. Our church body came together and rallied behind us to start over. Its been a crazy five months but God is still good.
Being a portable church many times leaves us at the mercy of the location where we meet. Currently, due to all the COVID-19 issues, we were left without a building so now it feels like we are starting over again. We have moved our services online and are making the best of it. Through it all, our hope is that people will see God’s hand even in the darkest of time. He is good and nothing takes him by surprise.
Please tell us about Nova Church | Attack Poverty.
Well, we are a church so our vision is simple. We dream to see people seek God, connect with one another and always strive to inspire others with their lives.
Our services are a little over an hour (70 min) so it is something that people find refreshing. No long services, we really just tell people to come as they are.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
There are many but one that stands out is making Houstonians FC. Houstonians FC was a city funded soccer program for inner city youth. The idea behind it was to give kids from lower income areas the opportunity to play at high-level soccer without the price tag and put as many kids through college. I ended up going to school, receiving a scholarship and graduating with a BA in Christian Studies.
Contact Info:
- Website: novahtx.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novachurchtx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/novachurchtx
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