SAN ANTONIO – A West Side church hosted a 5K run fundraiser on Saturday to help recover from a theft that caused thousands of dollars in damage and set back plans to open a new children’s church.
Last Chance Ministries held the event, called the “Endurance Run,” which drew hundreds of runners to Woodlawn Lake Park.
“It’s called Endurance Run, you know, because even though what happened, you know, we have to endure and continue to just, you know, just believe that God will make a way,” Pastor Jimmy Robles said.
Robles said he discovered the damage on a Sunday morning when he arrived at the church and found that a wrought-iron fence had been torn off and that brand-new air conditioning units had been stolen.
The church had been planning to open its children’s church in July, but Robles said the theft has postponed those plans.
“We’re supposed to open our church for children’s this July, which is going to really postpone it,” Robles said. “So we’re doing this 5K run.”
Robles said even if the fundraiser goes well, the church will still be thousands of dollars short of what it needs to replace the stolen equipment.
“With this 5K run, if everything goes well, you know, we’ll still be thousands of dollars away,” Robles said. “We just can’t afford to buy the air conditioners right now.”
Despite the uncertainty, Robles said the church is aiming to open the children’s church by August or September.
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