By TRINA “INDI” JOHNSON
Special to the NEWS
A new church is opening its doors in the Resaca City.
The Table Church, a Lutheran congregation rooted in faith and service, has quietly established itself in San Benito.
After five years of transformative outreach in Los Fresnos, the church now calls a donated building at 1000 N. Crockett St., once home to St. John Lutheran Church, its own.
The San Benito Chamber of Commerce proudly welcomed the congregation as its newest member, heralding its arrival with a grand opening neighborhood cook-out planned for Sunday, June 15, 2025, at 3 p.m.
“We’re honored to have The Table Church join the San Benito Chamber of Commerce and can’t wait to see the positive impact they’ll bring to our community,” the chamber announced on Facebook, inviting residents to savor free food, fellowship, and family-friendly fun.
Rev. Chad Bresson, pastor of The Table Church, expressed deep gratitude for the chance to plant roots in San Benito. “We were offered the building by another Lutheran congregation that was closing,” Bresson said.
“Having been without a permanent church home for more than five years, increasingly we had a desire to find something that would give us the ability to better serve our community and serve other churches here in the RGV.”
Since launching in Los Fresnos in September 2019, The Table Church has woven itself into the fabric of the community through heartfelt service. From delivering Thanksgiving meals to refugees to hosting free pumpkin patches each October, the congregation’s efforts have left an indelible mark.
Their #LoveLosFresnos projects ranged from city cemetery cleanups to barrel race raking teams at the Los Fresnos Rodeo and sponsoring a Little League baseball team for six straight seasons. They also sparked “Chalk-the-Walk” at local schools to uplift students and educators, distributed food and water through #OrphanGrainTrain, and gathered for Christmas Eve services at the Little League field.
Reflecting on their Los Fresnos chapter, Bresson underscored the value of listening. “We’ve done a lot of listening,” he said. “This time it’s a little different. We’ve been given a building in another community, another neighborhood, and while we’re poised to serve, we’re here to listen. We’re here to learn, we’re here to meet new friends and families, and we’re here to find out where Jesus is already working.”
The church’s service flows from its core beliefs. “St. Paul said the love of Jesus compels us,” Bresson explained. “If you hang around The Table Church long enough, you’ll hear us talking about ‘paying grace forward.’ The forgiveness we have been given from Christ is paid forward in love for others.”
One outreach effort consistently surprises with its impact: bottled water giveaways. “Time and again, it’s been the bottled water giveaways… giving away free water at football games, parades, and graduations in Los Fresnos,” Bresson noted.
“Some people refer to us as the ‘water church,’ we’ve given away so much water.” When recipients ask, “Why are you doing this?” Bresson’s reply is disarmingly simple: “Because this is Deep South Texas, it’s hot, and you’re thirsty.” He added, “Typically, they’re not ready for that answer because they are used to organizations doing things and expecting something in return. But The Table Church operates by the ‘No Reciprocity’ principle… we give away water ‘just because,’ not expecting anything in return.”
The church’s presence in public spaces—chalking sidewalks with encouragement, tending cemeteries, or gathering at ballfields—reflects a deliberate choice to engage communities directly.
Bresson pointed to Jeremiah 29:7, where God urges exiled Israelites to “pursue the well-being of the city” they’ve been sent to. “That’s The Table Church,” Bresson said. “God wants his people to be community builders, pursuing the well-being of the city. I’d like to think that The Table has been doing that for the past five years in Los Fresnos, and that’s our plan in San Benito.”
For the grand opening, Bresson hopes attendees feel embraced. “I hope they feel like this is a safe space, that we’re just a bunch of sinners (Bresson included) in need of Jesus who are no better than anyone else,” he said. “I can’t promise a perfect church. But I can promise that Jesus is always here at The Table Church providing forgiveness and hope through His Word… for all of us.”
The name “The Table” carries profound meaning. “The altar truly is an invitation to receive from Jesus his life, forgiveness, and salvation,” Bresson explained. “The Table is to be reproduced in tables around the neighborhood and around the city when people are the hands and feet of Jesus. Through acts of kindness and generosity. Through a kind word spoken when anger and fracture are present. Through grace given where none is deserved, because we know we do not deserve the grace Jesus gives us.”
Looking ahead, Bresson remains humbly open about the church’s role in San Benito. “I’d have to be honest and say ‘no, I don’t know the answer to that right now,’” he admitted when asked about specific community needs. “That would be a bit arrogant. We just got here. It’s why we’re spending time with our neighbors and listening. I often say, ‘we’re not here for ourselves; we’re here for the community.’”
Yet anticipation radiates through his words. “I can’t wait to see what Jesus is going to do through The Table Church here in San Benito,” Bresson conveyed. “Our goal is to optimize and maximize this gift of a facility to tell the story of Jesus in order to connect people to Him. The facility is also a staging area and a launch pad for not only telling the story of Jesus in all sorts of places, but also for serving our neighbors here in San Benito.”
As The Table Church steps into this new chapter, its mission stands firm: to be a church for all. “We want every man, woman, boy, and girl in San Benito to know and experience the love of Jesus,” Bresson conveyed, his words infused with quiet conviction. With burgers sizzling and hearts wide open, the grand opening promises to mark the start of something special.
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