Virginia Baptist minister Juan Carlos Gascon has faced many challenges with faith and gratitude. He now faces perhaps the greatest challenge imaginable.
On March 11, Gascon, Hispanic church planter for the Southside Baptist Association, and his son, Jonathan, were in a single-car accident. Jonathan suffered minor injuries and was released from the hospital the next day. However, Juan Carlos sustained a broken neck and was evacuated by helicopter to the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, where he underwent surgery to repair the broken vertebrae. He remains in intensive care.
Gascon's injury left him paralyzed below his shoulders. Progress has been slow and it will be some time before a long-term prognosis is certain.
Gascon has been a church planter for the Southside Association since 1999. With his wife, Connie, and sons Jonathan and J. C., Gascon traveled from Mexico to minister among Latinos in Southside Virginia.
Long-term care for Rev. Gascon will require great spiritual and financial resources. To help, Southside Association has designated Sunday, May 4, as “Juan Carlos Gascon Day.” On that day, Virginia Baptists are invited to join Southside's 23 churches in prayer for the Gascons and for Iglesia Hispana Bautista Anastasis near Kenbridge, and to help raise relief funds for the Gascon family.
Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to Kenbridge Baptist Church, Gascon Fund, P. O. Box 445, Kenbridge, VA 23944. Please write “Gascon Fund” in the memo line of your checks.
For more information, go to http://jcgascon.wordpress.com.