Thieves target pastors of Houston church on wheels
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A church on wheels was stolen.
Nova Church is a mobile church. They set up every week with microphones, TVs, and then take it all down. Every Sunday, a school cafeteria is transformed into a house of worship.
But the trailer they store their church items in was stolen.
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"So we hold it in the cafeteria that we're at, Budewig Intermediate," Pastor Emilio Frias said. "They have a beautiful stage."
He and his wife Alex set, tear down and store everything in their trailer, which they park in another church's parking lot during the week.
"Every Friday, we go up to pull out our trailer and when we get there, the trailer's gone," Emilio said.
Surveillance video from the church parking lot shows a truck drive into the parking lot last week and back up to the trailer. Soon after, you see the truck leave with the trailer attached.
SEE ALSO: Church hopes to overcome setback after thieves steal more than $5,000 in equipment
Despite missing their equipment, the husband and wife pastors at Nova Church still held services on Sunday.
"Everything had been stolen from us. It was cool to see everybody come together and say that's not going to steal our joy," Pastor Alex Frias said.
After church, an answer to their prayers: once the word got out about the stolen trailer, it was found in Montrose. A post about the missing trailer had been posted on Facebook and shared more than 350 times.
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The Friases now have their trailer back, but $50,000 worth of their equipment is still missing.
"All of our production, all of our audio, everything that we use to make church possible on Sunday," Emilio said.
What they did find inside the trailer were some items that didn't belong to them, like a bin of cameras, sunglasses, even someone's W2.
Even if the thieves broke a commandment, the pastors have already forgiven them. They just want their equipment back.
If you have any information, call the Harris County Sheriff's Office or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. You can also make an anonymous tip at www.Crime-Stoppers.org.
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