Grace Baptist, one of the city's older congregations located in a large three-story building at the intersection of North Mangum and Trinity Avenue, has made rent-free space available to Lighthouse Baptist, a fledgling congregation of about 50 members.

"Grace has been wonderful to us," said Pastor Aaron Gamble, 48, who organized Lighthouse about a year ago.

Gamble came to Durham because of his contacts with the ministry of Ernie Mills at the Durham Rescue Mission. His church met at the mission until it began to grow and needed space for an expanded ministry to children and youth.

"I started the church from scratch," he said. "Through preaching at the mission, I began to meet some of the folks. We did outreach and a door-to-door campaign."

His congregation includes folks who could not afford to buy property, he said, but Ted Royal, a Durham Realtor, helped the two churches get together.

"He knew we were looking for space and he knew of the availability of space at Grace Baptist," Gamble said.

In its heyday in the 1960s and early '70s, Grace was one of the city's larger Baptist congregations. One former member estimated it had a membership of 1,300 at its height. But the church has had a steady decline in membership during the past few decades, as its members have become part of the flight to the suburbs and the central city has undergone dramatic changes.

In recent years, keeping up the property has become a major financial challenge for a congregation that presently includes no children and averages 60 to 70 for Sunday worship.

Walker Stone, a member since 1945, said that the church's three-story education building was not being used and when the congregation learned of Pastor Gamble's need for space, it voted unanimously to make the space available to Lighthouse rent-free.

"It is working out well," Stone said. "They have helped with the utilities, but they don't have to. We see it as a ministry. We think it is helping other people and we hope it will prove good for both congregations.

"We are impressed with Aaron [Gamble]. He is a really nice person and I think he will build a good church before it is over," he added.

Gamble describes his church as "straight Bible with no entertainment. No new-age stuff, just old-fashioned preaching. You will find no drums and stuff in our church and no rock music."

Sunday services include Sunday school at 11:30 a.m. and worship services at 12:30 and 7 p.m. A service of Bible study and prayer is held on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Both congregations use the sanctuary and fellowship hall.

The sanctuary at Grace has an organ that Gamble's congregation does not use. In fact, his church is now looking for a pianist to accompany hymns and spiritual songs.

"We sing hymns like 'Amazing Grace,' 'The Old Rugged Cross' and 'Standing on the Promises,' anything that emphasizes the blood of Christ and the omnipotence of God, not entertainment. We cater toward enlightenment," he said.

Gamble is employed at the Durham Rescue Mission because his small congregation is not able to pay his salary at this time, he said.

The two churches that share the same building have already worshipped together during a Christmas candlelight service of lessons and carols.

"The options are open to doing other things together," Gamble said.