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Ground Level Blog
Jennifer Vogel

Preaching La Palabra

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(MPR photo/Jennifer Vogel)

On a recent Tuesday evening, after a day of working on a nearby potato farm, an impeccably-dressed Pastor Rene Morazan pulled wrappers from the bushes in front of his church, Iglesia Apostolica de la Fe en Cristo Jesus, just off Long Prairie's main drag.

Morazan, 34, has been the pastor here for three years. "I was a member before I was the pastor," he says. Eventually, he became a deacon and then the previous pastor's assistant. "I felt the call of God. I always had that in my heart."

Inside, the church (the name translates as the Apostolic Church of the Faith in Christ Jesus) is painted bright yellow. There is the setup for a band near the altar, where Morazan plays guitar.

The church is associated with the oldest Apostolic Pentecostal church in Mexico. Sins here are washed away via baptism by immersion. At the sanctuary's front corner, there is a half-constructed baptismal tank that will be lined with Mexican tiles.

Morazan came to Long Prairie in 1998 from California with his wife. "I really like Minnesota," he says. "I like the people."

Part of his mission is helping Long Prairie's Latino community - especially the newcomers - adjust to life in the Midwest. "Sometimes we find them temporary labor," he says. "We connect people with jobs. Mostly it's farm work. There are still a lot of people coming to Long Prairie. It's a good area."

Asked how he and other Latinos have been received by Long Prairie natives, he says, "In every area, there is a little bit of discrimination. Not a lot. Ninety percent of the people in Long Prairie are nice."

The church's congregation of around 30 hails mostly from Mexico, and Morazan delivers his sermons in Spanish. "I want to try to preach in English and Spanish," he says. "I like it when white people come to the church."

Morazan is ambitious when it comes to preaching. He holds services in parks. He goes door-to-door. He visits believers in the evenings and conducts bible study classes. He'd like to expand his flock to 150. "We have faith that we are going to have 40 people by the end of the year," he says.