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Minnesota Church Seeks to Blend Cultures
MONTICELLO, MN (February 7, 2004) - Monticello Covenant Church is trying to find ways to be more welcoming to the area's migrant worker population by offering Spanish translators during its worship services.
Though only two Spanish-speaking families are regularly attending, the church has offered Spanish interpreting for its 10:30 a.m. Sunday service as a way to be more inclusive to seasonal employees who come from Mexico during the spring and summer. The interpreter sits in the back of the worship space and translates pastor Bill Johnson's service into Spanish. The interpreter speaks into a microphone system, which is transmitted into wireless headphones that Spanish speakers can wear to hear their own version of the weekly service.
The church decided to take this option because it didn't have the numbers to hold a separate service. Pastor Johnson said the $1,000 spent for the system - money received in a memorial fund - brings the two languages together in the same setting. Johnson hopes that the first step in inclusive worship for two separate languages can add onto a ministry from which the church already has seen benefits.
Ernesto Tapiz, a native of Mexico, and his wife, Kathy, have been faithful in helping the church get to know the community. A daughter, Ana, has been integral in helping the church coordinate an English as a Second Language (ESL) program. The churches procured money for class supplies and bilingual dictionaries via a grant.
In the beginning, Ernesto saw a group of undocumented people working at a local greenhouse and wanted to get better acquainted. He convinced a group of fellow parishioners to travel to Delicias, Mexico, so they could see where the undocumented workers lived. The church members brought back mail and gifts and when Johnson arrived in 2002, Ernesto asked Johnson how the congregation could better reach out to this often-neglected group.
"The economy is so depressed there (in Mexico) that it's difficult to eek out a living," Johnson said. "And even though it's menial labor, they make two and three times what they'd make down there. One of the people we met, Ruben, is a highly educated man, but he's up here because of the economic pressure. And think of the loneliness he must feel. Now, he's come to know Christ and he's talking to other people at the greenhouse about our community. The one who is ministered to is now the one doing ministry. A lot of seeds have been planted through Ernesto and Ruben. And the bonus is that one of the guys who owns the greenhouse is coming to the church. There's another bridge, another key connection who supports what we're trying to do."
Because of the connections they've made with workers at the greenhouse, the Covenant church has started offering yearly mission trips to Delicias, Mexico. Last November 30 people of the 100 who attend regularly visited the northern Mexican city and coordinated children's programs during the week. They also helped build a foundation for a church building at a Baptist church and gave them funds to build a fence for the facility.
"I loved going with my son (Zachary) and seeing his eyes open at the new culture," said Johnson. "We're all one in Christ and we were one, brothers and sisters. It has helped build community for our own folks and gave us a renewed energy as we ask, 'How do we help those in our own community?' And, for those down in Delicias, they now know that they have a place to stay and that they have a church that can help them."
The Covenant church recently took part in "The 40 Days of Purpose" campaign in which thousands of churches across the country participated. The event included reading Rick Warren's 40 chapter book A Purpose Driven Life. During the event this past fall, the church's weekly meetings also included a Spanish speaking group.
"I grew up at First Covenant Church in St. Paul and we had the Hmong people that were part of our ministry," said Johnson, who had been a youth pastor at the Evangelical Covenant Church of Naperville, Illinois, and worked as a therapist in private practice before arriving at Monticello. "And, as I look at the community, there's no doubt that we can have a ministry with Hispanic people here in Monticello. I look at this like the movie, The Field of Dreams - if you build it they will come. One of my dreams is that we have cross-cultural worship and have a Hispanic pastor. Why? To show God's love to people in our community; to show them that God loves them and these people love them.
"It's one big experiment, but this idea of running transmitters is like going to first base," he continued. "Now, we can have the richness of cultures, even in Minnesota in a burgeoning Spanish speaking population. I know God wants us to be faithful. We've got to figure out how to do it."
Monticello Covenant Church is located about 40 northwest of Minneapolis in a town of 8,000. For more information on Monticello Covenant Church, call Johnson at 763-295-2112 or email him at bjohnson@monticellocovenantchurch.org.
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