Uriel Perez, left, delivers a message on waiting for the Lord while son, Diego, right, interprets in English. Photos by Doreen Gosmire.

“I come here to be with God and see my friends,” said Leysi, a junior in high school at Plankinton, South Dakota. “It feels good and makes me happy.”

Leysi attends Iglesia Renuevo weekly worship services at the United Methodist Church in Plankinton, South Dakota. Plankinton is a rural community along Interstate 90, with a population of 778. People gather on Thursday evenings for food, fellowship, and to grow in their faith.

“I like it because everything is in Spanish,” said Juanita, who attends Renuevo. “It is casual. People are friendly.” 

Pastor Herman Perez serves as a leader for three Hispanic worshipping communities: Sunnycrest UMC in Sioux Falls, Downtown First UMC in Mitchell, and Plankinton UMC all in South Dakota. 

“God is good no matter what. I am thankful for the United Methodist churches that opened doors for us in amazing ways,” said Pastor Herman.

People have come to Plankinton, South Dakota, from Central America. Many have come from extreme poverty and little villages and want to work but do not instantly trust others. “You have to build trust. They are scared of things that they do not know and things like immigration services,” says Pastor Herman.

During a recent gathering in Plankinton, 30 people gathered to listen to contemporary music and worship, led by a team from Sioux Falls—Uriel Perez, his wife Nohemi, sons Diego and Christian. As people came, they were greeted with music. Deigo plays the electric guitar, while Christian  drums, and Nohemi sings. Leysi handed everyone a Bible. 

“People are very excited. They worshipped God in their countries, but there was nothing for them in the area. They came to Plankinton to work in the egg plant,” said Pastor Herman.

Worship continued with opening prayers, more music, reading from the Bible, and a message from Uriel Perez about patience—waiting and listening to the Lord. 

“Psalm 27 tells us to wait for the Lord. Be patient and strong,” said Uriel. “It is not always easy. We let so many things get in the way.” 

Pastor Wayne Huber, who serves the United Methodist congregations at Plankinton and White Lake, South Dakota, attends weekly. “I like to come and be present. I don’t always understand everything because I do not speak Spanish. I can see the expressions on everyone’s face. They are happy to be here for worship and fellowship. It is wonderful to see the joy,” he said.

Pastor Tara Bush serves as the youth pastor and office administrator at Plankinton UMC and the pastor at Ethan UMC. She has been attending Renuevo since the ministry started in 2019. 

“It is wonderful to see the Hispanic community become part of who we are here in Plankinton. Our church is their church,” said Pastor Tara.

Youth are connected through school and the congregtion's youth group. “I come to youth group here at the church,” said Leysi. “I am going to DakYouth in November.”

Plankinton UMC has worship on Sundays in English and on Thursdays in Spanish. “We don’t see the people that come to Thursday worship at Sunday worship or the reverse. But we try to do a few things together like a bi-lingual service and a meal here and there,” said Pastor Wayne. “We continue to work on connecting.” 

Lesyi and others gather for worship and fellowship at Plankinton UMC.

2019-2022 worship and fellowship happened on Friday evening. When management at the egg plant switched, the method for payroll checks changed, causing families to travel to a bank out of town. 

“People were not able to come to worship on Friday evenings because they needed to get to a bank in Huron or Mitchell,” explains Pastor Wayne. “So Thursday seems to work out.”

After the worship service, there is food and fellowship. “Tonight we have pizza,” said Juanita. “We like to eat and laugh together.”
 
Iglesia Renuevo, Renew Church is a Hispanic Ministry that continues to grow in spirit and numbers. Pastor Herman has been experimenting with dinner church—people gather to share a meal as part of worship. It is an idea to invite that is catching some momentum based on Rev. Michael Beck’s work with Fresh Expressions. 

“Pastor Herman has been hoping to bring new people together by expanding on fellowship and the dinner church concept,” said Pastor Tara.

Iglesia Renuevo is planning several baptisms at the backyard pool at a residence in Plankinton. “We had a funeral for someone in the Renuevo community. We will have baptisms at a pool at someone’s house. It’s pretty exciting.” 

Leysi attends Renuevo regularly and shares this reflection. “I like it here. It feels like I belong,”

Resources:
Watch a video of the Reunuevo service in Plankinton
Watch a video about how Iglesia Renuevo got started
Learn more about Fresh Expressions
Attend Imagine Day, September 30, with a team from your church.