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By Steven Jones

On a Sunday afternoon in an old stone church in Erwin, a congregation was singing and worshiping as usual. This might seem routine, but there was one important difference at this church: The service was performed in Spanish.

Iglesia de Dios Pentecostes, or the Pentecostal Church of God, is a unique congregation in Erwin, at least for now. Victor Terrazas and his wife, Sarai, are the founders and pastors.

“We saw the need in the Hispanic community for God, so we started [the church],” Terrazas said.

The couple formed the church around the end of 2006. The congregation meets in the Erwin Church of God at 799 Rock Creek Road, using the building when the larger congregation is not meeting. While there is a Spanish-language Catholic service at Scott’s Farm in Unicoi during the growing season, the lack of Pentecostal Hispanic churches in the area, especially in Erwin and Unicoi, inspired the Terrazas to form a Spanish-language congregation.

“Here in Erwin, there aren’t that many,” Terrazas said.

The couple started the congregation with just four people; it now has about 50 members.

The need for more Spanish-language churches doesn’t come as a surprise. In a 2006 survey by the Pew Hispanic Center, only 8 percent of those surveyed said they were atheist or agnostic or that they have no specific religious affiliation. While the majority, 68 percent, affiliates with the Catholic Church, the next largest affiliation was Protestant, with approximately 20 percent of respondents identifying themselves as such, and 15 percent calling themselves born-again or evangelical Protestants.

For some, like Silvia Fregoso of Kingsport, finding the right denomination is important.

“The reason I’m going is because it is a Pentecostal church, where there is the freedom of the Spirit to worship our Savior Jesus Christ,” Fregoso said.

Fregoso had been attending an English-language service in Kingsport for more than 10 years before coming to the Erwin church. And while she said she never had trouble understanding the services, it just wasn’t the same as a native-language service, particularly when it comes to singing.

“Even though I understand the English, it is nothing like singing in your own language,” Fregoso said. She adds that singing in her own language has helped her to worship more freely. She is glad to have a service entirely in Spanish now, especially for those who do not speak English.

“All the years that I attended the English services in the other churches, my identity and language were within me and I was praying in Spanish,” she said.

For others who don’t speak English, having a Spanish-language church is essential, Terrazas said.

“If there are people who don’t speak English, they would feel more comfortable where the pastor speaks Spanish,” he said.

A Spanish-language service in Erwin brings more people together in Christ who might not do so without a service in their own language, Terrazas said.

“We can get them all together, we try to reach more people to bring them to God,” he said.

Fregoso also sees it as important for people in the commu¬nity who only speak Spanish. “I know some people that only know Spanish, and if this is the church for them, I really want to support it 100 percent,” she said. “The reason I’m going is because I really love to help to support the church, especially for people that can’t have the benefit of going to another church.”

The Hispanic congregation holds services on Friday and Sunday and a prayer service on Mondays. The hope is to bring enough people together to fund and build their own church, Terrazas said.
The services are open to anyone, even those who don’t speak Spanish. Terrazas said the church has English interpreters for people who don’t speak Spanish.

“We’re spreading the word that if anyone wants to come they are welcome,” he said. “We talk to people and say: ‘Do you want to know Jesus? Come to this church. If it’s not your place go to another, just keep looking.’”

While Spanish-language service is a nice thing to have, he stressed that the language is not the most important thing.

“I understand English, but it doesn’t matter,” he said. “God is the same in all languages. He speaks all languages.”

With over a tenfold increase in attendance in less than a year, the congregation has high hopes of being able to realize its dream of having its own church.

The enthusiasm of members such as Fregoso gives hope to that dream. “I’ve been waiting for 20 years for this type of church, so imagine how I feel,” she said. “I’m pretty excited.”