Barred from the U.S., a pastor leads his Wisconsin church from Guatemala
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FOND DU LAC, Wisconsin (RNS) — It’s just after 8 p.m. on Saturday night, and it’s time for the Rev. Esdras Paredes’ sermon. But the pastor isn’t there.
“If the pastor is now connected, then we will …” a member of the pastoral team tells the members in Spanish, then stops to listen. “He’s not in place yet.”
While the team at Ven y Descansarás (Come and You Will Find Rest) scrambles to fix Esdras’ internet connection, people at the Pentecostal church in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, part of the Church of God denomination, are asked to get up and greet each other. Their preacher is more than 2,000 miles away in Guatemala. Since August 2025, when Esdras was blocked from returning to the U.S., Esdras has been preaching and teaching remotely up to three times a week. He leads Bible studies, moderates a men’s WhatsApp group and keeps up with members’ lives.
On nights like this one, the limits of leading his church remotely are evident.
“You don’t realize that things can change so drastically,” said Esdras’ wife, the Rev. Wanda Paredes. “ And when they do, you’re in shock. Like, how is that even…
