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Francisco Torres came to Nebraska from California to attend college, however plans changed and he is now serving as the pastor at the Nazarene Church in Beatrice.
“I had a scholarship and was planning to attend UNL with a major in Computer Engineering, but instead decided to go into counseling. I completed online classes with Nazarene Bible College,” Torres said.
He explained that he felt he was called to become a pastor when he was 13 years old.
“I told my mom that I wanted to be a pastor and she said something like “You’re gonna do what now?” She wanted me to be a lawyer,” he said. “It took a while to convince her.”
He said his parents, Francisco and Alicia Torres, immigrated to the United States in the early 1970’s. Francisco is an only child. He grew up speaking Spanish, but learned English in school.
Torres had moved from California in 2019 where he said it was crowded and was living in Bellevue with his parents and an uncle, Esteban Delgado.
He served as a supply pastor on several occasions in Beatrice before becoming the pastor in January 2022. The congregation has increased from 20s to 30s for in person membership.
There are two services each Sunday. The English speaking service is held at 10 a.m. and the Spanish speaking us at 3 p.m. Both services are also livestreamed online and have attendance of approximately 100 people. Services include contemporary music in worship and a sermon, but he noted he likes to include traditional hymns.
“We hope it continues to grow, but we are a family.”
Torres noted that he looks forward to going to the Homestead House once a month to sing and do a short reflection.
“I really look forward to it and would love to do more outreach in the community.”
The Nazarene Church has roots in Beatrice since 1916. The current building on 16th Street was built in 1950’s and many of the rooms have not been updated.
Torres’ parents and uncle also work at the church.
“We went straight to work on updating some of the rooms in the church. We just want to make it a better place.”
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