La Puerta Abierta is a community of Christians who seek to connect faith, community, and service. We desire to follow the way of Jesus Christ; the way of love, joy, and peace. As a community of faith and hope, we share our praises of thanksgiving and our heart-felt concerns with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We are located in the West Side of St. Paul. We have been part of the West Side community since 1979. We previously met in a house, and through much prayer and the support of many people, we experienced the miracle of a new building that opened in January 2008.
La Puerta Abierta is a multicultural congregation. We come from North America (U.S. including Puerto Rico), South America (such as Ecuador, Colombia), and Central America (such as Honduras, Mexico). We speak Spanish and English.
We invite you to become a part of our community, experience the joy we have discovered as we walk with God, and become a part of what God is doing as our church grows and shares God’s love with everyone.
Our History
In 1979 Rev. Marcial Vasquez was called by the Minnesota Annual Conference to start the first United Methodist Hispanic Ministry in Minnesota. He began with a group of 13 people who met weekly for Bible Study on the West Side of St. Paul.
Eventually they began holding worship services and growing, with other United Methodist Churches in the area graciously sharing their worship space with them. In 1991 property was purchased at 92 E. Morton Street in St. Paul. The property had a small house so the ministries of La Puerta Abierta moved to the house.
Over the next 15 years Pastor Marcial Vasquez and his congregation worked tirelessly to raise money to build a church building on the site. In July 2006 Pastor Marcial Vasquez died. La Puerta Abierta and the entire Minnesota Annual Conference pressed on to raise enough money to build the church. On May 2007 a groundbreaking ceremony was held, in June 2007 the small house was taken down, and construction of the building began in July 2007.
The church building was completed in December 2007, and the first service was held on December 25, 2007. On January 22, 2008 a Grand Opening celebration was held.
Along with the new building came a new street address: 690 Livingston Avenue. The building stands proudly at the corner of Morton and Livingston, and is seen from Robert Street.
