By the time he was eight years old, Bror Erickson had lived in four countries, four states, and three continents because his father’s missionary and pastor work took him to all parts of the world.
“It was just another day for me,” said Erickson about his travels during his childhood. “I didn’t always understand completely the significance of how much I got to see at such a young age.”
Erickson was born in Springfield, Illinois as his father finished his last year of seminary. He currently holds the title of pastor and currently resides in Farmington, New Mexico where he’s been the pastor of Zion Lutheran Church for nine years. Soon, though, his travels will bring him and his wife, Laura, to Fort Morgan where he’ll stand behind the pulpit at Trinity Lutheran Church as its new pastor starting Feb.12.
“I’m a little excited about going into a new chapter,” he said.
Trinity Lutheran will be the third congregation he’s led in his 19 years as a pastor, but saying goodbye to his current church and town won’t be easy.
“I hate to say good-bye to friends, so-long to where I’ve been, but (I’m) looking forward to new friends and adventures in Fort Morgan,” he said.
He’s looking forward to being in the Morgan community and the state, but he said he’ll miss New Mexico’s green chili — one of his favorite staples.
Along with being well-travelled, Pastor Erickson is well-educated as he started his doctoral degree in theology this week through the Institute of Lutheran Theology in South Dakota.
“I didn’t have enough on my plate,” he joked about starting school while moving.
Even though his father was a pastor, it wasn’t until Erickson was enlisted in the Air Force over 25 years ago that he knew he wanted to follow in his footsteps. During his junior year of high school, Erickson dropped out and moved to Montana to work on a ranch.
While working at the ranch, he said “I took my GED and decided to join the military.”
He attended chapel every Sunday during his service in the Air Force but while doing that, he discovered the gospel he was hearing was missing the most divine part.
“I heard sermons on family life and whatnot, but I never heard that Jesus Christ died for my sins,” he recalled. “I figured somebody needs to start preaching the gospel.”
His preaching is focused on Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.
When asked why his preaching revolves around that, he stated “because that is the gospel.”
“He (Jesus) didn’t need to come to give us more law,” he said. “What He came to do was to save His creation, and He did that by dying on the cross and conquering death.”
Morgan Trinity Lutheran Church, located at 1215 West 7th Avenue in Fort Morgan meets every Sunday at 9 am for church and 10:15 am for Bible study groups.
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