Pastor Maurice Sprewer

Meet Maurice Sprewer

Assistant Pastor| Upon This Rock

Pastor Mo Sprewer is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whose life has been shaped by a rich legacy of faith, music, and ministry. The son and grandson of pastors whose mother and grandmother were lifelong Ministers of Music, Pastor Mo was introduced to the church at an early age.

He came to Christ as a young child and was raised in Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he sang in the youth choir. Between his own rehearsals and those of the other choirs, many Saturdays were spent surrounded by church and music. Long before he understood his own calling, God was laying a foundation.

His journey, however, has not been linear.

Pastor Mo accepted his calling to ministry and was licensed in 1991. Following a painful church breakup, Pastor Mo returned to a lifestyle contrary to God’s will for his life. That choice eventually led to prison, where he faced the possibility of 32 years behind bars. By the grace and delivering power of God, he came through those circumstances and in 2001 returned to kingdom service, was ordained at Greater New Birth Church in Milwaukee, WI and pastored a men’s ministry called, “Men of Armor”.

In 2006, another detour followed. Pastor Mo stepped away from the church and spent approximately 20 years, as he describes it, “wandering in the wilderness.” Yet even during those years, he continued serving others—working with incarcerated individuals, assisting people experiencing job loss and displacement, and encouraging others through motivational speaking.

Then came August 2025.

Pastor Mo traveled to Waterloo, Iowa, to support Pastor John Thomas at Impact Church of Hope. While there, he began sensing God calling him to move to Iowa. Pastor Mo repeatedly said no, pointing to a house full of possessions as one reason he could not move. One week later, a devastating flood struck Wisconsin, and he lost everything. In the aftermath, Pastor Mo remembers hearing God ask: “Now what?”

For him, “Now what?” became the beginning of “Yes.”

Pastor Mo moved to Waterloo and returned to active church ministry—not seeking a title or pulpit, but simply wanting to be useful to God. He served wherever needed and eventually led the men’s ministry. He came to understand that God had not restored him merely to a pulpit; God had restored him to service.

Today, Pastor Mo serves as an Assistant Pastor to Pastor John Thomas at Upon This Rock in Cedar Falls, Iowa, continuing a ministry journey that has been anything but a straight line.

His story has taken him from Milwaukee to Waterloo, from the choir stand to the streets, from incarceration to the pastorate, from ministry into a 20-year wilderness, and ultimately back into active service to God.

His experiences have given him a particular heart for men, for those who have fallen, for those who are rebuilding, and for people who wonder whether too much time has passed or too many mistakes have been made for God to use them again.

Pastor Mo Sprewer's testimony declares otherwise.

His life bears witness that God can restore what has been broken, redeem what has been lost, and still call someone after years in the wilderness.

The man who spent years saying no has learned the power of saying yes.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”— 1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)

“Upon this rock I will build my church.” — Matthew 16:18 (KJV)