Describe your personal walk with the Lord, including your salvation experience, your journey to date and your current relationship.
I never met my father. I grew up in a single parent home with my mom and my grandmother. We were poor living in Mexico, but we had each other and most of the time, that was enough. My family was Catholic, mainly by name because the only times I really remember attending mass were during hardships, funerals or weddings. My mom, wanting a better life for the family, decided to come alone to the US in the early 80’s. Needless to say, being the only male in the home and being asked to look after my grandmother made me feel like I was a man; capable of making adult-like decisions and enjoying certain freedoms most kids my age were not. As a result, I began making poor decisions. I joined a gang and began smoking, drinking and getting my circle of friends to join in on the fun. During seventh grade, life caught up with me, and I was expelled from public school.
In an effort to gain control of my wild behavior, my family decided to completely relocate from Mexico to Phoenix, AZ. By this time, my mom was already living with the man who would later become my step-father, and both decided to enroll me in a private Christian school in hopes that the institution would reform me. Well, it worked.
My eighth grade year was different. I was different. I came face-to-face with a Holy God and quickly realized how much sin I had allowed to be a part of my life. In November of 1988, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I became the first person in my immediate and extended family to ever break away from Catholicism. Little did I know then that God would use me to influence my family, and through my life witness, eventually see each member of my family come to know Christ.
The summer after my freshman year, at summer camp with my youth group, I sensed God calling me into vocational ministry, so I surrendered my life. I wasn’t sure what type of ministry God was leading me to pursue, but during my high school years, He developed a passion in my heart for student ministry.
I love the Church and I love God’s people, but till this day, student ministry continues to ignite my passion, arouse my creativity, and move me to action. In the summer of 2002, I established a speaking ministry that has taken me all over the country. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife who has been my best friend and accountability partner over the years. Ministry friends, mentors, and my wife have been instrumental in providing encouragement and support during the last ten years of vocational ministry.
Today, God and I continue to have a genuine relationship together. Through prayer, personal study, accountability with other believers, service, and various elements of worship, I continue to pursue fresh encounters with God daily.
Describe your call to ministry, including the circumstances, preparation and/or spiritual gifts that have impacted that calling.
As I already mentioned, I surrendered my life to God during summer camp. While I was there, I requested a meeting with the camp speaker to help me discern my calling. He gave me this acronym and it’s stuck with me all these years: L.O.R.D.
Leadership – Do you have leadership abilities? Do people follow you? Are you influential?
Others – Do others respond and respect your leadership? Do they affirm your calling?
Results – When you do ministry, do you see God move in the lives of others?
Desire – Do you have a personal desire to serve God in vocational ministry?
God has given me the ability to multi-task and excel in a variety of areas. In fact, the last several spiritual gifts inventories have identified my five strongest points in ministry to be the following:
Leadership, Administration, Evangelism, Teaching, and Wisdom.
Those who know me and have worked with me identify me as a strong leader: one capable of casting vision, managing a team, motivating into action and keeping the group focused. Now that I’m entering a new decade of life, my 30’s, I’ve found myself playing the role of an administrator. I enjoy planning, organizing, and mobilizing the team to impact the lives of our students beyond my personal influence.
By nature I am highly evangelistic. My personal witness, lifestyle, and worldview push me to gain sensitivity when dealing with unchurched students. In my teaching, I like to make cultural connections with my audience and Scripture. I enjoy showing students the relevancy of the gospel without “Christianeeze” rhetoric. I employ seeker-sensitive techniques that allow my students to connect with my message regardless of their level of spirituality.
Finally, wisdom is probably influenced by my personal experiences and my education. I’m not afraid of being transparent. Ten years of student ministry experience leading students, managing volunteers, and hiring and managing youth ministry staff members have given me many valuable lessons.
