I was born into a Christian home that was full of love and commitment to Christ. We were very active in the church; however, it was not until I was fifteen that I experienced a very real call to repentance. I had known about the Lord my entire life; I knew he was real and that He was worthy. Due to the rebellion in my heart and the works-based emphasis of the church we attended, I simply did not want to surrender. Yet, there came a time when I heard somebody tell the story of a family who was martyred for refusing to deny Christ. At that moment I realized that I wanted that confidence in a hope beyond this world and the temporary pleasure it offers. Jesus wooed me with an invitation to a hope that not even death could overcome. I was marked since that Sunday Aug, 20, 2000 when I surrendered to Jesus.

I soon planted a church in my high school under the guise of a christian club where I sought to give strength to fellow christians and reach those who did not have this hope. After high school I went into a church internship for a year where my foundation was firmly established. At this point I was very active in worship ministry and also travelled to spanish-speaking countries with the gospel. Though I came from a humble Hispanic family who had escaped the poverty, violence, and misfortune of Mexico, it was as if I had seen those things for the first time. Abandoned children on the street addicted to shoe glue, despaired fathers who hoped to make enough for daily bread, abused young mothers who found hope in churches who emphasized religion and works based favor. My heart began to yearn for a solution to such hopelessness. My family and I planted a spanish-speaking church in a small town where I served for a few years. I believe it was here that God began to speak to me about my life assignment.

I started a little worship initiative modeled after the tabernacle of David where only a couple people would show up. I was the sound guy, musician, singer, and gatekeeper! Though I spent most prayer meetings alone, I was not alone- God was there and I KNEW it! I then heard about the International House of Prayer in Kansas City - a place where hundreds were committed to the incessant worship of God. I visited their annual conference in December 2007 and was provoked to draw closer to Christ. May of 2008, I signed the closing papers to the house I live in currently here in the Kansas City area.

I spent three years in the IHOPKC community. I learned at the Forerunner Music Academy, served in the Global Prayer Room, and grew deeper in God. It was such a transformative season- I found no greater occupation than to exalt the Lord, agree with Him in persistent prayer, and periodically travel to proclaim the good news of Messiah. It was in this environment that I met my first and only girlfriend, Elise, and pursued her. We married and felt a call to serve a local church in Northern Indiana as their worship/youth pastor. After a couple years restructuring and strengthening their worship ministry, serving the youth, and directing a young adult internship, the Lord began to stir my heart for Latin America again.

My sister Roxy and I recorded and released an album of love songs to Jesus in Spanish. We took leaps of faith and became “musicianaries”, traveling city to city proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ through our music and message. After a few months of this I noticed two things: 1) songs powerfully affect belief 2) I couldn’t meet the endless need alone. That is when God called us to rejoin IHOPKC and complete Masters of Divinity program at Asbury Theological Seminary and begin a Doctor of Ministry program. Since May of 2014, we have re-engaged in the ceaseless exaltation of Christ and have taken our posts on the wall of Intercession at the Global Prayer Room. It is here that we have felt more effective to meet the need of the nations. It is here that we have begun to write new songs that are intended to re-introduce the centrally of Jesus and the purity of scripture to the songs of the church. It is here that the Lord asked us to engage in the sacred duty of sustaining a 24/7 sanctuary of worship as a witness of Christ’s worth and to partner with people in places through intercession.