Joel Lopez

Pastor for northern San salvador churches

Joel Lopez was born on December 18, 1975 in Sushitoto, El Salvador where he lived for the first 8 years of his life. The national civil war forced his family to move to the small town of El Coyolito. As a child, Joel attended a Baptist church with is parents and 5 siblings. He trusted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior at age 11 and was baptized that same year. As a youth, Joel served the Lord in youth ministry. When he graduated from High School in El Coyolito at age 18, he enlisted in the National Civilian Police Force where he worked for 14 years. (From 1997 to 2010) In 1991, Joel met Teresa Orellana (Pastor Manuel Orellana’s daughter) during an evangelistic outreach with the El Coyolito church. They both had the same passion for souls and ministry. They were married in 1999 at Vida Nueva Baptist Church in San Salvador. After losing their first child, Gerson Joel, they were blessed with Jonathan Joel in 2001 and Josue Daniel in 2006.

In 2008, Vida Nueva Aguilares was founded by Pastor Manuel Orellana (his third northern church). That church began with only 4 families (15 people). Joel passionately helped his father in law as much as possible. They held evangelistic outreaches, Christian movies, dinners and did door to door visitation. In 2011, God called Joel into full time ministry and he began to take over the leadership and care of that congregation. God has blessed and honored that decision every day since. In 2013, a team of deacons was elected, and home bible study groups were opened. On December 8, 2013, Joel was formally ordained as the Pastor of Vida Nueva Aguilares where he serves faithfully to this day.