san salvador ministerial staff

DAVID AGUILAR, ACADEMIC DIRECTOR OF THE SEMINARY, DIRECTOR OF ALL DISCIPLESHIP STRUCTURES

Master of Divinity, Seminario Bautista Vida Nueva, 2015

David was born on July 11, 1983, into a Christian home and attended church and Sunday School from infancy. He made Christ his Lord and Savior at age 7. He spent his youth studying and practicing fencing. Gradually he felt like he was deviating from the path that God designed for him. Conflicts began to characterize his life until one day, at age 17 he cried out for God’s help. His prayer was for God to change his tempestuous life into calm. God graciously answered his prayer and from that moment forward he decided to dedicate his life to serving the King.

In 2003, David met Maritza in the church they attended and served in. Both desired to grow and dedicate their lives to serving God. In 2009 they became engaged and in 2010 they married.

David and Maritza visited Vida Nueva San Salvador for the first time in one of the functions of Judgment House, an 8-scene walking play where the reality of the only two eternal destinations is portrayed. Not long after, in 2011, convinced by God that they had to grow, they decided to move their church membership and become a part of Vida Nueva.
Maritza and David fell in love with the teaching of the Word, the process of discipleship, and the communion among the brothers. Soon they began serving in Children’s Ministries. At the same time, they both enrolled in the Vida Nueva Theological Seminary.
In October 2012 the pastoral team offered David the opportunity to join the church’s workforce. Right then and there David and Martiza’s life and heart’s desire to serve God full time became a reality, all in God’s perfect time.
David holds 2 degrees, a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and Pharmacology and a Master of Divinity from the Vida Nueva Theological Seminary (2015).
After a very fruitful ministry serving as the Hotel Campus Pastor and Director of Discipleship, David was appointed to the very important position of Academic Director of the Seminary and Director of all Discipleship Structures.
David and Maritza have two beautiful children, Joel born on March 7, 2016 and Gracia, born on November 5, 2019.

David’s Life Passage:

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”  Philippians 3:7-10

Mauricio Lagos, Administrative Director of the Seminary

Mauricio, the youngest of four children, was born in San Salvador on November 10, 1957 into a middle-class family. His parents were both teachers, his father, a National University Professor, and his mother, an Elementary teacher at a national school. Mauricio has a College degree in Civil Engineering, a Post Graduate Master’s degree in Sanitation Engineering, and a Master of Divinity Degree from Vida Nueva’s Seminary.

Mauricio’s grew up in a half catholic, half atheistic home. Despite going to catholic schools, neither he nor his siblings developed any serious religious inclinations. Mauricio enjoyed his youth just like the other young men of his day. He had almost no contact with the gospel except for an occasional blip at the catholic church. Then, the civil war in El Salvador raised many worrisome questions in his heart. “Where would I go if I were to die?” His greatest fear was a death would come without notice and he would not have time to repent of his sins and ask for forgiveness, he feared he would end up in hell.

 In 1986, a friend invited Mauricio to a Bible Study, and it was then that he began to have contact with the gospel. In 1987, after hearing God’s Word he gave his life to Jesus Christ. It was in that Bible Study that Mauricio met Julio Contreras and Nelson Rivas, to this day they remain remarkably close friends.

 At first, Mauricio attended Iglesia Bautista Miramonte; however, in 1990, when Julio Contreras shared his vision to start a solid church built upon God’s Word and focused equally on evangelism and discipleship, he decided to be a founding member and part of the solid base of Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva; founded in 1991.

 Amid all of God’s work in Mauricio’s life, He also gave him a beautiful wife, Patricia, married in August of 1990, and one and only beloved son, Samuel, born in April of 1999. Mauricio has served at Vida Nueva since its birth in 1991. He has fulfilled many roles, one being the Director of the Ministerial Training Institute, as well as a Ministerial Training Institute teacher, Academic Director of the Seminary, and part of the team raised up to get the Seminary Online. Currently, he is a deacon, a discipler, a Life Group pastor, and the Administrative Director of the Seminary.

Jackie Umaña, Children’s Ministry Director

Jacqueline was born in San Salvador on October 9, 1990. From birth, her mother was committed to her growing up in a good church, so, that is how it happened that, by invitation of one of her mother’s friends, she became a part of the Miramonte Baptist Church family. She grew up in their Sunday School Department and at the age of 13, recognized Jesus Christ as her personal Savior. That same year, Jacqueline joined a youth group from YWAM, who constantly challenged her to grow in her relationship in Christ and to invest in the Eternal. When she was 15, she met Marco, a fellow member of her church’s youth group, and at age 16 they began a courting relationship that lasted 8 years and culminated in marriage in 2014.

 At age 18, beginning her university studies, Jackie decided to change her church home to Vida Nueva. She had a good friend who had invited her to their college youth group “Fase 7”. She was so impressed by the way they taught the Bible expositorily that she also began to attend Sunday services. A few months later, Marco and his family also moved their membership over to Vida Nueva. In 2009, Jackie began serving at Vida Nueva as a Sunday School teacher, and in 2014 was invited to join the College ministry team with her husband.

 Jackie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Pharmacology. For a while, she worked for a multinational food service company; during that time, God grew in her a desire to serve Him full time and invest in the Eternal. Together with her husband Marco, they decided to invest their lives in ministry. The first step was to take a course that would allow her to become a teacher at New Life Christian School. This would give her the opportunity to have closer contact with students and their families. Since 2017, Jackie has been on Staff with Vida Nueva’s Children’s Ministries first as the Children’s Ministry Assistant, and more recently as the Children’s Ministry Director. She also continues to serve in the college ministry and is a teacher at New Life Christian School. Marco and Jackie welcomed a son, Nicolas, to their family in October 2020.

Alejandra Peña, Children’s Ministry Assistant

Alejandra “Titi” Peña was born into a Christian home on June 18, 1988, and had the privilege of growing up in the church. When she was 15 years old, she trusted Christ as her Lord and Savior. Within two years she knew she needed to be serving and Awanas, “Sparks” specifically really caught her attention. The Lord gave her a love and passion for children. After several years of serving in Awanas, the Lord opened the door in 2010 for Titi to coordinate Children’s Ministries at the Hotel Campus during the 11:30 am service. These were years of great learning from leaders who supported Titi and invested in her growth.

About the same time Titi enrolled in the Christian Camps International program and by 2017 had completed that process to be a Certified Christian Camp Leader. More Spiritual and Bible training came from studying in Vida Nueva’s Institute for Ministerial Development, a 3-year program. Titi graduated from IDEM in 2016. At that same time, she was offered the position as of Awana Director for the Miralvalle Campus. These too were wonderful years, serving with people who love God, children, and are willing to sacrifice so that God’s Kingdom could grow. At this point, Titi began to dream, pray, and wait on the Lord about serving Full Time in the Children’s Ministry at Vida Nueva. The Lord answered her prayers and since June 2020, Titi has been serving Full Time in Vida Nueva’s Children’s Ministry as the Assistant Director.

Titi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, 2015, and is currently studying towards a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. Her target graduation date is 2022.

Ena Sofia Lopez, Director of Women’s Ministries

Ena Sofia Avelar was born on September 19, 1968, the oldest of 3 children. Her father was a notary and lawyer, educated in Spain, her mother was a secretary who worked for the government. Her parents practiced no religion, but rather wanted their children to grow up free to make their own decisions. Fortunately, they were never opposed to Ena’s interest in seeking God and in her going to church.
As a young lady, Ena studied Dentistry in college. There she met Koky Lopez, and before graduation, the two participated in a dental health seminar held at a public school. The director of that school was Christian, and she shared the gospel with them. Because of her upbringing, Ena had no idea who Jesus was and did not understand what she was being told, but nevertheless, she (and Koky, who was her boyfriend at the time) prayed the sinner’s prayer by faith and received the Lord.
Ena and Koky were married in the Miramonte Baptist Church in 1994. Shortly thereafter, they moved their membership to Vida Nueva and welcomed a son, Rafael, who Ena homeschooled for 9 years. Rafael is now grown, married to Emily, and works and lives in Ohio.
From the time Ena and Koky were married, their desire was to know the Lord more each day. They have had the privilege of ministering together first with preschool children, later older children, then adolescents, finally youth which they pastored for 6 years. They have both faithfully served in Good News in Action during mission trips.
Since 2010, Ena has led Vida Nueva’s Women’s Ministries. Today, Ena overseas 30 small groups of women of all ages and statuses. These groups exist to study the Bible, to spend time in prayer for their husbands and children, to learn practical things to assist them in their roles as women, wives and mothers. She also faithfully serves the Lourdes campus of Vida Nueva where her husband, Koky, is the Campus Pastor It is Ena’s desire that every woman joyfully surrenders her life to the Lord and allows Him to transform her life so that she might serve other women and in doing so, expand His Kingdom.

Angel Perez, Coordinator of Digital Production

Angel was born into a non-Christian home in San Salvador on December 8, 1988.  When he was 5, his parents separated, and his mother became the head of the household and the driving force by which Angel would grow up. When he was 9, he was invited to play soccer at a church where he heard God’s Word preached for the very first time and decided to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior. From childhood, Angel worked, always trying to earn some money, washing cars, and selling water on the same field where he played sports. His objective was to help his mother in any possible way.

At age 11, he began to learn music at the church he attended, he began with piano and later learned to also play the drums, which he still does to this day. Not only has he enjoyed playing but it has also been a tool by which he could earn money by giving classes to others interested in learning.

At 16, Angel received a scholarship to finish High School. He followed this with an attempt to go to college, but that soon proved impossible. He sought out employment, and God provided a job he worked at for 9 years. Amid that job, he initiated University studies a second time, in the field of Industrial Engineering, accomplishing 3 years of the degree program and once again, was unable to complete his education. But this time was different, it was because he had distanced himself from God and had acquired friends who had nothing but an ungodly influence upon his life.

At age 22, Angel met Nathy, the young lady who would become his wife. Not long after that he knew in his heart that he needed to return to God. The first step was to find a good church. Thanks to the insistence of Erick Fuentes, a great friend who was always near to Angel even through the years he had turned his heart away from God, and repeated invitations to Vida Nueva, their new church home was found. Since then, Angel has grown in the Lord consistently. Five years later, Angel and Nathy were married, on October 15, 2017.

Since December 2018 he has been employed at Vida Nueva. For two years he was the Academic Assistant to the New Life Baptist Seminary. Since mid-2020, Angel is the Director of Digital Production for Vida Nueva.  Angel and Nathy are expecting a little girl in April 2021.

Miguel Zepeda, Evangelism Coordinator

Miguel is the oldest of 3 brothers born into a nominal Catholic family with no genuine relationship with God. The bad testimony of other believers, the limited exposure to the Bible, and his academic curiosity led him to become a skeptic with a very bad concept of Christians. He believed that if there was a God, he had to be very different than what religion presented.

His academic and professional achievements filled him with pride and self-righteousness, but God had a breaking point prepared for him. In 2012, thanks to the invitation of some friends to "La Casa del Juicio", he was confronted by the reality of a God of love and justice, whose standard of righteousness was so high that there was nothing he could do to earn access to heaven. That day he accepted Jesus into his heart and began on a journey to better understand his new faith.

While attending another church, he met up with Diana, a former classmate from school with whom he developed a very strong friendship. They began to attend Vida Nueva in 2017 with the idea of growing in faith and being part of a caring community.  

Miguel and Diana got married in 2020. Over the years they have served as a couple in children's ministries, evangelism, discipleship, and much more. They are also registered as a foster family to give children at risk all the love and protection that a Christian family has to offer.

Miguel began working at Vida Nueva on April 1st, 2022. He oversees evangelism, with a focus on better developing the internal culture of evangelism, and on executing more initiatives to present the gospel to non-believers so they can establish a genuine relationship with Jesus and become part of Vida Nueva.