Our Pastor

Dr. Ruben Martinez was born in 1954 into a migrant family who worked the fields together every summer. He met the Lord before starting college in Houston to study medicine. He spent several years bouncing between colleges before winding up at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS). After studying there for several years, Ruben decided to attend The University of Texas at Dallas to earn a Bachelors degree in Business Administration in 1984. He then returned to DTS to complete a Masters degree in Theology. He returned to South Texas in 1987 and started Living Word Evangelical Free Church.

Ruben was ordained by the Evangelical Free Church of America in November of 1991. He continued his theological training after starting the church and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Westminster Theological Seminary in May of 2001. Besides starting the church, Ruben also maintained a private counseling practice from 1988 to 1995. He met his wife Nancy shortly after starting the church. They got married in November of 1988. They have 5 children; Stefanie (21), Gabriel (18), Grant (16), David (15) and Desiree (12).

Ruben has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Rio Grande Bible Institute (6 years) and the EFCA National Board of Directors (3 years). He has traveled to Africa, Australia, Israel, Mexico and most of the U.S. His passion is helping people change by knowing God and his Word.

Our Youth Pastor

Pete Villanueva is filling in while our search committee gears up for finding a new youth pastor. We would appreciate prayers for guildence toward the right person to fill our part-time, youth pastor position.

Our Elders

Ruben Martinez	Pedro Villanueva

Our Deacons

		Head Deacon: Mike Hutchison	Mark Cortez