Pastors
Isai y Esther Hurtado
Isai y Esther Hurtado han hecho parte de Iglesia Identidad con sus 3 hijos, Alvin, Daniel y Mateo Desde que se casaron en 1999, han trabajado juntos en las misiones y con los jóvenes adultos como Líderes de Iglesia Identidad anteriormente conocido como Allen Temple Ministerio Hispano, Ca. antes que Dios los condujera al pastoreado.
Juntos comparten un profundo deseo de ver a aquellos que están lejos de Dios encontrar su Identidad y dar esperanza a través del Evangelio de Jesús. Su corazón es construir una iglesia que comparta conexiones familiares que estén arraigadas en el amor y la autenticidad. Su objetivo es hacer de la Iglesia Identidad un lugar donde la adoración genuina y apasionada sea la norma, un lugar para que todos experimenten la presencia de Dios.
Rev. Ruben Hurtado
Pastor Emeritus of Iglesia Bautista de Allen Temple
Pastor Ruben Hurtado was born on December 23 1951 in a small town called Ojo de Agua in Michoacán Mexico. Pastor Ruben had a tough childhood filled with a lot of needs and a very sick mother. This situation made him quit school at the age of seven and start working to feed his family.
His mother accepted the Lord through a missionary, when he was 14 years old. Young Ruben refused to change his life style but the Lord touched his heart at the age of 19 in Mexicali B.C. There he began his calling by enrolling in a Christian Institute. A few years later he felt the calling to return to his hometown and he started the first Evangelical ministry and began to spread the gospel. There he met his beautiful wife Maria, who gave him six children. They worked together and established two churches.
In 1988 Pastor Hurtado felt the calling to immigrate to the USA, and he was led to Oakland California. After praying for almost four years and asking God what did he want him to do. The Lord guided him to East Oakland and put in his heart to start a Hispanic Ministry. That is when he decided to go to Allen Temple and express his feelings to Rev. Gloria Aguilar and Deacon Armando Aguilar. When Pastor Smith Sr. found out about this he immediately opened the doors to Pastor Hurtado. Since March 1992, Pastor Hurtado has been working in various activities in the Hispanic community on behalf of ATBC. It has been amazing how the Lord has used Pastor Ruben in the community. Most of the members of his congregation are newly converted Christians who have come to church through meeting the pastor in community outreach ministries, such as the health fair or the food bank ministry.
In nineteen years as the pastor of the Allen Temple Hispanic Ministry, Pastor Hurtado has initiated many activities to spread the gospel. He created Wings of Hope Ministry, which worked hard to establish churches in El Salvador and Mexico: Zacapu Michoacán, Cueneo Michoacán, Buena Vista Michoacán, Manza Michoacán, Zacapu Allen Temple, and El Salvador Allen Temple. He also started an Evangelism ministry, which has for the last nine years, fed the less unfortunate and shared the word of God. Pastor Ruben has seen the need to spread the gospel, but also has realized that people also have material needs and his vision has been to do whatever is possible to provide for the spiritual and material needs of the people. He knows that his God will take care of the impossible.
Pastor Ruben Hurtado and Sister Maria Hurtado (who has been a big support to his calling) both have been blessed with four daughters, two sons, fifteen grandchildren, and a beautiful congregation.