Largest Hispanic Christian Organization Appoints New Leadership in Growing Population Segments

SACRAMENTO, California, Feb. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), the world's largest Hispanic Christian organization, appointed Dr. Carlos Ortiz as Spanish Director and Pastor Samuel Velez as Next Generation Director to its leadership team. Ortiz and Velez join Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, NHCLC president, in representing 100 million Hispanic Evangelicals assembled in over 40,000 U.S. churches and hundreds of thousands of additional congregations spread worldwide.

"The NHCLC is committed to reaching new groups of people, including native Spanish speakers and young adults—both critical and impactful population segments," said Rodriguez. "Both Dr. Ortiz and Pastor Velez will be integral to this vision."

Ortiz is a member of the board of NHCLC as vice president of the Southeast region and senior pastor of Iglesia Internacional Cristo Vive located Miami, Florida.

"It is a privilege to be part of this great organization and an honor to have been chosen for such a distinguished position," said Ortiz "It is my prayer that continued growth will occur in NHCLC within the Hispanic community, so we can continue to be a blessing for future generations."

Ortiz is the president of Hispanics Allied for Israel (HAI) and the former national Hispanic coordinator for Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the largest grassroots organization in America and the largest pro-Israel organization in the world with more than 3 million members.

Ortiz has been a special guest to the Congress of the United States, as well as participant in meetings at the White House and the U.N.  He is a frequent speaker and has been featured on CNN, CBN and TBN. He recently received a doctorate from Dardah University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Velez is associate pastor, overseeing youth and young adult ministries at Iglesia Cristiana Misericordia in Laredo, Texas. He is the founder of Pursuit Conference, which is a local student conference focusing on youth, young adults, pastors and leaders. The conference began three years ago and today more 1,000 students from the Laredo metropolitan area attend. Velez holds a bachelor's degree from Southwestern Assemblies of God University and is a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God.

"Our goal for the next generation is to encourage, expand and empower Hispanic pastors and leaders for the future," said Velez. "We want to see Hispanic pastors rise up to their calling and blaze a trail for those coming behind us as we make history for the church. There's not a better time than now for the Hispanic community to use their gifts and voices to change a generation."

Velez has spoken both nationally and internationally in conferences, churches and camps. He is the son of Dr. Gilberto Velez, founding member and chairman of the board for the National Hispanic Leadership Conference.

NHCLC/CONEL is the world's largest Hispanic Christian organization, which serves as a representative voice for the more than 100 million Hispanic Evangelicals assembled in over 40,000 U.S. churches and hundreds of thousands of additional congregations spread worldwide throughout the Spanish-speaking diaspora. For additional information, visit http://www.nhclc.org.

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