*photo credit Nate Henderson

Ricardo Hernández pastors the church in Manuel Arévalo, which he describes as a middle-class neighborhood with very few practicing Christians. Pastor Ricardo's ministry reaches far beyond the pulpit on Sunday. Not only does he prepare the worship service each week, but he also visits neighborhood families in their homes. He says the visits provide a sort of "diagnostic" for the neighborhood that helps him understand where the families are. "I am preaching from the lectionary," says Hernández, "and I try to base the application of my sermons on those visits and the struggles the families are having." Ricardo and his wife Danny live in Arévalo with their three daughters: Dorothy, Martha, and Ruth.