Ruben Ortiz

Rev. Ruben Ortiz has worked in urban ministry for nearly 25 years. His primary focus has been in the areas of urban youth ministry, church planting, and community development.

Ruben serves as Pastor of Iglesia Del Barrio, a bi-lingual church in the West-Kensington section of Philadelphia which he helped plant in 1999. He is also Project Director at Esperanza, directly responsible for helping build the capacity of over 40 faith and community based organizations in Pennsylvania. He provides training, funding, and technical assistance to these non-profits. Over the years he has leveraged over $1 million in small grants to churches and community groups. Prior to joining Esperanza, he worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeastern Pennsylvania helping to design and implement AMACHI, a national mentoring program for children of prisoners. Previous to this he helped develop the Center for Transforming Mission an accredited international institute that trains grassroots leaders to serve high-risk youth and families living in hard places. He was born and raised in Philadelphia and continues to minister there with his wife of 20 years and his three children.

Ruben instructs:

• Community Capacity Building