Youth ministry has always been part of the DNA of Daniel Ortega’s ministry.
As a young person, Ortega found his passion for ministry when his local church empowered him to get involved. “I was a very shy kid,” he shared, “but through the process of them empowering me and giving me opportunities to serve, I just got excited about ministry.”
Ortega was an active lay member and even served as the president of the Dallas Youth Federation, but he didn’t plan on full-time ministry. He had always wanted to be an architect. On a mission trip to Mexico in college, sitting in the audience listening to a friend give the message, he thought, “Man, I’d like to do that someday, but I would never dare because, you know, that’s just not me.” He would go on to work as an architecture designer for seven years.
The following year, the mission trip director asked him to speak. “How would he even think about me?” he wondered. But he went forward in faith. “As I look back, I remember probably some of the worst sermons people have ever heard. But when I made the call at the end of the week, 11 people came forward. When I saw that, I said, ‘Wow. God, I know that wasn’t me.’ I saw that that was the Holy Spirit working, and from that point forward, with the combination of my passion to serve the church, I felt like God was saying, ‘I have something else for you.’”
Soon after, he earned his degree in theology and served as a pastor for eight years in Oklahoma and three years in Indiana, two of which he was also a principal. He then returned to Oklahoma to serve as Youth Director & Communication Director before moving to Oregon to serve as the Family and Children’s Ministry Director.
Now, Ortega is excited to join the Southern California Conference as Youth Ministries Director. His ministry hinges on three things: leading young people to Christ, discipling them to be like Christ, and empowering them to serve for Christ. He looks forward to collaborating with local church leaders to provide meaningful programming for youth throughout the conference.
His personal philosophy centers on seeking the Holy Spirit. “I think it’s imperative that as a conference, as church leaders, and as parents, that we are praying continually for the Holy Spirit upon our kids and our young people,” he said. “I can do the most amazing program in the world, but if the Holy Spirit is not there, did I really do a great program?”
“I think about people in my life when I was a young person who were a blessing to me and who were patient with me, who loved me, and I just want to reciprocate that,” he reflected. “I want to be able to find opportunities to serve them, encourage them, and inspire them.”
