Conoce a Nuestros Profesores
Dr. Cesar Minera
Vice President
Pastor Cesar Minera was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala. As a child he attended a small church in his neighborhood where he would evangelize and motivate other children to get close to God. At the age
of 15 years old he moved to the United States where along with his family they began to attend an Anglo church since there was no Hispanic churches at the time in Reno, Nevada.
After graduating from high school Pastor Minera began to work towards his degree in order to eventually become a dentist. While attending college he could distinctly hear a voice that would tell him, “If you do not preach my word many souls will be lost.” The voice became so strong that he began to do an in-depth study of the bible and asked God for guidance in regards to what he should be doing. For an entire semester, he did not attend his regular college classes, but would instead go to the library and dedicate his time studying the word of God.
As a result, Pastor Minera began a prayer group and bible study out of his family’s home where they would invite friends and other family members. This was where Ministerio Palabra de Vida (Word of Life Ministries) was born. In 1987 Pastor Minera married his wife Rita Minera and they have been pastoring together for the last 34 years. Today, they have two children, Cesar and Krystal, who also serve alongside them in the ministry and two grandchildren, Cesar Hesed and Grace Karis.
In 1991 the Lord began to bring a revival to Ministerio Palabra de Vida (Word of Life Ministries) and to reveal a living message to Pastor Minera that was no longer based on traditions of man, but based on faith and grace. From then on, the ministry was completely transformed. In 2002 Pastor Cesar went back to school and got his Bachelor in Theology from Vision International University. He also went on to become a teacher for the university where he also taught theology. In December of 2004 the Latin American University of Theology (Universidad Latinoamericana de Teología) recognized Pastor Minera for his pioneering work in the state of Nevada and he was able to receive his Doctorate in Divinity.
As a pioneer for the Hispanic church in the Northern Nevada region it has always been important to Pastor Minera for the Hispanic churches to remain united and also involved in their community. For this reason, he founded and is the current President of A.M.E.N. (Asociación de Ministros Evangélicos de
Nevada) a Hispanic pastor’s association that is made up of many pastors and their congregations.
In 2010 Pastor Cesar felt the calling from the Lord to lead beyond the four walls of the church and to truly make an impact in our community. Thankfully, the Lord began opening doors for Pastor Minera to hold positions where he could influence many different areas of our region such as serving as treasurer for our local Crisis Pregnancy Center, which serves all women experiencing unplanned pregnancies. He has served for the last 3 years and is currently serving on the Reno Human Rights Commission which ensures that the rights of all are protected, including religious rights. Many times when we think of impacting and serving our local communities we think of feeding the poor and helping the needy, but Pastor Minera has also felt a calling to impact our local law enforcement considering how demanding their work is and the negative light they are now seen in. Pastor Cesar has worked with the Reno Police Department on annual race and policing symposiums as well as community events to bridge the gap between them and the Hispanic community. He has served on the Chief of Police’s Advisory Board for the last 4 years and also founded the chaplain program for the Reno Police Department.
Something that has always been near and dear to the heart of Pastor Minera is the country and people of Israel. He believes it is our Christian duty to not only pray for the people of Israel but actively advocate for the United States to remain as an ally. Thankfully, through the organization Christian United For Israel (CUFI), Pastor Minera was chosen to be a congressional liaison for Northern Nevada and has been serving for the last 5 years. These positions have taken on different shapes and forms but Pastor Minera has taken each one on with the heart to minister God’s love to all.
Throughout the years Ministerio Palabra de Vida (Word of Life Ministries) has had the ability to expand both locally and internationally under the leadership of Pastor Minera. Thankfully, there are now ministries in Reno, Lake Tahoe, California, Utah, New Jersey, Mexico and Guatemala. One of the main focuses in expanding the ministry is to empower each pastor and their church with the word of grace and a Christ centered teaching.
In 2015 Pastor Minera was entrusted with another resource when he was named the Academic Director for the Hispanic division of Multnomah University, now Nevada Christian College.
He has traveled extensivily throughout the United States, Central and South America teaching the incomparable word of God.
For the past twenty years he has been the excutive producer for the local television program named Sabiduria Para El Diario Vivir (Wisdom For Daily Living), and also for the past 10 years has produced a radio program with the same name.
