I was born and raised in a Christian home in Long Beach, California. Like many others who are raised in a Christian home, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact date of one’s conversion. While I am not sure the specific time that the Lord regenerated me, what I can say for sure is that “my justification has taken place because my sanctification currently is”.

After graduating High School in 1998, I went to The Master’s College and majored in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Youth Ministries. I began serving as a youth pastor in my home church after I graduated in 2002. Through this time the Lord was shaping me and helping me understand my call to pastoral ministry. I soon realized I needed more training if I was going to be the most effective tool for the Lord as I could be. I could think of no better seminary than The Master’s Seminary and I enrolled in 2005. While at TMS, I began dating my wonderful wife Kim, “a lily among thorns” (Song of Solomon 2:2). We were married in 2006 and now have four adorable children.

Looking back I can see the Lord’s goodness, patience, and faithfulness throughout my entire life. In His goodness He has given me wonderful blessings and revealed His kindness to me. In His patience He has brought me through sanctifying trials and immaturity. In His faithfulness He has always led me to the people He uses to grow me, and places He has for me to serve.

As a friend of mine says, “it’s His plan and our privilege”. It is my joy to serve the Lord and His people here at Hickman Community Church.

Manny Pereira was born and raised in the Central Valley of California. He served the Roman Catholic Church as an altar boy (altar server) from the age of five to sixteen. God opened his heart to see the glory of Christ and the wickedness of his own sin under the preaching of the gospel in a Protestant church. God graciously granted him repentance and faith in Christ in the summer of 1992.

From a young age Manny has enjoyed and studied God's creation. He became a student of physics. With two applied science degrees, he entered IBM's Almaden Research Center. After seven years of success at the Almaden laboratory, he gracefully departed from the science and technology profession to pursue training at The Masters Seminary where he received his Master of Divinity and entered full-time ministry. Manny now pastors Trinity Bible Church in Morgan Hill, California.

God was kind to give David Christian parents who loved him and taught him the gospel, which he believed when he was six years old. David has been married to Cathy for 19 years, and God has given them Silas, Raina, Meg, and Luca.

David got his Masters of Divinity degree at the Master’s Seminary before moving to Kingsburg, CA to help plant Grace Church of the Valley. After serving there for thirteen years, David moved to Ripon, CA, to plant Christ Community Church.

His life goals are to faithfully love his wife, disciple his children, and shepherd Christ’s church until he dies.

Jhonathan Leon was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and moved to the United States with his family at the age of 12. He is married to Andrea, and they have a daughter, Celeste. In 2024, Jhonathan graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from The Master’s Seminary. He is a member of Grace Community Church, where he serves, and is also part of the Gracia a Vosotros (the Spanish ministry of Grace to You). Currently, he is pursuing certification as a biblical counselor through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) and has recently embarked on a Doctor of Ministry program in Counseling at The Master’s University.

Gamaliel Canales is originally from Puebla, Mexico. In 2013 he married Arely in Savannah GA and in 2018 together they moved to Los Angeles CA to be members of Grace Community Church and in the same year he began his biblical studies at the Institute of Expositors (IDEX). In 2022 he joined the Grace to You team as the GAV (Gracia a Vosotros) Radio Editor collaborating with the teaching ministry of John MacArthur for the Spanish speaking world. He is a graduate of The Master’s Seminary (MMB '24). Gamaliel and his wife have four daughters: Adaiah, Athalia, Elisa, and Eliana.