Irma Jensen-Chair of the Board
Irma Jensen is a faithful Christian who has been associated with the University for several years. She has special interest in helping children and young people to accomplish all that God has for them, especially in the area of education. She and her husband are members of The Family Church in McAllen, Texas, and also leaders in the "Forgiven Christian Motorcycle Ministry."
Dr. David J. Hoyte
Dr. David J. Hoyte is an evangelist, teacher, and author. He has been a pastor for the last 40 years, working extensively in the area of prayer and personal devotion, holding seminars, prayer retreats, and teaching on prayer and spirituality. Dr. Hoyte has read and studied with great interest the spiritual development of the church and individual believers throughout the ages, and is convinced that every believer can have the privilege of knowing God in a deep and intimate way. He holds advanced degrees in Theology, Psychology, and Education from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ashland Theological Seminary, and Liberty University. He is the founding president of Regional Christian University in Edinburg, Texas.
Marina García
Marina is a Medical Laboratory Scientist at Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen Texas. She received her BS degree from University of Texas Pan-American in 1990 with a major in Medical Technology and minor in Biology and Chemistry. After thirteen years as a laboratory generalist at Rio Grande Regional Hospital, Marina served four years at Regional Medical Laboratory-North, a limited service laboratory, as supervisor. In 2007, she returned to her previous position at Rio Grande Regional where she continues working. Coming from a non-practicing Catholic family, Marina was saved in late 1997 and got baptized the following year at Centro de Oración Church. Marina currently assists with Children Sunday School Ministries at her local church and occasionally volunteers teaching science and math classes at Instituto Bíblico.
Rev. Stephen J. Fraser
Living by faith in the dynamic grace of God, has enabled Stephen Fraser to witness the salvation, healing, and deliverance of many people. The love, joy, and peace of the Father overflows to others as he shares with them God's righteousness (God's way of living and being right).
He is currently the senior pastor of Life of Faith Bible Church in Louisville, Kentucky; a church he founded in 1994. As a television host and evangelist, he ministers daily through the “Living the Life” television broadcast. He is also the author of several books that bring fresh revelation to controversial subjects. Both he and his wife Jeanne minister with a powerful prophetic voice, while demonstrating the miraculous power of the Gospel. They are also the parents of their two children, Mark and Elissa.
Robert Swigart
Robert was born in 1956, a middle child of five, who grew up on a grain and livestock farm in Central Illinois. He graduated from Unity High School in 1975 and has been a carpenter most of his life. He became a member of Christian Life Church in 1999 and began doing mission work in the Rio Grand Valley about 2003. He has three daughters and nine grandchildren.
Debbie Deremiah
Debbie Deremiah was born in the mid-west and raised a Mennonite where she learned the Bible very well. The Scriptures were very important for them to memorize. Her education includes some college courses in Computer Science. After her marriage to a Lutheran man, she attended the Lutheran church. In 1985 at 35 years of age, she discovered that there was much more to the Holy Spirit than they knew. They joined a Charismatic, non-denomination church, where they were taught the importance of the Holy Spirit baptism the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. She has been part of a home cell group for over 30 years. Debbie and her husband have been coming to the Texas Valley for 25 years as Winter Texans, and have been supporting Area Evangelism Ministries International for the last 8-10 years. Debbie has participated in cooking, painting, hosting dinners, and teaching sewing at the ministry’s Sanctuary Christian Academy for needy children, and served as a member of the Board for several years. She supports the ministry financially through her organization “Missions R Us”, a non-profit that she created in 2007, raising money in Illinois to bring down to the Texas Valley. She is also part of a team that finalizes the construction of new houses for poor and needy people through the acquiring and donation of bedding, curtains, kitchen equipment, etc., so that the family could move into the new house. She is also in involved in taking food and clothing to the border regions of Mexico.
RUTH GONZALEZ
Ruth Gonzalez is a Certified Public Accountant who has her accounting firm in the Texas Valley area. She is an ardent Christian whose deep love for God and keen insight into the needs of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas will prove to be great assets as she strives to help develop Regional Christian University into a bulwark of excellent Christian preparation for students in a wide variety of careers.
EVA ARECHIGA
Eva Arechiga was a marketing consultant for 20 years with National Mailit, but stepped down 2 years ago to start her own company, RGVPlus TV Network. She is a graduate of McAllen Memorial High School, after which she attended Pan American University.
She was saved in 1999 at Abundant Grace Community Church and continued under the ministry of Pastor Jim Vinita for 22 years. Happily married with 3 daughters, she has now been attending Vital Church in McAllen for the past 5 years, where she is involved in the prison ministry.
She is a key person in the ministry of Sanctuary Christian Academy in Edinburg, Texas where her desire is to fill up that Christian Boarding School with children from all over the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Sister Eva has joined the Board of Regional Christian University at a pivotal time in its history, and her vision is to recruit students from the Rio Grande Valley who would go forth as lights to win one million souls for Christ, and put godly mayors and council members, and godly doctors and professional people into the workforce throughout the Rio Grande Valley.
REV. ARMANDO VERA
Rev. Dr. Armando Vera is Pastor of Iglesia Poder de Dios in Pharr, Texas, and President of the Hispanic Ministerial Alliance of McAllen.
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jennifer morales
Jennifer Morales, an El Paso native who moved to Hidalgo County when she was 15 years old, has been a practicing attorney since 2008. She has handled criminal defense, family law and child welfare, and immigration cases. She runs her own law firm, Morales & Associates, in McAllen Texas.