Raul Espinoza

I live in Lima, Peru, very close to the Pacific Ocean—just a 15-minute walk away—in an area called Costa Verde that has several surf spots. After serving as the National Director of Christian Surfers Peru for seven years, I assumed the role of Area Director of Christian Surfers Americas in 2023. I decided to retire early in 2018 at the age of 48 to dedicate myself to ministry full-time after 23 years in the corporate world. It is a true blessing to have my wife, Cecilia, supporting my work in CS Americas as we help more surfers find light in their lives by knowing Jesus. My local church is Camino de Vida, where I serve in the Men's Ministry. I have four children: Hideki, Marina, Fernanda, and Ignacio.

AMERICAS Area Director

As the Americas Area Director for Christian Surfers, I oversee our mission across the Americas, including North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. Our vision is that every surfer and every surfing community has the opportunity to know and follow Jesus. The Americas area is divided into seven regions, each led by a regional coordinator. Together, we are actively working with 16 affiliated nations and 80 local missions. 

My role involves developing leaders, empowering them, providing encouragement and offering pastoral support to help them drive our mission forward. This includes reaching more surfers in countries where we already have a presence and initiating new missions in areas where we currently do not. I assist regional and national leaders in creating effective plans and strategies to fulfill our mission. Additionally, I promote collaboration and team building across countries to foster synergies, leverage resources, and ensure unity and alignment with our mission goals. Through these efforts, we aim to create a strong movement that enhances our outreach and impact in the surfing community for the Glory of God.

My history with Christian Surfers

I graduated as a systems engineer and hold a master's degree in business administration. God blessed me with a successful professional career in the energy industry in Peru and Latin America. With 23 years of experience in the corporate world in various managerial roles, I have developed a results oriented mindset that drives my work. I thrive in team environments, actively engaging with people to foster collaboration and achieve common goals. I also value listening to diverse perspectives, as I believe that incorporating different viewpoints enriches our decision-making process and strengthens our mission.

However, despite my professional success, I experienced failure in my marriage, which led to the painful experience of divorce. During that difficult time, I had a profound encounter with Jesus. He invited me to continue trusting Him despite my failures, reminding me that Christ continued to love me and had good plans for my life. I chose to believe and honor Jesus. God blessed me with Ceci as my new wife, and we have been happily married for 11 years now. God's faithfulness is great and incomparable!

While going through my divorce, I met an Australian missionary who was involved with Christian Surfers Peru. I began participating in their activities, learned how to surf, and made new friends whom God used wonderfully to provide love, grace, consolation, encouragement, and strength. I never felt condemned but rather loved and embraced with open arms. Arriving at Christian Surfers Peru was a tremendous blessing in my life, and it impacted me so deeply that I decided to serve in this mission and be an instrument of God to bless others.

Whats the future ?

There are a lot of surfers who need to find light in their lives by knowing Jesus, and we, as Christian surfers, should be there to love them and point them to Christ. Our goal by 2030 is for our movement in the Americas to continue growing, expanding into more countries and beaches, and reaching surfers for Jesus, increasing from 16 nations to 25 and from 80 local missions to 216.

To achieve this vision, it is crucial to engage in pastoral and missionary trips. While technology enables us to maintain virtual contact, it is essential to encourage our leaders in person. These trips allow us to connect with local people and churches, promoting a mission that reaches surfers effectively. Building these relationships face-to-face fosters a deeper sense of community and commitment, which is vital for our outreach efforts.

Would you prayerfully consider supporting us financially?

We need financial support of $26,000 to make our plan for pastoral and missionary trips in 2025 and early 2026 a reality. This plan includes the following:

Canada
We want to travel to Canada to visit local contacts and churches to introduce the Christian Surfers movement and promote the reopening of a local mission. Dean Dahl, leader of ACTS North America (Action Sports Ministries Network), lives in Vancouver, and will help introduce us to individuals interested in supporting a mission outreach to surfers. The trip will include visits to the surfing communities of Vancouver and Tofino. Raul Espinoza, the CS Americas director, and David Nehrig, the CS North America regional coordinator, will also be part of this trip.

Bahamas
One of the regions with the greatest need for missions to reach surfers is the English-speaking Caribbean. Two years ago, CS Barbados began to operate actively, and we want to travel to the Bahamas to continue extending the kingdom of God among the surfers in the Caribbean. Thank God, Pastor Leonard from Eleuthera, Bahamas, has shown great interest in our mission and will be introducing us to local contacts. Raul Espinoza, the CS Americas director, and Wes Hewson, the regional coordinator for the English-speaking Caribbean, will also be part of this trip.

Puerto Rico
The first Christian Surfers conference in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean region was held in Puerto Rico in November 2024. We met several local contacts in Rincón, Aguadilla, Isabella, and Arecibo. We want to travel to Puerto Rico again to visit these areas and continue promoting the establishment of more local outreach missions to surfers. We also want to encourage our brothers who have been meeting consistently in San Juan. Raul Espinoza, the CS Americas director, and Luis Gutierrez, the regional coordinator for the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, will also be part of this trip.

Central America 
We want to visit Mike Proctel and Edgar Guillén, the CS National Directors of Panama and Guatemala, respectively, to support them and discuss future plans for the ministry. This includes topics such as reopening chapters, establishing a national team, and future transition plans. Additionally, we want to travel to Nicaragua to visit the local contacts we met in 2024, in order to continue promoting the start of an outreach mission to surfers in that country. Raul Espinoza, the CS Americas director, and Damian Boza, the regional coordinator for Central America, will also be part of this trip.

Colombia
Raul Espinoza, the Americas Area Director, and Aldo Ventura, the Regional Coordinator, visited Colombia in 2024. Thanks to that visit, a new chapter in Salgar-Puerto Colombia has been started, and there is potential to open another chapter in Cartagena. We look forward to traveling to Colombia again to encourage our brothers in Salgar-Puerto Colombia and to visit Pastor Tim Mallory in Cartagena to continue discussing the launch of a surfing outreach mission in that city.

Brazil
We want to visit Brazil, one of the largest countries for surfers in the world, to encourage our brothers and sisters to move forward with our mission. Last year, Raul Espinoza, the Director of the Americas Area, visited the Northeast region. This year, together with Cesar Azevedo, the National Director of CS Brazil, we hope to make a pastoral visit to the South region, especially to Florianópolis, where the CS Americas gathering will be held in 2026.

Argentina
In 2024, several efforts were made to reopen the CS Buenos Aires chapter. Productive conversations have taken place with Julián "Tano" Contino, our contact in Argentina. Currently, Tano has reached out to other local brothers to set up the leadership team and begin the CS foundations training soon. Raúl Espinoza, the CS Americas Director, and Franco Bachino, the Regional Coordinator, want to visit Tano and the team in person to encourage and assist them.

Thank You

Giving today helps support the work of this area team to do pastoral and missionary trips in order to build relationships and connect local communities with Jesus!  Giving can be made in USD$ and set up for recurring monthly gifts or a one-off.

Thank you so much for your support & encouragement.