MBA Church & School Welcomes Pastor Cris Suarez

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — The Monterey Bay Academy Church will welcome Pastor Cris Suarez to its ministry team beginning in May 2025. Suarez will partner closely with the academy to strengthen the church-school relationship, bringing experience in youth ministry and boarding school environments.

Born in Peru and raised in Danbury, Connecticut, Suarez has served as associate pastor at the Cicero Seventh-day Adventist Church in Indiana since July 2019, focusing on youth ministries, church school initiatives and coordinating evangelism efforts at church and school.

"My passion in ministry is youth and young adults, including discipling young families," Suarez said. He received his ordination to pastoral ministry from the Indiana Conference in June 2024.

Suarez holds a Master of Divinity from Andrews University, where he is currently pursuing his Doctor of Ministry degree focusing on discipleship. His prior experience includes serving as assistant dean at Auburn Adventist Academy in Washington, giving him insight into boarding school ministry.

Fluent in English and Spanish, Suarez will be accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth, and their two sons, Mateo and Benjamin. His ministry background includes service in New York, Texas and Washington, along with mission trip coordination through Andrews Seminary's Care For Cuba program.

Dan Nicola, principal of Monterey Bay Academy, expressed relief about ending a lengthy pastoral vacancy.

"The Monterey Bay Academy church has been without a pastor for 16 of the past 24 months," Nicola said." This takes a special toll on the staff and students of a boarding academy where so much of the school's spiritual programming is tied to the academy church."

Nicola noted that Suarez has already visited the campus, connecting with students and staff while discussing future ministry vision with campus leaders.

"All of us in the MBA school community are energized to welcome Pastor Cris and Elisabeth, as well as their two beautiful young children into the MBA family," he said.

Church and academy leadership believe Suarez's expertise in creative evangelism, media ministry and youth discipleship will strengthen the spiritual life of both communities.

Let's pray together for this family's new journey as Central California Conference family and MBA's new spiritual environment.

Written by Justin Kim