Nevada Christian Institute's Board of Directors
Kristopher Dahir
President and Chairman of the Board
- City Councilman for the City of Sparks
- Chaplain for Northern Nevada State Veterans Home
- Minister in the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
Education
- Bachelor's in Psychology with a minor in Christian Counseling
- Masters in Organizational Leadership
Boards and Commissions:
- Community Homelessness Advisory Board
- National League of Cities, Vice Chair Community and Economic Development Committee
- Nevada League of Cities, President
- EDAWN, Board of Directors
- Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) Alternate #1
- Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) Vice Chair
- Washoe County District Board of Health
- Western Regional Water Commission –Vice Chair
Other Local Boards
- Sunrise Centennial Sparks Rotary President from 2019-2021
- Excel Christian School- Board President
- Nevada Veterans Memorial- Board Chair
- Northern Nevada Sports and Recreations- NNSR President
Dr. Cesar Minera
Vice President, Executive Director
- Pastor Ministrerio Palabra de Vida (Word of Life Ministries)
Education
- Bachelor's in Theology, Vision International University
- Doctorate in Divinity, Universidada Latinoamericana de Teologia
Boards and Commissions
- Current President of A.M.E.N. (Asociación de Ministros Evangélicos de Nevada)
- Treasurer for our local Crisis Pregnancy Center
- Serves on the Reno Human Rights Commission , which ensures that the rights of all are protected, including religious rights.
- 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.
- Christian United For Israel (CUFI), Pastor Minera was chosen to be a congressional liaison for Northern Nevada for the past 5 years
- 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.
- 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.
John McKendricks
Executive Director
- Lead Pastor at Valley View Christian Fellowship in South Reno.
Education
- A.A in Christian Ministry; Magna Cum Laude from Kings College and Seminary, Van Nuys, California (2004)
- B.Th. in Theological Studies; Cum Laude from Kings College and Seminary, Van Nuys, California (2004)
- Masters of Divinity, Kings College and Seminary, Van Nuys, California (2007)
- Doctorate of Ministry, Multnomah University, Portland, Oregon (ABT)
- John has served as Pastor, Church-Planter and many other ministry positions; including Dean of Students and Assistant to the Executive Vice President and Teaching Faculty for The King’s College and Seminary in Van Nuys, CA.
- He was Senior Pastor/Founder at Full Life Christian Center in Simi Valley, California from 1997 to 2009 and in that capacity worked with several rescue efforts including Sarah’s House, Samaritan Center, Teen Challenge, San Fernando Rescue Mission and The Dream Center.
Steve Andreano
Director of IT Programs
Education
- Bachelors of Art Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Board Member
- NNLC - Northern Nevada Literacy Council
Awards
- 2019, we won recognition from NCET and received the President's Award for innovation in technology for the community
Angelo Austria
Pastor
Ministry:
- Lead Pastor at Vertical Church
- Assemblies of God Executive Presbyter for Northern California/Nevada
- Fillipino-American Fellowship President
Education:
- Masters of Leadership, Multnomah University
Brent T. Brooks
Pastor
Brent Brooks is currently the President and Executive Director of Partner4Pastors, Pastor Emeritus of Reno Christian Fellowship and adjunct faculty at Nevada Christian College. Brent is a 6th generation Texan, but grew up not just in Texas, but also California, Virginia, Hawaii, Michigan, Maryland, and New Jersey. His employment history prior to ministry included being an amusement park trash collector and ride operator, waiter, oil field roustabout, and civil trial attorney. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University (BA), The University of Texas School of Law (JD), and Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM). In addition, Brent has done doctoral and post-doctoral study at Asbury Theological Seminary, Evangelical Seminary, and the Epiphany Academy of Formative Spirituality. Academically he has served as adjunct faculty at Biblical Theological Seminary (now Missio Seminary), Capital Bible Seminary, and Multnomah University and Biblical Seminary teaching undergraduate, masters, and doctoral courses in church health, church systems, church planting, church growth, church conflict, small groups, pastoral leadership, spiritual formation, homiletics, and hermeneutics.
Brent has served as the Senior Pastor at Reno Christian Fellowship for the last 16 years. Prior to that he served in the Washington/Baltimore area for 22 years where he personally planted 3 churches and coached in the planting of another 8 churches. During part of that time, he also served as the East Coast Director of Church Resource Ministries, serving churches and denominations in church planting, church growth, and small group consulting. Since he has been in Reno, he has been the
founder and facilitator of OneCry Reno which brought together over 100 ministries – Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Evangelical, Charismatic, and Pentecostal - to pursue revival for the community.The newest endeavor that Reno Christian Fellowship has pursued is Kingdom Partners 5, a multi-ethnic (Black, White, Asian, Hispanic) and multi-denominational (non-denominational, Baptist, Assemblies of God) partnership of 5 churches who share worship, preaching, and resources.
Personally, Brent has been a kidney transplant recipient for 38 years. He has been married to Jill for 44 years and is the father of Abby and the grandfather of 3 incredible grandchildren, Eli, Josiah, and Naomi.
David Orberg
Treasurer
David Oberg received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior on the evening of January 3rd , 1980. He immediately began his diligent pursuit of God through study, prayer, service in the local church, and
evangelism in the Northern California Bay Area where he resided.
David was led by the Spirit to continue his growth and preparations for ministry by moving to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where he studied at Rhema Bible Training College (class of 1984). Upon graduation, David was clearly instructed by the Lord to “Go back to your home church in California, where you will meet your wife, and you will teach in the Bible College there”.
David followed that leading, and within a month after returning, he was introduced to Frances Maria Mera after a church service. They became engaged during that summer and were married on December 1st, 1984. In January of 1985, the Lord moved upon the hearts of the leadership of Faith Bible College to invite David to begin teaching classes, where he did so for the next four years.
Since that time, David has taught in four Bible Schools (in person and online). David continued to be led by the Spirit of God along with his wife Frances, through serving in supportive ministry positions in Los
Gatos CA, and San Jose, CA, as well as an associate pastor in San Francisco in the late 1980s.
In 1994, the door was opened by the Lord for David to serve as the associate pastor of Faith Alive Christian Center in Reno, Nevada. In January 1995, David and Frances, by invitation, became Senior Pastors of Faith Alive where they presently serve. Since then, the Lord has led Pastor David and his ministry team into mass media evangelistic outreaches through billboards and postcard campaigns, as well as television.
David has traveled and ministered overseas and in the Nation of Mexico, and has planted churches in California, Texas, and the Philippines, with two more coming soon to Carson City, NV, and Oregon.
Pastor David has been the City Director for Christians United for Israel (CUFI) since 2007. Through the partnership of over 50 local churches, and with the blessings of Jewish leaders and Synagogues, we have hosted five “Night to Honor Israel” events with a combined audience of several thousand in attendance throughout the years. CUFI founder & chairman Pastor John Hagee was the keynote speaker on two of those occasions.
In 2002, God blessed and gifted David and Frances with their wonderful son Jonathan D. Oberg, who serves in the worship ministry alongside them as well.
