Cristian and Yesenia Benitez, along with their five children, are missionaries from Montebello, California, currently serving in Mexico. After years of ministry at Calvary Chapel Montebello (2011–2017), they felt called to the mission field and moved to Mexico in July 2017. They trained at the Calvary Training Center in Tijuana before helping plant a church in Zamora, Michoacán, where they served for four years and led marriage and youth ministries.
In 2021, they returned to Tijuana to serve at the training center (now Awaken Discipleship and Training Center), where they started a thriving marriage ministry that supported several local churches. When the center closed in January 2025, the Benitez family continued as caretakers and prayed for God’s direction.
They now feel called to serve at Calvary Merida in Yucatán, where there is a great need for a marriage ministry. Their vision is to strengthen marriages through biblical teaching, believing that healthy marriages build strong homes, churches, and communities.
They ask for prayer and partnership as they prepare for this transition—trusting God to provide for their financial, spiritual, and physical needs—with the goal of moving to Merida by January 2026.