Remembering Juan Carlos Ortiz, Renowned Pastor, Evangelist, and Author
Tustin, California, December 1st, 2021—After a long illness, Juan Carlos Ortiz passed away today at his home in Tustin, California, surrounded by his beloved wife, children, and grandchildren. He was 87 years old.
A dynamic speaker and evangelist, Dr. Ortiz traveled to over 65 countries, preaching Christianity and founding churches. In his teaching and in the way he lived his life, Juan Carlos was known for an ahead-of-its-time grace-focused theology, ecumenical approach to church unity, and empowering ministry leadership. In a 1995 profile, the Los Angeles Times quoted him, saying, “The key to our growth is that we delegate and empower people…Otherwise, the church is like an orphanage, and the minister is the head of the orphanage.” He pastored successful and influential churches in his native Argentina and in the United States, wrote several books, and produced television and radio programs.
Juan Carlos was born on July 8, 1934, in Santos Lugares, a suburb of Buenos Aires. He was the fifth child of Concepcion Martos, a seamstress, and Hilario Ortiz, a railroad engineer. Because his father was an alcoholic and barely present in his life, Juan Carlos was raised by his mother, known as “Doña Mema,” and his older siblings. Under his mother’s strong influence, he had what he described as “a loving, sheltered, and deeply religious childhood.” He began teaching Sunday school at age 14, and at age 16 was preaching at a Pentecostal congregation of Italian immigrants, thus beginning a career as a Christian minister that lasted over 65 years.
He graduated from Instituto Bíblico Rio de la Plata, an Assemblies of God theological seminary, in 1954. That same year, he was hired as the personal secretary of American evangelist Tommy Hicks during his campaign at Velez Sarsfield Stadium in Buenos Aires. Juan Carlos described the experience as a turning point in his life, because of the effect that Hicks had on him as a man of faith.
After working for Hicks, Juan Carlos began traveling by train to different Argentine provinces, preaching the gospel and starting churches. As he described it: “I got a cart, and I strapped a battery and all these loud speakers to it. I rode all around the town nearby, saying, ‘Come to see Juan Carlos tonight.’ It worked; they came.” During this time, he spent two years as a missionary, living with the native Mataco and Toba tribes in the far northern forests of Argentina.
While starting a church in the province of Cordoba, Juan Carlos met Martha Palau, a teacher at a nearby boarding school, who later became his wife and partner in ministry. The couple married in 1961 in Buenos Aires. “For our honeymoon, we went right back to the tribes he had been serving,” Martha recalls. “We lived among them and ministered to them for 11 months. Those were some of the hardest, happiest days of my life.” Juan Carlos and Martha had four children—David, Robert John, Vera, and Georgina.
In 1966, after pastoring a church in Mar del Plata for two years, he was invited to be the pastor of El Tabernaculo de la Fe, a church in the center of Buenos Aires that started as a result of the Tommy Hicks campaign. He accepted and pastored it from 1966 to 1977. He transformed this church into one of the most influential churches in the country.
In 1969 a revival began in Buenos Aires, which later spread throughout the world. Juan Carlos joined an interdenominational group of pastors in a charismatic movement that resulted in significant cooperation and unity between the different Christian denominations.
After this, Juan Carlos and his church became well known internationally, and in 1974 he was invited to the International Congress on World Evangelization held in Lausanne, Switzerland. The gathering was called by a committee headed by Rev. Billy Graham and drew more than 2,300 evangelical leaders from 150 countries.
At this event, Juan Carlos gave a sermon called “Mashed Potato Love.” He used a simple metaphor of potatoes to illustrate the biblical concept of unity: "It is not until they’re boiled, mashed, and mixed all together that they really become one. And that is what God wants for us. No superstar standing up and saying, ‘Look at what a big potato I am,’ but all of us mixed and blended together, one in Jesus Christ.” It became a hit. He met many significant church leaders and came home with invitations to speak from all over the world.
From this time on, Juan Carlos spent many years traveling and teaching in large and small churches, universities, conventions, seminars, and other events across five continents. He had so many invitations that at times there was a waiting list of two years to hear him speak.
In 1978 Juan Carlos moved with his family to the San Francisco Bay Area in order to be at a more central location for his travels. Juan Carlos always trusted God. For many years, he lived simply by faith, taking invitations, preaching, and accepting whatever offerings were given to him.
In 1983, under the advice of his board, he founded Juan Carlos Ortiz Ministries. One of the leaders who had heard the “Mashed Potato Love” sermon at Lausanne was Dr. Robert Schuller, pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. Dr. Schuller always treasured that speech, and in 1989, he invited Juan Carlos to speak at his church. After hearing Juan Carlos again, he was inspired to invite him to start a Spanish ministry at the Crystal Cathedral.
With support from Dr. Schuller, Juan Carlos moved to Southern California in 1990 and started a new Spanish-speaking church. Within five years, the ministry had grown so speedily and made such an impact that the Los Angeles Times featured Juan Carlos in their Sunday Profile. The article, titled “A Man for the People,” described his dynamic approach to preaching and pastorship: “He speaks with his hands and rarely leaves God from a story…Ortiz embraces almost everyone with whom he comes in contact. The spring in his step moves him along like a gust of wind. He doesn’t hang glide on the weekends, golf, or even play soccer. ‘I have no other interests,’ he says. ‘My sport is to preach, my relaxation is to preach.’”
Juan Carlos pastored the Crystal Cathedral’s Spanish ministry until the year 2000. He later invited his dear friend Dante Gebel to become the senior pastor of the church, which eventually became River Church. The church moved to Anaheim and experienced phenomenal growth. Today, it has over 7,000 members, and millions of people across the world tune in to their services online.
After leaving the Crystal Cathedral, Juan Carlos continued his traveling and teaching ministry. In 2003 he became the president of the theology branch of Shepherd University, a Korean institution in Los Angeles. Dante Gebel later invited him to teach theology and lead Bible studies for River Church’s twelve pastors. In a social media post published on the day of Juan Carlos’ passing, Pastor Gebel wrote of his friend and mentor, ”More than 30 years ago, you already preached that the church should prepare itself to receive the divorced, the separated, people of different sexual orientations…Of course, the small-minded couldn’t stomach so much grace, so much religious audacity. In pastoral circles, I always heard: ‘Ortiz is a genius, but be careful, he’s too progressive.’ Well, yeah. Those types weren’t ready for such big conversations…you were as scandalous as the grace you preached and shared freely.”
Juan Carlos also wrote several books, including Disciple (a classic among Christian leaders and followers of Jesus throughout the world), Cry of the Human Heart, Living with Jesus Today, and God is Closer than you Think.
Juan Carlos was preceded in death by his son Robert John, and is survived by his wife Martha; his children David, Vera, and Georgina; his in-laws Suzanne, Daniel and Jeremy; six grandchildren; four great grandchildren; and many beloved extended family members. A celebration of Juan Carlos’ life will be held at River Arena in Anaheim, California. The service will also be available online. The link will be provided here.
- Written by David Pablo Ortiz, Juan Carlos’ eldest son