Joel is originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, and moved to the United States in 2006. He has a heart for planting churches and has been involved with church plants in one way or another since he was 15 years old. After being an associate minister in Annapolis, Maryland, Joel and his wife Meghan felt the call to plant Encounter. Joel recently completed a church planting residency at New Life Christian Church in Chantilly, Virginia. Joel and Meghan currently live in Columbia Heights in Washington, DC.
Joel is an avid coffee drinker, a podcast junkie, and a passionate soccer fan, go Barça! Meghan is a teacher at Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Columbia Heights. They spend their free time going on adventures together, exploring DC, and dreaming of what God will do in the city.
