Ivan Venegas

Ivan Venegas was born in Bogota, Colombia (South America) and came to the United States at the age of 18 years old. He lived two years with relatives in Houston, Texas as he learned English as a second language at the University of Houston of Downtown. He moved to Canton, Ohio in the year 2000 and has lived here since then. At that moment in time, he attended Stark State College in Canton to study computer science and a few years later, went to Akron University for Business Administration and Supply Chain. He currently works as a Coordinator of Operations for an environmental company called Absolute Reclamation Services.

He is married to Carolina Venegas, and they have been together since 2013. He is the father of two children, Joel who is currently 10 years old and Samara who is 6 years old. They came to Cornerstone Community Chapel in the summer of 2020, and he started serving as an elder in the fall of 2022. Shortly after becoming an elder, Ivan saw a need within Cornerstone for a youth ministry leader. After prayer, discussion, and consideration they stepped into this role and have been serving since January of 2023.

Ivan grew up with very little knowledge about Christianity. His father was a catholic and his mother a seven-day Adventist, but they did not practice their religion. When he was a young boy, his mother did take him to Church and many seeds were planted but he did not become a born again Christian until he was thirty years old. It was then when he understood that he is a sinner in need of the Savior and received the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection continue to transform the Venegas family as they grow day by day more into His image.