ABOUT US

We're a family of five—well, mostly—from Southern California, though our journey has taken us far and wide!

ESTEBAN'S STORY

Esteban was born in San Diego, California in 1980. For a time, he found himself lost, running the streets and pursuing worldly things. In 2001, however, everything changed when he surrendered his life to Jesus. Within a month, he was on a mission trip to NYC just a month after the tragic events of 9/11. That was the start of a grand adventure serving the Lord! Since then, Esteban has continued his service, attending Bible College and working in various roles: serving the local church, going on short-term missions, and undertaking missions around the world.

TIFINY'S STORY

Tifiny was born in West Virginia in 1982. She grew up in a Christian home, attending church from a young age. After accepting Jesus in her teenage years, she became deeply involved in serving the Lord, participating in local and international missions, and even leading a Campus Crusade For Christ (CRU) gathering on her university campus. Thanks to the loving investment of her parents and their home church, she developed a rich and deep understanding of the Bible and church culture.

A SHARED PASSION

In 2004, Esteban and Tifiny met at a CRU meeting on her university campus. Their connection was instant: they were engaged just two months later and married eleven months after that! Their mutual love for Jesus and a shared passion for missions and discipleship united them even beyond their love for each other. They soon moved to California, where they worked side-by-side for 10 years, running their own Real Estate business and serving together in the local church.

FAMILY AND NEW CALLING

In 2009, they welcomed their first blessing, daughter Isabelle Faith. This was also a time when the Lord allowed a deep season of suffering in their lives. Through this period, the Lord began stirring Esteban and Tifiny's hearts toward Spain and church planting, eventually confirming a call specifically to the city of Madrid.

In 2011, their family grew again with the very special blessing of their son, Samuel Josiah. Even as their season of suffering continued, God raised Esteban and Tifiny up as leaders in their local church. After much prayer, they shared their vision for Madrid and church planting with their pastor and leaders, who were incredibly supportive. As they waited for the Lord to bring clarity to the timing of their departure, God provided even more direction: He was calling them not simply to plant one church, but to plant multiple churches! Then came their third beautiful blessing, a sassy little blonde named Bristol.

STEPPING OUT IN FAITH

In 2014, after a significant season of confirmation, Esteban and Tifiny applied for visas to live in Spain and began selling all of their possessions, including their home, cars, and furniture. In January of 2015, the Valenzuela family left the USA for Madrid, Spain.

MISSION AND CHURCH PLANTING

In November of 2017, they began planting the church Raíces Madrid. Through this planting process, God worked deeply in them, bringing them back to a centrality in the Gospel. This focus on the Gospel has profoundly shaped the church's DNA, its Bible teaching, philosophy of ministry, and approach to discipleship. We've seen the Gospel transform and renew people who've been in Christian culture their entire lives but had never truly known the freedom of The Good News.

Despite the spiritual battle and the immense difficulty of church planting—a period in which every family member has, at one point or another, experienced depression, anxiety, or panic attacks—the Lord has been faithful to sustain them and do a work that is clearly beyond human ability.

EXPANDING THE WORK

This year, Raíces Madrid will celebrate 8 years as a church! God has used the ministry to bring many to know Jesus, and the church's Gospel-centered discipleship and teaching have fostered amazing transformation in both new believers and those growing in their walk with Jesus. God has also raised up new pastors and elders, continuing His good work through the body of believers and the emerging leadership.

In February of 2025, the assistant pastor and his wife, along with another pastor and his family, were sent out from Raíces Madrid to plant a new church in the city. The Valenzuela family is now feeling a fresh stirring from the Lord to plant another new church in Madrid soon! With over 3 million people in the municipality and over 7 million in the county, and less than 2% proclaiming to be Christians, there is so much work to be done in this densely populated urban area that is Madrid.

Now, the work continues with KAIROS PROJEKT. There's more to be done, and the next phase of the work is just ahead of us!

A VISION FOR THE CITY: 

KAIROS PROJEKT

God gave Esteban and Tifiny a clear calling and vision: to plant a church in Madrid that would, in turn, plant other churches. Seeing the Lord fulfill this vision has been the enduring desire throughout all these years!

We've been incredibly blessed over the years to build relationships with so many amazing people and ministries across Western Europe and the USA. Many of these organizations share our core values and mission, focusing on gospel-centered church planting.

DEVELOPING A STRATEGY FOR MADRID

A key partnership with City to City Europe has been instrumental in shaping our strategy. Through them, we’ve embraced the value of generosity, focused training for church planters, and the importance of creating a city network—creating a space to encourage leaders already serving Jesus here in Madrid.

Fellowship with other leaders in this incredible city has allowed this vision for Madrid to continually grow and become more focused. We felt led to formalize this work by beginning an organization called KAIROS PROJEKT. This project will bring all of our ministry endeavors—church planting, leadership development, and networking—under one unified umbrella.

KINGDOM PARTNERSHIPS

Through partners who share our values and vision, such as City to City Europe, CGN / Cultivate, and Awaken Church Community, we plan to move forward with three main goals:

1. Training future church planters.

2. Planting more churches throughout Madrid.

3. Creating vital spaces to encourage and bless other local leaders.

We’re excited about the next phase under the KAIROS PROJEKT banner!