Rev. Héctor Josué Hernández Marcial
Rev. Héctor Josué Hernández Marcial currently serves as Director of Community Engagement. In this role, Héctor Josué doesn’t just manage relationships—he crafts them into something bigger, connecting people and organizations to co-create real impact. His work centers on building collaborative partnerships that amplify NBA’s programs and extend their reach into communities that need them most. Working alongside colleagues, Héctor Josué develops, supports and coordinates initiatives focused on leadership development and grassroots organizing, ensuring each program sparks meaningful change where it matters. He is also dedicated to equity and works to ensure that diverse perspectives aren’t just welcomed but actively sought out and valued—and that everyone has a real seat at the table.
With decades of professional experience—nearly a decade of which has been dedicated to transformative work with the NBA—Héctor Josué has become an exceptional bridge-builder. He fosters connections that strengthen communities and amplify the voices of those who might otherwise go unheard. Héctor Josué has been the guiding force behind the NBA’s Peer Learning and Wellness groups, now at their 3.0 version, nurturing their growth from concept to community cornerstone. He supports conveners and facilitators as a mentor and steady presence, ensuring these vital support networks thrive and expand.
Before becoming the Director of Community Engagement, Héctor Josué helped launch NBA’s first Prison and Jail Ministries Peer Learning & Wellness Group in 2016, serving as a co-convener and creating space for peer-to-peer learning and spiritual renewal while addressing urgent justice issues facing those in prisons, jails, and detention centers. Two years later, he took on leading the second cohort of the Prison and Jail Ministries peer group, as well as providing support to conveners across the NBA’s expanding peer group network, fostering collaboration and shared learning among facilitators.
In 2019, Héctor Josué transitioned to a full-time role as the NBA Connect Coordinator, bringing his training as a trained clinical therapist to help develop the NBA’s Mental Health & Wellness Initiative, pioneering efforts to integrate mental health support into the organization’s programs. His focus was particularly on Disciples Hispanic/Latine congregations, where the NBA recognized both a great need and the potential for culturally responsive care. He also established NBA’s first Spanish-speaking Peer Learning and Wellness Group, fulfilling a long-held vision to serve Hispanic/Latine leaders in a space designed specifically for their experiences and needs.
Héctor Josué was born on the enchanting Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. He finds renewal in the great outdoors and enjoys running, hiking, and visiting the beach. Héctor Josué is also a traditional and digital illustrator, storyteller, and comic book and Star Wars enthusiast.
Getting to Know Héctor Josué
Why do you feel “called to care” about Disciples health and social service ministry?
To me, faith without actions is incomplete, barren, and illusory. In the midst of all human brokenness, vulnerability, and needs, words are never enough, and the Gospel, the Good News, has to be enacted. I believe that as followers of Christ the Liberator, we are called to become, to live, and to embody God’s Creative Hope, as co-creators of the Realm of God, that begins here and know. NBA’s mission is centered on these principles and values, and that is why I love being part of this ministry. NBA engages, collaborates, and creates ways in which our denomination as a whole, can be inspired and moved into salvific actions, into new opportunities for creation. NBA also connects the different expressions of our church with ministry partners who are providing direct care to those in need every single day.
Who is a hero of yours, and why?
I have many, but if I have to choose one, I have to say it is Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero. He was Archbishop of San Salvador who was assassinated while celebrating mass. Why was he assassinated, you ask? Because while others were quiet, and others chose to be blind to the horrors committed against the poor and the vulnerable masses, as a Priest, on the pulpit, and on the streets, he demanded justice and condemned the powerful and the oppressors. I first heard of him when I was about eleven years old, and his message, homilies, and theological reflections have become part of my own theology and ministries.
If I tried to find you in a supermarket, what aisle would you be in?
That’s simple, you will be able to find me in the coffee aisle. I will be there tasting different coffees! Wait, no… or maybe? I mean, it depends, do you know if I can taste different coffees in that supermarket? If there are no coffee samples in that aisle, then, go straight to the bakery section. I will be there trying to decide which and how many pastries I will be taking home. Although…what about the pizza aisle?
