Children and family outreach
Feeding the Kids pairs warm meals with teaching materials, and Vacation Bible School weeks bring games, crafts, and the love of Jesus to children and families across the city, one neighborhood at a time.
About Ensenada Ministries
A family of faith on both sides of the border
Ensenada Ministries exists to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, communicating His love and forgiveness by word and by deed. We give members of Christ's body the opportunity to serve one another in Mexico, and we have been walking with the people of Ensenada since our first gathering in 2000.
Who we are is simple: a family of faith that spans the border. On one side are the children, families, incarcerated women, farmworker communities, and churches of Ensenada. On the other are the churches, teams, and givers in the United States who say yes to the work. If you want to see what a week of the work looks like, start with our mission trips, or get involved from wherever you are.
Our story
From one teenager's trip to a lasting ministry
The city of Ensenada sits on the Bahía de Todos Santos, about 70 to 85 miles south of San Diego, a short drive through Tijuana on the Pacific coast of Baja California.
01
Around 1960
A teenager goes to Mexico
Carolyn Koons takes a life-changing teen mission trip to Mexico, planting a vision for ministry across the border that would carry through her whole life.
02
The years between
A vision becomes an institute
Koons goes on to found the Institute for Outreach Ministries, training generations of students to serve others with the love of Christ.
03
2000
Our first gathering: 3,400 campers
Ensenada Ministries leads its first mission trip to Cornavaca, Mexicali. The event brings 3,400 campers together and, in the ministry’s own words, starts our love for ministry in Mexico.
04
Today
Rooted in Ensenada
After 26 years of ministry and hundreds of partnered mission teams, we lead hands-on mission trips and community outreach in and around Ensenada, Mexico, working alongside local churches to feed families, teach children, supply care, and share the gospel with teams welcomed at Rancho El Refugio, the ranch we partner with.
The partner ranch
The hills rise behind the work
Rancho El Refugio
A partner ranch at the heart of the work
Today the ministry welcomes teams at Rancho El Refugio, its partner ranch in the rolling hills about 10 miles east of Ensenada where the air is fresh and the ocean glitters in the distance. The name means "the refuge," and that is what it is: a quiet, welcoming place where mission teams rest between days of service and where each stay is planned, prayed over, and prepared.
The ranch's facilities grew alongside the ministry's teams. What began as a simple place to sleep has become a small village of hospitality: the Hacienda, which generations of teams still call the heart of the ranch; the Bridge House with its ocean-view deck; the Barn, whose bunk wing and gathering hall host the largest groups; and the newest addition, the two-story La Quinta, where every bedroom has its own bathroom. Around them sit a large outdoor amphitheater, a fire pit ringed with benches, and open hillsides that turn ordinary evenings into lingering times of worship.
After 26 years and hundreds of partnered mission teams, the ranch has become the front porch of the ministry's work with visiting groups. See the facilities to picture it for yourself.
Ministries alongside the church
The work we carry with local churches
Everything the ministry does is shared with local congregations, because the pastors and church families of Ensenada know the needs of their city best. Together, we run a family of ministries that has grown one door at a time:
Prison ministry
Working with the church, the ministry helped build a place of worship inside the women's prison, and teams continue to visit, sing, and pray with women who now have a sanctuary of their own.
Drug rehabilitation ministry
Men and women rebuilding their lives at rehabilitation centers around Ensenada are visited, encouraged, and walked with toward a church family that keeps going after the program ends.
Migrant camp ministry
Through each harvest season, the ministry carries worship, encouragement, and practical help to the farmworker camps in the valleys, so no family feels forgotten.
Food, medical care, and supplies
Groceries, warm meals, medical supplies, and hygiene kits are gathered and delivered, always with prayer, to families and small clinics who cannot afford them.
Church partnerships
Work projects, shared worship, and lasting relationships between congregations here and in Mexico keep encouragement flowing long after a visiting team goes home.
What we believe
Faith that shapes everything we do
Our statement of faith is simple, biblical, and shared by the churches and teams who serve with us.
The Bible is God’s word
We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, the foundation for everything we teach and everything we do.
Salvation through Jesus
We believe salvation comes only through believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again.
Love by word and deed
We believe Christ’s love is communicated both by proclamation and by practical care, so we preach the gospel and feed the hungry, heal, teach, and build alongside it.
Who leads the work in Mexico
Ricardo Green serves as the ministry's pastor and ranch director, shepherding the mission work on the ground in Ensenada. He is joined by local ministry partners, the pastors of the churches we work alongside, and the teams of volunteers who travel from the United States to serve. The daily programs, from feeding children to visiting the prison, are carried forward by people who live in the city and know its needs firsthand.
The people behind the work
Staff, volunteers, and a family of churches
A work this size is carried by many hands. On the ground in Ensenada, a resident staff led by the ranch director keeps the ranch and the daily programs running, while local pastors and ministry partners open the doors of their churches and neighborhoods. Around them stands a rotating family of volunteers: the cooks who prepare group meals, the translators who make every conversation possible, the drivers who move teams across the city, and the mission teams themselves, who arrive week after week ready to serve.
In the United States, an office team answers questions, welcomes gifts, and walks with trip leaders from the first call to the ride home. Every role matters, and there is room for more hands in every one of them.
Financial stewardship
Giving with trust and gratitude
Every gift to Ensenada Ministries becomes something real in Ensenada: a warm meal for a child, groceries for a family, a box of medical supplies, a lesson about Jesus, or the daily work of sharing the Gospel with people who feel they have no hope. After 26 years of ministry, the work continues because faithful friends give faithfully, month after month and year after year.
Gifts are received through Hope Starter Treasury, the IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that supports the ministry's work, and every check is acknowledged with thanks. You can give online through PayPal in a couple of clicks, or send a check by mail, and the donate page walks through both options.
- Gifts received by
- Hope Starter Treasury
- Tax status
- IRS 501(c)(3)
- IRS EIN
- 45-2911587
- Mail gifts to
- 4460 W Shaw Ave #460, Fresno, CA 93722
- Phone
- +1-559-272-3933
- Office hours
- Mon to Fri, 8 AM to 5 PM PT
Good questions
Questions about our story and beliefs
How did Ensenada Ministries begin?
The story starts with a teenager's mission trip to Mexico around 1960 and the vision it planted in Carolyn Koons. It grew into ministry training work through the Institute for Outreach Ministries, and in 2000 Ensenada Ministries led its first gathering of 3,400 campers, which the ministry credits as the start of its love for ministry in Mexico. Today we serve in and around Ensenada alongside local churches.
What does Ensenada Ministries believe?
We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, that salvation comes only through believing Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again, and that Christ's love is communicated both by proclamation and by practical care. That is why every program pairs the gospel with a warm meal, a delivered box of supplies, or a helping hand.
Who leads the ministry in Mexico?
Ricardo Green serves as the ministry's pastor and ranch director, shepherding the daily work in Ensenada. He is joined by local ministry partners, church leaders, and the volunteer teams who travel from the United States to serve.
How can I visit or serve?
Start with the mission trips page to learn what a team week looks like, then tell us about your group through the contact page. If you cannot travel, you can still join the work by giving or praying.
