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Draft:Ivelisse Valentin-Vera

  • Comment: Article lacks verifiable citations from independent sources. Jôhola 08:30, 11 July 2026 (UTC)



Ivelisse Valentín-Vera, born in Puerto Rico, is a theologian, pastor and digital communications expert. She specializes in practical theology, homiletics, digital ecclesiology and pastoral care. She serves as an Associate Professor of Theology and Associate Director of the Doctor of Theology (ThD) program at Northwest Nazarene University..[1] Valentin-Vera is recognized for her contributions on the area of digital ecclesiology and ministry in the digital era within Latino contexts. During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, she was an invited speaker and presenter for multiple webinars, conferences and workshops.[2] Her additional academic research focuses on homiletics, spiritual formation and decolonizing spititual practices.

Ivelisse Valentín is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene.

Education

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Rev. Dr.
Ivelisse Valentín-Vera
Born
Puerto Rico
EducationDrew University Theological School

Palm Beach Atlantic University Universidad del Sagrado Corazón Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico

Maryland Institute College of Art
OccupationsAssociate Director for the ThD and Associate Professor of Theology
EmployerNorthwest Nazarene University
OrganizationChurch of the Nazarene

Valentín-Vera holds an interdisciplinary academic background integrating arts, digital communications and theology. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Visual Communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art. After graduation she opened her own graphic design studio producing marketing material for the corporate and media industry in US and Puerto Rico.

After many years in the graphic desing and communications industry she decided to transition into theological and ministerial studies, completing a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico. Later, she obtained a Master of Arts (MA) in Digital Communications and Digital Narratives from the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón and earned a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) from Drew University Theological School in New Jersey. Her doctoral dissertation focused on postmodernity and languages of communication in the digital age[3]. Additionally, she pursued a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Practical Theology at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Valentín-Vera is also a certified as a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Diplomate Supervisor through the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP).

Career and Ministry

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Since 2010, after closing her Graphic Design Studio to fullfil her ministry calling, Valentín-Vera has balanced her career in higher education, institutional chaplaincy, and local church ministry.

Academic and administrative roles

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Valentín-Vera serves as an Associate Professor of Theology and the Associate Director of the Doctor of Theology (ThD) program at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.

Prior to this appointment, she was an Assistant Professor of Preaching and Practical Theology at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida. During her time at PBA, she directed the university's Preaching Initiative, Voices for Change, a $1.3 million program funded by Lilly Endowment. Valentin-Vera contributed to the program by building a curriculum from three pilars: the preachers formation, the preachers context and design and delivery. These emphasis would guide the participans to grow spiritualy, undestand their context and refine their preaching craft. During her time leading the initiative students had the opportunity to meet and listen renowned scholars in the field like, Matthew Kim, Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, Pablo Jimenez, Francisco J. Goitia, Bernie Cueto, Shawn Allen and Marcus Davidson, amonst others.

For almost a decade, Valentín-Vera served as the Director of the Chaplincy Office and taught in the School of theology of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus. In this role she developed interdisciplinary initiatives to integrate theology, religion and spirirituality across various academic disciplines.

She has also taught as adjunct faculty member for several seminaries and academic institutions in Puerto Rico, United States and Latin America. Amonst them are: Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Fuller Theological Seminary-Centro Latino, Seminario Nazareno de las Américas.

Pastoral Work

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In addition to her ministry in theological education and administration, Valentín Vera is an ordained elder of the Church of the Nazarene and serves as the Senior Pastor at the Church of The Nazarene "Vida Abundante" and the Christian Nazarene Academy in Levittown, Toa Baja, PR.

Research and Theological Views

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Valentín-Vera's scholrship centers on how the Christian church navigates the modern and postmodern cultural landscape, concerning technology, justice and equality[4].

Digital Ecclesiology and Artificial Intelligence

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Drawing from her background in digital communications, Valentín-Vera frecuently publishes on "digital ecclesiology", the study of how the church operates, communicates and builds community within digital spaces.[5] She addresses the ethical and theological impacts of contemporary technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), and how they intersect with Christian Doctrines of creation, the Image of God (Imago Dei), ethics and eschatology.

Decolonizing Spiritual Praxis and Social Holliness

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Her latest research frames prayer as decolonial spiritual praxis of social holiness, grounded in an "I-Thou" ontological responsibility toward the other. Utilizing the Lord's Prayer, she proposes a theological framework that challenges traditional, Western-centric, individualistic and patriarchal conceptualizations of God.[6] This approach presents an anticipatory eschatology of the "Kin-dom" of God,[7] emphasizing a model of radical inclusivity[8]. Valentin-Vera's current research is grounded in the Wesleyan Holiness tradition.[9]

Publications and Media

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Valentin-Vera is a contributor to various theological platforms, including the digital journal Lupa Protestante. She has publised essays on practical theology, pastoral care, spirituality and contemporary church challenges.

Valentín-Vera served as a keynote speaker at the Church of the Nazarene's Global Theology Conference in Argentina, where she delivered a lecture titled "The Hope of a New Creation". Her accompanying essay was published in the Wesleyan-Holiness Digital Library and translated into five languages: English[10], Spanish[11], French[12], Portuguese[13], and German[14]

In 2026 her proposal was accepted to present a paper at the Wesleyan Theological Association (WTS) annual meeting under the title, "Individual Piety to Collective Praxis: The Lord's Prayer as a Theological Framework for Social Holiness".

In addition to her academic and theological writings, Valentin-Vera is a regular columnist[15] for El Nuevo Día, one of Puerto Rico's major daily newspapers, and is frequently by local media about public theology and Christianity in local news media.[16]

Selected Works

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Books

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  • Espiritualidad a través del desierto. Forwarded by Silverio Pérez. (TodoGracia, 2010).
  • El Cuidado en la Palabra: Sermones sobre Cuidado Pastoral (with Samuel E. Pérez Rivera; TodoGracia, 2015).
  • El Cuidado en la Palabra: Un acercamiento bíblico-terapéutico al cuidado y consejería pastoral (with Samuel E. Pérez Rivera; TodoGracia, 2016).

Book chapters

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  • "Temas de la Teología Cristiana en la Inteligencia Artificial" in Integrando la inteligencia Artificial al Ministerio. Iglesia Cristiana Discípulos de Cristo en Puerto Rico. 2025. PDF.
  • "El arte de una proclamación ÉPICA: desafío de la postmodernidad" in Voces Teológicas en Diálogo con la Cultura, edited by Luis N. Rivera-Pagán (Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico, 2014).[17]

Selected articles

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  • "El problema de Puerto Rico no es Benito" in Opinión, El Nuevo Día. 2025.[18]
  • "Una guia para el camino: estudio sobre el Padre Nuestro". Lupa Protestante. 2014.[19]
  • "Arte como teología encarnacional: el Evangelio según He Qi". Lupa Protestante. 2013.[20]
  • "The Postmodern Church: a Mosaic coming together out of Diversity". Lupa Protestante. 2013.[21]

References

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  1. ↑ "Faculty | Northwest Nazarene University". catalog.nnu.edu. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  2. ↑ Pereira, Fernando (16 May 2020). "Iglesias preparan sus protocolos de reapertura". El Vocero de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 11 July 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ↑ Valentin-Vera, Ivelisse (2015). It's all about language: Towards and intercultural youth ministry. Drew University.
  4. ↑ Huanca-Aravena, Patricio (7 September 2023). "RESPONSE TO THE PRESENTATION BY DR. IVELISSE VALENTIN-VERA, "HOPE OF A NEW CREATION" AND THAT OF DR. T. SCOTT DANIELS, "FINISH THEN THY NEW CREATION"". Didache. 23 (2). Dr. Ivelisse states that the church has a prophetic role in society: "While denouncing, it announces. It denounces sin and its evil deeds, wherever they come from, and announces the capacity of the human being to transform. The mission of the church must find its inspiration by looking at both the future and the past. This double gaze, towards the past and the future, allows the Church not to fall into either conformism or fatalism.
  5. ↑ "Drew University Library : University Archives : Theses and Dissertations". digitalcollections.drew.edu. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  6. ↑ Giesken, Richard (9 September 2023). "HOPE OF A NEW CREATION". Didache. 23 (2). Valentin-Vera description of New Creation as "a collective redemption of radical inclusivity in the midst of a globalized world" opens several avenues of thought. First, it creates a healthy counterbalance to excessive individualism. Western thought tends to perceive New Creation primarily as individual salvation.
  7. ↑ Huanca-Aravena, Patricio (7 September 2023). "RESPONSE TO THE PRESENTATION BY DR. IVELISSE VALENTIN-VERA, "HOPE OF A NEW CREATION" AND THAT OF DR. T. SCOTT DANIELS, "FINISH THEN THY NEW CREATION"". Didache. 23 (2). Eschatology is the promise of a new creation that arises amid the clamor and laments of fallen men and women, as Dr. Valentin-Vera points out.
  8. ↑ Giesken, Richard (9 September 2023). "HOPE OF A NEW CREATION". Didache. 23 (2). The third aspect of Valentin-Vera's insight into New Creation is its "radical inclusivity" articulated as social inclusivity - Acts 2:9-11, Galatians 3:28, Romans 3:22 and 1 Corinthians 12:13. This inclusivity is described as a mosaic with each tile, while fully contained, contributing to a bigger picture. This Hope of a new society is especially relevant in our fractured world.
  9. ↑ Thomas, Patrick A (9 September 2023). "HOPE OF A NEW CREATION: A THEOLOGY FROM A PARTICULARLY SOUTHERN AFRICAN CONTEXT". Didache. 23 (2). The understanding of Hope of a New Creation as expounded by Dr. Valentin-Vera is sound and in line with our Wesleyan-Holiness paradigm. She is clear in her explanation that because our Christian faith was seen, touched, and heard by the Apostles, it is alive and not merely the hope of a promise yet to be fulfilled.
  10. ↑ "HOPE OF A NEW CREATION | Nazarene Bible College". nbc.whdl.org. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  11. ↑ "ESPERANZA DE UNA NUEVA CREACIÓN | Didache". didache.whdl.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  12. ↑ "L'ESPOIR D'UNE NOUVELLE CRÉATION | Didache". didache.whdl.org (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  13. ↑ "A ESPERANÇA DE UMA NOVA CRIAÇÃO | Didache". didache.whdl.org (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  14. ↑ "HOFFNUNG AUF EINE NEUE SCHÖPFUNG | Didache". didache.whdl.org (in German). Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  15. ↑ "Ivelisse Valentín Vera". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  16. ↑ Gómez, Felipe (17 April 2019). "Tener fe y esperanza no es lo mismo". Noticentro WAPA TV.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ↑ "VOCES TEOLÓGICAS EN DIÁLOGO CON LA CULTURA - Luis N. Rivera Pagán, editor". Libreria Laberinto. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  18. ↑ "Opinión | El problema de Puerto Rico no es Benito". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 2025-08-05. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  19. ↑ Ministerio, Ivelisse Valentin VeraPastora y Profesora universitaria Posee un doctorado en estudios de; University, Iglesia y lenguajes de la Postmodernidad de Drew; School, Theological; NJ; gráfica, y una Maestría en Divinidad del Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico Es artista; Visuales, Especializada En Comunicaciones (2014-03-13). "Una guía para el camino: Estudio sobre el Padre Nuestro". Lupa Protestante (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  20. ↑ Vera, Ivelisse Valentin (2013-08-06). "Arte como teología encarnacional: el Evangelio según He Qi". Lupa Protestante (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  21. ↑ Vera, Ivelisse Valentin (2013-07-02). "The Postmodern Church: a Mosaic coming together out of Diversity". Lupa Protestante (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-07-11.
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