National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

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The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), is a United States–based nonprofit organization that describes itself as the largest Hispanic Christian organization in the country. Founded in 2001 by pastor Samuel Rodriguez, the organization is headquartered in Sacramento, California, and advocates on issues of immigration, religious liberty, criminal justice reform, family policy, and social justice from a Hispanic evangelical perspective.

The NHCLC states that it serves as a representative voice for Hispanic evangelical Christians in the United States and the broader Spanish-speaking world. The organization has been cited in major media outlets as a leading institutional voice for Hispanic evangelicals, and its president has been recognized by Time magazine, CNN, Fox News, and other outlets as a prominent national Latino faith leader.

History

The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference was founded in 2000 by Samuel Rodriguez, an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God who has served as the organization's president since its founding. The NHCLC emerged from efforts by Latino and evangelical leaders to create a unified national platform representing Hispanic Christians on public policy and cultural issues.

By the early 2010s, the organization had become a frequent reference point in national coverage of the growing Hispanic evangelical population in the United States. In its April 15, 2013 cover story "The Latino Reformation," Time magazine documented the rapid growth of Hispanic evangelicalism and quoted Rodriguez extensively on the movement's cultural and political influence, with Rodriguez coining the phrase "the Latino Reformation" to describe the shift.

In subsequent years, the NHCLC expanded its policy work in Washington, D.C., engaging with successive presidential administrations and members of Congress on issues affecting Hispanic communities and religious institutions. Mission and structure

The NHCLC describes its mission around what it calls the "7 Directives" — life, family, education, stewardship, justice, evangelism, and youth — and frames its work as an effort to unite Hispanic evangelical churches under a common advocacy, leadership, and training platform. The organization is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and, according to nonprofit-tracking databases, is headquartered in Sacramento, California.

The NHCLC reports affiliation with tens of thousands of Hispanic churches in the United States and the Spanish-speaking diaspora. The organization's membership figures have been the subject of public discussion; for example, a March 2026 open letter signed by more than 100 Latino Christian leaders questioned the accuracy of the figure of 42,000 U.S. churches cited in some congressional and media references to the NHCLC.

Leadership

Samuel Rodriguez has served as president of the NHCLC since its founding. Rodriguez is also the senior pastor of New Season Church in Sacramento, California, and an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God. He has served on the boards of the National Association of Evangelicals, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christianity Today, and Oral Roberts University, among other evangelical institutions.

The organization's leadership has at various times included vice presidents and regional directors drawn from large Hispanic Pentecostal congregations, including Pastor Wilfredo "Choco" De Jesús of New Life Covenant Church in Chicago, who was profiled alongside Rodriguez in Time's 2013 "Latino Reformation" cover package.

Activities and initiatives

Immigration reform advocacy

Immigration reform has been one of the NHCLC's most publicly identified advocacy priorities. The organization has supported proposals providing a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants alongside border-security measures, and Rodriguez has testified and commented publicly on immigration legislation across multiple administrations.

In 2025, the NHCLC announced support for the bipartisan Dignity Act introduced by Representative María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), a measure aimed at providing legal status to certain long-term undocumented residents while strengthening border enforcement.[10]

Rodriguez publicly split with President Donald Trump in 2018 over the administration's handling of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and family separations at the southern border, while continuing to engage with the administration on other issues.

Criminal justice reform

The NHCLC has been associated with Hispanic evangelical support for federal criminal justice reform. Rodriguez has been credited with facilitating early conversations between evangelical leaders and senior White House officials that contributed to the development of the First Step Act, the bipartisan federal sentencing and prison-reform law signed in December 2018.

Religious liberty and life issues

The organization advocates on religious liberty and pro-life issues and participates in coalitions of evangelical organizations on those topics. Rodriguez has served in advisory roles on faith-based initiatives under multiple U.S. presidents, including advisory councils under the administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

Health and community initiatives

In 2024, the NHCLC's Center for Ministerial Health announced new initiatives focused on mental health resources, ministerial wellness, and community health outreach within Hispanic congregations, in partnership with a range of health and education organizations.

Interfaith engagement and antisemitism

In 2023, the NHCLC and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced a partnership to combat antisemitism and anti-Hispanic hate, including the formation of a Hispanic-Israel Leadership Coalition intended to strengthen relationships between Latino evangelical and Jewish communities.

Political engagement

The NHCLC is officially nonpartisan. Rodriguez has engaged with Republican and Democratic administrations alike and has said publicly that the NHCLC seeks to work with any administration on issues affecting Hispanic families and churches.[

On January 20, 2017, Rodriguez delivered a reading from the Sermon on the Mount at the inauguration of President Donald Trump, becoming the first Hispanic evangelical pastor to participate in a U.S. presidential inauguration. He has also been described in press reports as a member of the Trump administration's faith-based advisory network during both of Trump's terms in office.

Rodriguez's prominence as a Trump-era evangelical adviser has drawn both praise and criticism within the broader Latino Christian community. In March 2026, more than 100 Latino Christian leaders released an open letter questioning what they described as an overstatement of Rodriguez's representational reach among Hispanic Christians, a characterization the NHCLC has disputed.

Media recognition

The NHCLC and its president have been profiled in a range of national publications. Time magazine's April 15, 2013 cover story "The Latino Reformation" featured Rodriguez's framing of the Hispanic evangelical movement and profiled NHCLC leaders. Rodriguez has also been named by Time to its list of the 100 most influential people and has been referenced by CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, Univision, and Telemundo as a leading Hispanic evangelical voice.

See also

• Samuel Rodriguez (pastor)
• Religion of Hispanic and Latino Americans
• Evangelicalism in the United States
• National Association of Evangelicals
• Assemblies of God USA

External links

• The Latino Reformation (cover story) — Time magazine (April 15, 2013) — summarized via HuffPost. Coverage of Time's cover story featuring Rodriguez and Wilfredo De Jesús.
• Conservative Religious Leader Launches 40-Day Hunger Strike For Immigration Reform — FOX News (November 04, 2013) — One of the nation’s most prominent Latino religious leaders is planning to go on a 40-day hunger strike on Monday to press Congress to act on immigration reform.
• The Call of Samuel — Christianity Today (September 2006). Early profile of Rodriguez and the NHCLC's emergence as a national voice.
• Samuel Rodriguez — Speaker Profile — Aspen Ideas Festival. Third-party biographical summary of Rodriguez and the NHCLC.
• Evangelical Trump adviser urges Latino Christians 'go to church' amid fears of ICE — Religion News Service (October 17, 2025). Recent reporting on NHCLC's stance on immigration enforcement and its impact on Hispanic congregations.
• National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference — Nonprofit Profile — Charity Navigator. 501(c)(3) registration, financial profile, and headquarters confirmation.
• Samuel Rodriguez — Board of Trustees Bio — Oral Roberts University. Independent confirmation of Rodriguez's board roles across evangelical institutions.
• After Praying At His Inauguration, Pastor Splits With Trump Over Immigration Views — NPR (January 21, 2018). Major-outlet reporting on Rodriguez's 2017 inauguration role and later public disagreement with Trump on DACA and family separations.
• Nation's Largest Hispanic Evangelical Organization Joins Growing Coalition Backing Rep. Salazar's Dignity Act of 2025 — Office of U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar. Congressional press release confirming NHCLC's endorsement of the Dignity Act of 2025.
• Samuel Rodriguez — ERLC Profile — Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (Southern Baptist Convention). Third-party evangelical profile noting advisory roles across multiple administrations.
• National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Launches New Health Initiatives — ChurchLeaders (via Religion News Service). Independent republication documenting the NHCLC Center for Ministerial Health's 2024 initiatives.
• ADL and National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Announce Groundbreaking Partnership to Combat Antisemitism — Anti-Defamation League. Partner-organization press release confirming the joint initiative and the Hispanic-Israel Leadership Coalition.
• Over 100 Latino Christians reprove Trump adviser's reach — Baptist Standard (2026). Independent denominational news coverage of critique of NHCLC's representational claims.

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