Noel has worked in full-time ministry in Latino, urban communities since 1982. He has served in youth ministry, church planting, advocacy and community development in San Francisco, San Jose, and Chicago. After serving on the Board of the Christian Community Development Association for many years, he established the CCDA Institute, which equips emerging church leaders in the philosophy of Christian Community Development, and is past President of CCDA.
Noel is the author of Where the Cross Meets the Street: What Happens to the Neighborhood When God is at the Center, which blends the art of story with firmly rooted theology and time tested praxis. Noel and his wife of 30 years, Marianne make their home in the barrio of La Villita in Chicago, and have three grown children; Noel Luis, Stefan, and Anna.
