From Ecuador to Colorado: Juan Cabrera’s Mountain-Moving Journey

By Caitlyn Harding

The view looked different for Juan Cabrera, ACSI’s retiring VP of Information Technology, 25 years ago in the capital city Quito, Ecuador. Sitting at 9,350 feet in elevation, the bustling city is a historically rich hub in the foothills of the Andes Mountains.

Cabrera, having a heart for sharing the gospel worldwide, never thought he’d be serving the Lord in Ecuador— let alone for 10 years.

Inspired by another couple who embarked on their missions journey a year prior to his own departure, Cabrera shared how God had a plan to use his skillset in IT and his multilingual ability to further the Kingdom.

“What drew me to Ecuador was the Lord— it was a calling,” he shared. “I was buying a house and the people who were renting the house prior were going to Ecuador with HCJB World Radio. I had never heard of that organization, but Christian radio was what fed me as a new Christian.”

HCJB World Radio, a Christian radio station that broadcasted the gospel in over 30 languages at the time, would end up being the ministry that Cabrera could apply his IT knowledge and fluency in Spanish to for more than two decades.

“I served in the engineering department in Quito, which evolved into the IT Department after the first 6 months. This included everything from running fiberoptic cables underground, with rats, to setting up the first network and installing a large satellite dish for internet connection. We had to learn new technologies, and God always brought the right people,” Cabrera said.

During his time, he was able to meet and work with “a lot of nationals and missionaries from all over the world,” which resulted in a fresh, new perspective and a love for global ministry. This love would eventually lead him to ACSI.

“Serving in an overseas ministry really opens up the world to you,” he reflected. “We can sometimes get tunnel vision in U.S., seeing everything from our perspective. It’s really nice to see what the Lord is doing around the world.”

After 10 years in Ecuador, Cabrera moved to Colorado Springs to work at the HCJB World Radio Headquarters. His experience overseas and heart for sharing the gospel globally stayed with him and, after 13 years serving the ministry in Colorado, he carried this passion with him to ACSI.

“I was hired in 2020, in the middle of Covid,” Cabrera shared. “Serving ACSI over these past five plus years has been one of the greatest privileges of my professional life. The recent Global IT expansion will lead us to establishing a centralized global system of both finance and CRM that will allow all ACSI divisional offices across the globe to be on the same platform. We’ve never had that. I believe that ACSI is poised to expand Christ’s Kingdom through Christian education.”

Other highlights throughout his time at ACSI include overseeing major organization-wide system upgrades, including the upgrading of Protech as its primary database, upgrading the ACSI Certification platform for a user-friendly experience, upgrading the Accreditation protocol to a digital platform, and more.

In addition, Cabrera also oversaw the transition of the former warehouse to its new location.

Cabrera shared that this experience was “a very big unknown,” requiring a lot of interaction, teamwork, and planning. “We trained the new team, had to get everything moved to the new location in Indiana from Colorado Springs, and modify our software to accommodate the change.”

The team excelled, and after a lot of planning, the new warehouse shelves were stocked with ACSI products, including Purposeful Design Publications textbooks and resources.

The IT team also oversaw the transition from ACSI’s former Headquarters building to its new location.

Cabrera reflected on the process of moving servers and rebuilding them at the new office.

“It’s hard to move something that’s been in one location for many years,” he said. “We had to do it over a weekend, so it didn’t have as much of an impact on people. You feel the pressure because the organization’s down until you get that back up and running.”

Throughout all of these great changes, God consistently showed up through unity and the attitude of the IT team.

“I have seen a huge commitment from all areas, and an excitement,” Cabrera said. “That’s what I think the Lord wants us to do.”

After 42 years, Cabrera is looking forward to his retirement from full-time IT support. He’s hoping to do something more focused on people.

“I thought about a part-time job or volunteering… I’m leaving my hands open. I’m excited to see what the Lord is going to bring my way,” he said.

Regarding the future of ACSI, Cabrera believes even brighter days are coming.

“I see a Godly, dedicated, and talented staff. I believe the future of ACSI is ready to expand in ways we’ve never dreamed of. Not just because of the tech, but because of the people.”