Jesse Rivers

Jesse Rivers was born in and grew up in central Maine. Living through a challenging
and abusive childhood, he was finally rescued by the U.S. government at the age of 13
and placed in foster care. Fortunately, Jesus Christ pursued Jesse from a very young
age, and at the age of 7 years old Jesse received Jesus Christ as his Savior. While in
foster care, at the age of 15, after a very traumatic accident, Jesse came to the place of
surrender and service to the Lordship of Jesus Christ as well.

Throughout most of his lifetime, Jesse has been very aware of the calling of God on his
life, to serve precious children, most needing of love and care. He earned a BA in
Christian Ministries from Messiah College in 2002, and an MA in Cross-Cultural Studies
from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2010. Jesse currently lives the majority of the year
in Guatemala, where he serves with Abogar International Ministries, to fight for children
who are orphaned, abandoned, abused, at-risk, and/or homeless; seeking to promote
forever families, forever homes, and educational opportunities for the children. He also
enjoys serving in a diverse array of ministry positions; advocate, youth pastor, camp
pastor, evangelist, and motivational speaker.

Speaker Location

Southern California/Guatemala

Travel Notes

As the ministry I am serving with is a start-up and in the early stages, the majority of my
work can be done remotely. Therefore, my calendar is very flexible and available for
speaking engagements. Please consider extending me an invitation to be your guest
speaker for youth group, church, camp, events, schools, retreats, or any other arranged
get-together where you want people to be inspired to see, know, and pursue God’s
heart more!

Speaking Themes

As a motivational speaker, there are a vast array of speaking topics and themes that I
am comfortable speaking on! Working as an advocate for children who are orphaned
and homeless in Latin America, and having also come out of the foster care system
myself, I am often invited to inspire, motivate, and challenge youth to be intentional with
their lives. As long as Christ is the focus and center, I am open to consider a great
diversity of speaking themes and topics to inspire others to see, know, and live out the
love of God!