Meet the Founders

Felix & Neusa Nieto

Four decades on the front line of youth ministry, one shared calling: build safe, welcoming places where young people belong, grow, and discover their purpose — and equip other leaders to do the same.

Our Story

FN

Felix Nieto

Founder & Lead Trainer

Felix pioneered the coffee-house youth-ministry model more than 20 years ago, out of three decades on the front line of youth leadership — long before national programs made the idea popular. He has led as a Conference Coordinator and club director of four clubs, and holds the field's highest leadership credentials: Master Guide at the Advanced, Leadership, and Instructor Award levels, with the full Pathfinder honor set (250+ awards).

He is a certified Pathfinder Leadership Instructor Trainer and Teen Leadership Instructor Trainer — credentialed to train the trainers — plus a Red Cross Instructor Trainer, competitive Drill Instructor (six first-place trophies), and an instructor in event planning, sound, and security. As his conference's Club Staff Background-Check Coordinator, youth safety has always come first. A John Maxwell–trained leader and founder of an engineering company (est. 1992), Felix brings a builder's discipline to ministry: a proven system others can be trained and certified to run.

NN

Neusa Nieto

Co-Founder

Neusa is the heart of hospitality and community behind The Grind. A certified Master Guide and Kids Blast Teen Leader, she has spent decades mentoring young people and building the kind of warm, welcoming spaces where they feel safe enough to belong.

Where Felix builds the system, Neusa makes sure no young person walks in and feels invisible. Together they've devoted their lives to developing the next generation — from childhood faith to adult conviction — and to equipping other leaders to do the same in their own communities.

Founders' Credentials

Felix Nieto

  • Master Guide — Advanced
  • Master Guide — Leadership Award Level
  • Master Guide — Instructor Award Level
  • Full Pathfinder honor set — 250+ patches/awards
  • Conference Coordinator
  • Club Director (4 clubs)
  • Competitive Drill Instructor — 6 first-place trophies (Basic & Advanced)
  • Pathfinder Leadership Trainer
  • Pathfinder Leadership Instructor Trainer
  • Pathfinder Teen Leadership Trainer
  • Pathfinder Teen Leadership Instructor Trainer
  • Red Cross Instruction
  • Red Cross Instructor Trainer
  • Event Planning Instructor
  • Sound System Instructor
  • Security Coordinator & Instructor
  • Conference Club Staff Background-Check Coordinator
  • John Maxwell Leadership training
  • …plus hundreds of additional trainings

Neusa Nieto

  • Master Guide
  • Kids Blast Teen Leader
  • Decades of mentorship, hospitality & community building

Our Mission — Three Pillars

Community

A place to belong. Before you can grow spiritually, you need to feel safe. We build that space — authentic, judgment-free, and alive.

Discipleship

Growth that's intentional. From the first visit to leading others — a clear path from curiosity to conviction to multiplication.

Visibility

Faith in action. Not hidden, not performative — lived. Fellowship, study, prayer, and service that others can see and experience.

Our Vision

For Nieto Ministries™

To become the trusted, nationwide hub for youth and young-adult ministry — independent, Christ-centered, and open to every denomination. We run our flagship program, train and certify leaders to a real safety and leadership standard, and help them launch their own communities so the mission multiplies far beyond any one place.

For The Grind

To give every young person a "third place" that isn't a church service or a lecture — a free, welcoming coffee house with real food, live music, honest conversation, and genuine community. A place where belonging comes first, and where a teen who walks in a stranger leaves knowing they matter.

Our overall calling

Four decades of ministry taught us that great work lasts only when it's built as a system others can carry. Our life's work is to develop the next generation — from childhood faith to adult conviction — and to equip and certify other leaders to do the same, safely and with excellence, in their own communities.

Explore Nieto Ministries™ Visit The Grind