Introduction

Let me be honest. I was hesitant to write this. I thought that some might find it a bit pretentious. After all, who thinks themselves important enough to write their own biography? But after considering the story, I’ve come to realize that it really isn’t my story at all. My story belongs to the Lord, and it belongs to those who will be encouraged by it. And I want to be clear: my story is nowhere near complete. The Lord and I are just getting started, barely scratching the surface of this ministry. But I want to tell you the story thus far.

 

I did not think it necessary to do at first, but the fair amount of requests for it have moved my hand to write. After answering several (And I do mean several) emails, letters and messages of all sorts (Messages that communicated interest and questions about my life story), I thought it to be more efficient to write it down in one place that, from now on, I can reference.

 
So, now that my apprehension has been appeased by a disclaimer, I will go right into it.
 

For all bad you see in me, give me grace. For all good you see in me, give Him glory.

 
Birth and Upbringing
I was born on March 22nd, 1989 in Artesia, CA. I have one older sister, Raquel and one younger brother, Michael. We spent the majority of our childhood in Hawthorne, CA. Born as a fourth generation Christian, I am also a third generation preacher. My grandparents, Danny and Linda Manch, are also ministers of the gospel.

 
Growing up in a godly home was a blessing. There was a constant awareness of God and the scripture. Jesus was the center of our family and still is.

 
My parents, David and Esther, prayed a simple prayer over me when I was born: that I would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. That prayer would set the course for the rest of my life. I began to hear the voice of the Lord at the young age of seven, but I did not come to know Jesus until I was eleven years old.

 
Second Birth
Even though I grew up in a Christian home, I had yet to receive a revelation of Jesus for myself. I was religious, a modern-day pharisee. I knew the scripture but not the truth found within them. But there were other internal problems. Since I can remember, I had battled with a demonic depression and unusual fear.

 
In fact, to this day I still battle depression. I’m a spirit-filled believer, but, just like any aspects of the flesh, depression must be dealt with consistently. I may have depression, but depression doesn’t have me. But that’s a digression from the story. (Thought it might help someone reading this.)

 
Despite my outer shell of morality, my spirit was dead. I needed Jesus. My moment of salvation came to me in a hotel room. My family was attending a week-long Bible conference. They had gone to the sessions, while I stayed behind in the room. I remember just sitting in the room, being severely tormented by demonic powers. I felt fear, anger and hopelessness within me. It was purely demonic. I sat frozen in a cold sweat. At the same time, I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit drawing me to the Lord.

 
It was sheer warfare over me. I could feel the forces of Heaven and Hell battling over me. In the middle of the warfare, my dad entered the room. My face said everything – it was tired and afraid. I told my dad, right then and there, that I wanted to give myself to Jesus. We prayed, and the moment we did, Heaven filled my heart. The storm of the demonic was instantly calmed by the mighty voice of God. I sobbed tears of joy, as the perfect love of God dispelled all fear.

 
The person I knew only as a historical figure, had now become my Lord and my God – eternally. I was born again.
 


Spiritual Growth
From then on, I spent large amounts of time with Jesus. Ministry and “Spiritual Position” were not even a concept in my mind. I just prayed to know Jesus. My intellect was curious to understand the philosophy and cosmic ability of Jesus. My soul was drawn to experience the personality and character of Jesus. My spirit needed to connect with the depths of Jesus. Everything about me was about Jesus.
 
From the age of eleven to twelve, I sought Him vigorously. For two years, I prayed for over 4 hours each day. It was a wonderful time.

 
My main influences were these four men: my dad, my grandfather, Eddie Vargas (I’ll tell you more about him in a bit) and my pastor, Omar Lopez.

 
Many things contributed to my spiritual growth. I read books, listened to CDs and questioned every preacher I ever met. It must have been quite irritating or even odd for them to have to answer the pressing questions of an eleven-year-old. But I persisted in getting my questions answered.

 
There was, however, a major turning point. An evangelist, Steve Romine, had come to minister at our church. He was a healing evangelist who had MS. He only recently passed away, but his impact continues to this day.

 
I watched, as he prophesied over people and prayed for the sick. People who had come to church with pain were leaving without it. As I observed in amazement, I said in my heart, “Lord, THAT’S how I want to be used.” But only moments after I thought that, Steve looked right at me. He pointed at me and called me to the front. I don’t remember the exact wording, but I remember what the message was. He told me that I would be used in the healing ministry, be known among the nations and carry a heavy mantle of the anointing on my life. From that moment on, my ministry had a clear direction.

 
But God created a collaborative work surrounding my life. You see, some people view differences as a negative thing. I took advantage of all the different ministries the Lord put before me. God used almost 100 preachers to form who I am today in ministry. We need to honor every type and culture of ministry, even ones with different doctrines.

 
Ron Simpkins, Harry Hills, Robert Jimenez, Tommy Miller, John Glass, Benny Hinn, Adam Friedrich, Ronnie Chavez, Oral Roberts, R.W. Shambach, Michael Koulianos, Raul Nunez,Robert Sanchez, Kelly Lohrke, Kim Clement, Donna Neville, Esther Bloom – I could go on for paragraphs.

My point is this: the unique dynamic of my ministry comes from a unique diversity of impartation. That’s how growth came about. I received something from everyone, no matter how different. I honored every minister, no matter their ministry culture.
 
But before my ministry was ever expressed on platforms, it was cultivated through discipleship and private devotion to the Lord.

 
The Overflow Begins
You can only fill a cup so much before it begins to overflow. And then, God makes the cup bigger.

Behind a large concrete wall, among the poles of an unused tetherball court is where I first began to pray for the sick. An uncommon site for a church service, my school was the meeting place, and a small brick wall was my platform. I was thirteen years old, and God had already revealed himself to me as the Great Healer.

This revelation of Him was captured in the secret places of deep prayer. From the age eleven and on, I daily spent hours with the Lord. There was no agenda. There was no egocentric motive. There was no self-promoting desire in my heart. What I had gained with the Lord was pure and birthed out of a genuine passion to know Jesus.

The private moments of my prayer life would soon begin to overflow into the public areas of my life, demonstrated through God’s power. That leads me to note this important thought: private prayer is always revealed in public power. And the overflow of power did, indeed, flood into the public places of my life. I didn’t even notice it as it happened. But God knew what He was doing.

 

I was thirteen years of age when the overflow began. And, of all places, it began at my school. Looking back today, I realize that it was the testing ground – the preparation for a future in ministry. While other kids were creeping in secrecy to hide drugs, sexual acts and violent dealings, I was holding secret Miracle Services on school campus. We prayed for the power of God to invade the school.

 

And how wonderfully His power did flow. There were instances when kids,

who had no idea what the power of God was like, would have trouble standing, as they approached nearer to the site of our undercover meetings. Skin diseases, asthma, broken bones, eye problems – these and many more things were being healed. Most of the time, the healings took place right on the spot, in view of everyone.

 

After the meetings, I would head back to class with the residue of God’s tangible power on me. As I would enter the classroom, there were instances where kids would fall out under the power from a simple greeting by handshake. They had no idea what hit them, as they picked themselves up from the floor with very confused looks on their faces. Teachers were never present when this occurred.

 

Later that year, I began to travel and preach in churches all across the U.S. It was simply all of God’s doing.

 

From Projector to Pulpit

My walk with the Lord began at the moment of my salvation, but my ministry, I believe, was started at another point. I was about 9 years old when I was asked to do something I did not want to do.

 
It was a regular Sunday morning church service. My friends and I were enjoying doughnuts. All of a sudden, coming from a church hallway, walking really fast was Eddie Vargas.

 
Eddie Vargas is one of my dad’s sons in the faith and a huge influence on my life. At the time, he directed worship for our church. But at that moment, he looked stressed. He had that look on his face that says “I am looking for a volunteer”. Me and my friends were the last people who would ever volunteer to help with anything. Pastor Eddie walked right up to us. He said, “I need a favor.”

 
As soon as he spoke those words, both of my friends (standing to my right and left) took off quickly in opposite directions. I was stuck with a doughnut in my mouth. Being that I was the only one left, Pastor Eddie didn’t ask – he TOLD me I was going to help him.

 
Back then, we didn’t use computers and electronic projectors for the song lyrics. We used an overhead projector. Pastor Eddie assigned me to my new ministry (without my consent). I was now the “Song Flipper” – my job was to make sure the people had song lyrics to look at during the worship. Eventually, I committed to that ministry.
 
Over the years, the projectors advanced, but my job stood the same. I was the “song words” guy. I didn’t even do that good of a job, though I tried my best. I would often display the wrong slide or mistype a word. But I stood faithful.

 
Eventually, God put it on my heart to preach. In fact, I had three nights in a row of disturbed sleep, because I was fighting the idea of preaching a sermon. Finally, on a wednesday night, I approached Pastor Eddie. I had worked out a whole speech in my head on how I would present the idea to him. I was going to tell him about how the Lord had been speaking to me and how I felt nervous and didn’t know what to do.
 
So, I approached him in the church parking lot. “Pastor Eddie”, I said, “I feel like God is telling me to begin preaching in the church. But I – “. I didn’t even get to finish my next sentence. “Ok – you’re on for next Thursday.” That was it. He dropped that on me, turned and then walked away. I kept thinking, “What did I get myself into?” I was hoping he would tell me that we’ll pray about it and see what happens.

 
So I preached my first sermon the next thursday. The topic: “Our Relationship with God Almighty” – I still have the original notes. But God used Pastor Eddie to start me in the ministry. I often wonder what would have happened had I not begun to serve in the sound ministry. Where would I be had I not learned to serve a vision before projecting a vision? God took me from the projector to the pulpit.

 
First Miracle Service

Shortly after preaching my first sermon, a matter of days, I began to receive
invitations to speak at other youth events. For the first two months of ministry, I spoke at youth events. In fact, a majority of my ministry time was spent traveling at youth events. But I wanted to see a diversity in my ministry outreach. Not wanting to be placed into a category of “Youth Speaker”, I began to pray for other open doors.
 
About a year and a half into the ministry, I went on a missions trip with my youth group. A new youth leader had stepped in and began to lead the youth group I attended. He approached me about doing a miracle service while on the trip. I leaped at the opportunity. For quite some time, and since the beginning of ministry, I had wanted to preach a miracle service.

 
The first Miracle Service I ever preached was July 18th. There was only one salvation that day, but I was overjoyed to see it take place. About that conversion, I wrote this:
 
“There was one salvation. I just began to talk to him as the Holy Spirit led. I will never forget the look on his face while he was praying the sinner’s prayer & the way I could see a change in him afterwards.”

 
There were seven miracles of healing that day. These were the things healed:
 
- Pain from surgery
- Knee Injury
- Breast Tumors
- Restored Movement to arm
- Partial Blindness
- Lumps on a Baby’s Head
- Unspecified

 
There were only two microphones set up. The sound system was cheap. The chairs were metal. There were only about 50 people in attendance. And when I prayed for people, they would either fall onto the small tarp we laid or straight onto the dirt.
 
Every time I think of that miracle service, I am reminded of this scripture:

 
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.”
- Zechariah 4:10

 
It was a small thing, but God moved in a big way.

 
A Miraculous Confirmation
Since the age of 11, I have been intrigued by the healing ministry. Naturally skeptical and analytical, I am the last person who should have ever been put into the healing ministry. But that’s how God wanted it.

 
I would watch videos and documentaries of the great generals of the faith. I read the biographies of Kathryn Kuhlman, Oral Roberts, John G. Lake, Smith Wigglesworth and so on.

 
One day, the Lord spoke to me, as I was continuing with my daily usuals. I felt a tingling sensation move up and down my right hand. There was an intense heat on my right hand. The Lord spoke to me clearly, “I have called you to take my healing power to your generation.” I was excited and skeptical at once.

 
Days later, I was watching a documentary on the life of Oral Roberts. It turns out that a similar thing happened to him. “God”, I said, “I want you to use me like you used him.” I continued to pray that, while still full of doubt. “But Lord,” I said, “If you want to use me in that way, confirm it through…” I paused to think of the most unlikely confirmation. I wanted it to be a hard thing to prove, so that I knew it was God. I continued. “If this is what you want, Lord, confirm it through Benny Hinn.”

 
In my mind, Benny Hinn would be the most unlikely confirmation for several reasons: It is a one in a million shot that I’d ever even be able to get close to him. Even if I came into contact with him, God would still need to speak.

 
Fast forward several years. Circumstances allowed me the opportunity of meeting Pastor Benny. I still remember my first time speaking with Pastor Benny. I was brought into a private room after a TV taping. He was standing there, facing a TV monitor. His back was toward me. The man introducing us, tapped him on the shoulder. We were introduced. The moment I shook his hand, the expression on his face changed.

 
Pastor Benny grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward. “The anointing” he said softly. He laid his hand on me, and I felt the power of God bolt through my body. I was picked up off the floor. Tears were streaming down my face. The presence of God was so strong in that room. He pointed at me and sternly said, “I see the anointing… of Oral Roberts.”

 
It was at that moment that the Lord reminded me of what I had prayed years prior. It was certainly a miraculous confirmation.

 
Television Ministry
On November 18th, 2006, our ministry taped the first pilot episode of Encounter TV. Since then, Encounter TV has aired on local cable stations, the internet and other means of broadcast. We are now in preparing to launch the next phase of Encounter TV. We are building a TV Studio and acquiring new TV equipment to launch a regularly scheduled program on JCTV.

 
Ministry Landmarks

 

Age 13 – David Begins Ministry
Age 14 – David’s 1st Book
Age 16 – David’s Second Book
Age 17 – Launch of Encounter TV
Age 20 – David Begins Ministry’s own “Miracle Encounter Services”
Age 22 – David’s 3rd and 4th Book
Age 23 – 10 Year Ministry Celebration

 
10 Year Ministry Anniversary
March of 2012 – I am celebrating 10 years in the ministry. Thank you for all the support and prayers.Help our ministry grow into the next phase. Help us complete our studio and continue in the work of ministry.

 
Think About It,
 
David Diga Hernandez
 

P.S.
For those of you who have asked, “Diga” is just a name my father gave me. It has no meaning – it’s just a term of endearment.