Ignite Life Center Pastor/Title Director Moves Out of State
Executive Pastor and Title Director of Ignite Life Center (ILC) Azael Nunez has left the church amid ongoing civil and criminal child sexual abuse (CSA) cases.
ILC is a Pentecostal church distinctly affiliated with the Florida Multicultural District (FMD) of the Assemblies of God (AG).
Three people from the church have been arrested for committing CSA: (1) convicted child molester Gabriel Hemenez; (2) head pastor Mark Vega’s son, alleged rapist Christian Vargas; and (3) former associate pastor Jose Cruz’s son, alleged statutory rapist Noel Cruz.
Three ILC survivors are suing ILC and FMD for allegedly covering up the sexual abuses Hemenez committed.
GnvInfo hasn’t previously reported the extent of Azael Nunez’s authority at ILC. He is not listed on the 'about’ page of ILC’s official website; however, ILC’s business records show he is legally one of the title directors of the church.
A newly discovered Ignite website for “The Ignite Minstrel Institute (IMI)” showed that Azael Nunez was the Executive Pastor of ILC. IMI is marketed toward students who wanted to gain credentials to become an ordained minister with AG.
Internet Archive shows ILC removed IMI’s website around April 2024. Sometime within the past few months, it was added back on the internet; however, it wasn't updated until recently.
About two days ago IMI's website was still advertising the Spring 2023 semester and had Azael Nunez listed as a director and Jose Cruz listed as an associate pastor. The first anonymous ILC whistleblower said Jose Cruz hasn’t been around ILC and left AG entirely. This is the same whistleblower who called out Vega and Jose Cruz for covering for their sons before a GPD Supplemental Report was released proving their statements correct.
The whistleblower also said there’s a possibility "ILC could be running IMI under the radar" because it was a main source for their income. The first whistleblower made this comment a few days ago before the website had been updated. IMI is now advertising for the Fall 2024 semester. Nunez's wife Yanediy Nunez is still an IMI instructor while her husband was removed entirely from the website.
Azael Nunez’s departure is confirmed by an Instagram post he uploaded on September 1. He wrote in the caption that he and his wife Yaneidy Nunez have been “blessed with the opportunity to serve under the leadership of Pastor Mark Vega and Lisa Vega.”
Azael Nunez wrote he witnessed “supernatural work in [Ignite, including] people being healed from cancer.”
Azael Nunez wrote, “My wife and I are profoundly grateful for all we have received during our time here. We love every member of ILC and will continue to pray for God’s divine vision over this house.”
Alleged rapist Christian Vargas, Mark Vega, multiple children, and several ILC leaders posed for a picture in a room with Azael and Yaneidy Nunez on the Instagram post.
Azael Nunez said he and Yaneidy Nunez “felt God’s direction to transition” and that God “opened a door” for them to become associate pastors at AG church First Assembly of God (AFA) in North Carolina, Asheboro.
Pastors Dave and Tara Snyder lead AFA, and Azael Nunez has a history with their church, writing, “This is the very place where God first called me to ministry, and now we have the privilege to give back and serve this church in a new capacity.”
Azael Nunez’s Instagram shows he has been friends with Dave Snyder for years.
Unlike the other staff pastors at ILC, Azael Nunez appears to have taken independent religious initiatives, starting Azael Nunez Evangelistic Ministries (ANEM) in 2017 at the same time he was starting an Arizona branch for the Ignite School of Ministry (ISM).
ANEM’s website doesn’t say much about Azael Nunez’s background anymore, but it used to. He was born in the Dominican Republic in the early 1990s before moving to America at the age of ten.
Azael Nunez followed a traditional Christian upbringing until he reached his teenage years and dropped out of high school, going in a “downward spiral” where he was “misled into a lifestyle of drugs and robbery.”
Before it was removed, Azael Nunez’s website stated, “After living without hope for three years, at the age of 19 and at the brink of death, Azael Nunez had an encounter with God. He gave his life to the Lord the night of December 31, 2010, after he was involved in a tragic car accident. That same night, he was delivered from addictions, sinful lifestyle, and unforgiveness. Ever since then he has been burning with the passion and desire to let others know about the redemptive power of Jesus; Jesus still saves, heals, and restores the dead back to life.”
With a newfound passion for Christianity, Azael Nunez began his church training in Passaic, New Jersey, where he met Yaneidy.
It hasn’t been verified if Azael Nunez met Vega while in his church training in New Jersey, but one of the whistleblowers is from New Jersey, and Vega is known to have frequented churches in the state.
Azael Nunez went on to enroll in the North Carolina Master’s Commission and graduated three years later to become a credentialed minister with AG.
In 2015, Azael Nunez moved to Gainesville, Florida, after “God called [him]” and he reunited with Yanediy. Marrying shortly after, they went on to serve as staff pastors of ILC, with Azael Nunez becoming an ILC Title Director in 2016.
In the summer of 2017, Azael and Yaneidy Nunez moved to start ISM Arizona (AZ) after “being directed by the Holy Spirit.”
Azael and Yaneidy Nunez ran ISM AZ classes at the Nelson American Indian College in Phoenix, AZ. People from churches in the area would attend ISM AZ classes, and Azael Nunez would frequently preach at those churches.
After roughly three years, ISM AZ shut down due to COVID-19 restrictions. In February 2021, Azael Nunez officially announced ISM AZ was closing in-person campuses and said he was moving back to Gainesville to “fulfill the mission God placed in Mark Vega.”
Azael Nunez has displayed worldwide ambitions for ANEM, with his website stating that he and Yaneidy have “dedicated their lives to preaching the gospel across the U.S. and overseas.”
Azael Nunez has taken several missionary trips throughout his career.
In June 2014, Azael Nunez spoke on Nicaraguan television while on a missionary trip to the country.
In February 2015, Azael Nunez took a missionary trip to Panama.
In June 2018, Azael Nunez took a missionary trip to Santo Domingo.
As of June 2024, Azael Nunez’s website didn’t say much about his background, but it did still mention he had started ISM Arizona. Sometime within the past two months the website was changed to no longer mention ISM Arizona.
The fifth anonymous whistleblower who sent an anonymous statement to GnvInfo wrote that Azael Nunez was subject to insults at ILC. “Azael was constantly bashed for eating and not being man enough to stand up to his wife.”
The first whistleblower commented on Azael Nunez’s departure. “I think people are trying to leave slowly, but on good terms, like moving away, getting a job that conflicts, etc. I don’t think anyone wants to be on their ‘bad side’.... I think people are starting to realize that this ministry is bad and trying to find ways to exit without throwing them under the bus since they feel indebted to them.”
The first whistleblower said that while the church is not as large as it was before the sexual abuse cases, new congregants are still joining. “Still feels kind of empty from what we were used to, but lots of new people…. It’s a lot of Hispanic families. They are very good at convincing people to come to their church.”
Unlike Mark and Lisa Vega and ILC pastors Esther Ombeon and Nick Bruce, Azael Nunez’s name has not come up in the GPD Supplemental Report or the civil lawsuits. Legally, he isn’t implicated in the CSA coverups.
Since the first person to speak publicly against ILC with their name came forward last month, several more individuals have agreed to put their names to their comments, with one being a former ISM Arizona student. An article with her comments will be released by the end of this week.
