Meet // Apostle Yolanda  
Senior Pastor

Apostle Yolanda Valentin-Avilés is the wife of Pastor Daniel Avilés, mother of five wonderful children, and grandmother to six beautiful grandchildren. Pastor Yolanda was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY which explains her strong roots, deep understanding, and tremendous passion for the people of New York City (and the encompassing boroughs). While she ministers around the world, today she calls Staten Island home.

With a tremendous testimony of overcoming and God’s grace, Pastor Yolanda Valentin-Avilés met the Lord Jesus Christ in 1987 and has been serving Him and His people for over 2 decades. After serving in various roles at her local church, she began the exciting journey by starting a prison ministry in 1990. The following year, Rev. Yolanda started coordinating rallies to bring God’s Word to the heavily drug infested neighborhoods and parks, throughout the streets of New York. After several years (1996) of evangelizing in the prisons and streets, Rev. Yolanda opened Rescue Ministries Inc. and its’ first church-based soup kitchen and food pantry in Brooklyn. In March of 1999, God called Rev. Yolanda Valentin-Avilés, and she gave birth to what is now Rescue Ministries Church.

Pastor Yolanda and her husband, Pastor Daniel Aviles, continue to listen to the Holy Spirit for the future direction of Rescue Ministries Church. Starting with just 4 members, Rescue Ministries has moved 3 times to keep up with the growth and has opened multiple food pantries and soup kitchens. For God’s Glory and Honor, Pastor Yolanda Valentin-Avilés is an international evangelist and has preached in countries such as Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, and Dominican Republic (Just to name a few). God has blessed and gifted her with the grace to raise leaders with the same passion for the Kingdom of God. These leaders and worked along side of her as she ministered abroad. Rescue Ministries Church is “Reaching souls for Jesus Christ”