Our History
In the spring of 2018, I felt convicted and decided it was time to do more than just say the words of the Great Commission. It was time to obey what Jesus was saying and “go” on a mission trip. One of the great things about this was my oldest son also felt the call that same Sunday. We decided we would do this together. We prayed about the upcoming mission trips that our church was sponsoring and decided to go for a week to the Dominican Republic that summer. My prayers leading up to our departure was asking God what exactly was He calling me to do; what did He want me to learn from this experience?
Our mission for the trip was to work with local churches in the city of Santo Domingo doing pretty much whatever they needed from us. We also taught some Bible lessons to children and spent time evangelizing in the local neighborhoods. Each day, I continued to pray the same thing: “God, what are You calling me to do”? By the time the week was coming to an end, and we prepared to return home, I received the answer to my question. The answer was available to me all along right there in Jesus’s words in the Great Commission. Jesus was telling me to do all that He commanded:
Go / Make / Baptize / Teach
I answered the call to “go” but there was more. I was called to “make” and “baptize” and “teach” as well. .” This now became the focus of my prayers. I knew God was calling me to “go, make, baptize, and teach” according to His Great Commission.
One of the things I noticed while working with numerous churches in the DR during the week I was there was an absence of young men in the church. This didn’t really surprise me because the same thing happened to me many years ago when I was young. My parents raised me to go to church every Sunday but after I graduated from high school and the opportunity came to make my own decisions, I gladly walked away. For the next 12 years I turned my back on religion, the church, and especially on Jesus. I’m thankful that Jesus never turned His back on me during those years and He was drawing me back to Himself through my many experiences. However, it still makes me a little sad sometimes to think about all of those years that I could have been walking with my Savior instead of away from Him. I don’t want my own sons to experience the separation from God I went through. I wouldn’t want any young man to go through that! I met a man named Manny on the mission trip. Manny is a pastor and was working with my team. We quickly became friends and when it was time to leave, I shared with Manny how I felt God was calling me to fully obey His Great Commission. I wasn’t sure how to go about it but I knew that we needed to reach out to young men before they were faced to make a decision about turning their backs on Jesus or walking with Him. We needed to make them disciples and teach them all that Jesus had commanded us. We prayed together about it and vowed to stay close after I returned home. Manny and I stayed in close touch and continued to pray. About six months later, Manny shared an idea he had about starting a leadership academy that would make Godly disciples and leaders for the next generation. After a year of planning, Making Men of Action (MMA) Leadership Academy opened its doors in January to our first class of students.
Our Mission
Our mission is to obey the Great Commission by raising a new generation of disciples who will go and make disciples of all nations. Through Making Men of Action (MMA) and Making Women of Action (MWA), we identify, train, and equip young men and women to become Christ‑centered leaders in their homes, churches, and communities. We accomplish this by grounding them in God’s Word, developing their leadership abilities, strengthening their character, and preparing them with essential life and job skills. Our purpose is to form committed followers of Jesus who live with integrity, serve with compassion, and influence the world for the glory of God.
MMA-MWA International
MMA–MWA International is the central home office for all MMA–MWA Leadership Academies worldwide. Based in Virginia, it provides strategic oversight, organizational integrity, and unified direction for every academy. Working in partnership with local academies, MMA–MWA International helps raise financial resources, ensures responsible stewardship, and supervises the execution of projects and programs. It serves as the primary bridge between donors and the academies, coordinating policies, offering operational support, and strengthening leadership teams. As a communication and training hub, MMA–MWA International equips each academy to grow, multiply, and fulfill its mission of forming the next generation of Christ‑centered leaders.
MICHAEL VANDRIEL (President)
Mike is the co-founder of Making Men of Action (MMA) Leadership Academy in the Dominican Republic and has served as its president since the beginning of the ministry in 2020. Mike retired in 2024 after serving over 40 years in both the U.S. Army and government service. He loves to teach the many leadership lessons he learned throughout his career. Mike is married to his wife, Martha, and they have two adult sons. He lives in Northern Virginia and loves to play golf!
MANUEL TUCEN
(Vice-President)
Manny was born in the Dominican Republic in 1982. He received Christ at the age of 15, and from that moment on he dedicated his life to being trained in the Word of God and serving Christ as a missionary in church planting. He served as a local missionary with SCORE International for more than 20 years. God has used Manny to start 14 churches, and he currently serves as the Director of the MMA‑MWA Leadership Academy in the Dominican Republic. Manny holds multiple diplomas in theology and also has a law degree. He is the father of two beautiful daughters, Marian and Mary Grace.
MARTHA S.H. VANDRIEL (Treasurer)
Martha is an avid supporter of MMA and MWA, and she has volunteered her time and talents to several youth and children’s ministries over the past few years. She is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, retired from the military in 2017, and currently works in the cybersecurity field. She is married to Mike and they have two adult sons and live in Northern Virginia.
JULIAN MORENO
(Board Member)
Julian Moreno was born in Santo Domingo, DR, and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he met, and married his high school sweetheart, Zenya.
They have three fun children who will one day rise up and live all out for Jesus. Julian graduated with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. He loves to hang with family, play video games with his boys, and good BBQ. Julian has served as a volunteer at MMA-MWA since 2020.
He often spends time with those young men, discussing various topics in an effort to prepare them to lead their communities now and in the future and to act as a catalyst for change across the entire country. His philosophy of serving begins with this foundation: “Being a vessel and serving God is a great privilege, His plans always prevail, either through you or someone else.”
ZENYA MORENO
(Board Member)
Zenya is a homeschooled mom of three fun boys. She has a heart for missions and sharing the Gospel with the vulnerable. She is passionate about pouring into the new generation of women as stated in Titus 2:4 “These older women must train the younger women …” That is why Zenya has served as a volunteer at MMA-MWA since 2021.
She spends time every Saturday talking with the young women in the group and educating them on how to become leaders who will have an impact on and transform their communities. Zenya is a Puertorrican native from San Juan, PR. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree as a Social Worker and a minor in psychology and married her high school sweetheart, Julian, they moved to Albany, New York in 2011. They currently live in Virginia with their three kiddos and attend Lifepoint Church
GUSTAVO PACHECO (Board Member)
Gustavo Pacheco is a biomedical scientist who has been involved in teaching Biblical principles in diverse economically challenged communities of the Washington DC-Maryland-Virginia. He has pastored Latino congregations in Northern Virginia and worked with different International Christian groups and churches from United States, Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. He has also done missionary work. He is the founder of 21st Century Hand2Hand, a ministry to teach children Biblical principals with focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our Dominican Staff
Esmirna Lorena Eusebio de la Rosa
I thank God first for the salvation of my soul, because from a young age I made the decision to follow Him. I also thank Him for the opportunity He has given me to be part of the MMA-MWA team and to witness how, through the academy, God blesses the lives of so many young people who arrive with emotionally burdened hearts. That fills my soul with gratitude.
Markis Beras
God has been wonderfully good in allowing me to be part of this academy, sharing my faith in Christ with the students. Seeing how God can transform their lives.
Ruth Esther Peralta
Knowing Jesus has been my motivation to serve since my adolescence in different activities and institutions. God allowed me to know the MMA-MWA Academy, and it has been a channel to serve Him and at the same time be blessed by seeing how God is transforming the lives of many young people. Being part of this project is a gift from God for my life.
MANUEL TUCEN (Director)
Manny was born in the Dominican Republic in 1982. He received Christ at the age of 15, and from that moment on he dedicated his life to being trained in the Word of God and serving Christ as a missionary in church planting. He served as a local missionary with SCORE International for more than 20 years. God has used Manny to start 14 churches, and he currently serves as the Director of the MMA-MWA Leadership Academy in the Dominican Republic. Manny holds multiple diplomas in theology and also has a law degree. He is the father of two beautiful daughters, Marian and Mary Grace.
José Ramón Ramos
My name is José Ramón Ramos. I came to know Christ at the age of 20, on December 18, 1989. I am married and have two children. I have been pastor of the Fundamental Baptist Church “Light of the Gospel” for 25 years. I studied at the Apostle Paul Independent Institute in La Romana, Dominican Republic. I worked at Cemex for 20 years, and I am currently a teacher at MMA.
Sandy Añasco
At the age of 19 I had a transformative experience. My youth had been complicated; bad influences affected my behavior toward my community and my parents. However, the encounter with Christ completely changed my life. I left that path behind to become useful in the congregation that welcomed me, where I began serving as youth leader, deacon, and general secretary. Today, by the grace of God, I have the honor of serving as a pastor and I am the father of three children.
Isaac Robles
GRACE would be the main word of my life and the one that describes my testimony. Because I had the blessing of being born to parents who knew and feared God and His Word; I also had the fortune of knowing Christ as my personal Savior before the age of 10, and later in my adolescence the privilege of beginning to serve the Lord in the church until today. Everything has been by Divine Grace, obviously without deserving anything. And it continues to be a tremendous privilege to serve the Lord in the MMA ministry, with the purpose of building up young lives for the glory of God and the benefit of society.
FRANDY AÑASCO, CLASS OF 2021
Before joining the academy, I was impulsive and unfocused, but God transformed me. Today I am more determined and focused; now I am a leader, specialized in multimedia and personalization. I currently run a business, a multi-service personalization company, and I am part of the wonderful MMA-MWA team in the Dominican Republic.
Our Peruvian Staff
José Suárez
I come from a traditionally religious family, and from a very young age, I stood out in soccer, eventually playing professionally for one of the most important teams in our country.
At a stage in my life when I thought I had achieved success—fame, financial stability, and recognition—I had an encounter that marked a turning point. During a trip to the interior of the country, God used the testimony of Rosario Rivera, former secretary to Che Guevara, to deeply touch my heart. That day, I gave my life to our Lord Jesus Christ, and my way of thinking, my priorities, and my lifestyle were completely transformed.
Over time, God called me into pastoral ministry and blessed me with a beautiful family. Together with my wife, Rocío Camacho, we share the vision of serving God and our community, working for those who have not yet been reached with the message of hope and restoration.
Henry Samaniego Auris
I am grateful to the Lord to be part of the MMA-MWA Leadership Academy in Chincha, Peru. I am passionate about serving the Lord and about seeing underprivileged young people in need receive support through the academy. I am married to my wonderful wife, Malena, and we have two children.
Orianny Pérez
My family and I are from Venezuela. We moved here six years ago, and I am currently serving in Chincha at Bet-el Church. I am happy to be part of this ministry.