Rev. Henry Patino

Henry Patino was born in Argentina, and raised in Cuba. After Castro imprisoned his father for political reasons, his family immigrated to the United States in 1961. He came to the Christian faith during Easter of 1970. He holds a BS degree in Theology, and is an ordained evangelical minister. Reverend Patino has dedicated his life to the spread of the good news of the Gospel of Christ, the mentoring and discipling of others in the Body of Christ, and the defense of the Word of God.

He has founded and led several youth ministries, two churches, a home for unwed mothers, and four Crisis Pregnancy Centers throughout South Florida. He has served as associate pastor, pastoral counselor, and senior pastor in several evangelical Christian churches.

Rev. Patino has also tirelessly devoted himself to the sanctity of human life as one of the early pioneers of the movement. He has been successful in helping to unite the various Christian denominations throughout South Florida in this common and vital cause in the evangelical community. He was one of the founding board members of the Miami chapter of the Christian Action Council, serving first as the Vice President and later as the President. The Christian Action Council was a national pro-life organization founded by the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer and former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, with the purpose of:

• Educating the evangelical community in the issues of abortion, infanticide and euthanasia.
• Establishing Crisis Pregnancy Centers, funded and supported by the evangelical Christian churches.
• Developing positive, non-violent political action in the local communities, aimed at opposing legislation that threatened our God-given right to life.

He was also instrumental in the 1982 March for Life, Pro-Life Conference in South Florida, which brought such notables as Dr. Francis Schaeffer, Franky Schaeffer IV, Phyllis Schaffley, Joe Scheidler, Phil Kaeggy, Dr. D. James Kennedy, Pat Robertson, Cal Thomas, and John Whitehead. (The march and conference was the first national Pro-Life outreach to the Evangelical Community in the United States organized at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church of Ft. Lauderdale by Jean Emond.)

Rev. Patino also founded and served as Chairman of the Board of the South Florida Coalition for Life; an umbrella group that united all the Pro-Life groups in South Florida, and was comprised of both Roman Catholics and Evangelicals. He has been guest speaker at many Crisis Pregnancy Center Fund Raisers and frequented television and radio programs, where he successfully debated pro-abortion advocates. Throughout most of his years of service to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the body of Christ, Henry Patino has managed to fulfill his duties as a fireman-paramedic for the City of Miami Beach, choosing to build tents for a living. From 1987 to 1991, he served as chaplain for Miami Beach Fire Department.

Aside from his duties as a fireman-paramedic, Henry Patino devotes much of his time to writing, mentoring, and overseas medical missions. His writing is largely in the field of apologetics and the defense of the Judeo-Christian worldview. He is currently a board member and spokesperson for Health Help Project; a Christian medical humanitarian relief organization based in Miami and Detroit, which ministers in 16 underdeveloped countries in the Caribbean, Central America, Africa, and the Philippines.