(formerly CRSSM)

Covering, Equipping, Uniting

About

CANOPI

What is CANOPI?

Christian Alliance Network for Outreach and Pastoral Impact (CANOPI) is a nonprofit organization pursuing Kingdom expansion in Latin America. Originally established in 2015 as CRSSM, our outreach efforts rapidly expanded into an equipping network for pastors.

Up until 2022, CANOPI has operated exclusively in Costa Rica, where we have cultivated a network of hundreds of pastors, established successful training conferences and hosted dozens of outreach missions teams from the United States and Europe. Through these efforts, CANOPI is training up revivalists and Kingdom builders who pursue unity of churches, are harvest oriented and are walking in signs and wonders.

Beginning with Guatemala in 2022, CANOPI is now expanding into other Latin American nations as the Lord directs. The ministry is also prayerfully anticipating launching a school of ministry as the Lord provides property for a campus. Due to our rapid expansion, CANOPI is looking to fill numerous positions. Find more information here.

More about CANOPI: We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization partnered with numerous churches throughout Costa Rica and affiliated with NewSong, a collective of house churches in the US.

About Canopi.

about CANOPI image of church in costa rica

A Plentiful Harvest

  • Evangelical Protestants in Central America 19% 19%
  • Central Americans living below the poverty line 50% 50%
  • Central American trafficking victims aged 8 or younger 17% 17%

MISSION

To unite Kingdom-minded pastors and leaders in preparation for hosting revival in the nations.

About CANOPI

VISION

  • To establish a Spirit-filled and Kingdom-focused evangelistic ministry center with a focus on both the local and global church.
  • To equip the emerging generation of worshippers to lead those around them into radical, intimate, life-transforming encounters with Jesus Christ. Our first priority is to train local leaders and pastors as well as short-term outreach participants to become passionate Jesus lovers themselves. Through the cultivation of humility, freedom, discernment, and leadership, a Holy Spirit-fueled army of skilled and confident servants will be raised up, those who can shift the atmosphere in the darkest of places.
  • To carry forth the light of the gospel to those who are “least”: the poor, the brokenhearted, the abandoned, the needy. We desire to embrace the Kingdom’s DNA so fully that we will stop for the one and believe for the multitude.
  • To bridge the gap between churches with a call for unity. Unity of churches becomes possible when church leaders 1) become more focused on building the Kingdom than on building a church, and 2) get outside church building walls and begin to disciple pre-believers.
  • To go and to love through sacrificial service. This is the primary calling of any worship warrior. It is out of this place of laid-down love that the Father’s presence will flow in greater measure, leading us deeper into His glory and further into His joy.

About CANOPI

CORE VALUES

  • We understand that we can experience intimacy, communication, and companionship with God if we share His love for righteousness.
  • We are totally dependent on Him for everything, and we need and expect miracles of all kinds to sustain us and to confirm the power of the Gospel in our ministry.
    We look for revival among the broken, humble, and lowly and begin with ministry to the poor. God chooses the weak and despised things of the world to shame the proud, demonstrating His own strength and wisdom.
  • We understand the value of suffering in the Christian life. Learning to love requires willingness to suffer for the sake of righteousness. Discipline and testing bring about our sanctification and produce in us the holiness without which we will not see God’s face and share His glory. Like Paul, we rejoice in our weaknesses, for when we are weak, then we are strong.
  • We are confident that the joy of the Lord is our strength and far outweighs our suffering! In Jesus it becomes our motivation, reward, and spiritual weapon. In His Presence is fullness of joy, and, like Paul, we testify that in all our troubles, our joy knows no bounds (2 Cor. 7:4).

About CANOPI

STATEMENT OF FAITH

  • WE BELIEVE IN…
  • The Bible, the only inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. John 16:13; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13
  • One God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10, 11; Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22; John 14:16
  • The deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:1, 14; 20:28-29; Philippians 2:6-11; Isaiah 9:6; Colossians 2:9
  • His virgin birth. Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:34-35; Isaiah 7:14
  • His sinless life. 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26-27; 1 John 3:5; 1 Peter 2:22
  • His miracles. Matthew 4:23; Luke 6:17-19; John 3:2
  • His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood. Colossians 1:14, 20; Romans 5:8- 9; Ephesians 1:7
  • His bodily resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Luke 24:4-7; 36-48; Revelation 1:17-18
  • His ascension to the right hand of the Father. Acts 2:33, 5:30-31; 1 Peter 3:22 and in His personal return in power and in glory. Acts 1:11; Philippians 2:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10;4:13-18; John 14:1-3
  • Justification by faith through the atonement of Jesus Christ and regeneration of the HolySpirit, both of which are absolutely essential for the salvation of lost and sinful man. Romans 3:24-25; John 3:3-7; 1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 2:1-16; Revelation 5:9; Acts 4:12; 1Corinthians 6:1
  • The Church as the primary agency for the work of God’s Kingdom, functioning under the sovereignty of our Lord Jesus Christ. To the church have been entrusted the ordinances of Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Acts 2:41-47; 16:4-5; Matthew 16:18; 28:18- 20; Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
  • Fivefold and apostolic leadership. Jesus, at His ascension, gave five gifts to equip and build up the body: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Eph. 4:7-8,11-13). Because New Testament churches were led by or covered by apostles, we believe God calls for, appoints and blesses apostolic covering over ministries and churches today.
  • The present ministry of the Holy Spirit which includes: the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as an experience distinct from regeneration; His indwelling, by which the Christian is enabled to live a godly life; His supernatural gifting and empowering of the Church for its work, life, and worship. Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8; 2:1-4; 10:44-46; 1 Corinthians 12, 14
  • The return of Jesus Christ to consummate His Kingdom and bring about the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: those who are saved unto the resurrection of life, and those who are lost unto the resurrection of damnation. John 5:28-29; Mark 14:62; 2Thessalonians 1:2-10; Revelation 1:5-7; 20:4-5; 11-12
  • The spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. John 17:11, 21-23; Romans 12:4-5;Ephesians 4:11-16

Learn more about CANOPI here

Untitled 1 3

outreaches completed

church 1 small

pastors trained

award 4 small

ministry school awards

globe 1 small

monthly traffic

Leadership Team      About CANOPI

about CANOPI | Chris and Tiffany NesbittChris and Tiffany Nesbitt
Executive Directors

Born into ministry-minded families, Chris and Tiffany Nesbitt married in 1989 and began a lifelong commitment to servant leadership.

In 2015, the Nesbitts responded to a partnership request from the Hertzogs, which resulted in the two couples co-founding CRSSM.

Chris and Tiffany served as directors until the Hertzogs retirement in 2021, at which time they became executive directors and renamed the organization CANOPI.

In 2020, the Nesbitts founded NewSong, which has become a collective of U.S. based house churches.

For more information about CANOPI and the Nesbitts, visit their website.

about CANOPI | Eric Lopez

Eric Lopez
Director of Outreach

A native of the beautiful land of Costa Rica, Pastor Eric Lopez has a passionate desire to see the Kingdom of Heaven come to earth in the hearts of his fellow Latinos. Having been raised in the capital city of San Jose, Eric experienced a childhood filled with substance abuse, emotional pain, and blatant occult activity. As a young man he left his homeland for the United States, where he spent almost twenty years traveling as a percussionist with a successful salsa band. During that time he began to realize his desperate need for the Lord, and while playing in LA, he experienced a supernatural encounter with Jesus.

After returning to Costa Rica, accepting Christ as his Savior, and being delivered from the darkness of his past, Eric spent two years of intense discipleship in his local church. It was then that Jesus spoke a calling over his life to serve His Church. Eric began a fruitful ministry as an itinerate teacher, connecting with churches all across Costa Rica. Upon meeting Steve and Judi Hertzog in 2015, Eric became convinced that CRSSM was the Lord’s divine direction for his life, and he immediately began working as an interpreter and liaison for the ministry’s outreach teams. He is a man of the Word and the Spirit, and he has a passion to Central American nations experience a great awakening.

Eric has been married to his lovely wife Marta for 32 years and is the proud father of Cindy and Emmanuel, both of whom are musicians serving in the churches which they attend. He currently resides in Santa Ana, a suburb of San Jose.

Check out Eric’s welcome video here.

About CANOPI

about CANOPI | Amy HuertaAmy Huerta 
Director of Development

Amy Huerta is a native Californian who longs to see Jesus glorified through her pursuit of His Kingdom purposes. She has a passion to see the Latino community encounter the transforming love of God and has traveled missionally throughout central America for the sake of sharing the Gospel. Amy also has a heart to see families thrive. Having lived in Costa Rica for three years, she served in family ministries to the underprivileged, and it was during this time that she met Chris and Tiffany Nesbitt.

She now serves as executive assistant for the Nesbitts and as Director of Development for CANOPI, where she uses her practical and prophetic gifts to encourage and strengthen the Body internationally and in the U.S.  Amy is singularly focused on listening to God’s heart for His people and going wherever He sends her.

About CANOPI

Noe EricksonNoe Erickson 
Ministry Liaison and Communications Director

Born and raised in Costa Rica, Noe is a self-starter who loves learning, being challenged and taking risks. While serving as a missionary to underprivileged youth and children, she met Chris and Tiffany Nesbitt in 2018 and began her journey with CANOPI. As a self-taught linguist, her skills for interpreting and translating have opened many doors of ministry opportunity, and her love for Jesus is the central theme of her life of service.

Check out Noe’s welcome video here.

About CANOPI

about CANOPI | Steve and Judi Hertzog

Steve & Judi Hertzog
Founders

Steve and Judi Hertzog are a couple who are intimately familiar with the overcoming power of God in their lives, a testimony which they are more than eager to share with the nations.

Having both been raised in Southern California, they were individually exposed to all the Golden State had to offer, including the pain of divorce and the destructive nature of alcohol and drugs. They met in Mammoth Lakes in 1990 as recovering addicts attending Alcoholics Anonymous, and a year later were married. They are blessed with three beautiful daughters and ten incredible grandchildren.

Launching Mammoth Outdoor Sports (formerly Mammoth Sporting Goods) in 1978, Steve has enjoyed a successful career as a small business owner and entrepreneur. Upon their marriage, he and Judi co-managed the business until retirement in March of 2014.

It was during their first year of marriage that Judi met Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, and her life was transformed. Steve, then a self-professed opponent of Christianity, embraced salvation at Judi’s baptism, and the couple began their lives’ greatest adventure. Attending Church on the Mountain in Mammoth, California for over twenty years, they grew deeply in the Lord and were honored to serve in many capacities of leadership. They have also been privileged to minister in Russia, China, South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Mexico, Indonesia, and Central America, preaching, teaching, equipping, and training the nations.

Their heart for Costa Rica was ignited during their honeymoon in 1991, and a year later they had purchased their first property in Playa Zancudo, building a small beach home three years following. After the sale of that initial purchase, they went on to acquire a parcel of land in Pilon de Pavones and soon completed their current home. That property served as the original ministry campus for CRSSM.

Fueled by a passion to send radical lovers of Jesus across the globe, their call has been to spiritually mother and father the upcoming generation. With that fervency burning in their hearts, Steve and Judi founded CRSSM in 2015. After a successful launch partnering with the Nesbitts, The Hertzogs began transitioning out of their leadership roles in 2017, and formally retired in 2021.

About CANOPI

Shortly afterward, his wife came through the church doors and up to where he was standing. They embraced in tears of love, forgiveness and reconciliation. God answered this prayer quickly!

– Anne Kilroy

The street evangelism was awesome. I got to witness and minister to a young man who was running from God. His father shared with me that he had been praying for someone to speak into his son’s life.

– Sandie Doughty

…after we finished praying his face was glowing with hope, joy and love. I have never seen a face change that quickly!

– Marlene Zurbriggen

Our time in Costa Rica was wild!! Each time we took a risk, God stepped up and released his Spirit!! It was amazing for our team to get caught up in God’s love for the people of this nation and to see him pour out his faithfulness!

– Jamie McLeod, Director MLSSM