Ignite Life Center Holds Service in Alachua After Vacating Gainesville Church
Ignite Life Center (ILC) has officially ceased operations at the church building located at 404 NW 14th Ave.
This comes after ILC failed to make mortgage payments to GenFi Ministries (the mortgage lender). Ownership reverted to GenFi after an auction received no interest from outside buyers. The property is now occupied by Grace Christian Prep School, a K-8 school that is unaffiliated with the ILC ministry. This information is supported by court records and was confirmed by a leader with Grace Christian Prep School during a conversation that occurred after GnvInfo visited the property.
Over the past three years, the ILC ministry has been embroiled in criminal cases and lawsuits relating to child sexual abuse.
Mark Vega, the head and senior pastor of ILC, has an open criminal case for a count of failing to report suspected child abuse. Police reports describe Vega using his role at Ignite Life Center to conceal several child sexual abuse incidents from legal authorities over multiple years. His son, Christian Vargas, faces two criminal counts of lewd/lascivious battery against a victim under 15, one criminal count of lewd/lascivious molestation against a victim 12-16 while 18, as well as a civil count of sexual battery in an Orange County lawsuit.
Gabriel Hemenez, who is in prison for molesting children at the 2021 ILC Summer Internship (ISI), is currently facing more criminal charges for child sexual abuse that went unreported until after his sentencing. The Florida Department of Corrections is holding him on a detainer that stems from a Gainesville Police Department warrant for the additional charges.
According to lawsuits and police reports, Hemenez was allowed to work with children in 2021 despite a 22-year-old man reporting him for sexual assault in 2019. Vega reportedly called the incident a “bump in the road” for Hemenez.
Noel Cruz, a now former pastor’s son, was charged with lewd/lascivious battery against a 15-year-old victim but he pleaded down to aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony and received a probation sentence.
The majority of lawsuits connected to ILC have been settled out of trial but some remain pending. According to court documents from settled civil litigation, ILC admitted that they “did not report that Gabriel Hemenez was the subject of sexual abuse suspicions, rumors, reports, and/or complaints to law enforcement prior to February 2023.”
This admission is consistent with Vega’s 12-page charging affidavit. It states in part that in December 2022, Vega directed another ILC pastor, Nicholas Bruce, to investigate child sexual abuse reports involving Hemenez rather than immediately report the matter to law enforcement. The police report states Bruce complied with Vega’s instructions and reported the matter to police in February 2023, all the while Hemenez was reportedly involved with another church in Orlando and had access to children. All pastors involved are mandatory reporters. It’s not a mandatory reporter’s job to investigative reports of child sexual abuse, but to immediately report it. Bruce has not been charged.
On Sunday, September 13, ILC held church service at the Alachua business owned by Mark Vega’s wife, Lisa Vega, who is also a senior ILC pastor.
ILC leadership and multiple families with children occupied Lisa Vega’s business for three hours while GnvInfo and a former ILC member stood by cameras outside. The former member/videographer initially agreed to co-publish the film but later decided to back out. GnvInfo is not currently able to publish the videos.
After some time, Vega and Carlos Galindo, a church member, stepped outside and began approaching, at which time GnvInfo asked Vega if he’d be able to answer any questions. Vega said he would.
When asked how ILC was moving forward as a ministry, Vega did not answer the question and told GnvInfo Journalist Jack Walden that he wanted to meet one-on-one. Walden told Vega it’d have to be on the record with audio recording or cameras. Vega said he didn’t trust that.
Vega did not give a direct answer when the former member asked if he told his congregation about the foreclosure.
Vega went on to indicate that he would be willing to meet with Walden on the record, but that he expects integrity and to not to misinform, then asking Walden if he understands. Walden responded by questioning Vega about allowing Hemenez in the church after a man reported him for sexual assault. Vega said it’s pending litigation and that he couldn’t talk about it before moving towards his rental car.
When Walden asked Vega if he was taking his case to trial, he appeared to mumble “probably.”
After Vega moved his car, Walden and the former member approached and asked where all the money given by church members went since they weren’t making mortgage payments. Walden also asked how kids at ILC can be safe from child predators when they weren’t previously protected. Vega did not respond.
It hasn't been verified if ILC held another service in Alachua on Sunday, September 20. It's not entirely clear if ILC still has long-term plans to continue trying to establish itself as a ministry.
As of February 2026, Vega was still active at the Ignite School of Ministry program he established in Cuiabá, Brazil. Vega reportedly traveled to New York in correlation with his work at ILC a few months later.
