This article was originally posted at SBC Voices.
Felix Cabrera, Pastor of Iglesia Bautista Central in Oklahoma City, will be nominated for SBC Second Vice President. The initial announcement came Friday afternoon through Baptist Press. Pastor Ed Litton (Redemption Church, Mobile, Alabama) will nominate Cabrera at the Annual Meeting in Dallas, June 12-13.
Cabrera’s list of accomplishments and service are impressive. You can see all the details in the BP article, but I wanted to pull a few highlights here. Iglesia Bautista Central was planted in 2015 and has grown to over 200 in weekly attendance. They’ve been recognized twice for their high Cooperative Program giving and also for per capita baptisms. IBC is active in several other areas of missions in addition to their CP gifts: church planting, Baptist Global Response, and their local association among others. He’s served on the SBC’s Hispanic Leaders Council, ERLC’s Leadership Council, is co-founder of the Hispanic Baptist Pastors Alliance, and is the Founder of the RED 1:8 church planting network. When I met Felix, he may have been as excited to talk about the church planting network as any other single aspect of the work he’s involved with. They’ve planted 35 churches, some here in the U. S., but also churches in Puerto Rico, Central America, and other areas. (The churches located in the U. S. are affiliated with the SBC, but obviously those outside the country are not eligible to participate.)
I was really excited to hear that Felix would be nominated. I started hearing his name about a year and half ago in relation to the success of his church plant and leadership among Hispanic SBC pastors. He sets an example all of us would do well to follow. Dr. A. B. Vines will be nominated for First Vice President this year. Seeing the leadership of these two men recognized and celebrated through their respective VP nominations is a day we as Southern Baptists should be grateful for.