Photo Caption: Aramis Rodriguez Coutin (second from left), president of the Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention, shares with Hispanic Florida Baptists how God is moving through the Cuban Baptist Church during a Hispanic Fellowship Lunch at the Florida Baptist State Convention in Orlando.

ORLANDO–When life becomes difficult, even overwhelming, Cubans are turning in faith by the thousands to the only One who can offer hope amid the despair.

In the past 13 months, the island nation has been wracked by natural disasters, with earthquakes and hurricanes unleashing terror on the disaster-weary Cuban people. In the final quarter of 2024, two back-to-back earthquakes rocked Eastern Cuba Nov. 10, creating widespread damage and power disruptions in areas still recovering from Category 1 Hurricane Oscar, which struck Eastern Cuba Oct. 20, and Category 3 Hurricane Rafael, which made landfall in Western Cuba Nov. 6, 2024. More recently, Hurricane Melissa hit Eastern Cuba, in the Santiago de Cuba province, as a Category 3 storm in late October 2025, causing devastation and power outages due to 120 mph winds, flooding and landslides. 

Disaster relief from the natural disasters has become almost a way of life for Cubans in the storms’ paths. Although, Florida Baptist churches’ generous giving over the years allow resources to be positioned before storms occur. 

As if natural disasters were not enough for the Cubans to experience, a heartbreaking apparent-gas explosion in May 2022 devastated the historic Saratoga Hotel in Old Havana, Cuba, and also rained destruction on nearby Calvary Baptist Church, the first and largest Evangelical church in the country. Originally, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering was the key fundraiser for the purchase of the building, which was also home to offices of the Western Cuba Baptist Convention, organized in 1905. The Western Cuba Baptist seminary was founded in the building. Annual meetings for the convention were held in the spacious historic church, with a membership of about 1,200. 

Although it’s been more than three years since the explosion, the building is still unusable; repair is ongoing, slow and painstaking. Demolition and clean-up are complete; now the rebuild is getting underway.

“These three years (since the explosion) have been really difficult,” expressed Barbaro Marrero, president of the Western Cuba Baptist Convention. “I have this hope that the whole nation will see the rebuilding. And it’s going to be a testimony of the power of God for the whole nation.”

“I can only imagine the celebration when we can go back to that building again with many people, many churches, even unbelievers, to go and see God’s work. I think (the rebuild) is going to be an opportunity for the gospel. Buildings can collapse, but the Church moves on.”

Running to Jesus

In a recent in-person interview in Orlando, Aramis Rodriguez Coutin, president of the Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention, said, “In Cuba, we have the experience that every crisis results in people coming to the feet of Christ. It’s like those people we’ve preached to for so many years, until they face a difficult situation, it’s as if they’re just not interested. But when they realize that the only solution and the only way out is in Jesus Christ, they have to run to Him.”

Marrero agrees, “God is working; He is touching many people. Many people are realizing the need for God. Many people are finding hope in Jesus Christ.”

He continued, “I think when we are in trouble as human beings, we recognize how fragile we are, which is good because sometimes we think we are immortal, that we have superpower, which of course we don’t have. But when we are in trouble, in trials, in tribulation, it’s easy to realize that we need God, we need to depend on Him desperately.”

Thinking back to the 2024 earthquakes, Marrero said, “When the earth trembles, we have the good tendency to put our eyes on heaven. And I think that’s what is happening in Cuba and in other places as well.”

Marrero stated that the Western Cuba Baptist Convention is reporting “the highest numbers of baptisms in the history of the convention. Most of our churches are packed with people.” Havana Baptist Seminary, which Marrero also serves as president, “has the highest enrollment in the history of the seminary. The Lord is raising a new generation of leaders.”

With the large enrollment, the seminary experiences growing pains, always needing more space and resources.

In Eastern Cuba, “The Baptist work in Cuba grows every year. We have the joy of planting more than 25 churches every year over the past 25 years. It is a work that enjoys the presence of the Lord. I can confidently declare that the hand of God is with us because He works every day and surprises us in a difficult context where there are many problems and many needs, but the hand of the Lord works in favor of His people, His Church and our convention,” Coutin said.

Many of the new churches are launched and continue to meet in homes, even as churchgoers find themselves squeezing into limited space. Some of these homes damaged heavily by Hurricane Melissa still offer a physical and spiritual refuge for Cubans.

Not alone

In facing these crises and the gospel opportunities, Cuban Baptists are not alone. 

Florida Baptists have partnered with the Western Cuba Baptist Convention since 1997 and the Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention since 2013. Through the partnerships, Florida Baptists provide resources, send mission teams and pray in an effort to undergird Cuban Baptist efforts at meeting needs while proclaiming the gospel.

“We thank the Lord for the Florida Convention,” Coutin said.

Marrero is grateful for the partnership; he describes the partnership as an encouragement and blessing. “You’ve been an encouragement for us for many years. We don’t feel alone because you are with us. We have been able to continue. Our request will be to please continue by our side. We are blessed with this partnership.”

During the recent 2025 Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting in Orlando, the Western Cuba Baptist Convention welcomed a pledge of financial resources from the convention to help in the rebuild of a new convention building. Also, Mike Orr, pastor of First Baptist Church in Chipley and outgoing president of the Florida Baptist State Convention, pledged financial resources from his church to undergird Havana Baptist Seminary in its mission to educate Cuban church leaders. A team from First Baptist Church in Chipley recently returned from a mission trip to Cuba, with Orr stating, “As a team, we came away spiritually renewed and encouraged by our Cuban brothers and sisters in Christ. Spending time with them and sharing the gospel with others rekindled our fire for evangelism and gospel conversations.”

Prayer ‘gives strength … encourages us to keep going’

Coutin and Marrero know that prayer is the foundation of all that God is doing through His people in Cuba. They urge Florida Baptists to pray for their Cuban “brothers and sisters” as the gospel changes lives.

“Knowing that the Florida Convention, our brothers and sisters in Florida, are praying for us is something that gives us a lot of strength and encourages us to keep going. Pray for strength; pray that God’s grace will continue to be poured out over our lives.

“Pray that we can continue doing the work that God has entrusted to us. Pray that we remain faithful in the midst of the difficult times we are living through. Pray that we do not give into anything or anyone, and pray that we can keep bringing the gospel to people with or without resources, with or without opposition, but that we do not stop because there are so many people who need Christ Jesus,” Coutin said.

Marrero added, “Pray for the Lord to raise new leaders. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send workers to his harvest We can see the need of leaders when Jesus said, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.’” 

He requested prayer also for “the rebuilding of Calvary Church and the convention headquarters. Pray for the pastors and their families–that they may have a boldness in a time like this (and that) the Lord would continue providing for their needs.”

Looking ahead

Both Coutin and Marrero remain hopeful for the future of Cuban Baptists.

“We believe that the future of the church is in God’s hands; we can understand that the church stands firm. The church keeps moving forward. The church continues to grow, and the Lord continues to plant churches in other places because nothing, no one, can stop the Church of Christ, and circumstances will never be able to overshadow the love of the church,” Coutin said.

“I think that the best day for Baptists in Cuba is in the future,” Marrero said.

To contribute financial gifts to the Western Cuba Baptist Convention or the Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention–please send checks payable to the Florida Baptist Convention, 6850 Belfort Oaks Place, Jacksonville, FL 32216. In the memo line on the check, designate either Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention or Western Cuba Baptist Convention. Further designating funds to specifics ministry may also be written.  Please email communications@flbaptist.org with any questions. 

Down a hallway, behind a closed door, Helen Doimeadios, a wife and mom of two, sits alone with a headset, a microphone, and a small screen showing what’s happening in the sanctuary. As the pastor preaches in English, Doimeadios quietly carries the message into Spanish for those listening through wireless receivers.

She doesn’t consider herself just a translator.

“I don’t translate word for word,” she explained. “I listen to the pastor and review the notes he shares, and then I interpret what he has said. Sometimes that can sound like a literal translation and other times it’s not literal, but the words carry the same meaning.”

Often, she translates with her eyes closed, concentrating fully on the pastor’s voice and the message he’s delivering.

“In that little room, my goal is to take Sunday’s message to everyone who came to hear it,” she said.

Doimeadios is one of three volunteers who provide simultaneous Spanish translation during Reality’s English service, a ministry that emerged as multigenerational Hispanic families began attending together. Children and grandchildren were fluent in English; parents and grandparents were not.

Translation became the bridge that allowed the entire family to sit under the same sermon while hearing it in the language of their hearts.

“Abuelita Sitting There, Not Understanding Anything”

At Elevate Church in Miami Lakes, the story started in a similar way.

Pastor Dan Rodríguez, executive pastor at Elevate, remembers sitting in the chapel years ago and watching families arrive together—parents, children, and abuelita in tow. The services were in English, the worship vibrant, the room full. But something didn’t sit right.

“We started noticing that a family would come to church, and they would have abuelita with them,” Rodríguez recalled. “We saw people who were not singing or not worshiping. They had that lost look. When we asked, we’d hear, ‘Oh, I brought my aunt, my grandmother, but they don’t speak English.’ And we thought, ‘You’re willing to sit here for an hour and not understand anything?’”

That burden led to action. Around 2015–2016, Elevate ordered translation equipment and began offering live Spanish translation during the English service, even before launching a Spanish-language service.

What began as a simple solution to serve a handful of families soon became the seed of something bigger.

“That translation ministry grew organically,” Rodríguez said. “It was really the heart behind launching the Spanish service.”

Today, Elevate holds a full Spanish service at 8:30 a.m. that now averages around 300 people in attendance, alongside larger English services later in the morning and early afternoon. Many who use the translation in the English services also know they have the option of worshiping entirely in Spanish at 8:30 if their schedule allows.

Rodríguez says the goal has always been clear: one church, one message, multiple languages, so that families can share the same spiritual conversation after church.

“Our vision is for the entire family to be able to worship together and then go to lunch and talk about what they heard,” he said. “Kids, adults, abuelitos; everyone on the same page.”

Translation as Teaching, Not Just Words

At Elevate, the translation team is intentionally small and selective. Right now, only two people regularly translate.

“That’s not accidental,” Rodríguez explained. “We’re very selective. You’re not just translating, you’re teaching. You’re basically preaching.”

Translators are often identified from within the church’s existing leaders. They are typically life group leaders or seasoned believers whose spiritual maturity and teaching gifts are already evident.

“We choose people who are already walking with the Lord and bearing fruit,” he said. “They’re not brand-new believers. We’ve seen them teaching. We’ve seen their faithfulness.”

Preparation is also key. Elevate’s internal goal is to have the sermon manuscript complete by Thursday each week. That allows the worship and tech teams to load slides and Scriptures and run full rehearsals, and the translation team to receive the message in advance.

“They get to read it, digest it, internalize it,” Rodríguez said. “If it’s a more complicated message, we’ll even schedule a one-on-one call to walk through it together.”

Rodríguez and other leaders will occasionally sit in and listen to the translation live to offer coaching.

“I’ll tell them, ‘You did a phenomenal job. Make sure to use inflection, make it your own content,” he said. “We want them to continue growing as teachers, not just translators.”

The church is also careful to care for the translators themselves. For now, Elevate offers translation only at specific services, ensuring translators serve one service and sit in another so they can also be fed spiritually.

“We Have to Reach Them Where They Are”

For Rodríguez, the translation ministry is deeply personal and profoundly missional.

He grew up bilingual, worked nearly 20 years in the corporate world (most of that with Apple), and learned early the importance of knowing the people you serve.

“One of the things ingrained in us was that you have to know your customer,” he said. “These are not customers. These are our people. You have to know where God has placed you.”

And God has placed Elevate in Miami, a city he calls a “melting pot.”

“We’ll always have a migrant community here,” he said. “People coming from other countries who are learning English but don’t fully understand it yet.”

That reality has shaped how Elevate thinks about ministry and how they’ll respond if future language needs arise.

“I’ve even thought, what if we started getting more Haitian families who need Creole?” he said. “We’re not here to entertain. We’re not charging people at the door. The whole purpose is to share the gospel and show people who Jesus is. If that means we have to show it to them in their language, then yes; translation is essential.”

“Our vision is to see Christ elevated, to connect people to Christ, help them grow in Christ, and serve Christ,” he added. “To do that, they must understand. We must reach them where they are.”

A Statewide Step: Simultaneous Spanish at the Florida Baptist Convention

This growing commitment to translation ministry isn’t limited to local churches. At this year’s Florida Baptist State Convention gathering, a new simultaneous transcription service of preachers and speakers was offered for the first time.

“As a convention staff we are continually trying to think of new ways to be ‘right beside you’ in your context of ministry life,” said Tanner Cade, communications and events manager for the Florida Baptist Convention. “The opportunity of expanding our translation services for gatherings reflects the wonderful multicultural family we have here in Florida, and we want to make sure as many as possible can actively participate in our meetings.”

Attendees were able to follow along by choosing from 10 different languages in real time as sermons, reports, and business sessions unfolded.

Just as Reality Church, Elevate Church, and others are making sure abuelita can understand the sermon on Sunday, the Convention is taking steps to ensure that language is no barrier to participation and partnership across the statewide family of churches.

Recursos de este evento están disponibles para descargar. Por favor, haga clic en los enlaces a continuación:

NUNCA ES DEMASIADO TARDE

CUÁN IMPORTANTE ES ESTABLECER UN ALTAR FAMILIAR EN EL HOGAR DONDE EL PADRE NO ESTÁ PRESENTE

EL MATRIMONIO UN COMPROMISO DE POR VIDA

EL FUTURO NOS ESPERA

EL ALTAR FAMILIAR

5 IDEAS SENCILLAS PARA EL DEVOCIONAL FAMILIAR

EQUILIBRANDO LA BALANZA DE LA VIDA

LECCIONES DE AMOR DE OCHO MATRIMONIOS EN LA BIBLIA

LEALTAD Y BONDAD – CARASTERÍSTICAS DE DIOS EN EL MATRIMONIO

¿REALMENTE FUNCIONA EL MATRIMONIO?

UNA FAMILIA FIRME

REVISIÓN DE MITAD DE AÑO[/vc_wp_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Resources from this event are available for download. Please click the links below:

Conferencia de Adoración para equipos de Alabanza y banda

MAIKEL ADORACION DE TODO CORAZON

MOISES REDONDO (RECURSOS DE LA ADORACION)

SAMUA CALDERON (LIDERAZGO DE LA ADORACION)

ROB MILLER (AUDIO IMPORTANTES)

ROB MILLER mezclar audio

ROB MILLER masterizacion[/vc_wp_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

ENGLISH ZOOM

ENGLISH ARTICLE

Download prayer guide with links below.

ESPAÑOL

ENGLISH

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