Not long ago, there were no Hispanic Baptist church plants in the Mobile area. Then Brian Harper, lead church planting strategist for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, started talking with Ramón Vielza about the possibility of moving there.

Ramón, who at that time served as Hispanic catalyst for Baptists in North Carolina, had been part of a major movement in Cuba — 170 churches planted in nine years. As he talked with Brian, he began to catch a vision for what God might do in lower Alabama.

Now he’s pastor of I-10 Church, a new plant in Mobile, and he’s helped train church planters to plant four more churches from Montgomery southward.

“We’re also training five brothers so they can likewise plant five churches around the northern part of Florida,” Ramón said.

The effort has been a partnership between the SBOM, local Baptist associations, the North American Mission Board and local churches, including First Baptist Tillman’s Corner, which houses I-10 Church. Brian has walked alongside Ramón, supporting him throughout the process and helping strategize next steps. Brian added that “the Lord has brought this about.”

“They’re seeing people come to the Lord, people being baptized,” he said. “God has really opened the doors.”