RICHMOND, Va. (IMB) – The International Mission Board announces Annel Robayna as the new Hispanic church mobilization strategist, serving with the mobilization department. In his role, Robayna will work with 3,390 Hispanic congregations across the Southern Baptist Convention to mobilize pastors and church members to reach the nations with the gospel.
“Annel Robayna serves IMB’s Revelation 7:9 vision by focusing on our mission to serve Southern Baptists,” D. Ray Davis, manager of the IMB’s church mobilization team, said.
“We will further our cooperative efforts if we serve Hispanic Southern Baptist churches as they inspire and equip their members to pray, give, go and send,” Davis continued. “As we advance our relationship with Hispanic Southern Baptist leaders, we will expand the impact of their churches.”
Luis Lopez, who serves as executive director of Hispanic relations and mobilization for the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, added, “Annel Robayna is a gifted leader who understands the value and relevance of the Great Commission and loves the local church.”
“I am happy to see him serve in this role connecting, encouraging and mobilizing our growing Hispanic churches in fulfilling the mission,” Lopez continued.
In accepting the position, Robayna said, “I am excited to partner with the IMB and local churches in the task of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.”
He continued, “I believe the Great Commission is the most important task, and I am blessed by the fact that my job is anchored in the centrality of the gospel and its power to solve the greatest problem in world: lostness.”
Robayna, who is Venezuelan, grew up exposed to missions and evangelism because of his parents who were volunteer missionaries in their local church, church planters in Venezuela, and served as translators for mission teams from the United States.
He moved to the United States for his education in 2003. He received his Bachelor of Church Music from the University of Mobile in 2007, his Master of Arts in Missiology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2017, and his Master of Arts in Music Education from Anderson University in 2018.
Most recently, Robayna served in the role of intercultural missionary for the Alabama Baptist State Mission Board. “The Lord, through Revelation 7:9, helped me see the need to help other ethnic groups in Alabama,” Robayna said, explaining the creation of the intercultural missionary position.
In that role, he created a team of seven individuals from diverse backgrounds to help minister to the ethnic groups in Alabama. Together, that team hosted the first All Nations Youth Camp in Alabama and created a network of Hispanic youth leaders, intercultural youth leaders and intercultural pastors, as well as others.
Robayna led worship in English-speaking and Spanish-speaking congregations before he felt the Lord call him to plant an Hispanic church and serve as the missions pastor for First Baptist Church in Foley, Alabama.
In 2019 he began serving the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions as a state missionary for Hispanic ministries, before moving to his most recent role with the ABSBM.
He is married to Tiffany, and they have two children Senia (10) and Eli (6).
William Ortega, former IMB missionary and the Hispanic church-planting strategist with the North Carolina Baptist Convention, added, “The importance of having someone like Annel as the new Hispanic church mobilization strategist is that the Hispanic churches nationwide may have the opportunity to be equipped and mobilized to fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples of all nations by praying, giving and going to short-term mission trips and also those who are called to go as career missionaries.”
Robayna began his new role with the IMB on September 26.
Myriah Snyder writes and edits for the IMB.