Felix Cabrera named associate director of Hispanic Programs at Southwestern Seminary

Southern Baptist leader Felix Cabrera has been appointed associate director of Hispanic Programs at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, President Adam W. Greenway announced today.

“The appointment of Felix Cabrera to help lead our Hispanic Programs is further proof of our resolve to meet the needs of more faithfully trained Hispanic and Latin-American Gospel workers to the end that the Gospel will advance among all Spanish-speaking peoples everywhere,” said Greenway. “I am grateful to God for the blessing of having Dr. Cabrera join Southwestern Seminary’s already stellar team and look forward to even greater things from this area of urgent institutional priority.”

Cabrera, who will remain in his current capacity at the North American Mission Board as senior director of Send Network Español, will serve the seminary in a part-time capacity to assist in building Hispanic Programs, including developing new undergraduate degrees. 

“Dr. Felix Cabrera brings to the Hispanic Programs of Southwestern’s Roy J. Fish School of Evangelism and Missions a wealth of ministry experience as a gifted church planter, pastor, denominational statesman, and theological educator,” said John D. Massey, dean of the Fish School, which houses the seminary’s Hispanic Programs. “He is a proven and gifted leader in Hispanic ministry among Southern Baptists and is a welcome addition to the team. He will take SWBTS en Español to new heights.”

A native of Puerto Rico, Cabrera currently pastors Iglesia Bautista Ciudad de Dios in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and is executive director of the Convention of Southern Baptists in Puerto Rico. He also served as second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) from 2018-2019. In his role with NAMB, where he has served since 2019, Cabrera oversees the church planting strategy in North America for the Spanish-speaking context in addition to serving as the regional director of Puerto Rico.

“I am convinced that my calling until the Lord changes it is directed in three areas that converge: pastor the Lord’s flock in a local church, train men and women theologically in the context of the academy, and prepare leaders and send them to plant churches,” Cabrera said. “For this reason, the opportunity that Southwestern Seminary is providing me fits so well with who I am and what I do. I am excited, honored, and expectant to be able to serve alongside my mentor, Dr. Mark McClellan, to continue and expand the legacy of SWBTS toward our Spanish-speaking Hispanic community. I am grateful to Dr. Adam Greenway for giving me this important task.”

Prior to serving with NAMB, Cabrera was the pastor of Iglesia Bautista Central (IBC) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a church he planted in 2011. Additionally, he has served as the assistant director of Spanish studies and assistant professor of pastoral ministry at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he developed the curriculum for the certificate and master’s level programs offered in Spanish.

“Felix Cabrera is one of the strongest and most well-prepared Gospel ministers I have ever worked with,” said Mark McClellan, director of the Hispanic Programs at Southwestern Seminary. “He will bring to Southwestern’s Hispanic theological studies and ministry preparation an unprecedented combination of leadership, theological preparation, missionary passion, and an exemplary model for present and future Hispanic and Latin American church and ministry leaders.”

Cabrera has served Southern Baptists as a member of the 2017 SBC Resolutions Committee and in 2015 as a member of the SBC Committee on Committees. He currently serves as a member of the SBC Hispanic Leaders Council, as well as a member of Lifeway Christian Resources Hispanic Pastoral Council.

Cabrera earned a Doctor of Ministry with a concentration in leadership from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2020. He earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in 2015, as well as Master of Arts in Church Planting from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2017. His Bachelor of Business Administration was earned from the Universidad de Puerto Rico in 2001.