Church plant reaches growing Hispanic population in southwest Florida

Editor’s Note: Alejandro Duran is one of the featured church planters for the 2024 Maguire State Mission Offering. The statewide 2024 offering goal of $900,000 is earmarked to help reach the 16.7 million Florida residents who do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, with 100% of all receipts designated to help launch church plants in the state.

PORT CHARLOTTE—Deemed as one of the “10 Best Places to Retire” in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Port Charlotte is not just a growing community for retirees—but also for young families and a “thriving Hispanic population,” said Church Planter Alejandro Duran, who launched Family Church Español of Port Charlotte.

Originally, the church plant was a Spanish-speaking language ministry of Family Church Port Charlotte, one that had existed for 30 years. The seed for a formalized church plant was sewn into the heart of Duran that the southwest Florida community needed more than a part-time Spanish-speaking ministry—it desperately needed a healthy Spanish-speaking local church.

Recognizing that God is reaching the nations from every Florida Baptist church, Family Church took the “scattered pieces” from more than three decades and asked the Lord to “breathe new life” for a thriving church planted in a community strategically located between Sarasota and Fort Myers.

“It’s so beautiful and strategic because a lot of Port Charlotte and a large part of the southwest Florida area is exponentially increasing in their Hispanic population,” said Duran. “Family Church Port Charlotte plays a huge role because they’re essentially saying we want to bless you with a space.”

Desiring to meet the growing Hispanic population of Port Charlotte, Duran is confident that the church’s ministry approach will reach its neighbors and the nations with the gospel.

“I believe we have a vision of a multiplicative approach of diverse disciples and churches with specific rhythms to fulfill the mission with excellence,” he said. Duran prioritizes discipleship in the local church, “seeking to produce holistic disciples of Jesus who can grow in the knowledge of His word and in the likeness of Christ.”

Using a multifaceted approach, the church seeks to be a “multiplying church,” said Duran.

The core values ​​embraced by Family Church Español are rooted in four fundamental pillars: the gospel, spiritual growth, communion in family, and the Great Commission. The new church is already laying the groundwork for launching its own church plants in the Sunshine State.

“We want to be a multiplying church,” he said. “We might be running in the 50s and 60s right now, but we are praying God would multiply us and that God would use us to plant another church out of our church.”

The church planter also shared how it is through three “vital rhythms” that the church executes its mission to “multiply disciples of Jesus from all nations,” said Duran.

“We want to execute our mission with simplicity, joy and excellence based on our core values ​​in three ways: the Sunday gathering, active family groups and a Bible institute,” he said.

Wanting to reflect the early church, Duran emphasized the importance and weight Family Church Español places on the Sunday morning gathering and family groups.

“We meet every Sunday to hear the word of God preached through expository preaching, worship God through music, and celebrate holy communion and baptism,” he said. “We also seek to be a spiritual family with the intention of sharing with each other to carry out a particular mission. Each group desires to be a small missionary community that wants to care for each other and reach out to the people God puts in their lives.”

Crediting his “solid academic background” to his time at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, Duran has led the church to establish a Bible Institute to develop disciples through solid theological education.

“We believe that discipleship occurs within the context of the local church, and the institute seeks to create a space for disciples to grow in the knowledge of the word of God and the likeness to Christ,” he said.

The partnership of other local churches coming “right beside” Duran has enabled Family Church Español to be laser-focused on championing its mission to “multiply disciples of Jesus from all nations,” instead of being distracted on meeting basic needs.

“The blessings from the SEND Network and the Florida Baptist Convention, the financial aspect of it, is tremendous because it gives us an opportunity not only to contribute back to the convention but also to consider putting some cents and dollars aside for when God puts the right people in, gives the growth, so we can be a sending church as well.”

Duran reiterated just how much it means to him to have the prayers and encouragement of thousands of other Florida Baptist churches in his corner, alongside the financial support through the Maguire State Mission Offering.

“I just want to express a deep gratitude for what Florida Baptists are doing, not only for me and other planters, but for all the churches across the convention,” he said.

Because of this overwhelming support, the southwest Florida church has big plans for its future. Family Church Español is enthusiastic about continuing to model the Great Commission for years to come, engage the mission and heart of God, and plant another Florida Baptist church.

“We want to contextualize the Great Commission,” he said. “We don’t want to be a church that just meets and does not engage the mission of God and the heart of God.”