Editor’s Note: David Uribe is one of the featured church planters in 2025 Maguire State Mission Offering resources. The statewide 2025 offering goal of $1 million 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.

JACKSONVILLE–When Pastor David Uribe planted the new church Iglesia Local in Jacksonville, he wanted to reach the Hispanic community with a bilingual ministry that would have both multigenerational and multicultural impact.

This bilingual approach of reaching speakers of Spanish and/or English with the gospel has enabled the church plant to grow from the 10 to 15 people who started meeting at a park in 2022 to the current 130 to 150 who now meet weekly in the church plant’s own building.

Each week, Uribe preaches in Spanish, and his wife, Estefania, translates in English. This process enables them to reach the multiple generations that comprise the church’s bilingual membership, especially the younger generation.

The reality for many Hispanic churches in America, he said, is that the younger generation – the future leaders of the church – are leaving because they no longer feel they belong.

“They can speak Spanish, but their heart language is English. They comprehend in English and relate better to English. But at church they never speak the language of their heart. They are Hispanic, and they feel Hispanic, and they want to be with Hispanic people. But if the Hispanic church does not build a culture to reach them, they will leave,” Uribe said.

For churches to grow, they need to have this multigenerational and multicultural approach, he believes.

“You want to build space for all of the immigrants coming to our country who have to be reached and build space for kids growing up in this country in Latino households. As a pastor, you want them to belong in your church because those are the future of your church,” the 27-year-old church planter said.

‘A burden for my community’

At the age of 17, Uribe came to America and began working in student ministry. While in college, Uribe worked as a youth pastor and began ministry for youth events for Hispanic churches. He organized larger youth events in Florida that pulled students from smaller Hispanic churches that enabled them to have community together.

Uribe came from a large church in Mexico that was “ambitious, relevant and influential” in the community, but he noticed those qualities lacking in America’s Hispanic churches.

“God put a burden on my heart for the Latino church and the next generation, a burden for my community,” he said. “I felt the Lord telling me to go and do something about it. I felt God was calling me to ministry.”

He first felt God’s call to plant a church after he got married and was attending the church his wife grew up in. That’s when many of her friends, who were young adults like the Uribes, told them they were leaving that church because they felt they no longer belonged there, that there was no place for them.

“We were hurt by that, and that sparked a burden in me and a need in our hearts. That’s when I felt like the Lord was telling us to plant a church.”

 With approval from their church and the North American Mission Board, they started a year of prelaunch in 2022 with a group of about 10 people meeting together in a park. Most of the group was the couple’s family. But soon the group grew to almost 40 people, just inviting people from their own networks.

“We were a legitimate church plant,” he said.

‘In agreement in asking God for a building’

The young church plant started renting an event space but soon outgrew the space as it began offering ministry to children. The church plant then began renting space from a local church and holding its worship service at 2 p.m. on Sundays with small groups meeting on other days at the church.  The church has baptized 35 people in the past three years and continues to grow.

In January of this year church leaders and members began praying for the church plant to have its own building. “If two or more come to agreement and we ask, He will provide,” Uribe said in quoting Matthew 18:20. “We should be in agreement in asking God for a building. We are growing. Our vision is to seek God’s kingdom first in our local community and to bring transformation and joy to our city.”

In March, they learned their prayers had been answered with the offer of a church building from First Coast Churches, the local Baptist association. Another local church was disbanding and offered its building and property back to the association, which then offered it to Iglesia Local.

Bob Bumgarner, lead missional strategist for First Coach Churches, said Uribe is a good leader and a hard worker. He has been impressed with how quickly the church has grown and how young it is.

“If a church grows, it’s God’s favor of course,” he said. “Humanly speaking, God has brought a young man with energy and a great network and an ability to connect God’s Word to shepherd a specific people group.”

Renovations on the church building began in the spring and continued all summer, thanks to support from Florida Baptists’ Maguire State Mission Offering, First Coast Churches, other local Baptist churches and local businesses.

The church held its first services in its new building on Sunday, Sept. 7, with 230 in attendance, and Uribe said, “God has blessed us in many ways! We are expecting a really exciting season in our church and we love it!” He added that Iglesia Local leaders are already planning and praying about adding a second service.

“We are trying to keep that spirit of expectation. We don’t want people to get comfortable. We pray that God will use and help us to do more.”