Editor’s Note: Summit South Church is one of the featured church plants in 2026 Maguire State Mission Offering prayer guide. One hundred percent of all receipts for the Maguire Offering are designated to help launch church plants across Florida.
HOMESTEAD — For Angel Santiago, being called to lead a church just 10 minutes south of the congregation where he had been serving was more than an opportunity to fill a ministry need. It was an opportunity to reach the community he calls home.
“Ever since Jesus became my Lord and Savior, God has given me a desire to see people come to Christ through the preaching and proclamation of His Word,” said Santiago, pastor of Summit South Church.
At Summit Church of Homestead, Santiago served as an elder and was given opportunities to preach, serve in ministry and grow as a leader. Over time, the church’s pastors and congregation affirmed God’s pastoral calling on his life.
Then, in early 2025, a ministry need emerged only a few miles away.
A small group of believers at The Movement Church was navigating a pastoral transition and needed leadership. Summit Church began walking alongside the congregation, providing pastoral support and helping guide the church through the transition.
For Santiago, the opportunity brought together his calling, the affirmation of his church and a community he already knew.
“On a personal level, this is the area I am from,” he said.
Through prayer, the support of Summit Church and resources provided through Southern Baptists, including the North American Mission Board’s Send Network, Santiago said God continued opening doors for the new work.
“Looking back, the combination of a clear ministry need, the affirmation of the local church, and God’s providential provision confirmed that this was where He was calling me to serve,” Santiago said.
Today, that ministry continues as Summit South Church, where Santiago and the congregation are seeking to build relationships and share the gospel throughout the surrounding community.
Gifts through the Maguire State Mission Offering are helping them do it.
“The Maguire State Mission Offering has helped make outreach efforts possible,” Santiago said. “Through evangelism, VBS and community events, we have been able to share the gospel with families, serve people in the homeless community, and strengthen our church’s presence and relationships throughout the surrounding neighborhoods.”
This summer, more than 60 children in kindergarten through fifth grade heard the gospel during Summit South’s Vacation Bible School while participating in activities, games, worship and meals.
The church’s youth group also partnered with Warren Church from Georgia for a missions week that took the gospel beyond Summit South’s campus and into three communities throughout the city.
Together, the teams hosted pop-up VBS events where they distributed Bibles, led worship and shared the gospel with more than 100 children.
The outreach reflects Santiago’s vision for Summit South to be a church whose members do more than invite people into their building. He wants them to faithfully take the gospel to their neighbors, coworkers, friends and families.
Support through the Maguire State Mission Offering also has allowed the church to work alongside other ministry partners, including Youth for Christ. Through that partnership, Santiago said the church recently celebrated as a mother and two of her children professed faith in Christ and were baptized.
“We are grateful that these resources have helped us move beyond the walls of our church and build relationships with the people God has placed around us,” Santiago said.
Those relationships are especially important in a community where the church encounters people facing addiction, homelessness, broken families and mental health struggles. Summit South seeks to meet those needs while keeping the hope of the gospel at the center of its ministry.
The congregation has faced challenges of its own. Volunteer leaders have continued serving through personal losses, health emergencies, burnout and changes within the church, while Santiago and other leaders have sought to keep the congregation united around its mission.
Another significant need was the reconstruction of the church building’s roof. That project has now been completed.
“By God’s grace, the entire process went smoothly, and so far we have experienced no interruptions or issues,” Santiago said.
With a completed roof overhead and a growing ministry beyond the church’s walls, Santiago wants Summit South to remain focused on the reason it exists: making disciples and proclaiming Christ in the community God has called them to serve.
For Santiago, that mission is deeply personal. The community surrounding Summit South isn’t simply a mission field he was sent to reach. It is home.
And through the Maguire State Mission Offering, Florida Baptists are helping him and Summit South take the gospel to the people who live there.
