[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 158 (Friday, September 26, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING ISRAEL MARTIN AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR 
                        HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DARREN SOTO

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 26, 2025

  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, Israel Martin is originally from Cuba, but now 
lives and serves in the United States. He lives with his wife, Dody, 
with whom he has been married for 28 years. They have three children: 
Daniel, Claudia, and Helem. All three are married, and they have two 
granddaughters who are half-Cuban and half-Venezuelan, as well as one 
grandson who is also half-Cuban and half-Venezuelan.
  In Cuba, Israel served as a pastor, Christian leader, and educator, 
He was the academic dean of the Baptist Theological Seminary of Havana, 
the oldest Evangelical seminary in the country, and founder and 
president of the Cuban School of Evangelical Studies (ECETE), the last 
seminary established in Cuba that was legally recognized. In the United 
States, he serves as pastor of the Hispanic Ministry of First Baptist 
Orlando, a mega-church of the Southern Baptist Convention, and as 
president of the Baptist University of Florida in Spanish. He also 
teaches doctoral-level classes at Midwestern Baptist Theological 
Seminary, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Florida Christian 
University.
  Israel obtained an engineering degree from ISPJAE in Havana and a 
bachelor's degree in theology and pastoral ministry from the Baptist 
Theological Seminary of Havana. He also pursued master's studies in 
Cuba and Guatemala. Finally, he is currently working on the 
dissertation phase of his third doctorate, a Ph.D. in Bible Exposition 
at Liberty University. Previously, he had obtained a Ph.D. in 
Theological Education at SETECA and a D.Min. in Hispanic Ministry 
Leadership at DTS.
  Israel's favorite hobbies are reading and watching good movies. He 
also enjoys spending time with his family and home life.

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