- December 14, 2025
La Primera Iglesia Bautista de Palm Coast welcomed the Rev. Angel Izquierdo as its new pastor Saturday, July 30.
Izquierdo, wife Zulema and three children, Matthew, 12, Marcos, 10, and Anjeli, 5, moved to Palm Coast from a church in Port St. Lucie, but Izquierdo’s story began in Cuba.
Born into a Christian family, Izquierdo started his religious work at a young age. In high school, he spent time ministering in the streets of Cuba. The government, Izquierdo says, was not happy.
When he was 17 years old, Izquierdo was sent to prison.
“Of course, they came up with something else — enemy of the revolution, someone who didn’t think the way Castro wanted you to think,” Izquierdo says.
He spent two years in a maximum-security prison.
“There, I grew in my faith,” Izquierdo says. “It was there that I realized that after getting out of there, I will be serving God.”
In 1994, when big waves of Cubans were immigrating on rafts, Izquierdo, a middle child, traveled with his two brothers and became a refugee at Guantanamo Bay.
Now, settled in Palm Coast, Izquierdo and the staff at La Primera Iglesia Bautista De Palm Coast are looking toward the future. Knowing that the Hispanic and Latino populations are a quickly growing minority, Izquierdo has a goal to eventually become a totally bilingual church and minister to both segments of the community.
“Just being here and being part of the community — I think that’s the main key, not only for us to be successful and the kingdom of God to grow, but also for the community to be transformed,” Izquierdo says.
La Primera Iglesia Bautista de Palm Coast, 5500 Belle Terre Parkway, meets for Sunday school at 9:45 a.m. and service 11 a.m. every Sunday. The church also holds Bible study at 7 p.m. every Wednesday.
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