Fellowship Southwest is proud to announce the addition of our new full time staff member. Anyra Cano will officially start her position as Director of Programs and Outreach on August 15. Anyra comes to Fellowship Southwest from Texas Baptist Women in Ministry where she served as coordinator, and Christian Latina Leadership Institute where she served as academic coordinator.

Anyra has a rich history of ministerial service. She has served at her church, Iglesia Bautista Victoria en Cristo in Fort Worth, Texas, as the youth minister for the past 12 years, and was ordained there in 2019. She also has years of experience leading mission trips to Central and South America with Buckner International and served twice in contract positions with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Advocacy. Anyra has a heart for advocacy, missions and young people, which makes her a perfect fit for this position.

God has always found ways to surprise Anyra, and we are grateful that she remains open to where God is leading her, especially since it happens to be at Fellowship Southwest. You can read more about the ways God has worked in her life here in a profile that Fellowship Southwest published about her in December 2018.

Anyra will be primarily responsible for organizing programs around Fellowship Southwest’s four priorities of engagement: immigration, racial justice, hunger, and indigenous ministries. She will be the main point of contact for planning and implementing mission opportunities and other kinds of engagement for churches and individuals.

Cameron Vickrey, the director of communications and development, says, “I have known Anyra for several years, and have always been impressed with her leadership. I’m so excited to be her colleague, to learn from her, and to continue expanding the reach of Fellowship Southwest together.”

Executive director Stephen Reeves expressed his excitement and gratitude, “Anyra’s passion, experience, broad network, and personal story make her uniquely qualified for this critical role with Fellowship Southwest. I’m thrilled that she sensed God calling her in this direction and believe she’s been well prepared to succeed in this role and bless Fellowship Southwest beyond our current imagination. I’ve been fortunate to work with Anyra in the past and I’m excited that she will be devoting her full-time attention to Fellowship Southwest. She’ll be an excellent addition to our team.”

Fellowship Southwest now has staff presence in the DFW area, Austin area, and San Antonio, as well as key partners in the Rio Grande Valley. Anyra, her husband Carlos Valencia, and their two-year-old daughter live in Fort Worth, where Anyra will work from their home.

"I am so thankful to God for the opportunity to come alongside Fellowship Southwest for such a time as this,” Anyra says. “I feel called to this sacred work as it is a culmination of the ministry and advocacy I have done in different contexts, throughout the years. I am also thrilled to work with Cameron, who is a strong advocate and communicator, and Stephen who has taught and modeled for me the importance of advocacy as missions. To God be the Glory.”