Our story

Founded in 1977 by the late Bishop Joseph Pélissier, the Apostolic Faith Church began with about ten believers gathered on the balcony of his private home on Ruelle Clesca, in Lalue. When the bishop settled in Port-au-Prince after leaving Gonaïves, he had no intention of founding a church, but rather an orphanage, which he placed under the direction of his eldest daughter, Mrs. Ernisse Pélissier. God, however, had other plans.

It all began with Cédier Bazil, conductor of the orchestra of the “Negro Spirituel” group, who used the orphanage premises for his rehearsals. The bishop attended them regularly. One afternoon, after a rehearsal, he shared with a small group of people his plan to hold services and meetings in the orphanage. That small core became the founding members of the work we see today, which, with God’s help, never stops growing.

The first person in the new congregation to accept Christ as personal Savior was Sister Bernadette Yacinthe. She was also part of the first baptism class, about ten people, among them Sister Acephie Bastien and Brother Verlino Jean-Baptiste. That first baptism service took place in 1979.

The small congregation soon moved to 2nd Impasse Lavaud, before purchasing, in September 1994, an old house to serve as a place of worship, at the corner of Camille Léon and Marguerite streets. That is where we still gather today.

His son, Daniel Pélissier, ordained as pastor, succeeded him as leader of the congregation in 1982. In 1997, he left the country to settle in the United States. After his departure, the responsibility of shepherding God’s flock was entrusted to the late Deacon Yves Cadet, in 2005.

Worn down by an illness for some ten years and sensing that the end of his days was near, Deacon Yves Cadet ordained Brothers Reginald Lamour and Wilton Lamerique to the ministry of deacon on November 6, 2005. The decision was not without controversy within the congregation. In May 2006, Deacon Yves Cadet was called home to his Master without having been officially replaced. A nine-member management committee, including three sisters, oversaw the transition.

Alongside the committee, Brothers Reginald Lamour and Wilton Lamerique served as deacons, presiding over the ceremonies within their charge, such as Holy Communion and the dedication of children to the Lord. For other ceremonies, such as weddings, a pastor from another church had to be called in. In the administration and management of the church, Brother Edouard Guerrier played a key role: an elder of the church and a respected voice, he had worked alongside Deacon Cadet during his lifetime and took on certain responsibilities whenever illness kept the deacon away.

This transition lasted about six months, until the decision, on December 17, 2006, to entrust the leadership of the church to Pastor Wilton Lamerique. He had just completed his studies at the Church of God Theological Seminary in Haiti (STEDH).

Throughout its history, under the leadership of the Pélissier family, of Deacon Cadet, and during Pastor Lamerique’s ministry, the congregation has faced many kinds of hardship, some more serious than others. Here are a few notable examples.

1. 01

   Trial 1: Persecution from the authorities

   One Sunday evening, during an open-air service, officers from the prefecture unplugged and seized our sound equipment. When their car refused to start, they ended up having to give the equipment back.

2. 02

   Trial 2: Hostile neighbors

   During an open-air meeting, while Evangelist Alphonse Mondesir was preaching, a neighbor of the church threw eggs at the believers in the middle of praise and worship.

3. 03

   Trial 3: Evicted from our premises

   During a service at 2nd Impasse Lavaud, a justice of the peace, accompanied by bailiffs and police officers, seized all our belongings, threw them into the street, and sealed the church’s premises.

4. 04

   Trial 4: Thefts and break-ins

   On several occasions, both on Impasse Lavaud and on Camille Léon Street, the church’s equipment, sound system, musical instruments, and other belongings were stolen.

5. 05

   Trial 5: Building fund lost

   About 150,000 gourdes, the fruit of the believers’ contributions over several years, were lost in the cooperatives crisis. That cooperative was supposed to grant us a loan and build the sanctuary; this sum was our initial contribution.

Under Pastor Lamerique’s ministry, the persecution did not stop. Many appeals to the police and to the government prosecutor came to nothing. On top of insults hurled at believers in the middle of services came false and defamatory statements spread on the internet and social media.

Through God’s faithfulness, the congregation withstood all these trials. Over time, the persecutors had to leave the area, moved abroad, or were called home to God, while God’s work, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, endures and keeps rising. Prayer is our strength.

To build the sanctuary, several committees were formed, first to raise funds, then to launch the work. The committee that laid the first stone was chaired by Brother Bauzelais Laurore. We are grateful to him, for what matters is not only accomplishing great things, but daring to undertake them. Brothers and sisters, men and women alike, formed human chains to carry the blocks and build the foundation, to avoid transportation costs, since the blocks were made right in the neighborhood. An administrator and professor at UniQ, who witnessed this spirit of unity, never fails to recall it whenever he sees how the sanctuary has been transformed.

When he took office, Pastor Wilton Lamerique took stock of the congregation: a building under construction but hard to move forward, a few block walls, and a tarp over a 200 m² space that, as the proverb goes, “could fool the sun, but not the rain.”

Pastor Lamerique, whom many regard as a progressive, launches ambitious projects in faith, even costly ones, without waiting to know where the funds will come from. He lives out his well-known motto: “All things are possible to him that believeth.”

On December 15, 2011, a first payment of 25,000 U.S. dollars, out of a total of 45,000, was made toward the purchase of a plot of land. The second payment of $10,000 followed on May 28, 2012, and the balance was paid off on September 1, 2012. About 200 m² were thus added to the space available for expanding the church.

Remarkable progress has been made spiritually, socially, organizationally, structurally, and physically. Construction of the sanctuary is well advanced, and a first extension has already been built on the new land. A worship space has been set up for children: three classes meet there every Sunday, separately from the adults. Seminars, conferences, councils, and Bible studies are regularly held for church workers, young people, and the whole congregation. The church has adopted bylaws, internal rules, and a job description for each leader.

To help him with his many duties, Senior Pastor Wilton Lamerique ordained Brother Dagobert Elisée to the pastoral ministry at an ordination service on April 20, 2014. Since then, Pastor Elisée has assisted him and stood in for him whenever he is “away.”

Those quotation marks are there for a reason: Pastor Lamerique stays present by phone, WhatsApp, and Facebook. Some members say they can’t tell whether he is in Haiti or abroad, and point out that even when he is away for a few days, or even a month, the church runs exactly as if he were there.

In early July 2017, following a two-week mission tour during which more than a hundred people gave their lives to the Lord Jesus, a new church was planted on July 9 in Paskette, a communal section of Jacmel, in the Southeast. After a water baptism in November 2017, about thirty members received the right hand of fellowship and joined the family of the Apostolic Faith Church of Turgeau.

As the work grows, the need for ordained pastors recognized by the authorities is felt more and more: for teaching, preaching, church management, Holy Communion, baptisms, weddings, child dedications, and funerals. Having Christlike shepherds to guide an ever-growing flock is becoming a priority. Meanwhile, many brothers and sisters who have received God’s call have begun theological studies at Bible school.

The Bible teaches us that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; let us therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers. God provided by allowing several beloved members to receive theological training at Bible school.

It is essential to delegate the many tasks that leading a congregation requires and to share responsibilities by appointing rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, as Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, advised (Exodus 18:13-23). After much prayer and reflection, the consecration of these three new workers, one of them a woman, as pastors was celebrated on Sunday, July 29, 2018. This ordination reflects the desire to be more effective in ministry and to bring new energy to the life of the congregation.