Newsline

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—

On February 5-7, a delegation of Church of God leaders, including General Overseer Raymond F. Culpepper and Douglas LeRoy, director of World Missions, vis- ited Haiti. They met with the district overseers and Executive Council of the Church of God in Haiti. Culpepper encouraged the ministers, saying the denomina-

tion is with them for the “long haul” until their homes and churches are back in place. LeRoy reported: “While there, we erected a new tent for housing and fed hundreds of people who are camped out on the church grounds, many of them are children. Food is delivered to the grounds daily from the Dominican Republic. A

The Ministry of Elysée Joseph

PORT-AU-PRINCE,

Haiti—Elysée Joseph, over- seer of the Church of God in Haiti, lost his life in the Janu- ary 12 earthquake that devas- tated the island nation. A native Haitian, he was born on March 24, 1946, in Dame-Marie. His father was a Baptist pastor, and from child- hood Elysée traveled with his father, visiting churches in the district. When he was 7 years old, he had a strong fever; his parents prayed to God, “If our son will serve You, please heal him; but if he will not serve You, take him.” He was immediately healed. At the age of 12, he

began teaching in the Sunday school. At age 14, he taught a class for candidates for water baptism, and Elysée himself was baptized that same year. While living as a university student in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Joseph became

28 EVANGEL • APR 2010

acquainted with the Church of God by visiting the Poste-Marchand congregation, and joined that church in 1970. The next year he was married to Marie-Camille Kersaint, who was the president of the young people’s orga- nization at the church and a graduate of the Church of God Biblical Seminary. In 1973, the Lord baptized him in the Holy Spirit and he became, in his own words, “a fervent Pentecostal.” While earning a master’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Montreal in Canada (1975-1977), he and his wife (who was completing a bachelor’s degree in theol- ogy) ministered in cooperation with Pastor Flaureste Saint-Fleur through door-to-door evangelism and meetings in homes. In June 1975, while evangelizing from house to house in Outremont, just outside Montreal, they visited the home of a woman who was a widow and the mother of 10

This compilation of news is to acquaint our readers with what is happening in the church world. The Evangel does not necessarily endorse the activities reported.

COMPILED BY LANCE COLKMIRE

lance_colkmire@pathwaypress.org

Great Losses, Challenges, and Opportunities in Haiti

large storeroom is stocked with additional supplies. Operation Compassion has also sent medical supplies and thousands of shoes. “Twice a day two services are held on the campground. More than 200 persons have been saved. Forty percent of those on the campground site are not Christians.”

At the meeting with the

children. She was won to Christ, and that became the beginning of the Church of God in Outre- mont, which grew rapidly. In the spring of 1977, Joseph became the administrator for World Vision in Haiti while serv- ing at Poste-Marchand Church of God as coor- dinator of evangelism. In 1980, he was named senior pastor of that con- gregation; in 1987, he was appointed head pas- tor of the Rue du Centre Church of God, the denomina- tion’s largest Church of God congregation in Haiti (which currently has some 9,000 mem- bers), but also continued his pas- toral duties at Poste-Marchand for some time. Remarkably, he simultaneously carried on an aca- demic career in teaching. In 1996 Brother Joseph was appointed national overseer of the Church of God in Haiti and reappointed in 1998 and 2000, while continuing as head pastor at Rue du Centre.

national church leaders, the fol- lowing deaths were reported: 2 Church of God pastors, 5 wives of ministers, and 81 church members. Nineteen church build- ings were destroyed, 74 were damaged, many buildings rented for churches were destroyed, and 121 homes were ruined. Director Leroy said, “We are preparing a tent city to house

As overseer he always had a drive to improve the Church of God in Haiti (and the coun- try itself) through education. He helped to obtain accredi- tation for Séminaire Biblique, the Church of God Seminary in Haiti, where he taught courses in eschatology and church administra- tion. Meanwhile, he continued to serve as administrator, dean, and instructor

at Hadem College.

Elysée Joseph’s wife, Marie- Camille, died on February 28, 2002. They were parents to five sons.

From 2002 to 2008, while Fred Bourdeau served as over- seer, Joseph continued as pas- tor at Rue du Centre. In 2008, Brother Joseph again began serving as national overseer until he was tragically killed on January 12, 2010. Fred Bur- deau was reappointed overseer following Joseph’s death. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32