{"id":40473,"date":"2022-10-31T08:14:38","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T12:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridabaptist.wpengine.com\/?p=40473"},"modified":"2025-11-04T16:14:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:14:06","slug":"florida-baptists-celebrate-half-century-of-haitian-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/florida-baptists-celebrate-half-century-of-haitian-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Baptists celebrate half century of Haitian ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pictured Above: Pastor Wilner Maxi (sitting) poses with friends at the Haitian Gala.<\/em><\/p>\n

BOCA RATON\u2014 Florida is home to nearly half a million Haitians, and for the past 50 years Haitian Baptist<\/a> churches have been ministering to the large Haitian diaspora.<\/p>\n

\"Haitian<\/a>
Pastor Saint-Louis Felix and his wife Nazette served as missionaries in Guadeloupe from 1969 to 1980. Felix pastored Bethel Evangelical Baptist of Miami from April 12, 1980, through December 2015 when he took on the title of Pastor Emeritus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To celebrate 50 years of ministry partnership between Haitian churches and the Florida Baptist Convention<\/a> and to honor some of the Haitian legacy pastors, 300 Haitian pastors, their wives, and church leaders gathered recently in Boca Raton for a gala night.<\/p>\n

Twenty pastors were honored during the celebration for their work in planting the first Haitian churches in Florida. These churches ministered to the Haitians fleeing their homeland for political and economic reasons. As they settled in Florida, many of them answered God\u2019s call to ministry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was deeply honored and blessed to watch these men of God receiving honors from generations that they have raised and served so well for so long,\u201d said John Voltaire, Florida Baptists\u2019 Haitian church catalyst.<\/p>\n

Among the men who were honored were:<\/p>\n