Beraca International Rescue Ministry History

Form STEP straight to St Petersburg Church - In May 1997, Rev. Olliant St Jacques had just graduated from STEP: The Seminary of Evangelical Theology of Port-au-Prince. In September of the same year, he was ordained as a pastor because the Southern Baptist Convention needed him to start a ministry primarily for Haitians living in the city of St. Petersburg, FL. Everything was set, and by the end of 1999, the ministry had begun.

First Challenge - It didn’t take long, around two years, and we faced a split. This affected the church a lot. After that, we restarted the work, and everything was going very well.

Seeking more opportunities and Church Homes - Around 2008-2009, the young people started getting married, and since there were already few members, the church began losing its members. During the same period, a group of about ten people moved to another state. We had two deacons who became discouraged, took their families, and started attending other churches with more people.

A new Congregation Needed - As a result of the above, the church was reduced to three members, in reality. We decided to move and start another congregation where we could find more Haitians.

Illness got in the mix - In that place, problems awaited us as well. However, we were gathering with about fifteen people. Around 2010-2011, pastor St jacques fell ill to the point that he could no longer lead the church. For some reason, the person overseeing all the Haitian churches in the mission asked him to transfer the people we had to another Haitian congregation because there was also a building location issue.

Recovery gives way to Beraca Internationl Rescue Ministry - When pastor St Jacques' health began to improve, he decided, instead of returning to leading the church, that he would found a nonprofit organization, so he could still serve people in another way. He received some advice from a few people, including his wife, Sister Micheline, and Pastor Moise Pierre. Thus, on June 20, 2014, he founded this organization called Beraca International Rescue Ministry. This organization aims to help people in all aspects in life with aid and guidance of our Lord.