Narrated by Dr. Gide Demosthene, (File picture from TV show studios in 2003).
During Summer of 1991, in the tenth year of affiliation, and of various ministry positions held at First Haitian Baptist Church of Dorchester, Massachusetts, under founding Pastor Verdieu Laroche, I was approached by Daniel Hilaire, the Chief Producer for the Haitian television program: Télé-Évangélique (Evangelical Television). This teaching ministry program was viewed through the Somerville Public Television Network, and later on the Boston Neighborhood Network, BNN-TV, and also on WCEA-TV Network. Mr. Hilaire inquired if I would be willing to volunteer serving at Télé-Évangélique as its Senior Presenter & Chief Editor. I agreed. Fifteen years later, until Summer 2006, I served diligently with the grace and power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But also, by this time, my service officially ended due to the Producer’s moving to Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Seven years through this tenure at Télé-Évangélique in 1998, I introduced a series of Biblical teachings entirely focused on the ethics of Christian living and their ultimate application in family-life. These teachings were presented under a new ministry introduced at Télé-Évangélique under the acronym “MEGR” which stands for Ministère Évangelique de la Grâce Rédemptrice or Redeeming Grace Evangelistic Ministries. The purpose was to share with the viewers an intentional program from a ministry which intentionally aimed at helping to redeem families from various needs and socio-cultural life crises which are often neglected by traditional church ministries in the Haitian community. The Epistle of 1 Peter and others were used in the series. The responses to this new program and teachings were unbelievably extraordinary as viewers would call to offer their words of encouragement, or request specific presentations or the whole series. This was a new movement in the life of Télé-Évangélique and in my own life personally. Through this process, Redeeming Grace Evangelistic Ministries was born from the depth of my heart as a God-given dream for holistic ministry to families in the twenty first century.
From the left: Ramona Desire, Emilio Elysee, and Dr. Demosthene in May 2005
In March 2005, Redeeming Grace Evangelistic Ministries became a church plant. A few colleagues who were attending Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary-Boston came along, including: Jean-Claude Jean-Baptiste, Emilio Elysée, and Ramona Desiré. Our Sunday School began at 11:30 AM, and services were held in the afternoon until 2:30 PM at the St. Stephen Methodist Church at 5160 Washington Street, West Roxbury, Massachusetts. We ministered to a number of saints in the area, and brought under the Lordship of Christ a few converts whose attendances were quite irregular. This church plant continues until 2007 with the exceptional dedication and unwavering commitment and encouragement and prayer and support of Ramona Desiré and a few other friends. During our time in West Roxbury we have held a workshop and a Community Family Day event providing entertainment and presentations for children of all ages, medical assistance to community families, food and refreshments, and the Gospel message through a feature film: Escape from Hell, which brought all the youths (about 10-12) in the house on their knees committing their lives to Jesus Christ.
Toward the end of 2007 lack of ministerial support, family-life challenges, and academic demands of the doctoral program caused me to decide closing the church plant in West-Roxbury. Many lessons had been gleaned in the process and I have emerged with new experiences for future church ministry endeavors. The doctoral research projects from 2006 to 2009 have provided exceptional insights in envisioning and designing faithful holistic ministries for today’s families. I have lived through many of the challenges myself and I still am obtaining various types of firsthand experiences that are proven absolutely necessary for understanding and undertaking effective ministries at Redeeming Grace. With the understanding that local family-life challenges are the same for all families throughout the cities of the world, we embrace the disposition to be an international ministry partnering and networking with faithful ministers and ministries around the world in the mighty name of our Lord and God Jesus Christ.
Currently, RGEM International is taking its first steps toward ministry in Brockton, Massachusetts. We are using every form of media available to us to make Christ known to the entire world as we minister also to our local community of families. We meet on a weekly basis for Bible study and prayer and we are planning a non-denominational contemporary worship service in the early afternoon and/or early evening for people of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds—as our journey continues till the day of Christ. Indeed, all glory be given to the Lord our God!
