Central Haiti Conference

The Central Haiti Conference is part of the Haitian Union Mission of the Inter-American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. It was organized in 1998, reorganized in 2010, and reorganized with territory divided in 2017. As of 2023, it has 79 organized churches, 76,154 members, and a population of 2,037,042. Its territory covers portions of the South-East Department and the West Department of Haiti. Its headquarters are on 92, Rue Christ-roi, HT-6132, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.¹

Development

During the years 1879-1904, thanks to the reading of the Bible and the printed page, Granville Beaupin came to learn of the Adventist message and decided on his own to observe the Sabbath, but he did not feel that he should share his conviction with other people. The Beaupin family had been identified as the first Sabbath observers in Port-au-Prince.²

In 1913, Beaupin welcomed to his house Adventist missionaries from the north of Haiti, who, under the leadership of Pastor Michel Nord Isaac, were to launch an extensive evangelistic campaign in Port-au-Prince. Beaupin obtained a permission to use the Saint Paul Church of Port-au-Prince building for the Adventist evangelistic campaign. The church was full of people every night, but the agreement was short-lived. The fiery messages of Pastor Isaac upset the leaders of the Saint Paul Church, who asked the missionaries to vacate the premises. The Adventist missionaries from the north then decided to preach the Three Angels Message outdoors.

Their campaign was held in a tent at the place that is today the Champ de Mars. The group of Adventists that grew out from this evangelistic effort built a structure on Rue Piquant to worship the Lord. Among them were Brothers Painson, Desvarieux, Hezel, and Lecorps. Sometime later, the group moved out of this building to settle at the northeast corner of Rue Lamarre and Avenue John Brown. In 1917, they moved to Rue de la Réunion.

Continuing with the evangelistic efforts in the Haitien Mission, in 1914, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists voted to send another worker to Haiti. They extended an invitation to Pastor Curdy, who was in Missouri at the time, “to make Haiti his field of labor.”³ Swiss Evangelist Edouard Alexandre Curdy conducted several campaigns, resulting in many baptisms during his three-plus years in Haiti. Due to him and his wife falling ill, he and his family had to return to the United States of America in 1918.⁴

The first Adventist church was built on Rue de la Réunion in Port-au-Prince at the beginning of the 1920s. This church was named Temple Adventiste No. 1, a name that it has kept for more than 100 years.

Organization

Following an action taken by the Inter-American Division Committee, the Haitian Union Mission board met on November 24-25, 1997, to officially divide its territory into four missions and appoint the officers of the four fields. The missions established in 1998 were the Central Haiti Mission, South Haiti Mission, North Haiti Mission, and Northwest Haiti Mission.⁵

The first officers appointed for the Central Haiti Mission to begin officiating on January 25, 1998, were Sylvain Blaise, president; Jean Hercule Toussaint, secretary; and Robert Jean-Marie Charles, treasurer.⁶ The department directors were elected at the Haitian Union Mission constituency meeting on December 11-12, 1997.

The first years of the Central Haiti Mission stood out with extraordinary growth. The 2000-2004 strategic plan focused on encouraging church members and workers, and the fruits were evident. Some challenges appeared in 2004 when the sociopolitical climate in the country’s capital had a major impact on the churches in Port-au-Prince. Some churches with two services on Sabbath would only have one and still had empty pews.

During a Central Haiti Mission constituency meeting held in March 2009, the members recommended a change of status for the field. The Haitian Union Mission approved it and sent their request to the Inter-American Division, who approved it. Central Haiti Mission became the Central Haiti Conference in 2010.⁷

Reorganization

On September 22, 2016, the Central Haiti Conference executive committee sent a vote to the Haitian Union Mission recommending the reorganization and division of their territory. The Haitian Union Mission then voted to send the request to the Inter-American Division. During the Inter-American Division’s year-end meeting, a vote was taken to form a committee to study the possibility of reorganizing and dividing the Central Haiti Conference territory. On April 30, 2017, the committee gave a favorable recommendation to the Inter-American Division.

The Inter-American Division executive committee voted for the reorganization and division of the territory, and the constituency meeting was set for July 17-18, 2017. Thus, the Plaine du cul de Sac Mission was established. Central Haiti Conference transferred to the newly formed mission 100 churches and 55,911 members.⁸

Outlook

Despite the sociopolitical crisis challenges faced by the Central Haiti Conference since 2018, it continues to stand, preparing God’s people for the Second Coming of Jesus. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Haiti can be grateful for God’s many blessings, and they live in the hope of the imminent return of Jesus Christ with faith, courage, and perseverance.

Presidents

Central Haiti Mission: Sylvain Blaise (1997-2005); Inestral Pierre (2005-2009)

Central Haiti Conference: Sylvain Blaise (2009-2013); Jean-Philippe Extrat (2013-2015); André Pierre (2015-2021); Jean-Bernard Banatte (2021- )

Sources

Benoit, Emmanuel Clément. L’Eglise Adventiste d’Haïti à la croisée des Chemins 100 ans d’ Histoire, 1905-2005. Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Media-Texte, 2005.

General Conference Committee, General Conference Archives. Accessed November 5, 2024. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1918.pdf.

Haitian Union Mission Executive Committee minutes, November 24-25, 1997. Haitian Union Mission Archives, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

Notes

1. “Central Haiti Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, accessed June 20, 2024, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=14092.↩

2. Emmanuel Clément Benoit, L’Eglise Adventiste d’Haïti à la croisée des Chemins 100 ans d’ Histoire, 1905-2005 (Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Media-Texte, 2005), 43.↩

3. General Conference Committee, July 26, 1914, 174, General Conference Archives, accessed November 5, 2024, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1914.pdf.↩

4. General Conference Committee, September 19, 1918, 124, General Conference Archives, accessed November 5, 2024, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1918.pdf.↩

5. “Haitian Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1999), 145-147.↩

6. Haitian Union Mission Executive Committee, November 24-25, 1997, Haitian Union Mission Archives.↩

7. “Central Haiti Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2012), 142.↩

8. “Central Haiti Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2018), 114-115.↩