L’Eglise Evangelique Baptiste Bethel (or Bethel Evangelical Baptist Church) is a multicultural Haitian American church located in Miami Florida. Bethel (as we are known by most) is one of the largest and one of the oldest Haitian churches in the US. Bethel came into existence in the early 1970s to meet the spiritual needs of the growing Haitian community that had started to make its presence known in Miami. At the time Bethel came into existence, the Haitian Christian community in South Florida was very small, almost non-existent. There were very few churches where Haitians could worship in their own language (French or Haitian Creole).

In 1972, a group of Haitians from Freeport and Nassau Bahamas joined other Haitians in Miami to start a ministry that met in the home of Rev. Franck Francois. Three years later in 1975, this small group was recognized as a church under the name of the Haitian Christian Society. Worship services were then held at a larger location 44th Street and NW 2nd Avenue. Two years later, in 1977, a good portion of the members of the Haitian Christian Society left the church to form another congregation. It was also at this time that Rev. Brezil St. Germain, then President of the Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti or Mission Evangélique Baptiste du Sud-Haiti (MEBSH) felt led to plant a church in the United States to meet the needs of the growing Haitian Christian community in South Florida. He thus worked to support the small congregation that remained.

In 1978 the congregation moved to a new location at 7610 Biscayne Boulevard. It was at this time the name of the church was changed to Bethel Evangelical Baptist Church. As the church continued to grow, the decision was made to call on a more experienced pastor. Rev. St. Louis Felix and his wife Nazette Felix, who were missionaries in Guadeloupe, were then called upon to assume the leadership of the church. Pastor Felix and his wife led the church from April 12, 1980, through December 2015 when he took on the title of Pastor Emeritus. It was around the time pastor Felix started leading Bethel that affiliation with MEBSH (Haiti) was discontinued and Bethel became affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention in Florida.

Pastor Felix’s leadership as the senior pastor of Bethel led to innumerable progress. Gifted with talent, enthusiasm and full of pastoral experiences, this under-shepherd led the flock to great purposes for the Glory of God. Bethel continued to grow under the leadership of Pastor Felix. In December 1984, Bethel purchased a new building located at 3516 NW 7th Ave, the place that served as its worship center from 1984 to 2005. In 2001, Rev. Alain Boucard joined the pastoral team of Bethel and has served the Lord alongside Pastor Felix.

In 2002, Rev. Keny Felix, returned to Miami from seminary to join the pastoral staff of Bethel, a position he held until 2008 before he joined the faculty of Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta, Georgia.

By 2005, Bethel outgrew the location on 35th Street. Thus, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Pastor Felix and the church leadership were led to purchase a larger location to house the church. Hence, during the second half of the year 2005, Bethel purchased its current building at 17601 NW 2nd Avenue, a building which was formerly a bowling alley. Through prayer and a spirit of unity, Bethel overcame the many challenges that come with owning a much larger building than their previous one and the mighty task of converting the bowling alley into a worship/ministry center within weeks. Then, after weeks of hard labor and great collaboration, Bethel held its first service at 17601 NW 2nd Ave on November 20th, 2005, the week it was celebrating its 30th anniversary. Since then, the Lord has sustained his favor to Bethel. The church has continued to grow and serve as a source of blessings for many in the South Florida community and beyond.

In November 2015, Bethel celebrated its 40th year of ministry in Miami. At the same time, Pastor Felix transitioned the church to a new pastoral staff after serving Bethel faithfully for over 35 years. Bethel will forever be grateful to Pastor Felix and his family for their faithful service over the past three-and-a-half decades. On Dec. 27th, 2015, Pastor Felix was honored for his 35 years of ministry at Bethel and was bestowed the Pastor Emeritus title.

As Bethel started a new chapter in its long ministry career, the Rev. Dr. Keny Felix who is no stranger to Bethel and the son of Pastor Felix, was installed as the new Senior Pastor of Bethel Evangelical Baptist Church, effective January 1st, 2016. Today, the pastoral staff is composed of:

Rev. Dr. Keny Felix – Senior Pastor
Rev. Alain Boucard – Pastor of Adult Discipleship and Outreach
Rev. Clement Chery – Pastor of Student Ministries and Administration.
Rev. St. Louis Felix – Pastor Emeritus