FT. PIERCE — Two years ago, the Ft. Pierce Haitian Mission here was about to close. But last Feb. 9 it became the Florida Conference’s first Haitian United Methodist Church, with more than 1,000 people gathered at the church to celebrate its chartering.

The former mission is now called Ft. Pierce Haitian United Methodist Church. It has 180 members and averages more than 360 people in worship each week. It has completed a restoration of its building and is actively ministering to its community, according to the Rev. Mont Duncan, director of the Florida Conference’s office of New Church Development.

The Rev. Joanes Martin, the church’s pastor, arrived at the church about 19 months ago. He said the mission at that time “was down, it was way down” because of a serious conflict. The membership had declined from about 400 to 70, and the church building was under contract to be sold.

“They sold it [the building] before I came because they saw no hope,” Martin said. “The building was sold, but the closing was not done…and the members opposed the sale.”

After he was appointed Martin said his district superintendent told him to find a new piece of land or a storefront where the congregation could meet. “I looked for a new location, but if we sold the building we would only get $100,000, and a new lot cost more than $250,000,” Martin said, adding a decision was made to break the contract and keep the building.

The church’s transformation was a four-step process, according to Martin.

“I worked with them on forgiveness,” he said. “We can’t go forward unless we forgive one another.”

Martin encouraged church members to “pray and keep faith.” He also told them they needed to contribute financially to the work of the church. “I told them, ‘If you want the [United] Methodist Conference to recognize your work, you must contribute,’ ” he said.

Once the congregation knew it was going to keep its building Martin said he encouraged members to work together to restore it. Members gave an estimated $80,000 in gifts and volunteer hours to restore and repaint the building’s 30 rooms. “Now it’s a new building,” Martin said.

Martin also organized the ministries of the church. “We organized the youth, children’s department, women and men, and created more activities in the church,” he said.

One of the central activities was Family Meeting. Members of all ages met each Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. to “play together and eat together.” After the meal members divided into small groups for spiritual growth.

Martin also emphasized visitation, cultivating a fatherly image among members. “When you are the father, you care about everything,” he said, adding he sometimes “became an ambulance, winging them [sick members] to the hospital.”

Martin secured time on a local radio station each Thursday and Friday for a “prayer meeting for the entire community.” The prayer meeting included an invitation for people to attend the mission. The church also opened adult literacy classes and a computer lab for children and youth.

“We opened the eyes of the community that, ‘Hey, this is a church. They’re not just looking at themselves, but at the whole community,’ ” Martin said.

Martin hopes what his congregation has accomplished will serve as an example for the other 12 Haitian missions in the conference.