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Quisqueya Chapel (QC) was begun in 1960 as an English speaking Sunday School for American Marines. Today Quisqueya Chapel is a church that many English speakers living in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas call home.

QC offers Sunday School for all ages, Sunday morning worship services and youth group each week as well as various retreats throughout the year.

In addition to its church activities, QC’s campus is used by missions organizations and various other groups for conferences and meetings throughout the week.

History

Quisqueya Chapel (QC) origins can be traced back to Christian American marines stationed in Haiti who wanted English Sunday school for their children. In 1960, a group of them contacted John Beerley (UFM) and a Sunday school was started. In conjunction with this, an adult Bible study also was held.

Missionaries heard of this study and joined in, bringing their children to Sunday school on Sunday afternoons on the Bolosse campus, as there was a felt need for MKs to have and be part of an English-speaking Sunday school experience. In these early days, Walt Baker and John Beerley taught the adult Bible study which developed into an informal fellowship.

After four years, the US marines were withdrawn and the fellowship continued, consisting primarily missionary families from many different missions. This Sunday meeting became a regular habit, to the point of setting a schedule and asking different people to speak or give a short Bible devotional.

About 1967, the Bible study grew into more structured worship services and moved from the mission compound too the Haitian American Institute. Sunday school meanwhile stayed at the UFM Campus.

In 1970-71, Adams, Beerley and Hanney were on a committee to help the organization develop its own identity. Its purpose still stayed the same: to minister to English-speaking evangelicals AND to reach out to the unsaved. At that time it began to be called the Port-au-Prince Bible Church. By 1970, this group had moved from the Bolosse campus and was meeting for worship at St. Vincent School. It was still a very informal, non-official fellowship, with the leadership essentially in the hands of missionaries.

In 1976, a committee was set up to formally organize Quisqueya Chapel as a recognized fellowship body and church. Among its members were Barry Timmons (World Team), Jack Hanney and Ray Bachman (Grace Children’s Hospital), O. Carl Brown (Missionary Church), and Boxley Boggs (UFM). The committee’s purpose was to establish a church out of this loose fellowship, set its purpose (to minister to and reach out into the English-speaking community), and to call a pastor. The committee wrote QC’s first constitution and a Statement of Faith, and called QC’s first pastor, Ron Smeenge. Quisqueya Chapel also informed the Ministry of Cults of its existence, although no formal registration could be made since the official pastor was not an assermented Haitian pastor.

QC has now had several senior pastors as of this date: Ron Smeenge, Cal Gardner, Clayton Schletewitz, Ron Miller, Ray Bachman, Garth Reesor, Ned Hixon, Karl Olsson and the current Senior Pastor, Bobby Boyer. The chapel has also been blessed with the ministry of four youth pastors: Dave Manley, Kevin Klaasen, and Dave Harrington and Shane Mattenley.

Facilities

In late 1976 or early 1977, the Chapel began meeting in a school auditorium downtown – the Catholic Cultural Center on Impasse Lavaud. This arrangement did not prove to be satisfactory and a search was made for ideal facilities. In 1978, QC signed a 10-year lease with Quisqueya Christian School (an independent organization) and moved to the school property on Delmas 75, using the school auditorium for worship services and several school classrooms for Sunday school.

By the late 1970s, QC expanded its vision to reach French speaking Haitians, as well as English speaking worshippers, and developed what the late 1970s knew as “the French section” of Quisqueya Chapel. This French speaking fellowship continued to grow as well. At the end of the original 10-year lease, the Quisqueya Christian School felt that both churches had outgrown the ability of the school to handle them both well in its limited facilities, and so the school board voted not to renew the lease. This forced both congregations to do some thinking of their futures, and plan for relocations. Quisqueya Chapel moved to the Christopher Hotel in Bourdon in 1988 and rented facilities there until 1990 when property was acquired at Delmas-Fragneauville. The French section wrote a constitution, changed its name to the Evangelical Community church of Delmas and eventually purchased property on Delmas 75-77 and built a facility. This body of believer continues to grow, ministering to several hundred Haitian worshippers.

Throughout its history, the purpose of Quisqueya Chapel has been to minister to English speaking evangelicals, providing them with nurture and fellowship, and to reach out to the English speaking community with the Gospel of Christ.