Rev. Jarman Esperance Born in Haiti in 1954, Pastor Esperance was raised in a
Christian home, and accepted the Lord at age twelve. He received
his early education from missionary–sponsored schools,
immigrated to the U.S. in 1976, and then married his beautiful
wife, Mary, in 1979.
In 1985, Pastor Esperance graduated from Berean School of
the Bible in Springfield, Missouri with a Diploma in Ministerial
Studies, and was ordained by the Assemblies of God in 1991. He
graduated cum laude from Tampa College, receiving a B.A. in 1991
and an M.B.A. in 1993. He received his Certificate of Completion
in Childcare Center Operations from Pinellas Technical Education
Centers in November 2008, his Certificate of Completion for the
VPK Director Endorsement Course from Florida’s Voluntary
Prekindergarten (VPK) Education Program in December 2008, and
his Florida Child Care and Education Program Director Credential
from the Florida Department of Children and Family Child Care
Services in October 2009.
Pastor Esperance served as Associate Pastor of the Chardon
Assembly of God church in Chardon, Ohio, for one year; as
Founder and Pastor of the Holiness Church of God in Painesville,
Ohio, for two years; and then as Pastor and Founder of Pinellas
Christian Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, for five years,
before the Lord laid the burden on his heart to return to Haiti
as a missionary.
In 1993, Pastor Esperance and his wife were approved as
Assemblies of God missionaries to Haiti. They traveled
throughout the U.S. to raise funds, then moved to Haiti in 1995
where they worked until 2004. Through the years, the Esperance
family worked to establish extension bible school centers around
the country with a total of 525 bible school students. They
distributed clothes to the poor, raised funds and coordinated
construction projects for ten church-buildings and one Bible
school, addressed the increasing AIDS problem in Haiti by
educating youth with AIDS literature, and pastored a church of
450 people. In 1997, the Esperances also founded a Christian
school in Chalon, Haiti, which currently enrolls over 400
children, Grades K-9.
Pastor Esperance is the author of The Twelve Spiritual
Stones and served as General Superintendent of the Assemblies of
God in Haiti from 1998 until his return to the U.S. in 2004,
overseeing 220 churches and outstations.
Upon returning to the U.S., Pastor Esperance accepted the
invitation to serve as cultural liaison for the New Jersey
District Council of the Assemblies of God. During his tenure,
he trained several Haitian pastors for credentialing, and was
elected President of the newly formed Haitian-American
Fellowship of the Assemblies of God. In 2006 he joined the
Christian Haitian Outreach (CHO) and served as its Executive
Director, overseeing two orphanages with over two hundred
children, two churches, and two grade schools. The Esperances
adopted two children from one of the orphanages: Manoucheka and
Daniel.
In 2008, Pastor Esperance was appointed Executive Director of
the Happy Workers Children’s Center in St. Petersburg, Florida,
and served in this capacity until his installation as Pastor of
Bethesda Haitian Assembly of God in Mount Prospect, Illinois, in
January 2010. Pastor Esperance will continue to pastor his
church while serving as Executive Director of CHO.
