GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer

Haneese Hope Brown is an associate pastor at the International Faith Christian Fellowship Church in Jamaica and Florida. She was pastor at the Rectory Road branch at May Pen in Clarendon recently, for one month.

It was at age 24 that this church leader started her walk with the Lord. At the time, she saw destruction coming forcefully to her, and hence she did not want that to be part of her life.

"The word 'destruction' came to mind and I did not want that to be part of my life. I saw friends die; and I remember one night after starting going to church, not being baptised and going to a club with some of my friends. But when I reached at the foot of the stairs to go up, a voice said to me that 'what are your friends going to say when you go up there with them'," said Brown.

She said she immediately said to her friends that she was not going with them up the stairs, and turned back and headed straight for home. It was from then that she started following the Lord, and according to her it was just before the passing of Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

"The journey with Jesus Christ has so far been wonderful. It has been awesome. I am the one who have been unfaithful to God; he has been so faithful to me. It has been awesome because the moment I went to the church I was leading. I was baptised in August and by September I got a position to teach Sunday school, so I was always involved," said Pastor Brown, who was first a member of the Falmouth New Testament Church of God in Trelawny where she served for over 19 years.

Hope Brown was blessed to serve in various capacities in the Falmouth church. She served in positions such as pastor's office assistant, youth fellowship president, deaconess, praise and worship leader, choir director, among others.

Brown, who now resides in Florida, said her recent experience at the Rectory Road Church in May Pen was not an easy one. She explained that having been away from her family and her church family, she experienced lonely times, but was able to fight through. She pointed out that if one is not called to ministry, 'leave it alone', because the Christian road can be a most lonely one at times.

"I believe I was called by the Lord. I wanted to go other places but the Lord said no," confessed the female pastor.

Brown, who has a heart for the less fortunate, said she and Bishop Evan Grant, as well as other leaders in the International Faith Christian Fellowship Church in Jamaica and overseas, have been working hard to see to the needs of many people. She stressed that apart from people needing the Lord there are other aspects of their lives that need to be ministered to.

"It is not only about teaching the word of God or to minister to people. It is also about wanting to find out, for example, how they are doing at school. It is also about other aspects of their lives, such as, are they being fed properly? So it is an all-round thing because God is a holistic God. It is not just about the spiritual aspect," noted Brown.

Romans chapter 12, verse 1, is her favourite Bible verse, and her favourite song is 'Great is thy faithfulness'. She said that song is her favourite because even when she becomes unfaithful to God, he still remains faithful.

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