Rev. Joel Sejour Sr. & Odine Sejour
Founders · Since 1985
In 1985, Joel Sejour Sr. and his wife Odine planted this ministry in Miami with almost nothing but a Bible, a burden for their people, and the unshakable conviction that God had called them to build a house of prayer among the Haitian community.
Before there was a building there were living rooms. Before there was a choir there was Odine singing over the sick and the discouraged. Before there was a bulletin there were Joel's handwritten notes carried from door to door. They worked jobs during the week and gave everything of themselves on the weekend. Odine drove the church bus so no one who wanted to worship was left without a ride. She comforted the grieving through long nights, gave sound advice to families in crisis, and prayed over anyone who came to her door. There were nights when Joel drove to a hospital bed at 2 AM because someone needed a pastor and there was no one else to send. There were funerals they officiated for people the world forgot, and weddings they blessed for couples nobody else would marry.
Their ministry was practical as well as spiritual. Joel and Odine were also licensed realtors, and they used their profession as an extension of their calling — walking countless families through the maze of becoming first-time homeowners. They translated contracts, sat with parishioners at closing tables, patiently explained mortgages, and connected new immigrants to lenders who would give them a fair chance. For many Haitian-American families, it was the first time anyone in their household had owned a piece of American land. Joel and Odine understood that a stable home was part of a stable faith — and one closing at a time, they helped build a movement of Haitian homeowners in Miami-Dade County.
They did not build a platform. They built a family. They did not chase a name. They chose obedience. Everything Miami Deliverance is today — every soul saved, every baby dedicated, every marriage restored, every young leader raised up — is because two people said yes when it cost them everything.
“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”
Proverbs 22:1
Their legacy did not end when the mantle passed. It multiplied. Today the ministry they birthed is faithfully led by their daughter, Pastor Jadinah Sejour Gustave, and her husband, their son-in-love, Pastor Fritz Gustave. What Joel and Odine sowed in tears, this generation is reaping in joy (Psalm 126:5). The prayers Odine prayed over her daughter as a little girl are being answered every Sunday morning as Jadinah stands in the pulpit her father built.
We do not honor the founders because ministry is about the past. We honor them because faithful ministry is always about a generational trust — hands passing torches to hands, until Christ returns. To Rev. Joel Sr. and Odine: thank you. To every family the Sejours prayed over, married, buried, fed, and loved into the Kingdom: you are the fruit. To the generations yet to come: the foundation is deep enough for all of you.
