Calvary Chapel Lexington is losing one of its pastors to a greater calling.

Frances Celestine, pastor for missions and child evangelism, is headed to Santa Elana in Coyo, Belize.

He plans to make regular trips there throughout the summer and will officially move his family there in January 2021.

Celestine has plenty of experience in the Caribbean having served in Trinidad for 8 years. He baptized 600 people at the church compound there. After a damaging hurricane, he worked to establish a partnership with

10 churches in the Dominican Republic.

His goals for the new Calvary Chapel in Belize will be to create a “heart for missions” among the people there. He will be teaching and training people to disciple and spread the gospel as part of their community outreach efforts.

That includes growing his church and building leaders for new churches. Coyo is in one of the fastest growing areas of Belize, so there are plenty of opportunities to reach the lost.

During his 2 years at CC Lexington, Celestine started a young adult Sunday School group called “the Good News Club” to resurrect the Bible in Schools program. They currently provide it for Deerfield and Lake Murray Elementary school.

He also put together a partnership and 2 mission trips to the Rosebud Indian reservation in S. Dakota.

Pastor Celestine said his main challenges for the move are health and financial assistance. He is still recovering from shoulder and hernia surgery.

He is fundraising for his trip on Facebook. If you’d like to help, contact Pastor Celestine at celo77@gmail. com or 803-490-2741.