Where we serve
Missionary Team
Miguel and Laura Richard
RiviÈre-des-Prairie (Montreal), QuÉbec
Current ministry:
Miguel and Laura Richard are serving in an urban and multi-ethnic setting in Rivière-des-Prairies, in northeast Montreal. Miguel left his secular employment in 2009 to become the full-time pastor in this church of forty members that had been without a pastor for a few years. Miguel says, "By the grace of God, my ministry is mainly focused on motivating believers for evangelism and leading them to the fullness of Jesus Christ. I love the church of Jesus Christ. I want to devote my life to this cause because it is a noble cause—the only cause worth following."
Family:
Miguel and Laura have been married for seven years and they have two young children, Louis-Jacob and Florence.
Spiritual background:
Miguel was raised in a peaceful home, strongly influenced by biblical values. His mother accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour in 1976, but his father is still an unbeliever today. His mother had a significant influence on his life as she was deeply concerned for the spiritual welfare of her children. When he was a child, the family attended the French Baptist church at Saint-Hyacinthe. At the beginning of his teens, they joined another church at Mont Saint-Hilaire, where he actively participated in the youth group. However, around the age of 16, he gradually stepped back from Christianity and the church.
In response to the injustice he saw in society, he became interested in the solutions offered by socialism. For two years, the works of Marx, Engels, Che Guevara, Trotsky and Mao took the place of reading the Bible. Miguel says, "Those writings could not solve the anger and rebellion that existed inside my heart and I was completely desperate. I was wondering what would happen to me and where I could find an answer to my problems."
Eventually, he realized that his search for justice was fruitless and he returned to the youth group at the church in Mont Saint-Hilaire. At that time the group was led by Daniel Mayrand and his wife, a couple in their forties. Miguel came to trust and respect Daniel. Miguel says, "He won my heart and presented the message of salvation as I had never heard it before. Daniel explained to me with simplicity the problem of sin and its consequences. He told me that man is deeply marked by injustice and the only way to solve this problem is to accept the gift that God had given for me—His Son. Daniel told me that only the cross could guide me to a new life, a life of justice and peace because only the work of Jesus on the cross could cleanse my heart and my soul." Since that day Miguel became a child of God, redeemed by faith and the grace of God. He went through the waters of baptism in November 1991.
Ministry experience:
Following his conversion, Miguel joined the Mont Saint-Hilaire church and became involved in several ministries including Sunday school for children, the youth group and leading worship. A few years later, after finishing his studies at the University of Montreal, he married Laura and joined the Anjou Baptist church in Montreal. This is where he began to explore the Word of God more deeply.
When he learned that SEMBEQ was starting a specific program to train new workers for pastoral ministry, he became involved. Under the direction of two experienced pastors, Miguel discovered that God was clearly calling him to pastoral ministry. He says, "I love to take care of people, encourage them, comfort them, motivate them… and over time I discovered a gift for preaching."