A Great Commission Church in Orlando's Carver Shores
First Haitian Baptist Church of Orlando, known by the initials FHABCO, has anchored the Carver Shores neighborhood since 1985. The congregation gathers at 4701 Lenox Blvd and calls itself a Great Commission church, framing its life around evangelism and service to people in need. It is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so donations are tax-deductible, and the church welcomes anyone seeking help or spiritual guidance regardless of background.
FHABCO is a trilingual community. Services and ministries move between French, Haitian Creole, and English, reflecting the language and culture of the Haitian diaspora in Central Florida while still reaching the broader Orlando area. The Carver Shores location sits in the heart of the church's local outreach, while a parallel passion for missions has carried the congregation far beyond Central Florida to the village of Perches in northeastern Haiti.
The Sunday Rhythm
Sunday is the fullest day at FHABCO and follows a clear pattern. Sunday School begins at 9:15 AM, drawing children and adults together for biblical instruction before the main gathering. At 10:00 AM the Worship Service fills the Sanctuary, with a teaching and preaching style rooted in the Baptist tradition. The afternoon holds a Youth Meeting from 5:30 to 7:00 PM, and the day closes with an Evening Service at 7:30 PM.
The Sanctuary itself is a major part of the FHABCO experience. It seats up to 500 people and is equipped with a sound system, adjustable lighting, and a drop-down projection screen. An organ, piano, guitar, bass, and drums are available for the worship team, and the building was designed with both worship and event rental in mind. A spacious parking lot serves the campus.
Midweek and Beyond: Bible Study, Prayer, and Fasting
The church's calendar continues the rest of the week. Wednesday at 7:30 PM is Bible Study, and that gathering is also streamed online. Friday at 8:00 PM brings the Prayer Meeting, while Saturday at 9:00 AM is set aside for Fasting and Prayer. Each weekday morning except Sunday, the Prayer Ministry gathers for an early devotion and supports members and families facing illness, death, birth, hospitalization, and other hard seasons.
Live streaming is part of how FHABCO stays connected. Services are broadcast on Sundays and Wednesdays through the church's YouTube channel, so members who are traveling, ill, or otherwise away from the Lenox Boulevard campus can still participate.
Children, Couples, and the Women of the Church
FHABCO invests heavily in family formation. The Children Ministry welcomes children from Pre-K through fifth grade on Sundays from 9:30 to 10:30 AM, using the ABC's of evangelism - Admit (Romans 3:23), Believe (John 1:10), and Confess (Romans 10:9-10) - as a teaching framework. The goal is for each child to know Christ personally and grow in a lifestyle shaped by Scripture. Children also take part in outdoor fellowship days and other family-friendly events.
The Couple Ministry focuses on marriages, offering educational tools, communication skills, and enrichment opportunities to help husbands and wives thrive together. Events for married men, including team-building activities, round out that work.
The Women Ministry, known by its Creole name Union des Femmes, is one of the church's most established groups. It creates a Christian environment for spiritual growth through a monthly prayer meeting held on the third Tuesday of every month, annual conferences, and workshops covering themes relevant to women as wives, mothers, and sisters. The annual conference typically runs from Friday night through Sunday morning worship, with lively services, breakout discussions, and a Saturday brunch.
A Building Built for Service
FHABCO's campus is more than a Sunday venue. The Fellowship Hall seats up to 600 people with tables, chairs, and a movable stage, and it can be configured for large meals, training events, and community gatherings. The Kitchen - with a large stove and oven, microwave, refrigerator, sink, storage, and utensils - makes catered events straightforward. The church makes these spaces available for rent, with an online rental form and an Event Calendar that helps groups choose open dates.
Weddings, funerals, and community celebrations all find a home here, and the large parking lot keeps logistics manageable even at capacity.
Humanitarian Mission to Perches, Haiti
Of all the ministries at FHABCO, the one that most defines its outward-facing identity is the Humanitarian Mission International (HMI) to Perches, a small village in northeastern Haiti. Several times a year, staff and volunteers travel there to deliver food, run medical clinics, distribute supplies, and partner with local leaders. Until the Perches Community Center is complete, much of this aid is delivered outdoors, with villagers gathering in the open air for treatment.
The community center itself is a major ongoing project. Construction materials - cement blocks, bricks, roofing, paint, plywood, windows, doors, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, tiles, and solar panels - are all on the published needs list. Medical supplies range from surgical and IV equipment to blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, and personal hygiene items. An annual school-supplies drive aims to equip at least 300 children with pencils, notebooks, folders, dictionaries, and the everyday tools of a classroom.
Food is the most constant need. Boxes of crackers, bags of dried beans and rice, canned tuna, salmon, beef stew, Spam, peanut butter, jelly, condensed soup, canned fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, grits, Ramen noodles, and muffin or cornbread mix are collected and shipped, then shared at a community cookout where everyone in the village is invited to eat together.
The HMI welcomes volunteers in any capacity, including medical and dental professionals who can train local practitioners and provide care, missionaries, students, and anyone able to lend a hand. Patrick Délice serves as the FHABCO HMI Chairman and coordinates these efforts from Orlando.
Deacons, Maintenance, and the Rhythm of Service
Behind the public ministries are teams that keep the church running. The Deacons and Deaconess Ministry serves under the pastor's spiritual direction, prepares and serves Holy Communion, and helps evaluate and meet the needs of members and neighbors. The Maintenance Department oversees the safekeeping, protection, and repair of church facilities and responds to emergencies on the grounds.
The Missions Ministry ties local and international work together. It empowers underserved people in and around the church, mobilizes the congregation into active mission involvement, promotes wider knowledge of the church's mission fields, and inspires young people and children to be open to God's call to missionary service. Mentorship for children, youth, and adults who sense that call is built into the program.
Beliefs
FHABCO states its beliefs concisely. The church believes in the existence of God and holds that His Holy Word is the foundation of the faith, immovable and uncompromised. It describes itself as a family oriented church anchored on the Word of God. Salvation is taught through the ABC's the children learn: Admit that we are sinners, Believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again on the third day, and Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Worship combines preaching and teaching with music led from the organ, piano, guitar, bass, and drums, in a Baptist setting that has welcomed three generations of Haitian families in Orlando.
Pastors and Leadership
The late Dr. Antoine Villard Fils-Aimé was the founding pastor of FHABCO. He began his ministry in 1980 and led the church for decades, becoming Pastor Emeritus in 2016. The current Senior Pastor, Reverend Maxi Saint-Fleur, began his own studies in ministry in 1973 at Seminary Theology Emmaus in Vaudreuil, Cap-Haïtien, and graduated in 1977. After further service in Haiti and New Jersey, he was ordained as a pastor in August 1981 and joined FHABCO as an associate pastor, eventually becoming Senior Pastor following Dr. Fils-Aimé's transition to emeritus status. Pastor Maxi continued his education at Christian Bible College and CBCS Seminary from 2008 to 2010. He and his wife Micheline have three grown children and six grandchildren.
Pastor Mike Hernandez and Brother Larry Prime also preach at FHABCO. Recorded sermons include A Fresh Encounter with God by Pastor Mike Hernandez, drawn from Isaiah 6 and the unexpected, initiated, ongoing nature of meeting God, and Ten (10) Parenting Principles by Brother Larry Prime, walking through Laurence Steinberg's research-based framework for raising children. Sermon audio is published online for the congregation and the wider community.
Joining the Work
FHABCO is a church built for participation. Members can pray together each weekday morning, study the Bible on Wednesdays, send their children to Sunday School, host community events in the Fellowship Hall, or join a mission team bound for Perches. The food pantry - held in coordination with the broader community - is one of the most visible local ministries, while the long-term project in Haiti draws volunteers from many backgrounds.
For those curious about the church's teaching or its mission work, sermons are available in audio and video online, and giving is set up for online contribution. The church office at 4701 Lenox Blvd can be reached at 407-578-6988, with email at contactfhabco@gmail.com, and the office can also be reached by fax at 407-578-2798. Members of the community are invited to stop by, attend a service, and see the work of this Great Commission church firsthand.