The Good Shepherd

“I’m not the type to speak much, although I will if I am called upon to do so,” he says of his ministry. “I prefer that people see how I handle different situations in life, whether it be family, work, social or in the church.” At just 31, Hypolite holds the lofty title of shepherd in the church, a position he has held for over 15 years.

“This is a leadership role,” he told Sunday Newsday during an interview on Wednesday.

“We are responsible for a host of activities within the church, including conducting services, making and implementing recommendations to improve the church and faith, and ensuring that we are constantly learning about the faith from all angles, be it theological or spiritual.” Emphasising he does not take his title lightly, Hypolite said the role of shepherd spans the entire ministry.

Hypolite said apart from teaching and assisting members when required, he also defends the church’s flock against dangers, threats and negative trends.

There was no specific attire for a shepherd, he said. “There are many other spiritual factors that go into the clothes that we wear.

What I would wear or use as a shepherd might be totally different to another individual.” A third-generation leader of the church, the young minister has followed in the footsteps of his parents, Bishop Earl Hypolite and Episcopal Reverend Mother Geraldine Hypolite, both respected members of the faith.

He said his late maternal grandparents, Bishop St Hill Hypolite and the Reverend Joyce Hypolite, also had a powerful influence in his development as an individual.

His grandparents, Hypolite said, had founded the church many years ago in Belmont, but it was destroyed in a fire. They later held services in the garage of the family’s home in Chaguanas, eventually moving to the church’s current location at 36 Longdenville Old Road.

“My grandparents were the leaders of the church and my parents took over after them,” Hypolite said with pride. “My three brothers and three sisters are also active members in the church, along with many extended family members.” He said the church, though relatively small in membership, has made quite a name for itself in the archdiocese over the years. It has become known for its vibrant ministry, people- centred sermons and sizeable youth congregation.

“The ministry is very active, having service at least once a week, with other activities and supporting other churches regularly. We have at least 80 members in attendance on any given Sunday, and as our new facility is being completed, we hope to greatly increase this number.” But Hypolite said that figure is likely to grow when the church completes its refurbishment work in 2018.

He estimated that at least 60 per cent of the church’s membership were young people.

“We have one of the strongest youth followings in the faith,” he claimed. “It has become known among the churches that we visit and they are always excited to see not only the youth but the little children as well. You don’t usually see so many little children in a Baptist church.” Hypolite said, too, that the Mt Zion Spiritual Baptist Cathedral does not take its youth congregation for granted.

“Even though we have a strong youth following, we understand the importance of youth in any movement, just as much as the elders,” he said.

At present the church’s focus is on getting the facility completed to offer additional activities for the youth, including an internet caf? and recreation rooms.

“We will also have more time on our hands to have more youth-oriented events and programmes.”

The former Tranquillity Government Secondary student said he cannot recall any incident or experience which was particularly inspiring to him in the faith.

“There isn’t just one but the experience of being a Baptist is enough to draw me into the faith. There is so much potential.

It’s a wonderful experience to be a part of what we are trying to accomplish.” Specifically, though, he enjoys the manner in which Baptists are allowed to worship.

“We can dance, sing and shout freely,” Hypolite said, adding he was also moved by the extensive knowledge to be gained in the faith.

“It is amazing how many things you can learn in the faith, not just about church or religion but about life in general.” As a young Baptist leader, Hypolite said he was deeply concerned about the superficialities in parenting.

He told Sunday Newsday: “I see too many people doing things to make their children happy in the short term but it is detrimental to them in the long term. I always appreciated the fact that my parents always guided and corrected me when necessary even though I may not have understood or thought it was excessive at the time.” Many young people, he observed, also do not apply themselves as they should but expect to be rewarded for it.

“I think this leads to a feeling of false sense of entitlement, which can only be harmful to society.” As the high point of the Baptist’s centenary celebration approaches on Thursday, Hypolite lamented that members of the faith have been subsumed by disunity for too long.

He believes Baptists need a strong leader with the power to draw its flock not by words but actions, “displaying love and fairness.” “We do not need to form one organisation but if everybody follows the example of love and fairness, unity will naturally follow,” Hypolite said.

It is his hope that the Baptists will execute successfully its first unified Liberation Day celebrations at the Maloney lands.

He said although leaders have been clamouring a secondary school and university for its followers over the years, Baptists also needed their own credit unions and real estate and investment firms “Other denominations and segments of society have achieved it and so can we.” Hypolite said there also must be greater education among Baptists about how different events in the faith’s history continue to affect its followers.

“We need to break out of a certain mentality that our previous oppression has been ingrained in us. This can only be done by education and uplifting ourselves. No one can do this for us.” An engineer and IT architect at the National ICT Co Ltd, Hypolite regarded the view that Baptists were “poor and duncee,” as perhaps the greatest misconception about the faith.

“Our church is doing a great deal in correcting these misconceptions,” he said.

“There are many intelligent and educated individuals in the Baptist faith. In our church alone we have doctors, optometrists, engineers, architects and business majors (at university).

“We have individuals in medical school, dentists in training and many others who are at or near the top of their classes in school and many more. We also preach prosperity; the Bible clearly lays out certain laws about prosperity which we have been practising and seeing the results of.” Asked if he dreamt of perhaps leading the church some day, Hypolite said calmly: “I don’t look at positions and say I want to see myself in this one or the other. The way I was taught and the way I practice is to serve God and do his will with the goal being to inherit the kingdom of God and see how many people I can help to achieve the same goal.”