Rev. Karl Francis, an immigrant from Jamaica, prayed daily for the salvation of his neighbors. One night in February 1993, God instructed him in a vision to pioneer a church, and gave him its start date and name, Living Word Open Bible Church.

Karl set out by faith to obey. With his wife, Dyrie, and sons, Jonathan and Bryan, both under six years of age, he rented space in a shopping center in the city of Pembroke Pines, Florida. The fledgling church was encouraged by 2 Chronicles 20:15, (NKJ): “The battle is not yours, but God’s.”

On Sunday, April 11, 1993, Karl and Dyrie were filled with excitement and anticipation. They had fasted, prayed, and distributed flyers. God showed up, along with 83 people, including the neighbors for whom Karl had prayed. Shortly afterwards, the neighbors accepted Christ as Savior and became active members of the congregation. Friends spread the word. Karl’s passion for the lost and his global vision attracted people from many countries, as well as locals which comprise a dynamic body of believers. Karl, an executive banker, and Dyrie, a nurse educator, were bi-vocational. Nonetheless, their strong passion for the harvest motivated them to disciple new Christians, conduct Bible studies, and facilitate INSTE (Institute of Theology by Extension) classes after working hours.

The church grew rapidly. New Christians were added weekly. Lack of space quickly became a problem for the storefront church. Amazingly, the congregation was able to purchase a ten-acre parcel of land with a house, which they converted to a church. When they outgrew that space, they erected tents and installed a television to accommodate the “overflowing” overflow area.

As Living Word practiced intentional prayer for the lost many conversions were somewhat dramatic. One man was on his way to commit suicide, devastated by the breakup of his 25-year marriage. Before he could follow through, he called his mother one final time. Although she attended another church, she encouraged him to find help at Living Word.

The first night he walked into the service he accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, and found hope. He would serve God faithfully, becoming actively involved in critical ministries of the church.

As of 2006, approximately 100 members of the congregation had successfully completed INSTE. Three graduates became licensed Open Bible ministers. One graduate, Rev. Laval T. Hines, became a pastor at Calvary Open Bible Church in Port St. Lucie, Living Word’s daughter church. Another graduate, Rev. Jacqueline C. Watson, also served in a leadership role at Calvary.

Living Word’s passion for the harvest has not waned. In fact, it has intensified. The church embarked on a major outreach campaign in 2006 to reach unchurched families in neighboring cities. Coupled with this campaign, Living Word capitalized on the demographic changes impacting churches in southern Florida. Due to economic factors and unusually active hurricane seasons, many families had relocated to other cities in Florida and Georgia. Like the church in the book of Acts, Karl and Dyrie sent these people out as “light-bearers” to these other communities. They blessed the families and strictly charged them to begin home prayer cells and Bible study groups, the same tools by which Calvary was birthed, in order to capture the new harvest field in which God had placed them.