We're Joseph Hovsepian Ministries

Sharing the love of Jesus Christ one person at a time.

WELCOME

We at Joseph Hovsepian Ministries are excited to share with you about our Montreal-based ministry, which encompasses over six decades of involvement at Temple Baptist Church as well as personal outreach projects both within our own community and in other parts of the world.

The main goal behind all that we do is to share the love of Jesus Christ with as many people as we can, in whatever ways are within our means, and to help and support others who share this vision, working alongside them whenever we can. You can view our statement of faith here. We also invite you to connect with us on Facebook.

WHAT’S NEW

Joseph Hovsepian Ministries is returning to Armenia this summer! Arriving in Yerevan on August 7 and returning to Montreal on the 27th, Pastor Joseph will be doing this mission trip with his younger daughter Ann-Margret and two members of his church, Temple Baptist: Jonathan Butcher and Shubroto Shikdar. Please pray about this mission—for Pastor Joseph and the team, and for those they will meet with and reach out to. We will post updates and photos as often as we can. Thank you!

OUR SUPPORTERS

Joseph Hovsepian Ministries is supported by individuals whose vision is the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ to as many people as we are led to by the Holy Spirit. This ministry is not supported by any organizations or other ministries but solely by family and friends.

Books and other materials are available for a free-will donation (to help cover printing expenses) or freely to those unable to make financial contributions. Click here to learn more.

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:18-20

"I tell you the truth, WHOEVER hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. "

John 5:24

From the Blog

MA26 – August 15

August 15, 2026

After two busy days with multiple visits, we appreciated having a slower morning today and being able to visit a few local areas of interest. In the afternoon, we met Samvel and Arayik who took us to a recently-formed Bible Study group that Samvel leads. The elderly woman in whose home we met, Annik, lives in one of the least desirable areas of Yerevan: near the prison, near the city dump, and very poor. Her building has no elevator so she has to walk up and down six flights of stairs every day (a feat that was tough for us to do just once!) She shared that she had prayed for 25 years that the Lord would somehow make her home a house of prayer, and now she is hosting this Bible Study group.

Our presence as visitors somewhat disrupted their routine and the meeting became mostly a time of sharing. It was interesting to hear how Annik, even at her advanced age, has been involved in prison ministry, somehow convincing the guards to allow her inside to distribute God’s Workshop, which would not be possible today as rules have become more restrictive.

Speaking of this book, a few years ago, Annik made a case to gain an audience with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and gave a copy to him as well.

We ended the meeting with prayer and prepared to leave, but we only got as far as the landing when we were invited into the apartment next door to pray with another elderly woman who lives there, one of the neighbours Annik has been witnessing to.

This neighbour’s son, who attended the Bible Study, also has an interesting story: He was serving in the army when, just three days before his planned discharge, he stepped on a landmine. His injuries were miraculously not too serious, and the Pastor encouraged him with the reminder that God spared his life for a purpose so he should try to discover what that purpose is.

On Saturday, August 22nd, we will be holding a baptismal service. As Pastor Joseph always meets the candidates prior to the actual baptism, we met with a few of them (a family of four) tonight. Pastor asked them the standard validation questions, and the father expressed that this was a decision they had discussed and made as a family. It was such a blessing for us to see how united they are in taking this step together, and what a blessing it will be for them as a family, to share this special anniversary.

Today began our second full week in Armenia; we are looking forward to what God has in store next!

MA26 – August 14

August 14, 2026

We started our day with our usual devotional time. Today’s theme was about power vs. humility, and we read an additional Bible passage about Gideon and his men being a small group that God used in a mighty way. It was an encouragement to us also because, although we are a small group, we can see God walking before us and working through us.

Our first visit of the day was to the home of Nelli’s mother Sveta, who is also the mother-in-law of the paralyzed woman we met yesterday. We had a nice time of fellowship and reminiscing as well as some discussion about future evangelistic endeavours. We realized today that Sveta has given out around 700 copies of the God’s Workshop devotional book. Everyone in the 74 apartments in her building has heard the gospel because of her!

From there, we went to visit Nelli’s uncle for a while and enjoyed fresh fruit from his garden, as has been a tradition for many past visits. If you remember, he is the gentleman that Pastor Joseph visited with for 10 years before he finally gave his heart to the Lord. It was nice to catch up with him and see that he is still doing well spiritually.

He then accompanied us to our next destination, which was the home of one of Nelli’s cousins where we had a great discussion about the assurance of salvation and baptism.

Our last visit of the day was to a group of Iranian Christians who are also woodworkers. We had the opportunity to pray with them and we also gave them a box of the newly-translated Does Your Life Have Meaning? in Persian. Today was a short visit, but we are planning to meet with them as a larger group at some point next week.

We returned to the hotel tired but with joyful hearts… just before a huge downpour!

As always, we thank you for your continued prayers and support.

MA26 – August 13

August 13, 2026

Today was a typical Mission Armenia day: no firm plans as we started the day but then, as often happens, it was like the doors of heaven opened and suddenly we were being guided through encounters we had not expected.

Our first stop was at the home of a couple we visited last year, where we had met their grandson, a young man struggling under the weight of tragedy that devastated the family some 15 years earlier. He was not with us today as he has joined his mother and sisters in Holland, but we had a very interesting experience with his grandparents.

The family tragedy is still painful for these dear friends and there was some very emotional sharing and pouring out of hearts. In the middle of this conversation, Arayik’s phone rang and it was one of the couple’s granddaughters, calling from Holland. She shared that she’d had a vision the day before about this situation, and it was as if she had been able to ask God Himself a question. The reply was that two men could help her, one of whom was Arayik. She decided to call Arayik today to talk about this strange experience…right about the time he and Pastor Joseph had been discussing it with her grandparents. Both men spoke with her, offering words of encouragement. For those of us watching all of this unfold, it was a stirring moment of witnessing God working out the circumstances and events that allowed us to be in the right place at the right time.

Our second visit was to Hripsimeh, a woman we had also seen last year and whom the team has visited several times in the past. Last year, this dear sister was in a very weak state as she had recently undergone an operation. This year, she was looking and feeling much better, although she has had a rather difficult year for other reasons. Still, she was in very good spirits and doing very well, accompanied by and mentoring Anna, her new caregiver who is a new and growing Christian.

Our last visit was to Nelli’s brother and sister-in-law, who is now paralyzed in both legs due to complications with diabetes. She also was in good spirits and spoke with conviction about her trust in the Lord despite her current condition. After some discussion and fellowship, we had a time of prayer during which Pastor Joseph anointed her feet with oil as he asked for her healing.

For a day that started with nothing planned and a few false starts, it was a day of blessings and witness of how great our God is.

We truly appreciate all the prayers of our church and family members, our friends and our supporters. Please continue to lift up this mission work in prayer over the next two weeks.

MA26 – August 12

August 12, 2026

We don’t have many activities to report on for today but sometimes ministry is as much about sowing as it is about reaping.

We had the opportunity to meet with the team that serves with The Bible League in Armenia, thanks to a connection Jonathan made through The Bible League Canada, a ministry from which our church in Montreal received resources (such as a daily planner) for several years.

The Bible League operates in 50 countries worldwide and has a two-fold mandate: to provide Bibles and Christian educational materials to small churches who may not have the funds to obtain them otherwise; and to support church-planting initiatives through discipleship and leadership training.

They showed us several different resources that they not only use themselves and offer to churches to use, but for which they are responsible for the translation, formatting, design, and printing.

Today’s meeting allowed us to get to know the director for Armenia, Manik Eloyan, who has held this position for 26 years. She is in the process of retiring and is mentoring her son Taron during his transition into the director role. Also participating in the meeting were a board member, a local pastor, and a representative from the Iranian community.

We had a wonderful time of fellowship, discussion, lunch (they have a policy that their guests never leave without being fed), prayer, and discovery of ways that The Bible League is not only able but also readily willing to support our ongoing ministry in Armenia. One immediate area of focus will be materials for the new Sunday School program in Horom. They also gave us a small quantity of New Testaments that are written in an easy-to-read font and include both Psalms and Proverbs.

We are once again amazed by how God has opened doors to provide new opportunities and resources to the ministry here. Emmi will now be our Armenia point of contact for The Bible League and, with this connection now made, it will be a lot easier and faster to obtain materials when we need them.