Joseph (Hovsep) Hovsepian

Hasmig, or Jessie as she is better known at church and in her community, was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1941 and accepted Christ as her Saviour when she was 12. In 1962, she immigrated with her parents to Montreal. Almost immediately upon her arrival, she met her husband-to-be, Joseph, during an Armenian church service at Temple Baptist Church. They married in 1963 and continued to serve faithfully at Temple Baptist Church as a team.

Jessie’s faithful work at Temple these past 60 years is legendary. Though her main role today is playing the organ every Sunday morning, in the past she led the monthly women’s meetings, spent countless hours in the church kitchen, and handled a large part of the administrative tasks. In 1987, she also assumed the role of pastor’s wife. Jessie has played a supportive role in the mission work our team is doing in Armenia, accompanying her husband on six of his trips.

Ruth (Hrut in Armenian) was born to Joseph and Jessie in Montreal in 1965. When she was 12, she received Christ as her Saviour and, at age 15, was baptized. Ruth, a naturally gifted leader, got involved with church activities at an early age. She began teaching Junior Church and Sunday School when she was 15 and organized many children’s events and programs over the years.

In 1987, Ruth spent a year in Whitby, Ontario, attending the Baptist Leadership Education Center. There she furthered her Bible knowledge and developed her leadership skills. A few years later she was married and moved to Toronto until her first-born daughter, Alexis, was 8 months old. At that point, her family moved back to Montreal and became actively involved at Temple again, serving in many capacities. Two more children, Joshua and Melissa, came along in the following years.

Though she became a single mother not long after Melissa’s birth, Ruth has continued to serve the Lord with her family, putting in many hours for the projects she is responsible for. She developed our website, accompanied her father on the first mission trip to Armenia in 2011, and has helped make the travel arrangements for all the trips. Click here to learn more about Ruth’s writing and speaking ministry.

Ann-Margret, the youngest Hovsepian daughter, was born in 1972. She gave her life to Christ in 1980, on January 1—the same day of the year her father had made his commitment 29 years earlier. She was baptized a couple of months before her 13th birthday and started to serve the Lord on a regular basis when she turned 16, teaching Sunday School, counselling at a Christian summer camp, and providing leadership at the Dawson College IVCF group.

Today, Ann-Margret serves as the clerk of Temple Baptist Church, leads the women’s ministry, and serves in various other areas. In 2012, she participated in her first mission trip, to a First Nations village in northern Quebec, and then joined her father in the years that followed for six of the mission trips to Armenia. She works closely with him in this ministry, communicating with our partners in Armenia and our supporters around the world as needed, and managing any administrative tasks.

Professionally, Ann-Margret is an author and illustrator. She has had hundreds of articles published in various Christian publications and is the author or co-author of several devotional books. Click here to learn more about Ann-Margret’s work.