Rochto Joassin
Youth Pastor and Urban Missionary at Redemption Church Alhambra
I'm born and raised in Oakland Park, FL where I grew up in a single parent household with my older brother. I did not grow up in the church, but my mother was a praying mother. I came to know Christ in college on September 26th, 2012 at the age of 19. It was after a Kendrick Lamar concert in Tallahassee, FL when I had a conversation with my college roommate (now my wife) about God. God moved in my heart, grabbed my attention, and changed my desires. Since that day, I started following Jesus and haven't stopped since.
Wandaline is born in Haiti, but arrived to the states when she was 6 years old. She grew up in a large family, being the 2nd oldest out of 4 children. Wandaline grew up in a catholic home, however as a high school student she felt that there was more to Jesus than what she was learning in the catholic church. After exploring other churches, Wandaline finally received clarity on the gospel and committed her life to Christ.
In 2015, Wandaline and I got married. God gave us both the heart and desire to walk alongside teenagers, doing life with them. Prior to marriage, we both shared a vision of living and serving within an urban context focusing our time being with youth as a mentor and leader. We served our local church in Tallahassee, FL as Youth Pastors before making our move out to the west coast.
In the summer of 2017, Wandaline and I ditched our home away from home (Tallahassee, FL) to settle into the hot and blazing desert of Arizona. Our desire for the move was to grow spiritually and be connected to a healthy church body. Since moving to Arizona, I've had the honor to be enrolled into the Missional Training Center Seminary Program (MTC), where I pursued and obtained my Masters Degree in Missional Theology. In 2019, my wife and I connected with Redemption Church Alhambra and felt the Lord calling us to this community in the inner city. Today, Wandaline and I serve as Youth Pastors at Redemption Alhambra while also engaging our community as Urban Missionaries.
A future dream of ours is to help start a community center that provides a safe space for youth to freely express themselves while also having the opportunity to learn new skills taught by individuals from their own community.
Wandaline and I are blessed with three beautiful children: Our oldest, Micah Immanuel, our second, Kailand Omari, and our youngest, Amiah Eliana.