Grand 80th Birthday Gala for beloved  Brooklyn pastor

On Saturday, Nov. 8, family, friends, supporters, and fellow Christians came together to celebrate the 80th birthday of the beloved Brooklyn Pentecostal Pastor, Rev. Dr. Neithe E. Soleyn. The ballroom of the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel in Flushing, Queens, was filled for the occasion.

Pastor Soleyn is the Vincentian-born founder of the Faith Deliverance Pentecostal Church of God on Flatlands Avenue in Brooklyn. She also founded and serves as president of the New York-based N. Soleyn Outreach Bible Seminary, which is named after her. During the celebration, patrons paid glowing tributes to her.

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They used a plethora of superlatives to describe Pastor Soleyn, including God-fearing, dedicated, motivator, thoughtful, exemplar, peacemaker, dynamic, lovely, beautiful, wonderful, and visionary.

“The impact you left on my life has affected me for the man I am today,” Vincentian Pastor Dacosta Harry, who trekked from Delaware, told Pastor Soleyn. “This is because of this beautiful, awesome, wonderful woman of God.

“She does not beat you up; she lifts you up,” he added. “Continue to fight the good fight.”

Jamaican-born, Brooklyn-based Bishop Sylvester Thompson said, “We can see the hand of God on her. So, we want to shower you with His blessings.”

Another Brooklyn-based pastor, Adrian Cox, who hails from Barbados, said: May God’s hands wrap around you and give you more (years).”

Pastor Soleyn’s son-in-law, Barbadian-born Pastor Nigel Best, who served as Master of Ceremonies, described her as “a special lady.”

Caroline Soleyn, one of Pastor Soleyn’s five daughters, said the event would “not have been possible if each and every one of you didn’t show up.”

In reading her mother’s long biography from a large screen at the front of the hall, Evangeline Soleyn-John said that Pastor Soleyn is “an ordained Pastor of the Gospel of Christ.”

She explained that Pastor Soleyn, in addition to founding two Christian churches and a seminary, has had a profoundly positive impact on many lives throughout her career. Her work spans teaching and preaching to countless people, both in person and through the airwaves, across more than 30 churches in the United States.

“In Faith Deliverance Pentecostal Church of God crusades and services, the crippled walked, blind eyes opened, deaf ears unstopped, and people were and are healed from sickness and some diseases,” Soleyn-John said. “Teaching spiritually and secularly in this nation has aided in transforming the landscape of humanity.”

She said Pastor Soleyn’s activities include traveling to places of displacement to provide comfort and relief, such as the devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl in her native St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Katrina storm in Louisiana, and the Sandy storm in New York.

Soleyn-John said her mother also provides “comfort in giving both spiritual and temporal help to the sick and shut-in, feeding and advocating for the homeless, distributing food within communities, hosting free church fairs, and organizing programs for children, youth, and families. In addition, Soleyn-John said Pastor Soleyn worked with a team of clergy in advocating for a pathway to citizenship and addressing the migrant crisis.

She said that throughout Pastor Soleyn’s spiritual journey, she has “accomplished much in the planting of several churches.

“Her multifaceted range of skills and training has immensely propelled her missions,” said Soleyn-John, adding that Pastor

Soleyn also worked as a professor at New York Theological Seminary (NYTS) and taught in public school in Brooklyn.

She said Dr. Soleyn is the author of “Hit Hard, Score High,” which has “blessed and empowered others.”

Soleyn-John said Pastor Soleyn was the host of the TV program, “Streams of Healing”, on Metro Access TV, in which she “brought healing and deliverance to many people in the Mighty name of Jesus.”

Additionally, she said Pastor Soleyn coordinated a special fundraising project that totaled $100,000, with 30 persons, in 2000, “for the enhancement of the Gospel of Christ to begin the building of a church edifice.

“The project was stalled for 14 years and, later, the organization purchased a building debt-free under the leadership of God’s Servant Neithe Soleyn,” Soleyn-John said.

She said Pastor Soleyn is the founder and chief coordinator for the Annual Legend of Faith Award, for more than 21 years, and has honored over 600 “outstanding contributors from their communities and faith.”

Soleyn-John said Dr. Soleyn has received several awards, including the 2024 Brooklyn Power Woman’s Award by Schneps Media.

She said Dr. Soleyn pioneered and founded ministries for the Church of God and has organized a “Women’s Rally Day” comprising churches in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Dr. Soleyn credited her growth and achievements to “the Hand of God’s deliberate direction” for her life in fulfilling His purpose.

She thanked God for her family, for Jesus, for her church, for all the pastors and their “flocks.”

“You’ve made the sacrifice,” she told the ceremony. “I really appreciate all the men of God. What you see here may look simple, but I thank God for my family.

“Keep your mind on the Lord,” Pastor Soleyn added. “God is our refuge and strength.”

Afterwards, Pastor Soleyn told Caribbean Life that her “burning desire is to occupy every possible space on this planet in spreading the gospel of Christ and contributing to the billions of souls that will be in God’s Kingdom.

“Serving the Lord is real life,” she said. “Over 63 years until now, my life has been satisfied with the Lord. Though it all, I’m declaring I am wonderfully happy in Jesus.”

Faith Deliverance Pentecostal Church of God is located at 5601 Flatlands Ave., Brooklyn, New York.