"First Lady" Raquel & Pastor Lanston Sylvester
Dr. Lanston M. Sylvester has a rich background that has helped to shape his ministry. He was born in Trinidad, W.I. and at the early age of three, his family migrated to the United States. He is the last of five children and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up in Brooklyn, NY afforded him the opportunity to interact with various ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Dr. Sylvester displayed great academic aptitude from an early age. He graduated valedictorian in his elementary school and magna cum laude from Oakwood College. He is a graduate of Oakwood College with a Bachelor's of Arts Degree in Theology and Minors in History and Education.
Upon graduating from Oakwood College, Dr. Sylvester returned to New York and taught at the elementary school from which he graduated. He proudly recounts how he taught students who were considered troubled, dysfunctional and illiterate. By the end of the year, they were reading Langston Hughes, Arna Bontempts and Gwendolyn Brooks. At the end of 1991, the Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventist invited him to become a part of their pastoral staff.
His pastorates include the Pioneer Memorial Church, Niagara Falls, NY; Emmanuel Temple, Buffalo, NY; Hanson Place Church, Brooklyn, NY; Dimensions of Hope Church, Harlem, NY and Assoc. Youth Director for Western N.Y. while pastoring the Breath of Life Church, Rochester, NY.
Dr. Sylvester attended Andrews University where he received his Master's of Divinity degree and his Doctorate degree in African American Religious Studies.
Dr. Sylvester has baptized over 700 men and women into the Seventh-day Adventist church in his 13 years of ministry.
He has recently authored the book "Hearing The Silent Cry, Seeing The Invisible Pain: Healing Our Youth" and is currently working on a second book entitled, "When You Can't See God".
Dr. Sylvester has preached from Brooklyn to Bermuda, Canada to Costa Rica, Seattle to South Africa and Tennessee to Trinidad.
He is married to the former Raquel Walker and together they have three daughters: Gabrielle, Alyvia and Kennedy, and one son: Julius.
He loves the Lord, and his greatest desire is to win souls to the Kingdom of God, especially young people.
