From November 4th to December 1st, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, District #1 in Tortola, B.V.I., which comprises of Road Town, Carrot Bay and Sweet Redemptive, hosted an evangelistic series under the caption, “From Victim to Victor Gospel Galore.” It was indeed a spirit-filled, fulfilled and life-transforming initiative in the community of Sea Cows Bay. It was an auspicious event filled with family advice, health advice, answers to many Bible questions, sensational singing, powerful preaching and so much more. Whoever did not make it to this event missed out on an experience of a lifetime.
The ever ready, energetic Pastor Leriano Webster was the Evangelist who presented the word of God with courage, creativity, class and clarity. The sermon topics were very captivating: “Vitamin S is the cure for stress”; “The prettiest woman the world has ever seen”; “If not Facebook, then what?”; “Victim Vs. Victor: which one are you”; just to name a few. They were soul searching, mind-stimulating and thirst quenching. Visitors and members were captivated from the beginning to the end as it climaxed for excellence. The audience was encouraged, every night, not to become victims of deception but to become victors of truth.
During this four-week venture, it rained significantly. Nevertheless, that never stopped the brethren from doing what the Master has called them to do. Instead, it ignited their passion, their praise, their prayers and their purpose to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. The crusade team worked arduously, effectively and efficiently. Gifts were given to guests each night for gracing us with their presence. Special prizes were given to the person who invited the most guests and the person who shared the fliers and link via social media on a weekly basis.
As a means of sharing God’s love, we also gave food baskets to various residents in the Sea Cows Bay community. Undeniably, we have much to thank God for. At the culmination of this event, 22 souls gave their life to Jesus Christ. They were transformed from being victims of bondage to victors of freedom in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our conservation plan for the new believers is to establish a new converts’ class in each church, give each new believer a spiritual guardian, get them involved in our regular Bible study programs and visit them regularly.
During our concert at the closing ceremony, the newly baptized members shared some touching testimonies that were of great encouragement to the brethren. One new convert stated how he lost his voice due to cancer in his chest and he prayed to God to restore it. He said that when God restored his voice, he made Him a promise that he would give his life to Christ. When he saw the crusade advertisement, he made it a priority to be there and to surrender his life to the Lord. He ended his testimony by blessing our hearts in song. This left many individuals with tears in their eyes.
While this evangelistic series was a great accomplishment, there is still more land to conquer, still more individuals to be won for the Lord Jesus Christ. Henceforth, our goal is to continue to work with those special guests who are still in the “valley of decision” to prepare them for the NCC Gospel Explosion in 2019. It is essential to note that District #1, Tortola, is the only district within the North Caribbean Conference that has had a full evangelistic series in the year 2018. Pastor Leriano Webster stated that he has seen a tremendous growth in his evangelistic efforts and looks forward to even greater things in the future, as he continues to fulfill the gospel commission. Zechariah 4:6 says, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”