Scores of members were in attendance to worship, witness and celebrate the evangelistic exploits of the North Caribbean Conference (NCC) for the year 2018. The event, termed an evangelistic rally also sought to receive reports from the constituency as the NCC prepares for its Lord Transform Me (LTM) Evangelistic Initiative, 2019. The LTM Evangelistic initiative is intended to engage 28 preachers at 27 sites, preaching for two weeks with a goal of 12 persons per site.
“It is a very ambitious initiative but it is reachable,” said Special Assistant to the President for Evangelism, Pastor Hesketh Matthew. “We believe that God is going to work through human lives for the accomplishment of His glory. This evangelism explosion is a compact engagement of laity and clergy giving expression of God’s impression, and inviting individuals to experience the transforming power of Jesus in their lives while developing their skills for greater evangelistic engagement.”
“Twenty seven sites might be too humble when we think of the work before us,” commented Pastor Desmond James, President of the North Caribbean Conference. “But as a church, we hope to transform the face of evangelism and inspire pastors, laity and members to love it again. Evangelism is emergency.” The NCC President reported that there was excitement and enthusiasm among the members as they celebrated what had already been accomplished, “Lots of things are taking place on Tortola but we are not hearing.”
Departmental Directors were present at various constituency gatherings to witness and lend support to the initiative. On St. Maarten, members congregated at the Cole Bay SDA Church where over 500 members registered their intent for Evangelism, 2019. Dr. Henry Peters, Personal Ministries and Sabbath School Director of the NCC, witnessed and listened to the individual churches as they spoke of their initiatives to reach the scores of visitors expected to converge on the local churches. “We believe that God will do something great for us,” said Pastor Vashni Cuvalay, Coordinator of the Adventist work on the island. During the rally, 15 persons joined the church in baptism – they represent the results of evangelistic programs from four congregations. The SDA Church on St. Maarten is presently engaged in community building relations through the health and community services ministries.
On St. Croix, about 300 members spoke of the various ways they are already reaching out to the community in preparation for the impact. Leaders are presently engaged in training lay Bible workers who will be employed to lend support to preparing candidates for the evangelistic initiative.
“We believe God will be with us in our plans – the NCC is a challenging field but we cannot stop mission,” confirmed Dr. Henry Peters during the Evangelism Council meeting where details were worked out. The sites will be dispersed across the Conference’s territory, with 8 on St. Thomas, 6 on St. Croix, 5 throughout the British Virgin Islands, 5 on St. Maarten, and 2 on Anguilla.