HOW JAMAICA BIBLE SEMINARY IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Jamaica Bible Seminary is building a new generation of Christian leaders that can lead Jamaican Churches into the 21st century. The agents of this change will be the 93 students that have attended Jamaica Bible Seminary.
TRAINING MEN FOR MINISTRY - with this sense of purpose Jamaica Bible Seminary is endeavoring to give Jamaican leadership the tools and training to serve over 50 current congregations and build New Testament Churches and Basic Schools throughout the island of Jamaica and into the Caribbean, the United States and beyond the Atlantic to Great Britain itself. The students are some of the best within the country… a beacon of hope for the region.
From its early beginnings in 1945, Jamaica Bible Seminary was established by Luke D. Elliott to provide leadership for the growing number of churches only to see the hurricane of 1951 destroy most of the church buildings and this was topped off with a mass exodus of many Jamaicans moving to England to rebuild that country after the war. (read the full article...)
ESTABLISHING SEMINARS AND SATELLITE SCHOOLS
Often the teachers of JBS will visit student and area churches to give Saturday seminars on timely topics such as: Sabbath or Sunday, Is One baptized in the name of Jesus Only?, the Christian Home, Hebrews, Fasting, and Revelation. Other graduates have begun local leadership training and Bible classes. This affords us an opportunity to encourage the brightest and best to take advantage of the Kingston classes. Extension programs have been conducted in Gayle, Mineral Heights, Mandeville, Top Hill, and the newest location is Savanna-la-Mar with the Terry Johnson family.
What used to be 70# of side luggage with Sunday School material and Bibles on the airplane has expanded to 800#’s of barrels of song books, donated retired preacher and church library references, King James Bibles, Beka Book Materials for the Basic schools, communion glasses or sets, computers, sewing machines and even sling shots with cat-eye marbles for killing birds to add a little meat to the supper table. Also, larger shipments of passenger vans and back hoes have come loaded in 26,000# freight containers.
In cooperation with Caribbean Construction, our goal is to build 10 new churches on the island of Jamaica while also helping the existing churches. Mineral Heights, Lluidasville and Macca Tree are the beginnings of reaching these goals. (read the full article...))
A UNIFYING FORCE
The 42 teachers and instructors who raise their own support to come to the island come from varying backgrounds including Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, the Ottumwa- Portland Fellowship Churches of Christ, and some acapella Churches of Christ. They have all united in common cause to train men for ministry and women to teach in the Christian Schools.Also, from stateside over 30 other churches, mission groups, Bible Colleges, and benevolent organizations have united in sending Bibles, books, chairs, tents, desks, cricket and sports equipment, work teams, medical doctors, nurses, teacher trainers, and teachers.
The students come from approximately 30 Churches of Christ/Christian Churches on the island. These fellowship groups include Jamaica Evangelism, Jamaica Christian Mission, Church of Christ, Incorporated and several other Restoration Movement Churches and Missions. This cooperative spirit has spread to the island churches, and previously divided leadership has now publicly joined hands and hearts and efforts to cooperate in building the kingdom of God in Jamaica. (read the full article...)
DEVELOPING LOCAL LEADERSHIP
Once, many local churches simply sang some songs, read some Scripture, made some comments, said a few “Amens”, and went home. Many were blown about by every wind of doctrine. Today there is better quality and depth to the preaching. Scripture and solid doctrine has brought conviction and a stability to the local churches. The churches in which the students labor are 10 years ahead of other churches in developing a local leadership of elders and deacons, while challenging the young men in their ranks to preach the Gospel!
Before Jamaica Bible Seminary Mineral Heights had been one of the newest churches on the island and it is over 10 years old. Since the start of the Seminary 6 new churches are being built all over the island of Jamaica and students are involved in many of them. Some of these buildings will hold from 300 to 1500 people. One of the oldest church buildings among the Churches of Christ in Mocho was recently renovated by Jamaica Christian Mission and reopened by one of the college students. (read the full article...)
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Even if materials and textbooks were available on the island, which they aren’t, they would not have the money to pay. It has been our goal to get quality books, videos, films, Sunday School, Basic School, and computer soft ware into the hands of the church leaders.
The island is very poor. Peanut butter is $6 a jar. Gasoline is $3 a gallon. The average Jamaican worker earns $50 a week.
A gift of $50 a month covers materials and a hot meals for one child in a Basic Christian School. A gift of $25 per month will support one college student one year in the college. $300 will provide a barrel of 100 King James Bibles for many church’s evangelism needs. $500 will sponsor one student intern to work in your church for two weeks. $800 will underwrite one professor or teacher to teach for 30 hours of classes and give needed books and materials to each student enrolled. A gift of $500 monthly will support one preacher.
We need your help for your College in the Caribbean!
Gifts of any size are welcome. You can send money to our USA address or use the button below to make a donation through PayPal.
