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Jamaican Evangelism
A History of Churches of Christ in Jamaica
As told by Ed Werner
The earliest date recorded for a Church of Christ in Jamaica is 1858. J.O. Beardsley was sent to Jamaica by the American Christian Mission Society (ACMS). Several small churches were started but there was no strong leadership. In 1876 the W. J. Williams family was sent to Jamaica by the Christian Women's Board of Missions (CWBM). They attempted to revive the earlier work, and by 1909, there were 256 workers in Jamaica serving in churches, schools and hospitals. Most of these efforts were taken over by the Disciples of Christ.
C. Vincent Hall was a lieutenant in the British Army and was stationed in Jamaica for a time during World War I. After the war, he became a preacher for the Church of England and in 1935 he returned to Jamaica to preach in an Anglican Church in the Mocho Mountains. The beautiful stone building is still there. He was a diligent student of the Bible and began to discover that much of what he had been taught in seminary could not be found in the Scriptures. So he began preaching what he was finding in the Bible. Eventually word got back to England of what he was preaching. He was ordered to preach Anglican doctrine or his license to preach would be revoked. He refused to comply and kept preaching what he was learning in the Scriptures. As a result, he was barred from preaching in that Anglican building.
He and a number of the members whom he had converted began meeting in the open air on the mountain side about a mile from the Anglican church building. They purchased some property, built a small building, an outdoor baptistry, and mounted a large bell on a concrete base a few yards from the building. The building is still there in Mocho. The old bell is also still there, but in very bad condition.
Brother Hall was somewhat discouraged, when he came to America for a visit. While in the states he found several Churches of Christ who believed and preached the same thing he had been preaching, and was greatly encouraged. On his return to Jamaica, he established several other Churches of Christ in the Clarendon Parish from 1935 - 1950. E.A. Watts, Luke Elliott, Donald Hurley, and Lonnie Dever were a few who went to Jamaica to help Brother Hall expand the work of the Lord on the island.
Since then, several from America spent time in Jamaica helping in the work of the Lord. Among those were Jim Herget, Donald Fream, Grayson Ensign, Woodrow Phillips, Harold Hill, Fred Hintz, Walter Stram, Harvey Bacus, and Bob Blanshan. In 1947 Archie Word held revival meetings and in three weeks, 88 people were baptized into Christ. Fred and Vicky Hintz began the new congregation in Mandeville in 1957. Vicky died of cancer in 1975 and is buried in Kingston. She was only 44 years old.
Bob and June Blanshan moved to Jamaica in 1975 and lived in the Mandeville area for two years. June is Vicky Hintz's sister. They returned for another two years in 1980-1982. They worked primarily with the church in Mandeville and a country church in an area known as Broadleaf. Bob gave preaching leadership training to Patrick Parchment (who preached at Mandeville), Wesley Answer (who now preaches in England), and Roger Scott (who preaches in Mineral Heights), and several others. Others who made brief trips to the island to teach and preach include the late Henry Shaw, Donald G. Hunt, Raymond Lyon, Tim Paul, Jerry Weller, Richard Geringswald and Gordon Wells. Patrick Parchment, whom we supported for many years, was a very intelligent man and an effective and much respected preacher, but due to unfortunate circumstances eventually became so discouraged that he quit preaching altogether. This was a big loss to the Jamaican churches. The Mandeville church is situated in a very nice town and is a very faithful, stable church on the island. Donovan Bent is the current evangelist and is doing well there.
In 1986 at the Centerville Rally, Bob Blanshan expressed his desire for someone younger to carry on the work he had been doing in Jamaica, because of his deteriorating health. I accepted the challenge beginning in 1987 and have been to the island once each year, with the exception of aboaut 3 or 4 years when I was battling a lymphoma cancer. I thank our wonderful Lord that, contrary to all the doctor’s predictions, I am cancer free. About two years after I was released from the Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital in Portland, Oregon, my local oncologist told me that the information he had from the OHSU hospital staff was that they expected my cancer to come back with a vengeance within 6 months to a year. God has been so good to me, for it has now been more than 15 years since my last treatment, with no recurrence.
I have preached in several congregations, holding revival meetings and street meetings, and conducting training classes for several young preachers. My wife Sharon and I also conducted classes on marriage and the Christian Home. Many Jamaicans have no idea what a Christian home should be like. I have also taught classes for Jamaica Bible Seminary (formerly Jamaica Christian College) which was revived by Richard Geringswald. That college now uses the upstairs of the Mandeville church building in which to conduct classes to train leaders. Richard and Cassandra Geringswald have led work teams to Jamaica and many good improvements have been made to the Mandeville facilities and also other churches. These work teams also conduct Vacation Bible Schools and medical clinics. We periodically put out a newsletter updating interested people on the work in Jamaica.
Shortly after my wife and I began traveling with Bob Blanshan to Jamaica, Roger Scott, a young man who was attending the Bible classes that brother Bob and I were teaching, began preaching in a small rural church in a community known as Broadleaf, south of Mandeville. There he met a young lady, Sharon, whom he later married. We had the privilege of attending their wedding , and at his request, videotaping their wedding. They have built their marriage on Biblical principles, and are still happily married with three children, Roge, Roshaun, and Sharae. Roger and Sharon canvassed the new housing complex and in 1990 began meeting at a local school. With the generous help of American Christians, a large church building was constructed, where Roger now preaches. In February 1999, I was able to go with a work team from Lakeland, Florida to help work on an apartment on the second floor of the new church building to provide a permanent home for Roger and Sharon Scott and their family. This congregation has grown, and they also began a Basic School program which has grown to over 180 children ages 3-4. When those children graduate from that program, they can read and write, and have a basic knowledge of math and other subjects, and at the same time, they are taught about God and His Son Jesus Christ. The parents of those children are thrilled with what their children are learning at such a young age. In the last several years many of the rural churches have also established Basic School programs including Macca Tree, Top Hill, and May Pen and in the town of Mandeville. This has been a great outreach for the churches and provides income for the local Christians. Because Mineral Heights has a large auditorium, the annual Mid-Island Rally is held there, where hundreds of Christians from all over the island come for fellowship, preaching, and singing. It is an uplifting time for all who attend.
In 2004 when Hurricane Ivan hit and did much damage on the island to churches and homes Jamaican Evangelism’s supporters and also IDES raised more than $30,000 to help with the repairs to the churches and homes. Aid has also been given to poor Christians over the years. Also, funds and work teams have helped to add onto the church buildings to provide more room for the basic schools, Sunday school classes, etc. Some work is being done presently on May Pen, Macca Tree, Top Hill and Mocho as funds become available.
We currently support Randal Craig who preaches in Macca Tree and May Pen, Donovan Bent in Mandeville and Top Hill, Roger Scott in Mineral Heights and Mervin Ward in Mocho. You can read more about these men in another place on this website. Donovan Bent recently lost his wife to cancer, leaving him with four children, the youngest not yet two years old. At a memorial service for Brother Bent’s wife, over 500 Jamaicans came to the service in support of Brother Donovan. Let us continue to pray for each of these faithful men of God.
A couple of years ago we asked Dan and Joanna Smith who minister in Ottumwa, Iowa, and prior to that in Sacramento, CA to partner with us in the work of Jamaican Evangelism. Dan has been to Jamaica several times, teaching in the churches and Jamaica Bible Seminary, and Dan and Joanna have traveled there with us the past two years. They share our burden to see the churches grow in Jamaica. I have known Dan and Joanna for about 30 years, and I have every confidence in him as to his faithfulness to the Word of God, and his life as a godly Christian. He and his wife have already endeared themselves to the Christians in Jamaica. I am nearing 71 years of age, and my energy has been greatly diminished because of health issues, but my heart will always be in Jamaica! We love those Christians and pray for them regularly. We will be gradually transferring our responsibilities over to this fine couple, and we will continue in an advisory position. We want to continue to train up native leaders on the island teaching them and supporting them and challenging the churches to become self- supporting. This is a difficult task because of the economy of that country.