Antigua Campaign

We arrived in Antigua Monday afternoon, October 30 and joined a group at the Beachcomber Hotel. The preaching team included brothers and sisters from the UK, the United States, Guyana and Canada.

The plan was to offer a public lecture every evening at a Moravian Church center right in St. John’s (capital of Antigua). The roof on the second floor had been partially removed during hurricane Luis, but, aside from a few drips, it turned out to adequately fulfill our needs.

Because this was the fourth year of campaigning in Antigua, several contacts had already been made. Bro. Clive & Sis. Daphne Solomon of Jamaica, New York, have been instrumental in spearheading the establishment of an ecclesia on this island They have been corresponding with several contacts over the years and had notified them of our arrival and lecture plans. There are also resident Chris­tadelphians who invited family and friends to attend.

Further to this, our group blitzed the market area of downtown St. John’s with literature, conversations and visits to interested friends. It was amazing to us to be able to stop total strangers in the market and invite them to our lectures. The island is very religious and respectful of the Bible. When asked if they were interested in the Bible, most people said, “Why not?” or “Of course,” or just plain, “Yes.” Those few not interested just looked away or refused to answer. As there was no harassment at all, we were able to invite many people to attend.

The big problem on the island is transportation. Many people said they had no way to get there. We didn’t see any public bus system in operation. Our driving brothers made several trips transporting us and contacts to the building. Nevertheless, we were thrilled to see the number of visitors at our talks grow each night. On, Friday, the last night, we had 24 visitors and about seven children. Most encouraging was the number of repeat visitors. Some of the contacts came to all five lectures and some came to the breaking of bread. Contacts brought other contacts, creating a snowball effect.

We are convinced that this island is ripe for an ecclesia. The interest is there, but workers are needed.

A big thrill for all was our visit to the site of the future hall, God willing, a plot in St. John’s high on a hill with a view of rolling hills and the ocean in the distance. Our group, along with several interested friends, spent a long time taking pictures, inspecting the foundation and discussing what the future hall should look like. We feel very strongly that these walls must go up soon. We are confident from the interest we observed that an ecclesia would soon mushroom. The CBM-UK is now involved and the legal work is in process for them to take over title of the land.

It breaks our hearts to think of the spiritual babes we’ve left behind, some attending other churches because there is no building for them to meet in and no resident missionaries to help feed the flock. The seed has been well planted over the past four years. The time is ripe. We need to pray for the contacts, for those already there and for the effort that has been made.

We have an opportunity to help the dream become a reality. We need to give generously so that the walls will indeed go up.

As the preaching team broke up and departed, we said, “If the Lord hasn’t returned, next year in the new hall.”

We urge everyone to become involved in this effort through prayer, through interest, through visits to the island and especially through donations earmarked for Antigua. These donations can be sent directly to: Recording Brother, Jamaica Ecclesia

P.O. Box 310-363
Jamaica, NY 11431-0363

This was not your typical holiday. Although it was hard work, the rewards were many. We especially enjoyed the fellowship around God’s word and work which we shared with our brothers and sisters. We believe the difficulties of life for the people of Antigua have made them more eager for the things unseen, the things that do not perish. At the same time, we have a greater appreciation for our many blessings and our ecclesia, things that we too often take for granted.