Jamaica Mission Trip

After weeks of prayer, training and trusting in God the team was released to do the work of God in Jamaica. This year’s mission was in collaboration with Church of God of Prophecy, Morant Bay in the Parish of St Thomas. The Morant Bay Church of God of Prophecy was pioneered by the late Rev Houston Reid Senior. Rev Houston Reid Senior had an unfailing love for this community and he brought the transformed message of Jesus Christ to the people. His legacy still continues and his great work has paved the way for many who today have come to know and are enjoying the goodness of God. By the grace God, Christian Life Centre Church Oxford which was established over nineteen years ago in Oxford and is led by Rev Grady Reid, (the son of Rev Reid Senior) has seen it fitting to honour the excellent work that his father started in Morant Bay.
It was a mission that focused on sharing the Good News of Jesus with the community and inviting people to come and receive the salvation work of Jesus Christ. The team not only focused on spiritual matters but also engaged in distributing practical support to the people in the community. We blessed God for all the members of CLC family who gave generously towards the mission. CLC members support for the mission was totally outstanding and overwhelming. Members brought food, clothing, educational materials and monetary gifts for the mission. We believe the generosity of the people in our church has brought about the success of what God has done with the team in Jamaica. Some members voluntarily devoted their time to pray and to lift the team before the Lord on a regular basis, for this and more the team are grateful.
We came back with remarkable testimonies of what the Lord had done in the lives of the people and the overwhelming transformation that took place. Many people came to know Jesus for the first time; people with sicknesses were healed by the power of God; hope came to those whose lives were on the verge of destruction and we saw the stronghold of the enemy cast out of people’s live. We are delighted as a church to be a part of the faith journey of the people in St Thomas and we believe that God has sent the team there to raise a higher awareness of God’s purpose in that community.
While the team were there, they spent time evangelising and reaching people the message of Christ. They hosted powerful tent crusade meetings in the evenings and people from churches and the local community came to worship the Lord. We went to schools to conduct assembles, visited a prison in the country and conducted feeding programme’s in the community. Gifts were presented to people in the community who were experiencing challenging living circumstances. During the prison visit the team donated bags of rice to the service and the officers were appreciative to receive such generous item from the church. We believe the message of Christ is the only remedy to the nations that are faced with difficulties and challenging needs. Providing material support to people who are in need is important, but the greatest gift for man is not things but Jesus Christ. Jesus said “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and fortified his soul? Mark 8:36 ESV” The government and its ministerial empires can never solve the problems that face people in such demoralised conditions. The purpose of God is to rescue man from the destruction of the enemy. I can recall vividly how people that we reached in the communities were bound by several problems that are difficult to illustrate. However, the word of God brought unprecedented assurance and hope to them.
One striking part of the trip was the Love of Christ the team brought and shared with the people in the community. Their openness to allow God to work through them demonstrated the overwhelming anointing of God’s grace within each member. It made and left an enormous impartation of the true love of God in lives of the people. Where the love of God is people will undoubtedly find reassurance and purpose in life. Everything about this year’s mission was centred on the unconditional love of God.
We witnessed a tremendous response by young teenagers who came forward to yield to the call of Jesus in one of the schools that we visited. This school has a history of challenging behaviour in the entire parish but God’s power touched many young people’s lives during the assembly. It became apparent that our presence at the school actually brought encouragement to the young people and the staff. They were pleased to receive the educational materials that we brought to them and deeply appreciated our kind and open-handedness.
It was a great joy to see many people coming out to the outreach BBQ. Sometimes food can make a difference when people are in lack. We saw such smiles of excitement on people’s faces when the food activities were going on. What excited us the most were the little children that came with their parents to be part of the BBQ event. These kids were so happy; they were playing around and having fun with the team
We really want to thank the CLC family for your wonderful generosity in giving so much in many different ways. The team gave the community food items, clothing, toiletries, education materials, stationeries and sport resources. Those who benefited from the items are so grateful for what the church has done. The team noticed the impact that the items given had on the people and the people were encouraged by the genuine love of Christ.
At the end of the mission week in St Thomas, Morant Bay; we gracefully saw lives being changed by the power of God, many people gave their heart to Jesus and people’s souls came alive under the empowerment of God’s word. The testimony of what happened on the mission trip reflects what Jesus commands us to do in Gospel of Matthew 28:19, NKJV “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit ”. We want to thank God for the vision of our Senior Pastor in honouring the legacy of his father and enabling us through Christ to set up generational blessings. To God be all the glory.