Jamaica Church Plant - One Year On
An update from Joel Bain, Senior Pastor of Grace Family Church, Caymanas Estate, St Catherine, Jamaica…
As I reflect on our first year, I am amazed and humbled by the kindness of God to us at Grace Family Church. It has been a joy-filled year of gathering people and laying the foundations of gospel-shaped community.
Planting for us has been slow going. But God has used that to teach us patience and steadfastness. We’re learning to welcome people with the love of Christ and point them to the grace of Christ each Sunday, and to see and call attention to the grace of God at work in the lives of those he’s given us. We’ve recognized a unique opportunity we have to build deep relationships and culture of grace. And our confidence in the power of the gospel has grown as we preached through Colossians and taught on our shared values and what it means to be a local church.
On November 17, with great joy, a total of 19 adults (with 11 children between us) committed to pursuing Jesus together as members of our local church! We also officially ordained Sean Taylor and Sheldon Campbell as elders. These men have led and served alongside me from day one, so it was particularly delightful to see them affirmed and embraced as pastors by our members. It is humbling to look out at our congregation each Sunday and to see people whom I didn’t know at all months ago who are now treasured members of our family.
At the beginning of this year, God opened the door for my family to move into Caymanas Estate, the area where our church meets. We are confident that God has put us exactly where he wants us to be because he loves many who live near to us but are far from him. And we’re looking forward as a local church to learning to love those around us - in this neighbourhood and beyond.
In the next few weeks, we’re looking forward to beginning to preach through the gospel of Mark and to starting small group meetings. We long to see Jesus more clearly, to grow in our understanding of what it means to follow him, and to help each other to be more faithful disciples who make disciples of others.
May it all be for His glory.
