CHARLESTOWN, Nevis - THE initial phase of the First Baptist Church’s new sanctuary located in Maddens was officially dedicated in a simple ceremony on Sunday, July 12.
Pastor of the church in the 1970s, Charles Hurlston, who was one of the speakers on Sunday, called on members to realise that they now had a responsibility to ensure that God’s glory is sustained and reflected in the activities carried out in the new sanctuary.
“The day we fail to use this building for God’s glory, He will withdraw his glory,” Hurlston told worshippers among whom were visiting pastors, government ministers, guests and the First Baptist Church congregation.
Hurlston, a Cayman Islands national now resident in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, surprised worshippers when he disclosed that in the seventies the government of the day had ordered his deportation through the influence of a local Christian group that was not comfortable with his approach to preaching the Gospel. He said the local Christian group got angry because persons of other faiths were getting born again through his ministry.
Hurlston said the local church had great potential to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ but noted effective preaching that leads to salvation of souls only takes place when believers are anointed by the Holy Spirit.
Hurlston, who is married to a Nevisian, said, “God wants you to sanctify yourself. God is unchanging. Sanctify yourselves and God will do a great work. God is sovereign. God is ready to assign you your new task to bring boys, girls, men and women to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, but this cannot be done without the anointing of the Holy Spirit. People out there need the Lord.”
Legal Adviser in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), Hon. Partrice Nisbett also spoke during the ceremony. He recalled going to Sunday school at the First Baptist Church and said the church’s labour of love had paid off. He reminded the congregation that the church is one foundation and appealed to believers to ensure that the church remains the foundation of love and peace.
Nisbett said the existence of a church in the midst of a community should, in the long run, impact ill behaviour. He called on the church to partner with the government to combat gang violence. He also said it was the church’s mandate to ensure that nobody went hungry in any given community: “Jesus came to give life and give it more abundantly.”
He said the church’s service to human beings is the foundation of the church’s service to God, and the church ought to be able to cushion effects of social ills.
Leader of the Nevis Opposition, Hon. Vance Amory described the building of the sanctuary as “wonderful work”, a “place of refuge and comfort in time of trouble.” He acknowledged that construction was a difficult task. He was hopeful that God would reward the fruits of those who had laboured to build the sanctuary.
Oral Brandy, who coordinated the construction, said the first phase had cost “a total of EC$390 000”. He thanked all the local and foreign well-wishers who had donated joyfully and generously towards the cause.
Brandy said the First Baptist Church was started through the ministry of Robert Faile of the United States of America. The 12 foundation members 45 years ago were Nathaniel Harley, Malcolm Webbe, Richard Hobson, Muriel Jones, Angelica Webbe, Floretta Morton DaCosta, Robert Faile, his wife Colleen Faile, and their children Sharon, Robin and Michael.
The First Baptist Church, Brandy said, continued to grow under Faile’s successor, Pastor Charles Hurlston. Others who made significant contribution to the church include James Brookes, Emerson Jeffers, Anthony Benjamin, Allison DaCosta, Eric Maynard, Orville Blake, Steven McMaster, Roderick Webster and St. Clair Archibald Jr.
