RAMSBURY, Nevis - FOUNDER of the West Indies Baptist Fellowship Dr. Ray Thompson has called for the church to work as a team in preaching the gospel locally and overseas.
Dr. Thompson, who was addressing one of the sessions of the 48th West Indies Baptist Fellowship Conference, said each church and each pastor had a unique ministry. He said when churches adopt the team spirit approach, there would be no need for competition or comparison as God wants pastors and churches to work as teams.
He said the establishment of the Blue Waters Bible College and Institute, revival camps, and summer bible camps have all been through team effort.
“I do not compare ministries. I do not compare churches. Every pastor is different. We are not in competition. God wants us to work as teams,” he told the more than 200 delegates.
Dr. Thompson, who is accompanied to the one-week conference by his wife Jean and daughter Catherine, recalled that in 1955 when he came to the West Indies there were three billion people in the world. He told the delegates yesterday (Jan. 22) that this number has increased.
The doubling of the world population, he said, called for more labourers in the mission field. He said successful missions are built through team effort.
“We are labourers together in God’s vineyards. Building team unity is a matter repeatedly talked about in scripture.” He said team work enhances and builds.
Dr. Thompson, who founded the Fellowship in 1955 when he was a professor at the Blue Waters Bible College in St Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, said he was overwhelmed to see the number of local persons trained as pastors.
He pointed out that over 130 churches regionally have trained national partners and encouraged those pastors who have been reaching out to distant lands.
Allinson Da Costa, a Nevisian Calvary Baptist Pastor, is one of the pastors who occasionally go on a mission trip to Zimbabwe. Recently, he has been engaged in a child-sponsorship programme.
The conference, which ended yesterday (January 23), was held at the Shiloh Baptist Church under the theme, “Running the Christian Race.”
