Faith News Network

Caribbean Leadership Conference Held in Bahamas

At the recent Caribbean Leadership Conference in Nassau Bahamas, Assistant Director of Church of God World Missions John D. Childers formerly installed Bishop Ishmael Charles as the Field Director for the Caribbean Region following the charge delivered by Bishop Bob Cary. The Church of God in the Caribbean boasts over 2,000 churches and over one million members.

At the conference Bishop Charles charged and challenged the delegates from the nations of the Caribbean to become Climate Changers declaring “We have been called to change.” 1) Move from living in the past to engaging the future; 2) Move from market driven operation to mission driven, from bureaucratic operation to apostolic operation; 3) Move from schooling celebrities to raising disciples; 4) Move from dead orthodoxy to a living faith; 5) Move from attracting crowds to seeking the lost; 6) Move from a generic congregation to an incarnational community that touches the world.

Leonard Albert presented the new personal evangelism program “Take Five.” Dr. Darrel Waller shared about Leadership in the 21st Century daring the delegates to “Dream big dreams.” In his keynote address Elvis Medina, Overseer of the Dominican Republic, referring to Jesus’ instructions to the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the boat; he exhorted, “When you have done all you know to do and have nothing, do it another way, Listen to the voice of Jesus.”

From these challenges, it was stated by Bishop Paul Ricketts that the “Caribbean was moving from being a mission field with our hand out, to a mission force with our arms extended. To that end, the formation of a Caribbean Men and Women of Action was announced. Dr. John Sweet presented a report about Caribbean Orphanages and Patricia Charles challenged the delegates to support children and youth projects in the Caribbean stating, “Our future is in giving.”