On November 29th, 2020, the church in St. Vincent and the Grenadines commemorated its 20th anniversary with a special worship service themed ‘In God’s Hands.’ Indeed, the journey of the church to this point bears true testimony as to the sure and gracious guidance of our Lord. In 2000, a six-member mission team led by a young mechanical engineer named Roger Blache was sent out from the Port of Spain Church of Christ in Trinidad and Tobago to start our fellowship. All of the members of the team were single and they quickly grew into a tight-knit, fun-loving group, exemplifying the kind of fellowship we see in Acts 2: 42-47. The inaugural service was held on December 17th and 101 persons were in attendance. The first convert in St. Vincent was a young single woman, who remains faithful to this day! The home base for the church was eventually established in the capital city of Kingstown and the church became a legal faith-based organization in 2002, incorporated as the Kingstown International Church of Christ.
After faithfully and sacrificially serving the church for over three years, the mission team returned to Trinidad and Tobago. Kirk and Sherlyn Spencer, with their one-year-old daughter, then moved to St. Vincent from Guyana to lead the church. They ushered in a new era of maturity, as the composition and needs of the church became more diverse (marrieds, matures, children, etc). They focused heavily on building a family culture – never wasting an opportunity to pull disciples together to celebrate a special occasion. After they relocated to Trinidad in 2010, Almando and Janelle Quow started leading and have been leading ever since. They continue to build on the valuable lessons learned from those who led before and other regional leaders. In 2020, the church transitioned into a team leadership model where Arrington and Mary Raguette have faithfully answered the call to co-lead, thus providing much-needed support in strengthening the church.
At the end of 2018, the church embarked on a strategic planning exercise to identify some foundational principles upon which to build, and some goals to pursue over an initial three-year period. In drafting our plan, we took into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of our local fellowship and also the opportunities and threats to spreading the gospel that exists within our country. The exercise resulted in the crafting of our mission which is, “Working together in love, to bring the truth and hope that are in the word of God to all the peoples of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
We also identified goals that we are enthusiastic and unified about pursuing. These goals were designed to stimulate spiritual maturity through prayer, sound doctrine, sincere fellowship, vibrant worship and outreach (specifically in seeking the lost and serving the poor).
As we celebrated 20 years as a movement of God in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we had much for which to be grateful such as baptisms, weddings, deep friendships and births. We reflected with great joy on all the fun we had together over the years at our retreats, outdoor services, luncheons and parties. But there were challenging moments along the way as we fought for unity, fought to save marriages, and said tearful goodbyes to close friends as they returned home or migrated. Sadly, some grew weak and walked away from the fellowship while others who were just on the brink of salvation did not have enough faith to follow through.
We also continue to comfort each other, as we are temporarily separated from those we have grown to love as faithful partners in life and in the gospel who have fallen asleep in the Lord. We remember our beloved Maxwell Davis, Carlson Jackson Jr. and Esther Davis. We eagerly await the day we shall see each other again as we all receive the ultimate goal of our faith.
We are filled with gratitude for how God has lovingly guided and kept us throughout the years and we pray that he will continue to give us the strength to keep our lamps burning brightly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as we remain safe and secure in his hands.