Impact St. Lucia Amidst COVID-19

June 18, 2020 • • in News

The Saint Lucia Mission broke new ground as she launched her first-ever virtual evangelistic effort.  Dubbed “Impact St. Lucia Amidst COVID-19”, the initiative followed on the heels of a need to provide spiritual care for its membership of 26,000 in the face of the pandemic, which resulted in the closure of all churches in compliance with mitigation measures established by the Government.

The Mission put a streaming committee in place, headed by the Communication Director, Pastor Daryl St Clair, and began its online program on Sabbath March 21.  The site for the services, which was streamed for the benefit of members, was the Zion SDA Church.  The church, no longer in use for regular services, was reorganized to accommodate 3 platforms to facilitate smooth transition from one participant to another.  Thanks to Sister Kathleen Cadette, our interior designer, an amazing transformation took place, as the church, now converted to a studio, became a place for conducting Sunday and Wednesday night services, and a full day of Sabbath programming where members could view from the comfort of their homes.  

Volunteers were selected to do song service, to host the different services and to assist in directing each production, while the clergy on the island provided spiritual food for each service.  The youth were not left out, as they took charge of Sabbath afternoon programming, from the Adventurer and Pathfinder program at 2 pm and the AYM activity from 4 pm.  Many thanks are to be extended to Brother Lance Octave, owner, and CEO of LNO Studios and his team for the professional way they have gone about capturing each production and streaming it live to the membership.  To our amazement, links were shared with friends and loved ones, and as the services gained in popularity, as many as four thousand viewers logged on the streaming platforms stretching from as far as South Africa, Singapore, England, Canada and the USA.

The story does not end here, however.  The Holy Spirit inspired the Assistant to the President for Evangelism, Pastor Matison Preville, to embark on the evangelistic effort, Impact St. Lucia Amidst COVID-19, and what a blessing that was. Using the general theme of end-time prophecy, clergy on the island, presented nightly to what may have been the largest audience any one of us may have had the privilege of ministering to; larger than any audience which would have presented themselves at a regular tent campaign.  The restrictions provided by the quarantine caused by the pandemic, created a “captive” audience for the reception of the gospel.  Members and non-members alike drank in the word of God nightly.  The chatroom became a place for brethren to fellowship, affirm and express their appreciation for the spoken word.  Members waited in anticipation for the nightly links to access the stream, passing them on to contacts both near and far.  Thanks to Saint Lucia Mission Communication Department, LNO Studios, GVD TV, Advent Channel and the church-owned Prayz FM Radio, the gospel was disseminated all over the world, in fulfilment of the prophecy of Jesus Himself who said: “this gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness.”

There was to be another first for the Mission.  Many responded to the invitation to surrender their lives to Jesus, however, it was not possible to perform traditional baptismal ceremonies without contravening the 6-foot social distancing protocol stipulated by the Ministry of Health.  Once again, the leadership was inspired to do the first mass profession of faith ceremony involving persons onsite and online.  And what a beautiful ceremony that was as candidates took their baptismal vows and were voted into membership on their public acceptance of the doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist faith.  The entire service was witnessed by thousands online.  On May 23^rd, for the first time in the history of the Saint Lucia Mission, 62 persons were added to church membership through profession of faith, with the understanding that when restrictions are lifted, there will be a baptismal ceremony, celebrating the victory of light over darkness.  After this first ceremony, more persons expressed a desire to cast their lot on the side of Jesus.  As such, the series was continued for two more weeks, with services held on Sunday, Wednesday, Friday nights, and all-day Sabbath.  To date, a total of 101 persons have been accepted as members of the remnant church, on their profession of faith. To God be the Glory!