July 22, 2008

For our Jamaican mission trip, we would be working with the Church of Christ in Lucea, Jamaica. The Lucea church is supported by the East Brainerd Church of Christ in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and our trip was in conjunction with an East Brainerd group.

Our first exposure to the Lucea Church was on a Sunday morning, after arriving in Jamaica on a Saturday night. We all had breakfast together at the hotel in Montego Bay before driving about 45 minutes to Lucea.

When we arrived, Bible class had already started, so we came in and took our seats, causing a minor disruption in the class. But Brother Michael handled it well and picked up right where he left off.

Michael Gordon is the preacher for the Lucea congregation, and as such he is also the Bible class teacher for the adults, as is typical of small congregations. We came in during a lesson on spiritual gifts, which was quite interesting to hear. The church members were ready with their comments, questions, and answers, and they were also quite willing to read scriptures when Michael called on them.

During the class, I took some time to notice the church building, since we would be spending a good bit of time there during the week. It was relatively small, probably 60 feet by 40 feet, if that much. The seating was simple metal folding chairs arranged in two sections. However, extended periods of sitting in these chairs transformed them from "simple" into "hard", as several people commented.

At the front of the room was a raised platform with a small podium for the speaker, although Michael did not use that for the Bible class or the worship service. To the left of the platform was an area with curtains on poles that extended about three feet above the platform. I figured this was a baptistry, but later found that it had no water. For baptisms, they would walk across the street to the bay. And to the right of the platform were two restrooms, separated from the main room by a small hallway. A small folding table in front of this wall served as the communion table.

Instead of glass, the windows of the building had operable louvers, which could be opened to allow air to flow through the building. These were essential, since like most buildings in Jamaica there was no air conditioning. And to the right of the building, a wooden roof and another wall had been added to create a children's classroom area, which would be used for the Vacation Bible School classes that our group presented in the evenings.

After Bible class ended, I was wondering what the worship service would be like, and how it would compare to our services back home. I soon became quickly familiar with it, however, because I was informed that I was to be the song leader, just about a minute before the service started. I asked if everyone knew the same songs that we sing back home, and I was told that they do. Mostly. But they sometimes sing them a little differently. Fortunately, the song book was what we used before our current book, so it looked familiar. And Michael quickly explained the format to me, which was also familiar: a few songs, a prayer, more songs, Communion, another song, the sermon, the invitation song.

Because I didn't have time to prepare, I just flipped through the book and picked out songs as we went along. Most of them were known by the Jamaicans; and for the few that weren't, there were enough of us Americans who knew them to make it through. So the service went well, thanks to a great lesson presented by Michael.

But of course, the most important part of a church is not the building, or the worship service, but rather it is the people. And we found the Lucea congregation to be a people of strong faith and sound Biblical knowledge. Friendly, if a bit shy, but they quickly opened up to us and welcomed us. Like most people of the area, they were not wealthy, but then wealth is not the most important thing. Over the course of the week, we got to know several of the members, as well as many of the children in the area. And those who had been before were able to renew acquaintances with familiar faces, almost as though they hadn't been separated by time or distance.

So although we were there to help the Jamaican church, seeing their faith and dedication was also a great encouragement to us.

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. - Ephesians 4:11-13

All notes

About the author

© 2007-2009 Deserted Island Productions. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

For more information, contact the .