LOCATION : 16-18 Mannings Hill Road, Kingston 8
PASTOR : Rev. Michael Cummings SERVICES : Sunday Morning Service - 11:00am - 1:00pm
TELEPHONE : (876) 924-1328 EMAIL : [email protected] SOCIAL MEDIA : Facebook (Meta) - https://www.facebook.com Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com |
Deacons’ Council
Johnathan James Iscolyn Williams Peter O’Sullivan Oral Khan Bevonette Bent Denby Williams Owen Shaw |
Profile of the Wesleyan Holiness Church
Constant Spring
The Wesleyan Holiness Church in Jamaica has its genesis in the Holiness movements which were started in the early 1900s. This local church was founded in 1928 and was previously known as the Pilgrim Holiness Church and the Grace Chapel. The ministry was started and carried on for many years by missionaries from the United States. Foreign ministers continued to spearhead the work, and up to 1969 almost all the Superintendents were Missionaries from the United States.
In 1941, the Rev P. W. Thomas, who was the General Secretary of Foreign Missions, came to Jamaica to conduct the Annual Conference. He saw the potential for Christian service among the young people and was instrumental in the establishment of a Bible School to prepare ministers. The property at 16 Mannings Hill Road was purchased from Mrs O’Sullivan, the mother of our own Deacon Peter O’Sullivan. The sale did not include Grace Chapel at 18 Manning’s Hill Road which the O’Sullivans transferred as a gift for the people. The purchase of this property saw the emergence of a Bible School in 1942. Classes were held in the Chapel while one of the two houses on the compound was used as a dorm for students and the other as a manse. In 1950, the Bible school was moved to Barbados, before eventually returning to be consolidated with the Jamaica Wesleyan Bible Institute as the Caribbean Wesleyan College on the Torrington Campus in Westmoreland. During the tenure of Rev Chamberlain, from 1946 to 1958, a new church was constructed. The cost was borne by foreign missions (USA) and the local church. In 1963, Rev and Mrs Phillips arrived in Jamaica to carry on the mission. They were the last Missionaries to serve as they turned over the mission to Rev Gersham Gray who became the first native Superintendent. During his tenure the present church building was constructed between 1979 and 1980. Construction of the Gersham Gray Multi-Purpose Building commenced in the early 80s. The ground floor was completed and commissioned into service and named in honour of Rev Gersham Gray. After the retirement of Rev Gray, the work of the church continued under the leadership of Rev. Dalton Grenyion between 2001 and 2007. Pastor Henry Lewis who succeeded Rev Grenyion will complete his tenure at the end of 2017. The local church under the guidance of the district Superintendent intends to call a new Pastor in accordance with the provisions of the discipline. |
Organizational Structure
The governance and policies of our church are in accordance with the Discipline of the Caribbean General Conference of the Wesleyan Holiness Church. The Pastor is Chairman of the Local Board of Administration which meets on the 1st Saturday morning of each month. The Pastor also chairs a Council of Deacons/Deaconesses. The Council supports the Pastor in watching over the spiritual life of the church. The roles and functions of Deacons are however not clearly defined and have varied from time to time under different Pastors. The Deacon’s Council meets about 2 to 3 times per year. The church holds Quarterly Members meetings which are generally convened after the worship service on the 2nd Sunday of the month following the end of a Quarter. The Pastor, Treasurer, Auxiliary Heads, and Ministry leaders present reports to the members. Ministry leaders are called to early morning prayer with the LBA and Deacons Council on a 1st Saturday morning prior to the meeting of the LBA and for a Joint Leaders’ Prayer and Business Meeting once per Quarter (in lieu of a LBA meeting). Support for these prayer meetings is not yet at an acceptable level. Membership This is the largest church on the Eastern Jamaica District. The number on roll at the end of the last Church Year is approximately 130 (to be confirmed). It is however acknowledged that the membership roll needs to be reviewed by the Pastor and the Secretary. The average attendance on Sunday Mornings is about 160. Our general membership has a good mix of children, youth, young adults and the elderly from diverse backgrounds. The congregation is comprised of a majority of females. The membership includes many who now reside overseas. Ministries The Ministries of the church are delivered through our Auxiliaries. For example, Junior Church, Wesleyan Children, Junior Department of the Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Children Choir and the Sunrays Educational Centre are avenues we use to minister to our children and to offer them opportunities to be of service. Mission
The Constant Spring Wesleyan Holiness Church, by the help of God, will challenge the unsaved to accept salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and nurture believers in Christian love to spiritual maturity and loyalty to Christ; equipped for service in God’s Kingdom. Vision A community of Christians committed to pursuing holiness of heart towards God and our fellow men. |
The Wesleyan Youth Department, and the youth classes of the Sunday School Department minister to our youth. Wesleyan Men and the Wesleyan Women minister to our men and women. There is also a vibrant Adult Sunday School Class. While all Auxiliaries are functional, they do not currently attract the level of participation we would like to see.
The Welfare Committee maintains a list of persons from the church and community who are in need of welfare support. The Committee prepares monthly care packages within the limit of our resources, for distribution to the less fortunate. The Scholarship committee reviews applications from members for support of students based on scholarship and need. from students of our Sunday school and provide financial assistance within the limits of our resources. Physical Infrastructure The property has five buildings namely the Sanctuary and church offices; The Gersham Gray Multipurpose Building which houses the class room of the Educational Centre (upper floor construction stalled pending approval of new drawings by the Municipal Corporation; The Old Manse which houses the Administrative Office of Sunrays; and The Manse which currently house the Nursery. The Old Manse is in a very poor state of repairs with most sections of the building out of use. The Community Ours is a city church located in the Constant Spring area of North Central St Andrew. There are predominantly working class and middle income families residing in the area of influence of our church. There are many other churches in close proximity giving families a wide choice range namely: Anglican (St John), Independent Baptist (Haven Hill); Menonite (Whitehall Ave) New Testament (New Life) Baptist (Mamby Park); Jehovah’s Witness (Lemon Lane); Salvation Army; Church on the Rock; and the Church of Christ. We have reached out to these churches especially for our Annual ‘Children Choirs in Praise’ event with reasonable support. Our church still manages to attract first time visitors almost every week and persons are still coming to know the Lord through the preaching ministry. We are accustomed to having one or two baptisms each year. Our VBS is generally attended by many community children who are not regular members of our Sunday School. |
We have extended visitation campaigns to hospitals and to our shut-ins but the burden for these ministries is generally borne by a faithful few. We have also reached out to the community Police stationed at the Constant spring Police Station and on occasion to the community schools.
We would like to consider ourselves a warm and welcoming church family. This was not always the case but through deliberate effort, change for the better has occurred and persons joining the church have testified to this fact. One feature of the service which serves as a good icebreaker during the Pastoral greeting is a period of 2 minutes in which everyone is encouraged to leave their seat walk around and greet each other. Another feature of our service is a time when we routinely offer prayers for the children of the community. During this time the habit of the children coming to the altar for prayer is encouraged. We have managed to transform how the church conducts its business meetings. These meeting are now being used more to report on stewardship and evaluate progress against objectives instead of to hear grouses. Many would consider our worship style as one of the strengths of our church. Deliberate efforts are made to introduce the congregation to contemporary praise and worship songs. The younger members in particular enjoy this aspect of our services. Some older members however still long for the more traditional forms of worship. Worship leaders and moderators have significant latitude to select the music for worship. We are blessed to have gifted key board players, guitarists and drummers who provide the accompaniment. Our church has also been blessed with dynamic preaching and engaging bible teaching. The Pastor has also shared his pulpit with colleague ministers from within and outside the denomination as well as with some deacons who are assigned speaking engagements about quarterly. Over the years the church has sought to remain engaged in District activities. It is not surprising that Constant Spring consistently makes the largest contribution to the District budget. The church is self-financing and manages to maintain an operational surplus. The church is debt free. Conclusion The Wesleyan Holiness Church enjoys a positive witness in the community. With the right leadership under God the church can help to lead in more firmly establishing the Wesleyan Holiness brand across the Eastern Jamaica District for the sake of advancing the mission of the church. |