March 22, 2011 – Mandeville, Jamaica…Sherrefa Burchell and Nigel Coke/IAD
Lecturer in the department of Nursing at Northern Caribbean University (NCU), Kate Asmond, was among hundreds who were baptized on the “Day of Pentecost”, Mar. 19, 2011.
Under the theme “Come Holy Spirit” more than seven hundred and fifty persons responded to the wonderful message of God’s grace and were added to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica. It was broadcast live to thousands via the internet, NCU Radio and NCU TV from the church’s main site at the NCU Gymnatorium.
“It is a good feeling” said Kate Asmond, who is also a registered nurse and mid-wife. “I am happy because this is something I wanted for a while and so I am overjoyed that it is now a reality.” Kate was the first person to be baptized at the JAMU main site and hers was also the baptism that was carried live in Venezuela during the Inter-American Division’s (IAD) broadcast from the various Unions. “I look forward to serving God in His church” Kate added.
Also, among the more than twenty persons baptized at NCU was a couple, Carl and Kadeon Siddon, who were married just a few days before. They are both returning to the church after months of absence.
“I never intended to stay out of the church forever,” said Carl. “I wanted to get married and return to the fold, so today I am happy that I have given my life back to God.”
Like her husband, Kadeon was also a member of the church for many years, left, but had no desire to remain outside of Christ because she believes that “one cannot know what is right and insist on doing the wrong.” They are now very happy to have recommitted their lives and look forward to a beautiful life and marriage with Christ as the center.
Pastor Everett Brown, president of JAMU, delivered the main message for the program. In it he reminded the church that though we may have “Unfulfilled dreams and expectations, with God nothing is impossible”.
Referencing Matthew 16: 24-26, Pastor Brown said “I sense, my brothers and sisters that there is an air of complacency, a lack of urgency, that exist in our church and the wider society to respond to the call of Jesus Christ for sinners to surrender their life to Him before it is eternally too late. The call, therefore, is for us to surrender our lives to Jesus so that we can receive the power and salvation that is available to all; to the murderer, to the person who believes God has turned His back on him, to those who are on the verge of giving up and to all who exercise faith in Jesus Christ.”
Earlier in the service, music was provided by the Inspaye Praise Mass Choir from NCU, the group Seeds of Love, and a group of young people from Pennsylvania, “The La Sonnette Ensemble”, playing the bells. Prayer concerts were conducted in which supplication was made for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the outpouring of the Latter Rain, the financing of the Mission, for family and friends to return to the fold, among other things.
Dr. Myrna Costa, a vice president for the church in Inter-America, enlightened the audience on the importance of unity in m,ission. She exhorted the church “to wrap those who had been baptized in our arms of love so they can stay in the church and tell of Jesus’ soon return.” She encouraged the members to embrace small group ministries and go from house to house sharing the good news.
The afternoon service was packaged with musical praise from a number of groups and soloists. In addition, there were testimonies and video presentations from the various conferences in Jamaica, highlighting the work being done to share the love of Jesus.
Pentecost and More 2011 was the fifth staging of this annual event, an initiative of the IAD in which the church seeks to replicate the Biblical experience of Pentecost in Acts 2 when over 3,000 souls were added to the church in one day.
