May 5, 2011 – Mandeville, Jamaica…Nigel Coke/IAD
Pastors in the Central, East and North East Conferences of the Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists joined thousands of their colleagues across the Inter-American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (IAD) for spiritual revival and reformation through the special initiative of “Constant in Prayer.”
The meetings were held on Apr. 30, at the Central Jamaica Headquarters in St. Catherine, Golden Acres in St. Andrew, and Camp Don in St. Mary.
At the Golden Acres gathering, President of the Adventist Church in Eastern Jamaica charged each pastor to be “merciless in dealing with his own sins.
“In this hour of revival and reformation, we pray and fast in vain if we are not willing to repent and confess our sins and break away from cherished idols,” said Pastor Cotterell. “Sin is an awful obstacle, and one of the most dreadful things about it is the way it hinders prayer and severs the connection between us and the source of all grace, power and blessing. Anyone who would have power in prayer must be merciless in dealing with his own sins.”
Sin he added, “hinders prayer, holds back revival, holds up reformation, hampers the power of the Holy Spirit and traffic jam evangelism. Hatred, envy, jealousy bad mind, bitterness, and lies cannot dwell in our hearts while we are pleading for revival and reformation. If there is anything that is constantly coming up in your moments of close communion with God, that is the thing that hinders prayer; put it away.”
Under the theme “Blessed in Order to Bless,” the programs were centered around praise, testimonies, reflection, intercession and commitment, and included prayer concerts, the reading of selected Scripture passages, group discussions, readings from various Spiritual books and materials, and a communion service.
“Our aim was to create a deeper awareness of the importance of a spiritual revival and real reformation in the ministry of each pastor,” said Pastor Glen Samuels, ministerial secretary for the church in Jamaica. “We believe that a pastor who has been blessed by the presence and leadership of the Holy Spirit in his life, will pour out fruits of blessings in his home, church and the community.”
During the meetings in the Central and East Conferences, Pastor Jaime Castejon, president of the Inter-American Theological Seminary (IATS) admonished the pastors to be faithful to their calling, with the conviction that “God is the One who called you.”
Pastor Everett Brown, president of the church in Jamaica in commending the pastors, said the ‘Constant in Prayer’ initiative “must not be an event, but something to embrace in our everyday lives.”
“It was life-changing experience for the pastors in North East Jamaica,” said Pastor Arlington Woodburn, president of the church in North East Jamaica. “There were periods of confession, forgiveness and restitution among the clergy, which are necessary imperatives to true revival and reformation. We ended the day with a spirit-filled communion service and the pastors left with a sense of joy and a feeling of renewal with a deeper commitment to service.”
“The spirit was high and the messages delivered on target because they spoke to some of the issues affecting pastors,” said Pastor Jeff Jefferson, Ministerial Secretary of the Central Jamaica Conference. “It was well received and was a meaningful encounter, which served to motivate the pastors to improve their prayer life and relationship with God.”
West Jamaica Conference (WJC) held their pastoral day of prayer on Apr. 26, at their headquarters in Mount Salem, in Montego Bay, while the North Jamaica Conference held theirs on May 2, at their headquarters in Drax Hall, St. Ann.
Other initiatives planned for the year in the IAD and JAMU are: June 10 – Adventists in more than 100,000 homes throughout Inter-America will invite their neighbors for praise and worship service, to pray and share God’s love and His Word; June 11 – a day of baptisms throughout churches and congregations; July 23 – a day of praise and celebration with prayer and re-dedication to God.
