Amitabh Sharma, Features Coordinator

Pre-kindergarten students of Glad Tidings Early Childhood Development Centre in Spanish Town, St Catherine, enjoy a meal. - Photos by Amitabh Sharma

In a quiet lane in Spanish Town, St Catherine, there is an occasional sound of a car passing by and the ringing of a bell and excited children at a primary school. Across the street, the Rev Daniel White sits in his office, shuffling through stacks of paper on his desk.

"I have been associated with the church for the last 30 years," said Rev White, pastor of the Glad Tidings Open Bible Church. "I have been sitting in this chair for the last seven years and I am constantly working to upgrade and expand the activities of the church."

Rev White explained that there are several challenges that he is striving to address. "We have upgraded the physical aspect in terms of providing a comfortable worship space.

"We have done 90 per cent of what we intend to do," said Rev White. "we got musical instruments and acquired additional parking space."

The Glad Tidings Open Bible Church, which started out in a bamboo tent in early 1960s, has grown from strength to strength; "When I took over, there was some fluctuation in the number of people coming to the church," said Rev White, "but now we get around 500 to 600 people over the weekend services."

Major 'pull factor'

The majority of persons attending the church are young people, Rev White said, noting "around 75 per cent of those who attend are youth and professionals. Their average age is around 35."

The pastor explained that the church has a number of activities that are centred around the youth and music is one of the major 'pull factors'. "Our worship is music-oriented."

"We experiment with different types of music, we are more liberal when it comes to music, which is what attracts the youngsters," he argued.

The church has youth gathering every week and fellowship Fridays once a month. "Here we have jerk chicken cooking sessions and sports," he said. "The women have a culinary session where they share tips and recipes."

On average, around 65 persons come for the youth gathering every week, "though I want more people to come," said the pastor.

The church is proposing to buy table tennis and gym equipment to upgrade its multi-purpose area to expand the scope of activities for the youth.

The church runs a skills training centre and early childhood development centre. The skills training centre, funded jointly by HEART Trust/NTA and the church, offers a six-month training course in general office administration which includes computer skills, employability skills and entrepreneurial strategy.

Getting certified

"This training has opened a new field for me," said Isheia Dickson, a student at the centre. "I was sitting at home and could not get a job, now armed with certification, I can easily get a job."

The Glad Tidings Early Childhood Development Centre, located across the street from the church, is a co-educational early childhood centre with pre-kindergarten and kindergarten departments. The school began in September 1967 with five students, now it has 178 students.

Rev White, meanwhile, is looking forward to the upcoming annual convention of the Open Bible Standard Churches of Jamaica next week.

"Each year we have a theme and this year it is 'Living in Love', which is geared towards the believers embracing the theme," said the Open Bible pastor. "We would encourage people to make love their centre of activity once again. It is also a time to send out a message that the attitude of love must begin with the church."

amitabh.sharma@gleanerjm.com

Reverend Daniel White, pastor of the Glad Tidings Open Bible Church, Spanish Town, stands next to several trophies symbolising success at his church.

Convention next week

The conference of the Open Bible Standard Churches of Jamaica will begin on Monday at the Church's National Complex in Twickenham Park, St Catherine.

The conference will end on Tuesday and the convention will begin the following day, Wednesday, March 12. It will climax with an ordination and communion service at the National Arena in St Andrew on Sunday, March 16, starting at 9:00 a.m.

Members of the public are invited to all convention activities.