by David A. Cox
Synopsis: Reporting on the work in Barbados, a small island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, David reminds us that the spiritual struggles these brethren have faced parallel our history.
Barbados is located in the Eastern Caribbean Islands. It is an island nation that received its independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. Like the U.K., Barbados is a unitary, parliamentary, constitutional monarchy. Strong ties still exist between Barbados and the U.K.
In July 1957, Winston J. Massiah made a trip to Barbados to preach the gospel and establish the church there. During the early meetings, there were over 200 people baptized into Christ. In November of 1957, Winston Massiah moved permanently to the island. After the Massiahs moved to Barbados, he asked for help from the states. Thomas G. Butler, Gentry Stutts, and Everett C. Mann went to the island to help. In the next couple of years, the church continued to grow, and 425 were reportedly baptized by the end of 1959.
However, there were problems with a lack of leadership among the brethren and the integrity of Winston Massiah, and so the church divided. The division resulted in one group remaining at Barbarees Hill and a new group meeting on Passage Road. After the division at Barbarees Hill, Winston Massiah worked with the new group at Passage Road. Eventually, they built on Keningston New Road and today are known as the Central church. Winston Massiah was very charismatic and endeared to people. In 1989, due to the lack of integrity of brother Massiah, and the unscriptural idea of the minister being the one in charge, part of the group left and formed the Hindsbury Road church.
In the 1990s, there were those in error who brought to the island the Boston movement ideas—ultraliberal thinking concerning worship and the role of women in the church. As a result, there is a church associated with the Boston movement (International Churches of Christ) in Bridgetown, and several churches that use the instrument in worship.
During the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, several preachers continued to make trips working with the Barbarees Hill and St. James churches. Among those who made trips during these years were Tom Butler, Everett Mann, Colin Williamson, Arvid McGuire, Jody Broyles, Andy De Klerk, and Tol Burk. The church had suffered many difficulties through the 1990s and 2000s, causing the brethren to be disheartened from the joy they experienced in the early days.
In 2008, I made my first trip to Barbados with Tol Burk to try to encourage the brethren to help the work there. At the time of this trip, there were four non-instrumental churches; three had been under the institutional influence. The four churches on the island in 2008 were Barbarees Hill, Central, Hindsbury Road, and Trents.
From 2008-2010, trips were made trying to open lines of communication with the four churches, laying the groundwork for evangelistic efforts, and teaching efforts designed to equip the saints. The trips made by Tol Burk, Frank Richey, Antoine Holloway and myself all centered around the Barbarees Hill church. During these visits, brethren from all the other churches would come to hear us, and we had opportunities to begin communication with them.
In 2011, Antoine Holloway made his second trip to conduct the first vacation Bible school (VBS) in Barbados in nearly fifteen years. It was held at the Barbarees Hill church with a gospel meeting in the evening. The following year, 2012, Jeremy Paschall, Mike Phillips, and I visited the island to work with the brethren and to continue building a relationship with them. The brethren in Barbarees Hill decided not to have the vacation Bible school at their building, so the Hindsbury Road church agreed to hold the VBS during the day, as well as a gospel meeting in the evening. Barbarees Hill was receptive to our suggestion for leadership studies at their building the two weekends that we were there.
Following that trip, others began to make trips to the island. In 2013, Jody Broyles and Rennie Frazier, who both had made trips in the early 1990s returned to preach and encourage the brethren. Antoine Holloway, Buc Chumbley, Jeremy Paschall, Chuck Richardson, Andrew Richardson, Sean Cavender, Wiley Deason, Josh Welch and I have made multiple trips to work with the brethren in all four churches. Also, several of these men have brought their wives to teach Bible classes for the children along with the ladies in the congregations.
The work being done today involves work of an ongoing nature with email and Skype studies done by several of us who have built a relationship with the men. The work we have done on the trips includes gospel meetings, special topical classes that are needed, going out onto the streets in Bridgetown, as well as knocking on doors to invite people to services and having Bible studies and discussions. Efforts have been made to follow up with visitors who have attended gospel meetings from previous years. There is also an effort to reach those who were once faithful, but are no longer attending services. The Lord has blessed these efforts in so many ways. Communication and trust have improved, and souls are being added to the kingdom.
Barbarees Hill is the oldest congregation on the island. The preacher, Rupert Griffith, is now in his late seventies and struggles with health issues. The group, as a whole, was an older church with very few young people. The church in 2008 was about thirty-five in number, but it has declined to around twenty-five. A man from Texas now lives in Barbados and attends at Barbarees Hill. He had an association with the Sunset School of Preaching in Texas and has brought some doctrinal issues with him. Brother Griffith and other brethren at Barbarees' have opposed the teaching.
Central is the congregation that Winston Massiah started after the split with Barbarees Hill, and he preached there over thirty years until his death in 1993. The church is made up primarily of older members, much like Barbarees Hill. The preacher there is Carl Lawrence, a good man who is in his seventies. Brother Lawrence was taught under Winston Massiah and holds, to some extent, the evangelistic oversight view. The church at Central numbers around forty.
Hindsbury Road began in 1989 as a result of a division with the Central church and the view of Winston Massiah over the evangelistic oversight position. The church is made up of all age groups. They have had several preachers work with them through the years. Oxford Clarke was among the early preachers there and still is active in the work, although he is no longer preaching. He is in his seventies. Adrian Maynard preached for them until a few years ago, when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After brain surgery, brother Maynard resumed active work as much as possible, but the tumor has returned. He is currently awaiting surgery. Yonnick August and Justin Parsons, two young men, both in their early twenties, are doing the majority of the preaching for the Hindsbury Road congregation now. The church at numbers around sixty.
The church at Trents began about 2005 near Holetown, which is on the western side of the island. The work started peacefully with a group from Hindsbury Road. Jimmy Bracken, the first preacher who worked with them, was associated with institutional brethren. Due to some health issues, he returned to his homeland of St. Vincent in 2011. Mark Selman, a native of the island, preaches at Trents. The church is composed of an assortment of ages and as around twenty-five members.
The work in Barbados has made steady progress in the recent years. There are still challenges that are present. The need for leadership, though improved in some ways, is still lacking in many ways. For the most part, the brethren are humble and desire to serve God and live according to His word.
Author Bio: David has preached for the Market Street congregation Athens, AL since 2008. He and his wife, Kerry, have two sons, Tyler and Hunter. The church website is marketstreet-church.com. He can be reached at davidacox85@gmail.com.
