The Jamaica Baptist Union is a Baptist

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...

, affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, founded in 1849 in Jamaica. The headquarters is in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Jamaica. The president of the union is Rev. Dr. Glenroy Lalor.

History

The Baptist Union of Jamaica dates back to 1782 when

George Liele George Liele (also spelled Lisle or Leile, c. 1750–1820) was an African American and emancipated slave who became the founding pastor of First Bryan Baptist Church and First African Baptist Church (Savannah), First African Baptist Church, in Sa ...

, a formerly-enslaved man from Atlanta, Georgia, came to Jamaica and began preaching in

. In 1814, the

Baptist Missionary Society BMS World Mission is a Mission (Christian), Christian missionary society founded by Baptists from England in 1792. It was originally called the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen, but for most of its ...

, a British organization, sent its first missionary to the island to open a school in Falmouth in Trelawny Parish, for the children of slaves. The ministry continued to grow and expand during British colonization. Baptists are involved in the struggle for the abolition of slavery. After abolition, Baptists contributed to the creation of "

Free Villages Free Villages is the term used for Caribbean settlements, particularly in Jamaica, founded in the 1830s and 1840s with land for freedmen independent of the control of plantation owners and other major estates. The concept was initiated by English ...

" for the newly emancipated people. This included the purchase of large parcels of land cut into small holdings, which were sold to families. The villages also included a school and a Baptist church. The Baptists also created, in 1843, the Calabar Theological College for training ministers for local preaching and missions in Africa and the Caribbean, which became part of the

United Theological College of the West Indies The United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI) is an ecumenical seminary training male and female clergy in Kingston, Jamaica, for Anglican and Protestant denominations throughout the Caribbean. History The college was founded in 1966. ...

in 1966. In 1849, the Jamaica Baptist Union is officially founded. Three of Jamaica's

National Heroes A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...

Sam Sharpe Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictio ...

, Paul Bogle, and George William Gordon - were also Baptist. In 2018, Karen Kirlew became the first female president of the union. According to a denomination census released in 2020, it claimed 339 churches and 40,132 members. Baptist World Alliance
Members
baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved December 5, 2020

References

External links

Official Website
{{World Council of Churches Baptist Christianity in Jamaica

Evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

Baptist denominations in the Caribbean

History

See also

References

External links