Ten missions team members from Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana joined the “Called to Serve” short-term missions trip and traveled to St. Lucia to serve alongside the Castries Church of the Nazarene in July for 11 days of ministry and community outreach.

The trip leaders hoped to encourage the Castries church and help build relationships between the church and the community.

The time together began with two days of team building and leadership training with Castries church leaders and members. The participants spanned a wide range of ages, and the presenters sought to empower, equip, and encourage them, especially after the previous two years of pandemic challenges.

Following the days of training, the Called to Serve team and church held a community walk to connect, pray, and invite community members to join in the coming week's activities. The highlight of the afternoon was the opportunity to meet a store owner and pray for him, his business, and the friends who were with him.

“This expression of love touched his heart so much that he couldn't stop smiling and saying thanks for the prayers and kind words of encouragement the church provided,” said Timmeon Spencer, Global Missions coordinator for the Caribbean Field.

During the week of 25-29 July, church members and the team worked together to hold Vacation Bible School in the mornings and sports evangelism in the afternoons. A total of 50 children from the community participated in VBS, where they learned to taste, see, listen, learn and know that the Lord their God is good. At the end of the event, 19 of them decided to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Roughly 60 young people, mainly young men between the ages of 12-20, participated in the afternoon sports camp, where team members used soccer, basketball, and cricket to share about the gospel of Jesus, character development, and teachings about the principles of life. Six people accepted Jesus Christ into their lives as their Lord and Savior during this time.

The team spent its final hours in St. Lucia spread across four churches in New Hope, Gros Islet, Grande Riviere, and Castries to participate in a variety of ministries. Team members preached, taught, led worship, assisted with live streaming, and shared Scripture according to their gifts and the needs of the churches.

Castries Church of the Nazarene plans to continue the momentum of the Called to Serve team by launching an ongoing sports ministry, creating follow-up discipleship classes for new believers, and conducting visits to continue relationships built during this time in the community.

“Please keep the church and the ongoing work at St. Lucia in your prayers,” Spencer said. "Pray for the leaders, pray for the community, and pray that God would provide more workers to serve in His vineyard in Santa Lucia."

--Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica Region