Our Church History

Over Forty years ago under the big tent adjacent to the grounds of the Cornwall Regional Hospital, was  the voice of a dynamic, Holy Ghost filled Evangelist, John Calvin Palmer. It was in the summer of 1968 when Evangelist Palmer realized that the mission field was ripe and there were souls to reap for God’s Kingdom.

 

At the end of the crusade was the birth  of  the Mount Salem Seventh-day Adventist Church with over one hundred new believers. With no physical structure in which to worship, the Harrison Memorial High School on Cottage Road was the  most convenient accommodation then. It  was evident  that  land was needed  to  construct a church building in Mount Salem to house these new believers. To establish their presence in the community, permission was sought from the Mount Salem All Age School Board to use a classroom for    worshipping on Sabbaths. Through the instrumentality of Ms. Grace Heaven, who was a member of the school board, permission was granted and our first worship service as a full fledged church was held at this location in September 1969 under the leadership of Pastor K.G. Samuels. Worship services were held thereafter for nine years. Within this period, effort was being made to secure a lot in Mount Salem from the Ministry of Water and Housing to build the church. In late 1971, Pastor K.G. Samuels was called to serve elsewhere thus giving way to Pastor Rupert Young.

On March 27, 1972 an agreement was made between the Ministry of Water and Housing and Administrators of  West Jamaica Conference for the purchasing  land located at lot 115 Catherine Hall, Mount Salem.

In May 1972, Pastor Rupert Young who had already secured a blueprint for the construction of the church, organized a Ground Breaking Ceremony. West Jamaica Conference made the first donation toward the   purchasing of building materials. This was followed by individual donations and fundraising activities.

In 1974 construction of  the foundation  began under the supervision of  pioneer  Elder Oswald Archer, a contractor who gave of his time sacrificially. As God moved on the hearts of the brethren they too gave of their time sacrificially. Skilled workers in carpentry, masonry, plumbing, electrical and steel work joined forces with unskilled men and women at nights and on weekends with the zeal to get their church building off the ground. Among these dedicated pioneers was Bro. Andrew Campbell who fell from the building while working; an experience  the members regarded as a miracle witnessed.

In the infancy of the construction of the building Pastor C. Young was called away to serve overseas giving way to Pastor L. Burrowes whose driving force behind the members achieved the Herculean  task of roofing the church.  Work progressed steadily and on Sabbath, July 8, 1978 was a day of joy and gladness. It was our first worship service in the church building, though incomplete.

With joyful hearts and songs of thanksgiving and praise, our voices were lifted high in melodious tones which emanated expressions of happiness on every face. Our blessings had far outweighed the discomfort of the marl floor on which we had gathered to worship. By faith we had come this far and our hope for the future seemed bright. Our plan was to establish a lighthouse on the hill of Mount Salem that all may come to worship their Creator.

Satisfied with our progress, plans were put in place for a stone laying ceremony November 26, 1978. It was a heartwarming experience for members who participated with a sense of satisfaction and achievement. Soon after Pastor Burrowes was called to serve in the office of West Jamaica Conference and was replaced by Pastor Phillip Hosten and Pastor Morris Grey respectively. Their brief stay made an impact on the church.

In late 1981 Pastor Earl Oliphant assumed leadership. Through his dynamic evangelistic outreach ministry many members were added to the church. Before his departure in 1985, the floor of the church was paved   giving rise to a high level of motivation among members.

In 1986 Pastor Basil A. Reid took up the mantle. Shortly after assuming this responsibility, he was appointed Secretary of the West Jamaica Conference, a position which would naturally relieve him of his pastoral responsibilities. Sensing the need for his service at the church, he requested to remain church pastor along- side his secretarial duties.  His request was granted and under his dedicated and innovative leadership, the church building was completed in favourable condition for  dedication. The date was set for November 20, 1988.

  Church prepared  for dedication

 

In the midst of our preparation came a major disaster, Hurricane Gilbert on September 12, 1988 leaving the building without a roof. This was a major setback for the dedication service and the church in general. For the next ten months services were held at the Conference Auditorium. With faith in the Lord and boundless determination, our stalwart leader and preacher was sure to have the building restored for dedication within a year. This was made possible through the invaluable assistance of the team from the Forest Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church in Richmond, Virginia, who had come to Jamaica through ADRA to work on churches affected by the Hurricane. With such blessing, in September 1989, our church was ready to be dedicated to the Lord. It was indeed a memorable occasion as we look back at the way the Lord had led us through our struggles.

Roof blown off by Hurricane Gilbert

 

Two months later in November 1989, Pastor Reid was called to serve in another district. He was succeeded by Pastor Ferdinand Broomfield in December 1989. Pastor Broomfield like the others did his part in advancing the work of the Lord through increased membership, but in 1992, he too was called to serve elsewhere.

His departure was the gateway for Pastor Glen O. Samuels whose hallmark is evangelism. The “Behold He Cometh” television ministry  was launched while serving at Mount Salem.  Through his dynamic television and radio ministry his name was noised throughout the length and breadth of Jamaica as the “Behold He Cometh” preacher and many souls were garnered for the Lord. His stay lasted until 1995 when he was called to serve as Evangelist in the West Indies Union Conference in Mandeville.

Our next leader was the energetic Balvin Burns Braham who served as motivation to the youth in his pastoral district. Various  activities  were  instituted to  help the  youth  not only  to know  their  purpose but to stay connected to the church.  Family units were introduced in A.Y. for spiritual strengthening and bonding and a lower platform was constructed adjacent to the choir loft for conducting Sabbath School. In the late 1998 he was called to serve in the esteemed position of President of West Jamaica Conference.

This gap  was  filled  by Pastor Robert Vassell the man with the musical talent. Before long the choirs were auditioned and formalized to enhance our musical renditions. His next goal was an evangelistic outreach which saw the membership increased favourably. With mission fields waiting he too was called away in 2000 to serve elsewhere.

As was the custom our anxiety was again roused. Who would be next?

We were favoured with the presence of Pastor Norman Thompson the man with a passion for the poor, who visited and identified with the lowly and responded to their needs. His focus was on family life enrichment programmes, evangelism and the ambience for worship. The installation of air condition units, a projector screen and fabric upholstered benches are some of the comforts from his insight.

Sensing the need for advanced spiritual growth, and motivated by his vision for church planting, members were mobilized for door to door campaign in Cornwall Court. This positive community outreach   ministry resulted in a crusade conducted by Pastor Glen O. Samuels, President of the  West Jamaica Conference  and Co-evangelist Pastor Norman Thompson at the Cornwall Court Community Centre May 21- June 25, 2006.

The success of this campaign was the establishing of a Presence under the tent Sabbath, July 1, 2006. The   following week Sabbath, July 8, 2006, Pastor Thompson led the gathering  to the Farm Primary and Junior High School where they  were granted permission to worship. Services were held weekly under the supervision of elder James Mowatt and leaders Kevin McLean, Dwight Reid, Glendon Brown, their families and other members who left the Mount Salem Church as foundation members. Strong leadership support also came from the elders, leaders and members of the Kings, Farm Heights and Glendevon Seventh-day Adventist churches who reside in the community.

Two months prior to the service to officially establish the Cornwall Court church, Pastor Thompson was called away to serve elsewhere.

On his arrival as pastor of the Mount Salem Church in November 2006, Pastor Laundale Munroe seized the opportunity to formally organize Cornwall Court as a full fledged church on December 9, 2006. Through his innovative and persistent attitude, members were soon motivated to raise funds to off-set the cost of the Mount

Salem Church land and secure the title which for a long time was a major struggle. Growth and development continue as Pastor Munroe focuses on evangelism, community outreach projects and beautification.

Our history would not be complete without recognizing the contribution of our stalwart pioneers, elders and leaders who have over the years helped to nurture the spiritual growth of the church and have given relentless service to the physical development. For our deacons who have sacrificed their time to the day to day care of the church property and our members who have availed themselves in all areas of development, we give God thanks.

As we look back over the forty plus years of  existence we are truly  thankful to the Lord for His leading in all dimensions of our lives and for inspiring us to touch lives and to be a lighthouse in the community.

We thank Him for the Holy Ghost power in our evangelistic outreach which increased our membership from over 100 to 908. We thank Him for His provision of the land on which this church is constructed and for our spiritual, visionary and dedicated Pastors whose motivation enabled the church as a people to grow from strength to strength.

We pray that the Lord will continue to bless our effort as we endeavour to continue to commit our lives to His service and to look forward to the blessed hope of His return.