Pastor Peter Samuel of Patience Baptist Church, a Reformed Baptist church founded in 1957, and holding to the 1689 Baptist Confession, writes:
The normal Sunday congregation is about 60–65 people, including children. The youngest members are in their 30s, the oldest is 97 years. It comprises mainly teachers, government and private-sector workers, retirees and a few unskilled labourers.
St Lucia has a new government following recent elections; Coronavirus is a major problem. Testing cannot be done locally and samples are sent to Trinidad. In the last nine weeks both infections and deaths have doubled, the latter from 91 deaths to 190. Health services are stretched beyond limit and doctors and nurses are working very long hours.
Worse, most St Lucians are antivaxxers, so less than 15% are fully vaccinated – the lowest percentage in the Eastern Caribbean.
The government responded with a 24-hour Sunday curfew, so now our services and meetings take place only on Zoom. But the Lord has opened doors for us to spread the gospel during the pandemic, as we can reach hundreds of people via WhatsApp. So we post gospel messages to hundreds of people every Sunday, across many different countries. We have also developed an online Bible class for children aged six to 16.
I also host a daily radio and television programme where I preach the gospel and teach Biblical doctrine; we thank God that this has continued during the pandemic. But compassionate ministry is impossible. We moved to our current location last June and since then visiting homes has not been permitted by the authorities.
Please pray for the following key areas:
• that the government may bring the pandemic to a manageable level
• for those who have lost their jobs, that the Lord will provide for them, especially those in hospitality. Patience tries to help as much as possible, but it is only a small church
• that St Lucian churches will remain faithful to the Lord and not be discouraged
• for me, that I will be able to provide the right kind of leadership for the people.
