Desmond Henry TREASURE BEACH:
CHESTER MITCHELL left Jamaica at the early age of 13, along with his parents who were migrating to New York. He pulled out of Pembroke Hall where he lived, and Calabar High School at the early impressionable age not knowing what would become of him. He wended his way through New York, completing high school and later Queens College in that city. Around that time, he decided that theology was his calling, so off he went to the Christian Life Centre in California, graduating with a degree in theology. He worked and outfitted himself with experience for a number of years out west, before heading back east in 1996.
He chose the unlikely suburb of Reston, Virginia (near Washington DC) as the locale from which to direct his new found energy, confidence and faith. I say "unlikely" because anyone who knows the residential patterns around Wa-shington will realise that many of the areas are like escape centres from the city's overcrowding. Their residents are usually US Government or international agency employees, and bring to their neighbourhood a good background mix of intellect, earnings and sophistication. That was precisely a part of the early appeal to Pastor Mitchell. Today he is an undisputed model in the way to fuse religion and citizenry into strong, successful community action.
I met Pastor Mitchell recently, when after a business visit to New York I journeyed through Reston to visit with family on my way back here. His story and evidence of his accomplishments are precisely the kind of things that prove the concept of Faith in Action. It was exactly the kind of ideas that were spoken about in a New York meeting which I attended, prior to my arrival in Virginia. In New York, you see, the urgency was to try and isolate pockets of Jamaican citizen centres of individuals, through which a two-way flow of information could lead to greater collaborative efforts here at home.
One of the things I spoke on, was the concept of a Pulpit Exchange Programme by which successful leaders of churches in the US from a Jamaican background, could routinely exchange their pulpits with their counterparts in Jamaica, to see how best relationships might accrue at both ends. Conceivably the greater flow would be towards the Jamaican end, but that was the presumed nature of the examination in the first place. I have no doubt whatsoever that Pastor Mitchell could present a truly hypnotic case on how to better organise and develop church-community collaboration in Jamaica.
As if admiring his organisational skills was not enough, my wife and I attended worship in his Capital Community Church. He is dynamic, persuasive, believable and sincere. His preaching style is straight out of the US culture - charismatic, inviting and participatory. Among the many pieces of informational literature his church puts out, is one entitled 'The Way We Worship At The Capital Community Church', along with several other pieces covering the entire range of human ministry which it serves.
For example in the range of The Whole Family, his church recognises the individual groupings of parents, children, youth, married couples, singles and the disadvantaged. The multiplicity of purposes served in its new impressive structure include music and worship, children ministry, youth and prayer ministries, evangelism and home care. In the area of recognising and the marketing of a church's community responsibilities, Pastor Mitchell's evangelism would be most welcome here. He knows how to get involved.
He never fails to mention the fortifying influence of his early Jamaican mentor, Bishop Sam Stewart of the Pentecostal Tabernacle on Wildman Street in Kingston. He proudly salutes Bishop Stewart for helping to guide him to where he is today. He routinely involves his Jamaican background in his messages and conduct, and never fails to give credit to the influences he learnt here during his early life. One of the prized messages he received at the official opening and dedication of his new church in May, was one from President Bush and the White House.
In all this, I just hope that someone one day will get back to taking the potential of our citizens aboard seriously, by inviting them to genuine participation in nation-building along the lines of talents segmentation. Some twelve years ago I did a study of this subject and titled it Operation Reconnection. There are many, many ways to engender pride locally and internationally.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Prayer is not designed to change God, but rather the individual who prays.
Desmond Henry is a marketing strategist based in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth.
