Ministering to children at Vacation Bible Schools during the day and to adults at revivals at night on the island of Oracabessa, Jamaica. That was the focus of a recent mission trip for Pastor Jon Matthews and his team from New Philadelphia Ministries in St. Petersburg.
Matthews, founder, pastor and teacher at New Philadelphia Ministries (NPM), organized the mission trip which took place in July. He and his team ministered to adults and children within the Oracabessa Circuit of Churches and added 84 new brothers and sisters to our Lord’s kingdom.
NPM visited four Vacation Bible School (VBS) locations during the day and revivals at night, July 13 -20. The missionaries proclaimed, “This trip was an amazing opportunity! Thank you Pastor Matthews and Dr. Jeffery Singletary, Central Regional Catalyst for the Florida Baptist Convention. We felt honored and privileged to travel alongside you and look forward to the next opportunity.”
The children in Jamaica who participated in VBS expressed their appreciation of the missionaries’ teachings:
- “I enjoyed myself, thank you for teaching me.”
- “Thank you, I hope you keep coming back.”
- “The teachers are nice and fun, I will miss you.”
- “I love everybody here.”
- “Thank you for teaching me about Jesus.”
- “I wish you did not have to leave.”
Miss Derrion, a member of Jacks River Baptist Church and Dance Ministry in Jamaica, who helped serve during VBS, said to the missionaries, “[I give my] heartfelt gratitude and am glad to have you here… [We’re] happy that God has called you to do His ministry. You have been an inspiration… you impact a lot of people. I pray that God will continue to use you and that other people can feel your purpose here on Earth. We want to see you again and wish our time together was not so short.”
Testimonials from the New Philadelphia Ministries missionaries:
Ashley Pool: “The children were so amazing. This was my first mission trip ever and coming to Jamaica the first time, as well. They ministered to me as much as I did to them, I hope. I believe that we left such an impact, but Jamaica has made the biggest impact on our lives, here, as a unit.”
Kelsey Elliot: “It was truly a blessing to come because I was able to connect with the children on such a deep level and not just build a friendship but build a relationship on our love for Jesus Christ.”
Minister Armond Clove: “… my first ever mission trip… It was a wonderful experience to be able to minister to the children. As they ministered to my soul, I was able to minister to theirs.”
Minister Micah Poole: “Of all the mission trips [I’ve attended], I can say this is the first time that the mission team was the mission… I would definitely encourage those who have never been on a mission trip, and want to go, [to do it] because it will change your life.”
The life of people in Jamaica is changing for the better with each such mission. This can be seen in the photo, it can be seen from the reviews of children, it can be seen from their smiles. Jesus visited them with the missionaries.
Beautifully stated, thank you for your insight and motivation.