Every lasting organization marks its beginning, monitors its growth and development, takes time for reflection and evaluation, expresses appreciation to its stakeholders, and celebrates its achievements and accomplishments. The West Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has reached a vital milestone for highlighting all of the above.
An eighty-plus-year landmark is highly significant in the church’s developmental journey. This journey, of course, would have been derailed or abandoned were it not for the unfailing, all-wise, providential leading of the Lord, who is the head and foundation of the church. Thus, our celebration commences with utmost gratitude.
Geographical Configuration
In 1906, Jamaica was part of the original West Indian Union Conference. The other members of that union included territories in Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Cuba, the Bahamas, Dominica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. At the time, approximately 3,110 members were worshipping in 72 congregations. Today, that same geographical territory boasts a membership of 2.1 million spread across 12 unions and 6,657 congregations.
In 1915, the West Indian Union Conference was reorganized to include Jamaica alongside the Southern and Western Caribbean Conferences. By 1930, the Cayman Islands Mission joined Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the French Islands of the Western Caribbean in what became the Antillean Union, which also included the Spanish-speaking territories of the Caribbean.
The British West Indian Union Mission came into existence in 1944. It comprised the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, British Honduras (now Belize), the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Jamaica, with its headquarters located in Mandeville, Jamaica. There were some 10,636 members across 176 churches. In 1960, the name was changed to the West Indies Union Conference. At this time, there were only two conferences in Jamaica: the East Jamaica Conference and the West Jamaica Conference. The Central Jamaica Conference was established just two years later, in 1962.
Forty years later, in 2002, the North Jamaica Conference became the fourth conference on the island. The mission was also expanding in the Bahamas; in 2003, the North Bahamas Mission was established. Our specific journey began in 1944 when the Jamaica Conference—originally received by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in 1903 at its 35th meeting in California, USA—was divided into the East and West Jamaica Missions. It did not take long for these fast-developing missions to become full conferences, with the West Jamaica Conference’s first president, Pastor E. E. Parchment, serving from 1944–1948, followed by Pastor W. S. Walter from 1948–1952.
These events indicated rapid growth and the mission-driven involvement of Jamaica in an organization that was, at the time, less than a century old. More administrative oversight was dynamically needed both in Jamaica and across the wider Caribbean region. With the establishment of the local fields, the East Jamaica Conference set up its headquarters in Kingston with six parishes. The West Jamaica Conference, comprising eight parishes—Clarendon, Manchester, St. Ann, St. Elizabeth, Trelawny, St. James, Hanover, and Westmoreland—retained its temporary headquarters in Mandeville.
Supervising and leading a span of eight parishes presented a Herculean task. Pastors were few, pastoral districts were large, and congregations were far apart. However, lay workers, elders, Bible workers, colporteurs, and regular members caught the vision. They embraced the mission of spreading the gospel of Christ with a zeal that became a burning passion. Consequently, Seventh-day Adventism expanded rapidly.
Administrative reconfiguration became inevitable. In late 1961, West Jamaica relinquished three of its parishes (Clarendon, Manchester, and St. Ann) to form the third conference in Jamaica, the Central Jamaica Conference (with St. Ann later transitioning to the North Jamaica Conference in 2002). The newly configured West Jamaica Conference was then composed of five parishes: St. Elizabeth, Trelawny, Westmoreland, Hanover, and St. James. In January 1962, the headquarters of the West Jamaica Conference was relocated to Montego Bay, St. James, with offices at 30 Church Street, and a new president, Pastor S. G. Lindo, was appointed to succeed the dynamic and powerful Pastor H. S. Walters, who served as president
from 1952–1961.
The continued growth and development of the church in Jamaica pushed the creation of even more territories. In 2002, the West Jamaica Conference passed the parish of Trelawny to the newly organized North Jamaica Mission, leaving West Jamaica with its current four parishes: St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, and St. James. This is the enduring composition of West Jamaica as it celebrates its rich, historic legacy.
The Headquarters
Between 1944 and 1961, the West Jamaica Conference (WJC) operated out of Mandeville, Manchester. In 1962, after making Montego Bay the administrative centre of the conference, the Lord made 30 Church Street a miracle hub. Harrison Memorial School, which had been housed at the same address, relocated to 3 Cottage Road, leaving room for the conference offices, the Montego Bay church, and the Adventist Book Centre to share that tiny, historic space. 30 Church Street was truly a powerhouse of a headquarters.
However, in 1975, through the influential negotiations of Pastor Noel Fraser, who was the treasurer at the time, the conference purchased the 22 1/2-acre “Catherine Hall” property at Mt. Salem. Consequently, the conference office relocated to this expansive new site. Later, in 1998, Harrison Memorial High School was relocated to the Catherine Hall compound, followed by the Book and Nutrition Centre finding its permanent home on the property in 2020. Catherine Hall, Mt. Salem, has become a consolidated headquarters hub and is destined to remain the nerve centre of the work for as long as earth's history lasts.
Presidents and Other Administrators
As God’s providential care has overshadowed the journey from 1944 to 2026, there cannot be any doubt that great things have been done. It remains truly amazing how God, in His love, involves human instruments in His leadership, utilizing a wide multiplicity of talents within the administrative leaders of the church.
In reflecting on the presidents—14 in all—one finds leaders who were charismatic, forceful, eloquent, soft-spoken, strategic, and visionary. Each displayed, in his respective era, distinct measures of administrative prowess, evangelistic acumen, and strategic planning. Many served as effective departmental directors before assuming the presidency, which provided an excellent proving and learning ground for their ultimate leadership.
The administrative support given by the conference secretaries and treasurers must not be underestimated. The level of efficiency displayed in these two areas contributed significantly to the development and achievement of the field; at each stage, all three offices served to define the overall effectiveness of the administration. As the West Jamaica Conference stands on the threshold of its 7th Quadrennial Session, its eighty-plus-year journey serves as a powerful testament to a legacy forged through faith, adaptive growth, and providential guidance.
This historic milestone is more than a look back at monumental achievements from its humble beginnings to the modern hub at Catherine Hall; it is a launching pad for the future. Armed with the lessons of yesterday and an unwavering commitment to the gospel commission, the West Jamaica Conference enters its next chapter ready to embrace new horizons and continue its mission-driven march under the same divine leadership that has sustained it from the very start.
List of Conference Administrators 1944 – Present
Presidents:
E.E Parchment
1944-1948
W.S Nation
1948-1952
H.S Walters
1952-1961
S. G. Lindo
1961 – 1966
S. M. Reid
1966 – 1975
E. R. E Wright
1975 – 1980
C. A. Holness
1980 – 1985
C. S. Plummer
1985 – 1992
B. A. Reid
1992 – 2002
B. B. Braham
2002 – 2005
G. O. Samuels
2005 – 2009
C. T. Brevitt
2009 – 2010
A.D. Bowers
2010 – 2014
G. O. Samuels
2014 -2026
V. Rose
2026- Present
Treasurers:
A. Green
1962-1964
Marshallech
1964-1968
R.O. A. Samms
1968-1973
N. S. Fraser
1973-1976
W. R. McMillan
1976-1979
O. Kerr
1979-1979
W. H. Gunter
1979-1980
E. A. Daley
1980-1986
B. Sinclair
1986-1995
W. H. Gunter
1995-2002
C. Findlay
2002-2005
Marion Barrett-Popkin
2005 – Present
Secretaries:
A. Green
1962 – 1964
S. M. Reid
-1966
A. Marshallech
1966 – 1968
J. C. Palmer
1968 – 1971
E. R. E. Wright
1971 – 1975
C. R. Perry
1975 – 1979
C. S. Plummer
1979 – 1985
B. A. Reid
1985 – 1989
C. L. Burrowes
1989 – 1992
W. H. Gunter
1992 – 1995
A.D. Bowers
1995 – 2002
C. T. Brevitt
2002 – 2009
D. F. Williams
2009 - 2010
E. C. Grant
2010 – 2014
D. F. Williams
2014 – 2022
V. G. Rose
2022 – 2026
D. F Williams
2026- Present
Vice Presidents:
D.F. Williams
2022 – Present
C.T. Brevitt
2022 – Present