Seventh-day Adventists from Central Adventist Church in St. Croix, of the U.S. Virgin Islands, gathered recently to commemorate the culmination of a historic evangelistic campaign held in a large tent 50 years ago on October 30, 1971. The success of that campaign, which resulted in 226 baptisms, surprised even the organizers at the time.
The U.S. Virgin Islands were considered difficult terrain for evangelism, but the leaders pressed on in faith,” said Pastor Thomas Rose, who currently leads Central Adventist Church and who spoke at the commemoration. The celebration was held on Sabbath, October 30, 2021 at the very spot where the big tent stood, just five miles from where the Central Adventist Church is now located. Some who were there in 1971 attended the commemoration.
Dr. Lloyd Henry, a member of the planning committee, spoke of the excitement as the tent went up on September 12th, 1971, and onlookers stopped by to lend a hand. “It was a thrill to see a busload of guests arrive at the meetings,” said Henry. “Something big was about to happen.”
Mary Kent, one of the original ushers, described the journey her life took, bringing her back to recommitting her life to Jesus.
Pastor Reginal Michael, now a retiree, shared some of his early memories of preparing the field for the campaign and talked about the challenge of locating the right spot. He spoke of the excitement of learning evangelistic methods from Evangelist Kem Wiggins. Pastor Michael, who was one of eight pastors at the evangelistic meetings, kept two of the original bumper stickers that were distributed to advertise the campaign. The bumper stickers read “Follow Me to the Big Green Tent.”
“Opening night on September 26th saw a packed tent,” said Annette Walwyn Michael, wife of Pastor Michael, who also assisted in the campaign. “The rainy September weather and the mud did not deter the standing-room-only crowds. Evangelist Wiggins kept the audience engaged and edified,” she said.
Among those baptized were Claudette Andrews, Dorliss Marshall, Ophelia Walters, and hundreds of others that were part of the new Church members who became dedicated local leaders after their baptism. “Those baptized were mainly young people with young families, with lots of energy but no church home,” Mrs. Michael said.
For Claudette Andrews, the recent celebration commemorates her own baptism. Pastor Andrews, a retired commissioned minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, became an evangelist and led hundreds of men and women to Christ throughout the Caribbean for nearly 50 years.
Steve Roberts, who was also baptized at the culmination of the 1971 tent meetings, has been preaching on the local television station in St. Croix for over 14 years. Elder New Jacob, who was also baptized on that day, went on to become an international evangelist taking the Word of God to distant lands, organizers said.
Alvira Brooks and Ophelia Walter, who became members after attending the tent meetings in 1971, are both still active members. They helped grow the St. Croix Seventh-day Adventist School, whose enrollment almost doubled as children of the new believers joined.
A year after the historic baptism, the membership of the congregation had reached over 300, and the church was officially organized. After that, a plot of land was purchased, plans were drawn, and construction of the church building began.
By the time the Central Church was dedicated in 1977, the membership doubled, and the Hope and Bethel Adventist Churches grew out of that church. The Central Adventist Church in St. Croix remains one of the largest churches in the North Caribbean Conference territory.
The recent celebration included poetry, youth presentations, and a praise team that sang “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart”, the theme song of the 1971 evangelism meetings.
As Pastor Andrews spoke to the gathering, she said that celebrations would continue in the coming months at the Central Adventist Church, to continue to praise God for the blessings that came out of the 1971 tent meeting baptisms, and the domino effect that has continued through the present time.
The Central Adventist Church, which has a membership of 1,000, is one of six English-speaking churches and two Spanish-speaking churches in St. Croix.
This article was originally published on the Inter-American Division’s website.