In 2016, Onessa Hughes-Mitchell used her graduate school savings to create a tutoring center in her parents' home in McBean, Trinidad. Ten years later, that same space is home to the McBean Seventh-day Adventist Group.

Hughes-Mitchell's journey was presented at the "Church Planting for Intercultural Mission" conference held at the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC). As a researcher specializing in records management at the Caribbean Union Conference, she showed delegates how community service, relationships, and discipleship can lead to congregational growth.

When she was in her early twenties and a student at USC, Hughes-Mitchell would walk around the McBean community, talking with residents and learning about their challenges. One need stood out: many children needed academic support. The tutoring center she founded quickly expanded beyond homework help to include mentoring, spiritual guidance, and family support.

“Instead of focusing on what the community lacked, we focused on the people God had already placed there,” Hughes-Mitchell said. “We learned that when we invest in relationships and genuinely serve people, ministry opportunities arise naturally.”

The center soon became a gateway for Adventurer and Pathfinder ministries, drawing children and families into church life. In 2018, the McBean Seventh-day Adventist Group was officially organized. Hughes-Mitchell served as secretary, while her father, Oscar Hughes, a church elder, led the growing congregation.

Currently, the church has 64 registered members and regularly receives more than 75 visitors. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the congregation has continued to meet on the ground floor of Hughes-Mitchell's parents' house. "The room where the children learned math and reading has become a place where people learn about Jesus," she said.

In January 2026, Hughes-Mitchell and Noel Brathwaite presented a seminar on resource mapping during the Consultative Council meeting of the Inter-American Division (IAD) Secretariat, which coordinates the activities of the Adventist Church throughout Central America, held in Cancún, Mexico. The presentation demonstrated how churches can identify and mobilize the gifts, talents, and relationships that already exist within their congregations. The South Caribbean Conference approved a pilot project in seven congregations to test this model as a discipleship tool.

"Asset mapping helps us view communities through the eyes of Christ," Hughes-Mitchell explained. "Every person has gifts. Every community has strengths. When we recognize those assets and connect them to God's mission, disciples are made and communities are transformed."

For the delegates at the meeting, the McBean congregation was a concrete example of how service and building friendships can open doors to new congregations. "Mission isn't about waiting until everything is ready," Hughes-Mitchell said. "Often, God begins with what's already in our hands."

The original article was published on the South American Division news site.