In a burst of vigour and influence, thirty-year-old Pastor Denroy Gumbs, performed the Michael Jackson moonwalk, strutting across the pulpit area – in a dark suit with his jet black hair twisted and well-groomed.
It was the start of his two-week Evangelistic Crusade entitled “Experiencing the Kingdom” at the Hilltop Baptist Church, Island Harbour. The young, fiery preacher was at the time proclaiming that God healed him of a series of childhood challenges, saving him from death at least twice; that he was now strong and healthy; and doing God’s will – preaching the Gospel.
“I would describe myself as an end-time John the Baptist type Preacher,” he told The Anguillian newspaper covering the opening of his crusade. “I have locks – my hair is twisted. Paul said I became all things to all men. God told me to do my hair because he wanted me to reach certain people and break the barrier. A lot of times when young men come into the church, with long hair and stuff like that, they get turned away by persons saying they look like the world. I wanted to see if my church, that had been receiving me with a wave cut, would still receive me with this type of hair. Sometimes we, as Christians, like to judge. I don’t plan to have my hair like this for the rest of my life. It is just something that I have a mandate for now. As I preach, it is about Jesus Christ. Since I did my hair, I find that even rastas and other persons are more receptive of me. I just want to break that barrier so that I can reach more people.” The people he referred to include other young people, like himself, and everybody else, regardless of age.
Pastor Denroy is not just another preacher out of the blue. “I studied at God’s Bible School and College in Cincinnati, Ohio, for four years – from 2010-2014,” he said. “I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Ministerial Studies. I do not have my own church yet, but I believe that God will give me my own church in His own time. I am at Oracle Ministries International with Pastor James Morris at George Hill.” Pastor Denroy was born and raised in the Church of God (Holiness) but left there in 2016.
He was given a rousing welcome by Pastor Gareth Hodge and the congregation of the Hilltop Baptist Church. There, to welcome him also, and to greet all in attendance, was Premier Dr. Ellis Webster, the Elected Representative for Island Harbour, who declared open the crusade and stressed its importance to the religious and spiritual lives of the people of Anguilla.
The influential Pastor Denroy held his audience in rapt attention as he told a story of having been in the hospital for most of his childhood life and how, over the years, God healed him. “When I tell you that I am a preacher, I have to preach Christ because He has been so good to me,” he told his listeners while narrating his bouts of challenges and near-death situations; and the stress his parents, Mr. Leroy Gumbs and Mrs. Denise Gumbs, endured.
Mr. Mitch Hodge, a former ferryboat operator, spoke about being called upon by Denroy’s mother to rush him to St. Martin for treatment when he (Hodge) thought that her son was dead in her arms. He was surprised, some years later, to learn that Denroy was very much alive -and he was now delighted to see him preaching in the pulpit.
Pastor Denroy speaks with a passion about his past and the unshakeable faith of his parents. He said in part: “While my mom and dad were going to the pier to take me to St. Martin, for treatment, Satan stepped up to my mother and asked: ‘Where are you going with him? Can’t you see he is dead?’ I get passionate about this because, in the midst of that trauma, Satan decided to shake my mother’s faith. But my mom kept praying; and my father, kept…Even though the devil said I was dead, look at me now. I am thirty years of age and I am more alive than I ever been… I ain’t got no stroke. I can walk; I can dance… So when I tell you that I am a preacher, I got to preach this Gospel – and I got to preach Jesus Christ because He saved me and, as He saved me, He can save you too.”
Throughout his delivery, the Pastor punctuated his sermon with the phrase: “Bring back the Preacher” – a reference that there was a need for true, dedicated and responsible preachers. He lamented that persons were no longer interested in studying theology but, instead, were engaging in all kinds of secular studies and activities.
He added: “I am a born and raised Anguillian, and I have a mandate on my life to give my people of Anguilla the good- news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Bring back the preacher.”
Pastor Denroy appears well set to mushroom into a powerful preacher, with a positive and enduring message for everyone in Anguilla. His Evangelistic Crusade, on “Experiencing the Kingdom”, continues until October 9, 2020.
