The Central Baptist Church, at Rey Hill, is considered to be one of the success stories when it comes to church formation, outreach and growth in Anguilla.
Rey Hill was virgin territory as far as church establishment in that village was concerned – for many years. It was not until 1979, when veteran Baptist preacher, Pastor Cecil Richardson, then pastoring Island Harbour Baptist Church, shared his vision for a branch church building at Rey Hill with leading members.
Those brethren were named last Sunday, May 17, when the Central Baptist Church celebrated its thirtieth anniversary with a full congregation and visitors in attendance. The brothers with whom Pastor Richardson spoke were Ivor Lake, Cephas Webster, Joshua Hodge and Stanford Harrigan. The idea was then brought to the attention of the Island Harbour Baptist Church in September, 1979.
In May 1980, agreement was reached with Church Board member, Fred Gumbs of Long Ground, for the purchase of an area land at Rey Hill. By September, 1984, a small wing of the Central Baptist Church was completed, allowing for regular services there. For the next eight months the services continued in Island Harbour as well as in Rey Hill, under the leadership of Pastor Richardson. On May 19, 1985, the Central Baptist Church was officially organised under the auspices of Island Harbour Baptist Church. There were twenty-eight charter members.
The ministry continued to grow under the guidance of Pastor Richardson assisted by Brothers Ivor Lake, Monsell Hazell, Colin Bynoe, Ross Guishard and Glenn Hodge. In September 1985, Pastor Richardson officially became pastor of the Central Baptist Church which was dedicated on May 22, 1988. Today, the membership of the church stands between 240 and 250.
In terms of outreach, the Central Baptist Church is involved in various ministries. These include visitation, radio ministry, children’s church and Awana ministry; youth ministry; prison and senior citizens ministry; and the Central Christian School which was started in 2000 and which caters for preschool and primary school education.
The church saw its first ordination service, on May 17, 1998, of Roderick Webster who now pastors the Good News Baptist Church in St. Peter’s, St. Martin. There was another ordination – that of Deacon David Christmas – on May 19, 2013. On March 13, 2014, Dwayne Adams was ordained as Assistant Pastor/Understudy to Pastor Richardson and as his future successor.
Pastor Richardson has been at the Island Harbour Baptist Church and the Central Baptist Church for a total of thirty-nine years – thirty at Central Baptist Church alone. “I am looking forward to retiring sometime soon,” he told The Anguillian. “Yes, I will be retiring in the near future, seriously.”
He was asked how he found those years. “Very rewarding,” he replied. “It is a blessing to be able to help people and to point them to the Lord Jesus Christ. There have been challenges, but these are expected with any responsibility but, overall, it has been very rewarding. I am happy that I have had the chance to serve and now, someday, I will move aside and let the younger man take the mantle, support him, and help him run with it.”
Last Sunday’s thirtieth anniversary service included a dinner at the church’s auditorium and a presentation of anniversary mugs to members of the congregation. The invited preacher was Dr. Gary Sprunger, who was a missionary in the Caribbean since in 1978. A pilot, he has flown many missions to the region including Anguilla when he brought supplies to the island following Hurricane Lenny in November 1999. He now serves as Caribbean Director for the Baptist International Mission Inc. in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with which Pastor Richardson is affiliated.
