The Men’s Ministries department of the Cayman Islands Conference of Seventh-day Adventists recently held its Men’s Ministries Convention on Cayman Brac, under the caption “Men of Hope”. One of the main focuses of this year’s convention was Prayer. Therefore, the weekend-long event (Friday evening) began with a “Prayer Huddle” led by Elder Michael Hall and his committee. Those in attendance huddled in groups and prayed about various issues affecting them and their families. This method was replicated during Divine Worship on Sabbath, along with testimonies and melodious singing from “Men in Praise”, a joint praise team.
The guest speaker, Pastor Ricardo Selman of the East Caribbean Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, commenced the session on Friday evening using a rhetorical question through the topic “Are You Man Enough?”. Over one hundred men, including youth and young boys, were in attendance and keenly listened as he spoke about being comfortable with sharing their emotions and issues. Similarly, on Sabbath, he motivated the men to take their rightful place in society as Godly: rulers, warriors, models, and friends. The Sabbath evening’s sessions supported a crowd of both of Men and Women. This featured presentations from Mark and Sophia Hamilton, who spoke on “Resilience”, and Elder A. Gordon presented on “The Pandemic and its Effects on Men & Women”. To impact the young men who were encouraged to attend the convention, Elder Terence Blake and Bro. Mark Hamilton engaged them in a separate session entitled “Power of the Mind”, which lasted for approximately 1 hour. The Guest Speaker, Pastor Selman, closed the evening with a presentation on communication. When asked about the presentations, Pastor Vaughn Henry, Director of Men’s Ministries, shared, “The presentations were powerful, specifically the one on communication. Pastor Selman shared that as men, we have to learn to listen with our hearts. And he also encouraged that while opinions are good, we have to hold them until they are needed.”
You may have heard the phrase “powerful things happen when men pray”, but in addition to that, you should know that “powerful things can happen when men play”. And as such, the men of the church and community topped off the Saturday evening with a well-appreciated social, which provided fun and social interaction.
At the convention, there were prayer sessions from 6:00 – 6:45 am Saturday and Sunday mornings, and there were 38 and 60 men, respectively, in attendance. As a culmination to the prayer focus, the attendees placed their prayer requests in a box provided and on Sunday night, Pastor Maurice Chambers, Pastor for the Creek Church, petitioned the throne on behalf of the men and their requests. After Sunday morning’s prayer meeting, the men were engaged in two projects. One of the projects was to assist in foundation work for the Creek Church expansion. The other was to assist one of the Creek men in building a chicken coup. After the labour of love, the men gathered again on Sunday evening for the final presentation from the guest speaker. He encouraged the men to make their son(s) a priority by spending quality time with them to influence their lives spiritually. They left the session empowered, encouraged, and equipped to carry out their mandate under the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Pastor Vaughn Henry, Men’s Ministries Director, would like to commend the women of the Creek Church, Nordia Henry, and Chief Chef Trevor Blake, who prepared the delicious meals served for the duration of the convention. Also, we would like to say a big thank you to Pastor Maurice Chambers, the Creek Church, the Men’s Ministries Leaders and the men of the Churches for their support. May God bless you and keep you all.
Written by: Pastor Vaughn Henry, Men’s Ministries Director. Edited by: Devarro Whittaker, Associate Television Producer
