Mr. Chairman, delegates, and guests of this quinquennial session of the Caribbean Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (CARU):  It is an honor to share what God has done for, and through the Ministerial Association, for the period under review (2021 – 2025). 

The backdrop for the ministry exploits of the Caribbean Union Conference was significantly shaped by the realities of the COVID-19 era. There was almost a paradigm shift in the various modalities used by pastors and other leaders who ministered to the needs of the congregations; the numerous challenges occasioned a strategic refocus. As a result, the entire team came together at the headquarters of the Inter-American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (IAD) from November 2 to 5, 2023.  The theme, “Perspectives in Ministry During Uncertain Times” provided a supportive environment for the refocus.  The CARU administrators, ministerial secretary, associate ministerial secretaries, and field ministerial secretaries were present and fully engaged. The resource persons included Dr Josney Rodriguez, Ministerial Secretary of the IAD, who focused on maintaining the vision; Dr Pete Palmer, who shared on issues of trauma and its impact on pastoral families; and Osman Longa, who covered Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its applications in ministry. We all departed with a greater appreciation for the huge task ahead and with the assurance that God, who has called us, is with us.  

The Call to Ministry

The CARU Ministerial Association has been established to equip and support the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) pastoral family to realize the three spiritual qualifications of the pastoral calling: 

• A personal call from Christ 
• A personal relationship with Christ 
• A personal empowerment by Christ

These indicate that the pastor pursues his or her call in the context of a committed relationship with Christ. It is this understanding that makes the call to the sacred work of the ministry so compelling, and this perspective is supported in Gospel Workers: “Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is the highest privilege and the most fascinating adventure ever given to humankind. The greatest work, the noblest effort, in which men can engage is to point sinners to the Lamb of God. True ministers are colaborers with the Lord in the accomplishment of His purposes” (White, 18). This report seeks to demonstrate our efforts within this framework. 

The Ministerial Landscape

There are 229 ministerial workers in the Caribbean Union Conference, and they are distributed among our 10 fields (conferences and missions) and institutions (university and hospitals). Within the Inter-American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (IAD), our Union has the third highest number of ministerial workers. The ratio of pastors to members is 1: 823. As of December 2025, 88 pastors were classified as licensed and 137 were classified as ordained or commissioned. 

The Bible Workers (Religious Educators) are an integral part of the ministerial family, and they work side by side with our pastors to fulfill the gospel commission. We thank God for this critical partnership.  In January 2021, there were nine Bible Workers in the Caribbean Union Conference, and up to December 2025, nine remained active.

Whereas an individual senses and responds to a call from God during his or her personal encounter with Him, to prepare for and enter ministerial employment, the rite of ordination is where that call is affirmed by the body of believers. The SDA Ministers Manual highlights this assertion, found in the documented working policy of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (GC Policy, L 25 30): “The spiritual rite of ordination constitutes the official recognition by the Seventh-day Adventist Church of his divine call to the ministry as a life commitment… and to serve as a minister of the gospel in any part of the world.”  We were blessed to have witnessed this service of affirmation throughout the conferences and missions during the period under review. Table 1 details the fields which hosted ordination or commissioning services, with some fields hosting both.

Table 1

Ordination and Commissioning Services

Spiritual and Emotional Support

The work of ministry is unlike any other.  One is called to a divine appointment by God to devote one’s entire lifework to the preaching of the gospel and to the edifying of the saints, with the promise penned in Christ Object Lessons: “All His biddings are enablings,” (White, 333). Yet, pastoral families must navigate all the challenges and hazards that assail them daily in the course of ministry.  And whereas our ministers in the Caribbean Union Conference understand and accept this, we, in the leadership of the CARU Ministerial Association, recognize that our role is to provide support and nurture as they endure the rigors that come with ministry. During the quinquennium, we endeavored to do this and put plans in place for ongoing support.

Pastoral Week of Prayer: Each year, the Inter-American Division, in conjunction with the Caribbean Union Conference, set aside one week as the Pastoral Family Week of Prayer for the spiritual nurture of our pastoral families.  This annual experience was enriched by pastors and other local resource personnel who prepared relevant messages around creative themes.  The IAD-sponsored weeks of prayer were additional features during the quinquennium, hosted by Pastor Alejandro Bullon and Pastor Pavel Goia in 2022 and 2023, respectively.  

Pastoral Retreats: Additional support was given to our pastors and other ministerial workers when various fields, with some assistance from the Caribbean Union Conference, catered to spiritual health and emotional well-being by planning and executing pastoral retreats. These invigorating encounters were well-timed, given the many stressful cycles that ministerial workers endured, and made the words of Jesus to His disciples especially applicable to our workers: “And he said unto them, ‘Come ye . . . apart into a desert place and rest a while . . .’” (Mark 6:31, King James Version).  Pastoral family retreats held across our region are listed in Table 2.

Table 2

Pastoral Retreats

Ministerial Retreat (Punta Cana): From September 9 to 12, 2024, pastoral families experienced a “once in a ministerial-lifetime” event. It was the IAD-sponsored ministerial retreat, where more than 2000 couples from the Caribbean Union Conference, along with three other unions, enjoyed the amenities of a beautiful destination resort at Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The appropriately coined theme, “Anointed”, provided a halo for the relaxing retreat.  This was the first division-wide event of its kind and is not likely to occur again, on such a scale, within most of our ministerial sojourns. The overwhelming sentiment expressed, was that it was a life-changing experience. To God be the glory! 

Pastors’ Appreciation: To encourage the membership to affirm pastors and their families, the Caribbean Union Conference urgently enjoined Pastors’ Appreciation Day.  Each year, a day was set aside in October for members to express appreciation in tangible and intangible ways. This proved to be a tremendous source of support and affirmation for pastoral families and became a cherished annual event on the churches’ calendars. 

Reach out and Touch: It became very apparent, especially during the latter part of the quinquennium, that several of the leaders (pastors and elders) and their families were experiencing crises, of one kind or another. We are thankful that the organization has structures in place to respond to such crises. For example, we provided professional counseling services through Ministry Care Line, located in Kettering, Ohio, USA. This service is domiciled in the SDA-operated Kettering Health system and has proven to be an invaluable resource for all the Caribbean Union Conference pastoral families.

However, there are times, as previously referenced, when situations demand that extra effort of getting a little closer for that personal touch of caring and spiritual support. As a result, the ministerial association leadership team from the IAD, the CARU, and the local field, diversified scheduled training programs by incorporating ministry visits. At times, visits spanned an entire day, and in some cases, extended to two days, devoted exclusively to home visits with our church leaders (pastors and elders who have served for many years and are no longer able to continue in active service).  Our purpose was to remind them that we were with them in their challenges, and that their service for God was deeply appreciated by the Church, as well as by our Heavenly Father. It was a deeply moving spiritual experience for both recipients and the visitation team, which usually comprised the Ministerial Secretary of the IAD, the CARU and the local field, as well as the CARU President.     

Pastors Kids’ (PKs’): The first PKs’ convention during the period under review, was hosted by the Guyana Conference on July 8, 2023. Children from pastoral families bonded over the theme, “Forever Friends-PKs’ Developing Stronger Friendship with Jesus and Each Other.”

The convention aimed to enhance the PKs’ spirituality, provide the opportunity for worship and fellowship with each other, and help PKs’ learn from each other how to handle positives and negatives of being a pastor’s child.

Among the knowledgeable presenters was Dr Kerly-Ann Tobias-Joseph and some of the topics which elicited the most animated discussions included:  Keeping PKs’ in the Church, Problems Preachers Kids Face, and Preventing Attrition.

On November 16, 2024, another convention was held under the banner “Swiping Sin to the Left and God to the Right.”  Once again, Dr Kerly-Ann Tobias-Joseph was one of the stimulating presenters, and she focused on the topic of Joy – one of the certification modules in the PKs’ ministry.  The main speaker for the convention was Pastor Demson Salmon, a PK from the United States of America.  Many children from pastoral families were encouraged by the event and left the convention committed to continuing in service for God.

Ministry Resources

In addition to supporting the spiritual and emotional well-being of our pastoral staff, the other critical area of focus for the CARU Ministerial Association, was the matter of providing relevant resources so that ministry delivery would meet the needs of the membership in changing and challenging times.  During the quinquennium, attention was given to the entire leadership team that worked in close association with the pastor. That team included elders, deacons, deaconesses and pastoral spouses.

Ministry Software (pastoriad.org): One of the major developments that occurred in the Inter-American Division – and by extension the Caribbean Union Conference – in recent history, was the introduction of a software designed to assist with the professional practice of ministry in the following areas:

1. It provides a mechanism for the implementation of the Discipleship Model in ministry.
2. It provides analysis of collected data that is useful to inform decision-making in pastoral care. 
3. It helps to maintain accountability at all levels of the Church’s structure.
4. It assists in the process of continuing education for pastors and elders.

The software integrates the work of the pastor and the elders of the church through separate web portals, which allow data sharing. Pastors and elders were guided through the registration process, given access to the software, and trained to utilize it effectively. 

Support for Interns: Our vision for continued growth and progress in ministry was firmly established in the Caribbean Union Conference during the Intern Supervisors’ Summit held in Trinidad from February 27 to March 1, 2024.  Forty-three ministers (including intern supervisors, ministerial secretaries, leaders of the Caribbean Union Conference, and invitees from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (GC)) converged for this scheduled event. Resource personnel included Pastor Leslie Moses (South Caribbean Conference), Dr Curtis Fox (contracted psychometric instrument evaluator), Pastor Andrew Farrel (retired Ministerial Secretary of CARU), and Caribbean Union Conference facilitators: Dr Kern Tobias, Pastor Johnson Frederick, Pastor Bertie Henry, and Sister Linda Tobias, as well as Pastor Anthony Kent (General Conference).  These facilitators established a clear road map for the future approach to intern mentoring. 

To facilitate ongoing intern support, a monthly zoom meeting (the Interns’ Forum), along with a WhatsApp chat, was established to provide further instructions and feedback on issues related to ministry.  This focus on the assimilation of new ministers into ministry represents one of the strategic shifts undertaken during the period under review. 

Pastoral Spouses: Sister Linda Tobias, who served as a CARU Associate Ministerial Secretary for many terms, mentored and trained the pastoral spouses of the Caribbean Union Conference as they sought to navigate the very delicate roles of private and public partnership in ministry. One of the primary ways in which that was achieved was through the implementation of the General Conference Shepherdess Certification.  As outlined in Table 3, spouses in the following fields were certified after completing the required training modules:

Table 3

GC Shepherdess Certification Modules Completed

Elders: On any given Sabbath, more elders than pastors occupy the pulpits of our churches.  In the Caribbean Union there are 229 pastors to approximately 2,300 registered elders – a ratio of approximately 1:10. This basic reality and the statistics clearly speak to the critical role our elders play in the leadership of God’s Church.  The Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual states that “The pastoral work of the church should be shared by the pastor and the elders” (SDA Church Manual, 2022), underscoring the importance of the relationship between the pastor and the elder.

As a result, deliberate efforts to strengthen this relationship were made during this term.  Several, “Pastor/Elder Summits” were conducted, paying particular attention to roles and responsibilities, as well as relational dynamics. The Guyana Conference, in particular, convened annual Pastor/Elder consultations.  It was very gratifying to see these leaders come together, recognizing that they have a shared purpose and that, in relation to the work of God, there is more that unites them than divides them. In addition to focusing on the team ministry approach to working with our elders, significant time was devoted to organizing, training, and supporting them. While the pastors did quite a bit at the local level, the CARU Ministerial Association also worked diligently in this regard.  Table 4 provides a breakdown of some of the related initiatives.

Table 4

Training for Elders

Deaconry: Significant efforts have been made to integrate deacons and deaconesses into the leadership team of the local church. Most of our churches are compliant with the guideline of the SDA Church Manual to ordain elected deacons and deaconesses.  The East Caribbean Conference and the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Mission must be commended for convening islandwide training and appreciation summits for the deaconry.

“As We Look Ahead”

We give God thanks for His providential leading during this period, and the way He blessed our efforts. Yes, looking back is very necessary as we have sought to do in this report.  Now, permit me to share with you just a few observations, as the CARU Ministerial Association positions itself to look ahead.  There is still a need to:  

• Fully operationalize the Discipleship Plan that is embedded in the current software, pastoriad.org/everyelderinvolved.com, used by the Ministerial Association.
• Deepen the synergy and working relationship between pastors and elders as members are mobilized for service.
• Work more closely with the University of the Southern Caribbean to ensure that our ministerial graduates’ skills are more aligned with the challenges they will face in the field.
• To fully operationalize the Pairing of Pastoral Families in our Union, and establish peer support systems for pastors by 2027.

 Gratitude

 I thank God for all His blessings and mercies to me and my family during our time of service.  Expressions of gratitude are like the fragrance of heaven which permeates the heart of both the giver and recipient.  I am grateful for the prayers and kind wishes of everyone who contributed to the successful ministry of the CARU Ministerial Association.

My CARU Administrators (Dr. Kern Tobias, Pastor Johnson Frederick, and Pastor Bertie Henry) provided empowering and empathetic leadership.  Sister Linda Tobias and Pastor Royston Philbert, my associates in the CARU Ministerial Association, brought professional balance, richness, and finesse to our working relationship.  The personable approach of Pastor Josney Rodriguez, the IAD Ministerial Association Supervisor, set a working tone worthy of emulation.

My fellow ministerial secretaries from the ten fields, and all ministerial colleagues, formed a supportive network and an awesome partnership.  My outstanding and resourceful Administrative Assistant, Sister Sheryle Liverpool, ensured that the CARU Ministerial Association functioned efficiently.  My fellow directors provided wise counsel and support.  

I salute all the CARU pastoral staff and volunteer ministry leaders with whom I have shared the sacred calling.  Finally, I am grateful for my family’s sacrifice and unconditional love.