History of the Patience Baptist Church (Anse La Raye)

Pastor Peter Samuel

Missionary Period

In 1943,Baptist Mid Mission of North America, in the persons of Rev. James Wooster, Rev. Eugene Mc. Millan and Rev. Schlegel carried out a survey of the Caribbean islands, for the purpose of commencing missionary work on these islands.

Their first stop was the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where they received favorable responses from the Government and people.  They presented their report to head office and wasted no time in returning to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, ministering to the people and establishing churches.  Later they started a Theological seminary, where men and women were trained for the ministry.

They continued their exploration of the other islands, and traveled to St. Lucia via a canoe, and landed in Vieux Fort, where Rev. Wooster met up with an old friend in the person of Rev. Gimoloski, a missionary with the West Indies Mission, who worked with locals in the south of St. Lucia.

A pact was soon made between the two which allowed the West Indies Mission to continue their work in the south while Baptist Midmission worked in the north of the island.

It was not plain sailing for Rev. Wooster and Rev. Mc. Millan.  They encountered stiff opposition from the established church of the day, (i.e. the Roman Catholic Church), but they were not perturbed, and pressed on with their mission of proclaiming the gospel.

In 1944/45 a hall in which meetings were conducted, was rented on St. Louis Street.  The name given to the ministry then was “The Baptist Bible Institute”.  The hall also housed a Society, which had no connection with Mid Missions.

The small gathering grew steadily and as the people received the message, many got converted and were baptized.  The First Baptist Church started in 1945. 

Beginning from 1946, the following churches were established by the missionaries.  Patience Baptist Church in Anse La Raye, Grace Baptist Church in Bexon, Calvary Baptist Church in Gros Islet, and  Faith Baptist Church in Bisee, which is now located at Corinth.


Post Missionary Period

During the post-missionary period up to 1990 the Patience Baptist Church in the village of Anse -La-Raye was pastored by many local pastors, most of whom were trained at the Bible Training school in St. Vincent, the same institution established by the Baptist Midmission.

Among the Pastors were, Pastor Cyril Hilton, Pastor Marcellus Henry, Pastor Philson Joseph and Pastor Wilfred Auguste.

Also during that period an American Pastor named Daniel Parks started a theological school in St. Lucia. This school was housed at the First Baptist Church, on Darling Road.

Daniel Parks was later sent by the First Baptist Church to Pastor the Patience Baptist Church in Anse La Raye. He remained there until he returned to the United States in 1989.

Subsequent to his departure Pastor Wilfred Auguste, who was at the time pastoring the Grace Baptist Church in Bexon, was appointed as the care taker Pastor. He held the position for a short time until he resigned from the pastorate in 1990. 

In December 1991, Brother Peter Samuel was sent by the First Baptist Church to preach at the church in Anse La Raye. In those days the church had no pastor and the work was overseen by the First Baptist Church in Castries.

Brother Samuel was one of the founding members of the Berean Baptist Church in Vieux Fort. He and his wife moved to Castries in 1986 because of economic reasons but continued fellowshipping in Vieux-Fort until 1990 when the family started to grow and the journey started to take a toll on their two young daughters.

In Castries they settled at the First Baptist Church and it was during that time that he was sent by the First Baptist Church to preach in Anse La Raye.

When Brother Samuel arrived there on that Sunday morning, there were 8 people in the church three female members and a couple who were former members with their three children.

After the morning service Brother Samuel was invited by the church to preach to the small congregation the following Sunday. The invitation was accepted and Brother Samuel, his wife Elvira together with their two daughters Sarah and Rebecca three and a half years and one year respectively went back to the church the following Sunday to worship.

The church met to worship only on Sunday mornings -There was neither midweek bible study nor prayer meeting. The situation had deteriorated so much that sometimes there was no one to preach on Sundays. On such days the believers used to pray and return home.

After a few weeks of preaching at the church, Brother Samuel was approached by the three members and was asked to pastor the church.

Following consultation with his wife and trusted Christian friends he accepted the call a few weeks later.

During that time Pastor Samuel reintroduced Sunday evening service and a midweek prayer and bible study which was held on Wednesday evenings.

A few months after pastoring the church, Pastor Samuel became increasingly concerned about the work of the ministry as his secular employment was taking too much of his time and he also felt that he was not properly equipped for the ministry. . Therefore a decision had to be made whether to continue as lay pastor or go to Bible School.

After a few months of private prayer he and his wife agreed that the way forward was to give up his secular business and go to seminary. The matter was brought to the church and reluctantly the church agreed.

In September of 1992 he went to London with his family where he attended the London Reformed Baptist Seminary and studied under the guidance of Dr. Peter Masters. Pastor Peter Masters is the Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle and also the founder of the London Reformed Baptist Seminary.

In his absence he left the church in the hands of his trusted Christian friend and mentor, Pastor Malcolm Scholar. Pastor Scholar was an elder of the First Baptist Church at that time and was also responsible for the ministry of the Berean Baptist Church from 1982 to 1988. Presently he is the Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in Bexon.

Pastor Samuel returned to St. Lucia in September of 1994 and worked under Pastor Scholar for three months and in January of 1995 he returned to the pastorate.

During that same month the church embarked on an evangelistic Sunday School for the children in the village. The first day of registration was a great surprise as over 80 children were registered. It was soon discovered that the existing wooden building was too small to accommodate all these children and the church started looking into the possibility of putting up a new structure.

In 1996 Construction started on a new building and within three months the bottom floor was competed but it took another 18 months before the top floor could be completed.  With the completion of the top floor the classroom capacity was increased from 4 to 7.

It was recognized that enough time was not given to prayer during the mid week Bible Study/prayer meeting.

Therefore a decision was taken to hold the prayer meeting and the Bible Study on separate days in order to devote more time for prayer and also this provide the opportunity for parents who had difficulty in coming out together for the midweek Bible Study to alternate. 

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The Old Patience Baptist Church Building

The ministries that were put together during that time are as follows:

Sunday Morning:

Sunday Afternoon:


Sunday Evening:  

Monday:

Wednesday:

Friday:

Saturday Morning:

Worship Service

Sunday School
Door to Door Visitation

Gospel Service

Prayer Meeting

Bible Study 

Youth meeting

Bookstall

Present Church Building

As a Policy we believe the church of Jesus Christ should be:

    1.  A worshiping church

2.  A praying church

   3.  A sanctified church

4.  A working church

5.  A learning church

         6.  An evangelistic church

    7.  A separated church

    8.  A sacrificial church

9.  A loving church

     10. A believing church

These are the standards we are working to implement at the Patience Baptist Church.