South Bahamas Conference
By John Carey, Sr.
John Carey, retired administrator in 2009, completed a doctoral degree at Andrews University in 1983 after which he joined the staff of the Bahamas Conference serving as director of various departments including education, health and temperance, Sabbath school, family life, publishing, field secretary, and district pastor. Previous denominational positions were principal of Bahamas Academy, chair of the secondary education department and also dean of students at West Indies College. Pastor Carey and his wife, Shezarah, have two adult sons and five grandchildren.
First Published: October 28, 2024
South Bahamas Conference is a part of the Atlantic Caribbean Union Mission. Its territory includes all the islands and cays of the Bahamas except Abaco Island, Berry Islands, Bimini, Grand Bahama Island, and Moore’s Island. It has 49 churches and a membership of 12,589 in a population of 325,196.1
Origin of the Adventist Work in South Bahamas Conference
On November 27, 1893, C. H. Richards and his wife arrived after a three-and-a-half-day voyage from New York to Nassau, Bahamas, to introduce the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church through the literature ministry. At the time of their arrival, the population of Nassau was estimated at 10,000, of which one-third was Caucasian “and the remainder are colored of all shades from yellow to black.”2
According to Richards, he was the first to introduce the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to the people in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. A lay preacher of the Methodist Church showed a keen interest in the Adventist Church, but because of his family commitment, he could not leave his job on the police force to pursue his plan to prepare himself to teach others.3
William Charles Antonio and his wife, Mary, were the first to fully accept the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Bahamas. At the time that he embraced the Adventist beliefs, William was the superintendent of a Baptist Church. After reading the books he bought from C. H. Richards and studying the Bible, he was convinced that the Adventist’s beliefs were true. So, a Sabbath School was started in the Antonio home on Hospital Lane North, New Providence, Bahamas. Soon after the Sabbath School was organized, William and his wife were baptized, and the meetings continued in their home for 14 years.4 The entire Antonio family became members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. A few of the descendants are still members of the church today.
Organizational History
In 1909, W. A. Sweany was the first ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister to come to the Bahamas as a missionary. He conducted a series of evangelistic meetings on Meeting Street, Nassau, in 1911. Soon, the first church was organized with 21 members and a Sabbath School with 35 members.5 The newly organized church became part of the Southeastern Union Conference, which has headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
After Sweany left the Bahamas, Pastor James H. Smith came in July 1913.6 Under his direction, the first Adventist Church was built in 1914 on Shirley Street, Nassau. During the same year, Smith organized a day school in the church’s basement. In 1915, Smith conducted evangelistic meetings on Andros, Eleuthera, Harbour Island, Cat Island, and San Salvador. He baptized 12 in Gregory Town in Eleuthera and 19 in Harbour Island.
In 1918, Pastor Smith conducted evangelistic meetings on the island of San Salvador, and thanks to the follow-up work of a native Bible worker, Sister Someillan, 18 of 20 that were ready for baptism were baptized since two were sick at the time.7 The second Adventist church in the Bahamas was organized in June 1919. About a month later, the Smiths became ill on a visit to Andros Island, and the Mission Board advised them to return to America for treatment. When the Smiths left the Bahamas on permanent return in February 1921, the membership of the Adventist Church in the Bahamas was 91 (40 in Nassau and 51 throughout four of the other islands).8
In May 1921, Pastor W. G. Kneeland and Mrs. Kneeland became leaders of the Bahamas Mission, and Pastor Kneeland visited several of the islands in the Bahamas. While visiting Andros, he baptized seven adults and dedicated a small church building constructed by the members.9 The growth of the work was recognized by the General Conference Mission Board, so in 1922, the Bahamas Mission was designated a field in Inter-America under the Caribbean Union Mission with headquarters in Santurce, Puerto Rico.10
Pastor R. J. Sype became president (called superintendent) of Bahama Mission in 1928.11 At the start of his administration, Bahama Mission had six churches and 164 members.12 At the end of his administration, the number of churches and members grew to 12 and 403 respectively.13 This growth was enhanced by the work of colporteurs and other lay workers.14
In 1940, the Bahamas Mission had 17 churches, 545 members, two elementary schools, and 96 students.15 In 1945, a year after Pastor H.D. Colburn was appointed president of the Bahamas Mission, the General Conference Mission Board placed the Bahamas under British West Indies Union Mission with headquarters in Mandeville, Jamaica. Pastor Colburn also reported in December 1947 that “the Bahamas Junior Academy opened its doors for the first time” to 134 students on September 22, 1947.16 The academy was on Wulff Road, Nassau, New Providence.
Introducing the Voice of Prophecy radio program to the national radio (ZNS) enhanced the spread of the gospel throughout the Bahamas. At least one church in Mount Thompson, Exuma, was raised through the influence of the Voice of Prophecy ministry.17 This half-hour program aired on ZNS at 6:00 p.m. every Sunday. Many people better understood the Bible through the Voice of Prophecy Bible School.
By the 1950s, the membership of the churches had increased to 718, and Bahamas Academy gained Senior status. In 1959, the mission employed its first two native pastors, S. N. McKinney and N. E. Scavella. They were ordained to the gospel ministry in 1960, and Pastor Silas N. McKinney became the first native president of Bahamas Mission in 1964. Under his leadership, evangelism was emphasized, and Bahamas Mission became Bahamas Conference in 1969. The spirit of evangelism resulted in a significant increase in membership from 1,172 in 1964 to 3,528 in 1974.18
Because of the significant growth over the years, the Bahamas Conference was divided into two fields in 2003: North Bahamas Mission (Grand Bahama, Abaco, Bimini, and the Berry Islands), and Bahamas Conference (all the other islands of the Bahamas). North Bahamas Mission later became North Bahamas Conference, and Bahamas Conference became South Bahamas Conference.
As a result of an adjustment of the West Indies Union Conference, the Atlantic Caribbean Union Mission was formed and voted a union within the Inter-American Division at the General Conference Session in Atlanta, Georgia, in July 2010. Its territory then included the Cayman Islands Conference, North Bahamas Conference, Turks and Caicos Islands Mission, and South Bahamas Conference.
Outlook
The South Bahamas Conference is challenged to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to every living soul in its territory. The officers, workers, and members plan to meet this challenge through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. The conference’s objective is to continue looking to Christ as our only hope.
List of Presidents
W. A. Sweany (1909-1913); J. H. Smith (1913-1921); W. G. Kneeland (1921-1924); M. A. Altman (1924-1925); W. E. Bidwell (1925-1928); R. J. Sype (1928-1934); L. L. Hutchinson (1934-1936); A. R. Ogden (acting) (1936-1937); L. L. Dunn (1937-1939); B. A. Meeker (1939-1943); H. D. Colburn (1944-1948); R. E. Gibson (1949-1954); H. D. Colburn (1954-1958); R. M. Mote (1959-1962); E. H. Schneider (1962-1964); S. N. McKinney (1964-1975); L. V McMillan (1976-1980); H. A. Roach (1980-1986); S. N. McKinney (1986-1990); Jeremiah Duncombe (1990-1996); Keith D. Albury (1996-2003); Leonard A. Johnson (2003-2010); Paul A. Scavella (2010-2018); Kenny Deveaux (2018- ).
Sources
“Brother J. H. Smith….” ARH, August 14, 1913.
Colburn, H. D. “News from the Bahamas.” The British West Indies Visitor, December 1947.
Kneeland, W. G. “Bahama Islands.” ARH, August 31, 1922.
McMillan, Wendell Roosevelt. From Como to Hawkins: The Role of Laymen in the History of Adventism in the Bahamas. Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Jamaica: Lithopedia Printers Ltd, 2000.
Richards, Mr. and Mrs. C. H. “West Indies: Bahama Group.” ARH, May 8, 1894.
Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.
Smith, James H. “Bahama Islands.” ARH, December 4, 1919.
Sweany, W. A. “The Bahama Islands Mission.” ARH, September 11, 1913.
Sype, R. J. “The Bahamas Mission.” ARH, September 11, 1930.
Thompson, Jeffrey K. The Rise of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. Nassau, Bahamas: Self-published, 1992.
Notes
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“South Bahamas Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, accessed September 9, 2024, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=14149.↩
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Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Richards, “West Indies: Bahama Group,” ARH, May 8, 1894, 293 (5).↩
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Ibid, 294 (6).↩
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Wendell Roosevelt McMillan, From Como to Hawkins: The Role of Laymen in the History of Adventism in the Bahamas (Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Jamaica: Lithopedia Printers Ltd, 2000), 116.↩
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W. A. Sweany, “The Bahama Islands Mission,” ARH, September 11, 1913, 874 (10).↩
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“Brother J. H. Smith…,” ARH, August 14, 1913, 792 (24).↩
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James H. Smith, “Bahama Islands,” ARH, December 4, 1919, 18.↩
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Jeffrey K. Thompson, The Rise of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands (Nassau, Bahamas: Self-published, 1992), 17.↩
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W. G. Kneeland, “Bahama Islands,” ARH, August 31, 1922, 13.↩
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“Bahamas Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.: Review & Herald Publishing Association, 1923), 172.↩
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“Bahama Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1929), 250.↩
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“Bahama Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1928), 240.↩
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“Bahamas Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1934), 130.↩
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R. J. Sype, “The Bahamas Mission,” ARH, September 11, 1930, 19-20.↩
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“Bahamas, The,” Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, second revised edition (Hagerstown, Maryland: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996), dccl (751).↩
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H. D. Colburn, “News from the Bahamas,” The British West Indies Visitor, December 1947, 5.↩
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Thompson, 27.↩
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“Bahamas Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1965-1966), 162; and “Bahamas Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1975), 205.↩