Saint Kitts and Nevis

Adventism arrived in Saint Kitts and Nevis in late 1888 when William Arnold, an Adventist literature evangelist, sailed to the islands from the United States.

Historical Development

The two-island country of Saint Kitts and Nevis is located in the West Indies within the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles. Both islands were initially settled by indigenous people, often called the Kalinago or Island Caribs. They called Saint Kitts “Liamuiga,” or “fertile land.” Christopher Columbus sighted both islands in 1493 and gave the name San Cristóbal to Saint Kitts and the name San Martín to Nevis.¹

English settlers led by Thomas Warner established a settlement at Saint Kitts in 1623. In 1625, the French also settled part of Saint Kitts. In 1628, the English settlers set off for the nearby island of Nevis and began settling there. The Treaty of Versailles of 1783 fully ceded Saint Kitts to the British. In 1882, Saint Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla were federated. However, Anguilla declared independence from the federation in 1967 and was formally separated in 1980. On September 19, 1983, the remaining two islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, received complete independence from the United Kingdom as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis.²

Origins of Adventism in the Country

Adventism reached Saint Kitts and Nevis in late 1888 when William Arnold, an Adventist literature evangelist, sailed to these islands from the United States of America. Arnold spent three weeks in Saint Kitts and then canvassed in Nevis.³ Many literature evangelists and ordained ministers followed. The impact of the Adventist message, whether through the visits of the literature evangelists or by way of literature distribution from overseas, soon affected the society of Saint Kitts and Nevis. One from Saint Kitts wrote, “Before I communicated with the society, I kept the first day of the week as the Sabbath, but now I see things in a different light. I trust and hope the day is not far distant when the inhabitants of this island will observe the day according to the Scriptures.”⁴

R. A. Batson, a literature evangelist pioneer in the Caribbean, reports that the East Caribbean Conference had four native colporteurs, him being one of them. “Having succeeded at home, in 1896 the four colored brethren left for St. Kitts, where we scattered the seed like leaves of autumn. On Nevis, also, we placed much literature.”⁵

Early followers of the Adventist message in the new Saint Kitts and Nevis field faced many difficulties, as in the case of the pioneer evangelist, Pastor Joseph Hermanus Warrington Laurence. In 1893 at age eight, Laurence first heard of the Adventist message and was determined to follow this new faith, but his mother objected vigorously. However, nothing could prevent this new believer from achieving his objective. In May 1900, he was baptized by Pastor A. J. Haysmer, a well-known pioneer of Adventist evangelism in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Laurence was immediately expelled from the Episcopal Intermediate School and urged not to teach or talk about the Adventist message.⁶

Spread and Development of the Message

The entire Caribbean field was organized as a mission field until 1903 when the East Caribbean Conference was organized. In 1918, the North Caribbean Mission Field comprising Saint Kitts, Montserrat, The Virgin Islands, Antigua, Dominique, and adjacent islands was established with J. J. Smith as the pastor.⁷

Evangelist Pastor J. M. Cole wrote of his work in Saint Kitts:

I have a little Singer motor car, of which I let back the top and take out one front seat, and from here I speak to the people as they stand or sit in the street. They keep quiet, and are as reverent as if in a church. I hope to see a good company accept the message here as a result.⁸

In Nevis, despite many inconveniences, setbacks, and the burning down of a humble church made of leaves, the message continued to spread. The arsonist who had declared that he would “sweep Seventh-day Adventists from Nevis” was found guilty of theft of government goods and spent almost two years in prison. Despite all the hardships, people continued to join the church. Pastor Cole reported that more than 60 people were baptized, with another 60 good prospects.⁹

In the late 1930s, Saint Kitts and Nevis became part of the Leeward Islands Conference (see the South Leeward Conference). The conference had 34 churches and 3,451 members out of a total population of about 400,000.¹⁰ In 1950, the lay people of the mission launched a flurry of evangelistic activities. They set a goal of 600 to accept the faith. A young lady, Daphne Lake, was miraculously healed of “one of the worst types of leprosy” after earnestly praying and asking the church to join her in prayer; four days later, the attending doctor confirmed no signs of leprosy.¹¹ This miracle generated an enthusiasm that lasted many years.

In 1960, Saint Kitts and Nevis became a part of the East Caribbean Conference. In 1975, Saint Kitts and Nevis became a part of the new North Caribbean Conference’s territory. Highlights of this period include a three-week campaign held by the General Conference general field secretary and “Breath of Life” program director Charles D. Brooks. Fifty individuals in Saint Kitts were baptized with 50 more showing a desire for baptism.¹² Another highlight was the establishment of a dental clinic built in Saint Kitts and operated by volunteer dentists from the United States. “Some of those [who were] baptized and converted traced their first contacts with the church to the dental clinic.”¹³

With the church’s growth and increasing membership, the church youth of Saint Kitts and Nevis pursued their degrees from Adventist institutions. Two of these young people were Gayle Warner and John Watts, who graduated from Andrews University in 1981 with a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Divinity, respectively.¹⁴

Community Outreach

One of the times the church in Saint Kitts and Nevis served the community occurred in 1983 when the Senior Youth Camp of North Caribbean Conference was held in Saint Kitts.

On Community Service Day the 160 young people cleaned, mowed, and beautified the ground of a public clinic, poured concrete at an Adventist church, and painted the auditorium of a government school inside and out. The fulfillment of “Camp Committed” was an exciting blessing. The community knew that the Adventist youth were present and were glad!¹⁵

By 2006, the field had grown to four ordained ministers, nine churches, eight companies, and a total membership of 2,014.¹⁶ Saint Kitts and Nevis group of churches became part of South Leeward Mission in 2011 and then South Leeward Conference in 2019. Each of these changes further strengthened the Adventist work in this island field. Saint Kitts and Nevis was reported in 2024 to have 13 churches with a membership of 2,402.¹⁷

Sources

Arnold, W. “A Canvassing Trip to the West Indies.” The Home Missionary, February 1890.

Batson, R. A. “Canvassing in the West Indian Fields.” ARH, October 10, 1907.

Browne, Silton. “Youth Camp Held in St. Kitts.” Inter-American News Flashes, October 18, 1983.

Cole, J. M. “Letter from the West Indies.” Australasian Record, August 12, 1929.

“Dentists Volunteer Services On Island of St. Kitts.” GLEANER: North Pacific Union Conference, September 3, 1979.

Dykes, James E. “J.H. Laurence: Man of God.” North American Regional Voice, September 1987.

“Global Mission (GM) Table 2.” 2024 Annual Statistical Report: New Series, Volume 6 (Report of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists’ 2023 Statistics). Accessed February 6, 2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Statistics/ASR/ASR2024.pdf.

“Global Mission Table 2.” 144^th Annual Statistical Report––2006. Accessed February 6, 2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Statistics/ASR/ASR2006.pdf.

“Later he writes:…” The Home Missionary, September 1891.

PR Andrews University. “Andrews University.” Inter-American News Flashes, July 28, 1981.

Raley, W. C. “Acquaintance with the Field: The Leeward Islands Conference.” The Inter-American Division Messenger, July 1, 1938.

“Saint Kitts and Nevis.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed August 20, 2024. https://wikipedia.org/Saint_Kitts_and_Nevis.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

White, S. E. “Laymen’s Work in the Leeward Island Mission.” Atlantic Union Gleaner, June 6, 1950.

Williams, DeWitt. “Inside Washington: Baptisms in St. Kitts.” ARH, June 21, 1979.

Notes

1. “Saint Kitts and Nevis,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, accessed August 20, 2024, https://wikipedia.org/Saint_Kitts_and_Nevis.↩

2. Ibid.↩

3. W. Arnold, “A Canvassing Trip to the West Indies,” The Home Missionary, February 1890, 42-43.↩

4. “Later he writes:…,” The Home Missionary, September 1891, 199 (7).↩

5. R. A. Batson, “Canvassing in the West Indian Fields,” ARH, October 10, 1907, 19.↩

6. James E. Dykes, “J.H. Laurence: Man of God,” North American Regional Voice, September 1987, 2.↩

7. “North Caribbean Mission Field,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.: Review & Herald Publishing Association, 1919), 186.↩

8. J. M. Cole, “Letter from the West Indies,” Australasian Record, August 12, 1929, 2.↩

9. Ibid.↩

10. W. C. Raley, “Acquaintance with the Field: The Leeward Islands Conference,” The Inter-American Division Messenger, July 1, 1938, 8.↩

11. S. E. White, “Laymen’s Work in the Leeward Island Mission,” Atlantic Union Gleaner, June 6, 1950, 2.↩

12. DeWitt Williams, “Inside Washington: Baptisms in St. Kitts,” ARH, June 21, 1979, 25.↩

13. “Dentists Volunteer Services On Island of St. Kitts,” GLEANER: North Pacific Union Conference, September 3, 1979, 17.↩

14. PR Andrews University, “Andrews University,” Inter-American News Flashes, July 28, 1981, 1.↩

15. Silton Browne, “Youth Camp Held in St. Kitts,” Inter-American News Flashes, October 18, 1983, 2.↩

16. “Global Mission Table 2,” 144^th Annual Statistical Report––2006, 80, accessed February 6, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Statistics/ASR/ASR2006.pdf.↩

17. “Global Mission (GM) Table 2,” 2024 Annual Statistical Report: New Series, Volume 6 (Report of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists’ 2023 Statistics), 109, accessed February 6, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Statistics/ASR/ASR2024.pdf.↩