Jamaica has more Churches per square mile than any other Christian country in the world, also known as the country of cool with Bob Marley, reggae, Olympic champion sprinters, a very relaxed national temperament and its own bobsleigh team, the first tropical country to enter the winter Olympics, inspiring the film, “Cool Runnings.”

National cliches aside, Jamaica is the first Caribbean country ever to run a 40 Days for Life campaign, inspiring a new paradigm for the region despite abortion being illegal, 6 babies have been reported saved from abortion: praise God! 40 Days for Life has spread throughout Latin America extensively just next door so immense potential is ripe for development and mission here. 

Now it is time for a new era in the Caribbean countries to wake up to the danger of abortion: every day it is estimated that 28 to 60 abortions happen in Jamaica, a country of less than 3 million people where the total fertility rate is 1.9, below replacement level. Abortion is legal in Guyana, Cuba, Barbados and the Caribbean Netherlands, but illegal or highly restricted in the other Caribbean countries and areas. Jamaica is 65% Protestant and just 2% Catholic.

The local campaign leader is Dr Daniel Thomas, leader of the Love March Movement, who has the zeal, intensity, passion, mission experience and discipleship of getting ministry off the ground from nothing. His father is head of an international suicide prevention ministry in New York, grew up with both parents passionately engaged in Christian ministry travelling extensively, and committed his life to Christ aged 12 and now works as a doctor with a young family. His home Church alone has 40 different ministries run from one Church which gives an insight into the depth of faith, the sense of mission, purpose and ministry available here. 

The first day of the 40 Days for Life campaign in Jamaica was explosive, with an abortionist very angry at the presence of the prayer vigil to the extent that a security guard was needed. Daniel has a vision for pro-life ministry here in Jamaica, a system of support for women, Churches working together, more training, sidewalk counseling, and a litany of ministries collaborating and mutually supporting ecosystem, with Montego Bay already interested in running a 40 days for life campaign. During our time there, we sense this is the beginning of something special as there is enormous potential.

During the mission trip we have an interview with the Sunday Observer, and have a front page coverage of the campaign along with 6 pages in the newspaper along with Dr Sheree Simpson, a member of Doctors for Life Jamaica who has helped one of the six women who chose life for their unborn children during the first ever 40 Days for Life campaign in Jamaica. We also conduct a litany of interviews for Christian radio, engaging with friendly journalists who are open to the pro-life message and willing to think critically about abortion.

Jamaica already has an established crisis pregnancy movement. Christina Milford, the founder of Pregnancy resource centre of Jamaica in Montego Bay has helped over 300 women carry their babies to full term since opening in 2005, had a burning zeal to start ministry on the island to help mothers in need. She is supported by Katherine Weir, an American woman in her 50s who aged 35 discovered she was conceived in rape, shaking her pro-abortion beliefs to the core and creating a curiosity about her birth circumstances. 

During our mission trip, we travel with Haywood and Daphne Robinson. Haywood is a former abortionist, his late wife was from Trinidad, and he has extensive mission experience in the Caribbean. Haywood’s story captivates the audience with how he came to Christ despite previously performing abortions and how he has seen both sides of the abortion debate. We see a fascinating cross section of Churches here meeting the Archbishop, speaking in Catholic and Protestant Churches seeing different cultures and traditions. 

Daphne, Haywood’s new wife, is executive director of Atlanta Morning Center, a privately funded Christian charity, serving as a safety net clinic, helping with the provision of routine pregnancy related medical care, as well as education to boost pregnancy health and influence positive life affirming birth outcomes. 

A key part of the visit was having a breakfast for Church leaders and pastors, giving awards to those who have helped the pro-life movement in Jamaica: missionary nuns also run a centre for women in crisis pregnancy and in 2008 a valiant Priest played a pivotal part in stopping abortion being legalized in Jamaica. How important it is to value and cherish those leaders who have made sacrifices and taken leadership positions to recognize and acknowledge their work. 

At a youth meeting, a young lady shares her testimony of being raped and choosing life for her unborn child, while another lady mentioned how difficult it was engaging with Church pastors with being in a crisis pregnancy. The Churches here are on fire with passion for Christ: preaching, sharing the word of God, well organized and focused on God. During the mid-point rally a record number of vigil attendees sing the national anthem with the procession in the searing 30 degree winter heat. 

All of us are overwhelmed and encouraged with the depth of faith present in Jamaica, the deep seated conservative values that still exist here, vastly different to Western countries, the authenticity of Churches and mission, and the potential for very fruitful spiritual mission here: already they have started with a bang! Long may that continue, setting a precedent for the whole region, saving many more lives and taking the pro-life movement to a whole new level here. Praise be Jesus Christ!