Ministries

Men's Ministries

Men serve actively at all levels of our Church. They are also actively encouraged to serve as role models for, and to nurture and support, boys in our congregations and in our communities.

If you are not a member of a Church, this sub-section is a personal invitation for you to consider seeking a Church, a fellowship of believers, where you can explore more about God’s love and plan for you, personally.

Learn more about Jesus Christ, why we each need to accept Christ as the Son of God and our personal Saviour in order to

• "Have life and have it abundantly"
• Then eternal life in Heaven 

Study of God’s Word is vital to having a meaningful life, and embracing Christ is the only way to do the good things we’d really like to always do.

Learn the truth about some of the myths that have been keeping you out of Church (and who is spreading those myths!):

• Christians aren’t wimps! In fact it takes a strong man to be a Christian. Look at the life of Christ on earth, and also see how strong He expects us to be.
• Our Churches aren’t full of hypocrites! None of us is perfect, though that is what Jesus called us to work towards. We’re trying, and in the meantime seeking God’s forgiveness and strengthening each time we fail. You don’t give up on football, dominoes or the service clubs, yet you know that not all the men in them always stick to their rules either. Men in the Church are still in the process of being perfected by Christ; it’s Him you must look to, He is perfect. And when you become a Christian, you’ll start seeing the rest of us in a different light too! But, most of all, it’s your life you need to be concerned about first.
• You do in fact need to go to Church if you are a Christian and not incapacitated. We’ll agree with you that going to Church doesn’t make anyone a Christian. But staying away doesn’t, either! Once we become Christians, we have to grow in Christ, helping each other be empowered within the family of God – it’s how Christ said we must live.
• If you want your children to live as God has ordained and reap the benefits, you have to set the example. We have the data to show that you are the single biggest reason that will cause your children to follow or reject Christ. 

Come for a while and find out more. Or talk to the minister or a male member of any of our Congregations, personally, by phone or by e-mail, if you want to consider this further before attending services. But don’t wait too long, before it’s too late (and we really must talk about that sometime).

Men's Fellowship

A number of our Congregations in Jamaica and on Grand Cayman have organised branches of the United Church Men’s Fellowship, the main, distinct, forum for adult males in the Church.

The Aims and Objectives of the Men’s Fellowship include:

• To deepen the spiritual lives of its members and to inspire and stimulate them to Christian activities
• To train members and prospective members of the Fellowship for better service in the Church and community. 

Our Congregations in the following Districts have active Men's Fellowships, where a number of the men within the Congregation meet together to explore different issues from a Biblical perspective and undertake specific ministries and projects as a group:

• East End – contact East End United Church: 947-7618; eeunited@candw.ky
• George Town – contact Elmslie Memorial Church: 949-7923; elmslie@candw.ky
• North Side - contact William Pouchie Memorial United Church: 947-3070; btuc@candw.ky
• West Bay – contact John Gray Memorial Church: 949-1378; jgmc@candw.ky

Women's Ministries

Women serve actively at all levels of our Church, in the Clergy as well as the laity.

The main, distinct women's ministry of the Church, for lay members, is the Women's Fellowship.

Mission Statement:

The Women's Fellowship of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands exists to assist the Denomination in its work of Witnessing to the love of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, particularly among women, through a variety of educational, social, and theological programs.
Women's Fellowship Motto: "By Love Serve".

Goals:

1. To unite the women of the Church in the dedication of their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ for the service and extension of his kingdom.
2. To seek to widen the fellowship among all women in the congregation and the community. 
3. To seek to empower the women for growth and service. 

The Women’s Fellowship is open to all women who are members of any Church. Attendance at monthly meetings is also open to women who are not members of any Church, but who have interest in the programmes and activities of the Women's Fellowship. As of today the Women's Fellowship of the Cayman Islands comprises 7 branches, West Bay, George Town, Savannah, Bodden Town, East End, Gun Bay, and North Side.

Further details may be obtained through any of our Congregations.
 

Other Ministries

Young Adults

Young Adults are generally defined in our Church as that segment between the ages of 18 and 39 and many are active in the Church and its leadership. It is obviously a busy period in people’s lives and there are always challenges in getting and keeping young adults involved in the life of the Church and in growing in their relationship with Christ. Our Congregations have a number of activities in which they seek to involve the young adults specifically, and to enhance the ministries for, by and with young adults, including those with young children. There is a distinct organisation of the Church for this age group called the Young Adults Action Movement ("YAAM")

Children and Youth

The United Church actively seeks to include children and other young people in its services and various ministries as it sees "the Church" as comprised of people of all ages. It is required to organise itself for intergenerational ministry and worship. In more recent years, the Church has embraced the concept of the Children Friendly Church, an initiative of the member Churches of the Council for World Mission to help children have a full relationship with Christ. This "involves engagement with our children and young people in such a way that they have full, conscious and active participation in the life of the Church." The goal of the Children Friendly Church is to work towards:

• Enabling our children and young persons to participate fully in the all the prayers, hymns, songs and actions that make up the Worship Service;
• Assisting them in knowing and understanding what each action of Worship means and why it is done;
• Viewing them as full participants, valuing their gifts of faith, questioning wonder, loyalty, honesty and trust;
• Actively encouraging family worship within the home and offering appropriate nurturing classes. 

It also requires careful attention to the safety and protection of children.

The Church invests in many ministries dedicated to children and young people, including Sunday School, Youth Groups, Children Nurture Groups, Junior Choirs/Bands, Summer Camps, and Girls' Brigade.

The Girls' Brigade is an interdenominational and international organisation that is devoted to helping girls and young women to seek, serve and follow Christ. And it has a stellar record in this regard. In Cayman, the Girls Brigade is under the auspices of the United Church but, as elsewhere, its members included girls from various Denominations. See for example Homepage of Girls' Brigade Ministries.

The United Church also seeks to involve itself with the Scouts and to encourage boys from its Congregations to join a local scout troop and its members to volunteer as leaders in this admirable organisation. It also makes its Church halls available for Scout meetings and other activities and invites the Scouts to participate in its services.

As noted under Missions, the Church is very active in schools and after school programmes as well as ways of ensuring the full and wholesome development of the young people in our societies.

In 2016, the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands introduced a Child Care and Protection Policy to the church. The policy is enforced in all youth programmes/activities within the United Church. (Child Care and Protection Policy document)  

Financial Management

For free & confidential consultation on debt management contact Elmslie Memorial United Church.
For Family Budgeting seminars for groups or personal advice on techniques, budget formats, etc., contact John Gray Memorial United Church.

These ministries are generally available for anyone connected to any of our congregations but may be expanded to other persons.