The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

LOCAL pastors and ministry leaders are making a unified effort to spread the gospel under the banner of Bahamas 4 Jesus (B4J).

B4J, with the theme "Igniting Hope, Changing Destinies", is an initiative geared towards national transformation that will begin in the communities. The idea of a door-to-door outreach where local churches take the gospel to communities and distribute food or toiletry items for those in need is at the core of the campaign.

This will be followed by interval meetings at one of the participating local churches where all of the different congregations will come together for special events such as 'Fire and Glory Nights' featuring inspirational, evangelistic messages, and a school of ministry training where local leaders are trained in various aspects of ministry at no cost.

All of the participating churches and ministries will come together November 10 - 20 for a week of evangelism and training culminating in a series of national meetings.

"B4J involves a unique approach to national transformation. Up to 300 churches from around the globe with ministers and members forming teams will all pay their own way to witness on the streets and in communities, work with local churches to help grow the local ministries and train pastors and workers on an ongoing basis," a statement from the B4J team stated.

Visiting pastors and teams will pair up with local churches to assist in leadership development and training.

Up until November, every participating church will take its closest community and have teams go door-to-door with the aim of covering all the islands. Teams will not only share the gospel but will also provide tangible goods, such as food items, toiletries et cetera, and teams will also conduct outreaches in schools and parks.

The final meeting will see all of the churches and pastors come together for the national event, which will feature several local and international speakers.

All team members will wear B4J T-shirts and will communicate a message of hope with one voice.

The initiative is a global one that began in 2015 when a group was formed to spread the gospel under the banner of World 4 Jesus. The first initiative of the group was staged in the Philippines, titled P4J. This effort saw over 30,000 churches come together and approximately 315,000 people make commitments to Christ in 10 days. This unique outreach included testimonies and reports of great personal and community transformations.

The Philippines meeting was followed up in 2017 with Ireland for Jesus (I4J), which had a similar impact in bringing together over 1,000 churches and impacting 17 cities.

After the involvement of Bahamas Faith Ministries in the Ireland outreach, the Bahamas received a request to consider hosting the event this year.

Bahamas 4 Jesus officially launches today.