History of Cayman Islands Baptist Church

In 2005, several long-serving Baptist Christians came together to express a common yearning to be a part of a church family where Christ is the head and where His word is the ultimate authority. One evening in August, Gary Oakley and Calvin Bromfield met to share their thoughts, and near the end of their conversation, Gary wistfully said: "Wouldn't it be great if our unsettled Baptist brothers and sisters could somehow come together and form a church!"

Then, one evening in early October, George McCarthy and Calvin Bromfield had a long phone conversation about the need to worship God together and fellowship with other Baptist Christians. That conversation gave way to a Bible study group of nine people who met in the McCarthy’s living room on Sunday October 23, 2005. On that Sunday morning, they prayed together, and then had an interactive study of the Lord's Prayer, following which, they prayed together again. Then they shared their personal church experiences and their hopes for the future. They found that they were of one mind, and they acknowledged that there were several other people who would be interested in joining the group. So they prayed together again that God would meet their most persistent needs – a sense of His direction for the group, and a place to meet in. That first group included: Zoe Berry, Joy and Calvin Bromfield, Jennifer and Michael Godfrey, Alliyah and George McCarthy, Gary Oakley, Tony Williams. These are the founders of what has grown to be Cayman Islands Baptist Church.

Although the longing was mutual, the idea seemed far-fetched to both of them at the time.

Truly led by the Holy Spirit, the early leaders strategically agreed to invite the Rev Herbert Neely – the missionary founder and former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman—to come down and help. On Sunday October 30, 2005, just one week after the first meeting, eighty-five people squeezed into the dining hall of the University College of the Cayman Islands to hear Pastor Neely’s words of encouragement and to worship together. The Cayman Islands Baptist Church was born, not in name but in essence, and the new congregation began weekly worship service at the same venue.

The first three years were marked by God’s abundant grace. Blessings after blessings began to pour in. People were committing themselves to the Lord, eager to assist one another and to reach out to the community, and people were giving unstintingly of their time and resources. The Hubert Bodden family gave a gift of land in the Pedro-St. James area of Savannah that would become the site of our present facilities. Soon, the phrase, “The Community of Love,” became not just an appellation, but the very character of Cayman Islands Baptist Church. In February 2007, the congregation called our first Pastor, the Rev. Lambert Mills. He and his wife, Denise, arrived in April of that year. In August, 2008, Pastor Lambert had to resign because of family circumstances. On December 21, 2008, the congregation moved into the beautiful new facilities on Pedro-St. James Road. On February 2, 2009, the church membership called Dr. Randall Von Kanel to be our Pastor. He and his wife, Cindy, began ministry on April 5, 2009.

Cayman Islands Baptist Church is not a chance phenomenon. It is, rather, a testament to the marvelous, infinite, matchless grace of our loving Lord who wants people to worship Him together in Spirit and in truth and who wants the church to witness to the glory and grace of Jesus Christ to the Cayman Islands and, indeed, to the world. In these few beginning years, He has blessed us beyond measure. As we face the coming years, God is preparing this local body to make a difference in the lives of many people for eternity.