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New Testament Church of God gears to celebrate Diamond Jubilee
The New Testament Church of God in Guyana will from Wednesday commence its Diamond Jubilee celebration. The festivity is slated to be glorious, according to National Admin Bishop, Joseph Persaud.
Bishop Joseph Persaud
Speaking glowingly of the many activities that will characterise the celebration, Bishop Persaud hinted to it being especially enthralling since for the first time in its 60-year history the local religious movement will be graced by the presence of a sitting World Mission Director.
The World Mission Director in question is David Griffis. Director Griffis, according to Bishop Persaud, “will be coming all the way from Cleveland, Tennessee to be with us.”
“We will begin with a big celebration service; all the services [during this period] will be geared at celebrating our anniversary. It will involve dancing, singing, poetry, preaching and so much more,” said Bishop Joseph of the event that will continue until Sunday with a grand church service at the National Cultural Centre.
The celebration will also entail a medical outreach which will be led by Reverend Carol Gordon from Maryland, United States. The outreach will commence on Thursday at the Pouderoyen, West Bank of Demerara Harvest time Church which is headed by Bishop Persaud. It will continue on Friday at the Livingstone New Testament Church of God at South Ruimveldt Gardens which is headed by Pastor Alex Graham.
The celebration will then head to Canal Number One the following day and will conclude on Monday at St. Cuthbert’s Mission.
According to Bishop Persaud, among the other highlights of the celebration will be a massive banquet catering to a capacity audience on Saturday at the Princess Ramada conference hall. At that event a number of awards will be handed out to several ministers who would have worked hard, to churches that have grown and those that are newly established.
Just four years ago the New Testament Church of God movement added 978 new members across Guyana.
There are currently 65 churches in Guyana, five of which are deemed mission churches and one located at Western Suriname, all contributing to a national membership of approximately 5,000. But according to Bishop Persaud who has been at the church’s administrative helm for the past four years, the numbers are constantly growing.
The Bel Air Springs New Testament Church of God headquarters.
The New Testament Church of God which has linkages to the oldest Pentecostal Church in the United States falls under the Church of God movement. According to Bishop Persaud although the Church of God movement commenced in 1886 it only came to Guyana in the 1940s and officially began its operation here in 1956. The New Testament name was adopted because when the movement arrived in Guyana it was found that a Church of God was already operating in Guyana.
“The history is similar in most of the Caribbean islands…they also have New Testament Church of God because Church of God churches were there before,” said Bishop Persaud. He continued by explaining that the New Testament Church of God is a Pentecostal movement and is known for its fervour and enthusiastic ‘holy spirit’ influenced worship sessions.
“We are known by this, we are also known by the way we are structured and because we are Pentecostal we also pay a lot of attention to miracles because we believe that God still heals…above all we believe in holiness,” asserted Bishop Persaud.
The New Testament movement currently exists in over 183 countries with seven billion-odd members. According to Bishop Joseph, the church is unique in its structure since it is guided by a centralised team of elders in the United States.
But even with its various peculiarities, Bishop Joseph made it clear that “everyone is welcome to any New Testament Church of God…anybody can walk off the street and feel like they belong here.”
However, becoming a member of the church requires that individuals are taught the doctrine of the church and accept that the entire bible is inspired by God although members are known to mostly embrace New Testament theology.
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