Former University Lecturer and Senior Pastor, Terrence Esseboom, is a ‘Special Person’   

Oct 16, 2022 News, Special Person

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Fulfilling a call to guide people for over 40 years…

“I have always been juggling the sacred and the secular in my professions from my late teenage years. There was a time when I was teaching in the Primary School and the Ebenezer Bible College and Pastoring at the same time. Then I was Pastoring and doing Journalism. Later on, I was Pastoring and Lecturing at Turkeyen and Tain Campuses simultaneously.”

 By Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – Bishop (Senior Pastor) Terrence Esseboom has unwaveringly led the ‘flock’ at the New Testament Church of God in Wortmanville, Lodge for over 37 years. Bishop Esseboom has fulfilled the role humbly too, creating a legacy so impressive that not only his church but his children supports him and follows suit.  In fact, Esseboom’s entire family plays integral roles in the church.

His daughter, Trenacia Esseboom is a well-known Christian Recording Artiste, his son Trevon, who works with the Youth Ministry, and his loving wife, Vanessa,  has been the backbone of all his accomplishments in life and as a Minister. He praised her during the interview.

“She is a wizard in her gifting. I am amazed by what we accomplished with the little that we have,” Bishop Esseboom said.

His role and contribution to society is not limited to his role in church, he also juggles careers in the secular world—something that he said is necessary for the upkeep of his family.

As such, Esseboom is a trained and qualified Teacher, a former Lecturer at the Centre for Communication Studies (CCS) at the University of Guyana, and a former Journalist attached to the Guyana Chronicle and Caribbean News Agency (CANA).

He briefly filled roles as Head of Communications for various Government agencies, and at present, he works on contract with private companies.  No matter his experience, Esseboom’s most significant contribution was made to teaching and pastoring.

EARLY BREAK

The Bishop explained that he set out early on to be a Teacher, training at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) but he was prompted to follow another calling- to teach the Gospel.  He has excelled on both platforms.

It is evident, however, that Esseboom developed the disciplined conduct when he was a youth growing up in Corentyne, Berbice, where he lived for the first 15 years of his life. As the eldest of Theodore Esseboom and his mother Beulah who made five children, Esseboom learned the value of responsibility from a young age.

In retrospect, he declared, “It is a blessing to me. The insights gained from early exposure to learning responsibility made me very independent, confident, and dependable,” he said.

After completing his stint at the Skeldon Anglican School in Berbice, Esseboom moved to Georgetown and lived at Lot 5 Norton Street, Lodge until he married in 1985.

He started teaching at St. Phillip’s Primary on Princess Street for about three years and entered the CPCE at Turkeyen from 1981 – 1983.

He later got married and his responsibilities expanded and demanded more financial resources.

Esseboom revealed, “It was also while employed at St. Stephens’s Primary that I started Pastoring the ‘Light of Lights New Testament Church of God’ in Norton Street, Wortmanville, which I still Pastor.”

He said, “I have always been juggling the sacred and the secular in my professions from my late teenage years. There was a time when I was teaching in the Primary School and the Ebenezer Bible College and Pastoring at the same time. Then I was Pastoring and doing Journalism. Later on, I was Pastoring and Lecturing at Turkeyen and Tain Campuses simultaneously.”

He asserted that, “It demanded discipline, sacrifice, shortened sleep, and tons of research work. But those are things I love doing. These days, I Pastor and get occasional consultancies. The Bible says, “whatever you do, do it to the glory of God. This is part of my mantra.”

TEACHER’S HEART

Bishop Esseboom admits that though he has resigned, he misses teaching. He said, “Immensely. I missed the children. I missed the daily discourses with my class only this time I would venture to teach at the secondary level. It was here that I really blossomed as an Educator.”   He added, “I taught English Language and English Literature from Forms Ones… I had a blast and so were my classes. It was a thoroughly refreshing experience schooling older children.”

“It was then I realised that the older people are, the better I am as a teacher. I seem to rise to the challenge and the experiences there prepared me to lecture to even more mature students in the Centre for Communication Studies at the Turkeyen and Tain Campus of the University of Guyana.”

At UG, Esseboom taught Business Communication. He reminisced, what a blast I had at the Turkeyen Campus especially since the classes were in the evenings. I don’t like blowing my own trumpet, just ask some former students at least two of them lecture currently in the CCS.”

Outside of the good experiences, there are also sobering ones. Esseboom explained that often Teachers handle situations they aren’t trained to handle but have learned to improvise. There were some very difficult, dark issues that challenged him as a young teacher.

“I have had to counsel children contemplating suicide… [some] being sexually abused at home,” he said, noting that there are many instances that he had to counsel students to help guide them in the right direction.

The Teacher recalled as the Form Master at Central High School one of his male students complained about the hardships, he faced at home.

He said, “If I recall accurately, he was living with relatives who made his life a living hell. It was his second stint in Form One when I started teaching at the school. For that year, I really had to mentor him. It was a challenge but it provided me with perspective and a broader understanding of humans and the refuge we seek in facades.

He survived, mentally and otherwise, and was able to graduate from Central High.” Many years later, Esseboom revealed he met the same student at the Turkeyen Campus and the many memories of the counseling sessions washed over him.   He said, “It was one of my proudest moments as an Educator. It was worth all the shortened lunch periods, long discussions after school…” To this end, Esseboom surmised, “Teachers help shape their charges. Children do so in some more profound ways too.”

PASTORING

After his conversion to Christianity, Esseboom attended the Ebenezer Bible College of the New Testament Church of God in Guyana. As a matter of fact, he said the classes were held in the balcony of the church that he currently pastors.

He recalled, “I was at CPCE and Ebenezer simultaneously. Fortunately, I was I ‘Module E’ at CPCE which permitted us to live off campus. This facilitated my bible school attendance.”

After his marriage, Esseboom lived in Essequibo Islands/West Demerara (Region Three) where Reverend Patrick Findlay was his Pastor.

His induction to the Pastoral Ministry came after the National Overseer of the New Testament Church, the late Surujnauth Surujpaul, his first Pastor, asked him to pastor the church.

“I had some preparation for the task because I was a Sunday School teacher, Youth Leader and, occasionally, also preached. I think my CPCE training helped shape me to pastor,” he said.

Bishop Esseboom has been pastoring Light of Lights New Testament Church of God since September 1, 1985, less than three months after he got married.

He said, “When I started the situation was less than ideal. But through the years things have gotten appreciably better. That Church always attracted youths. Some who are in the congregation are there since they were toddlers.”

“I have been there with them through all the seasons of their lives: difficulties as adolescents, selecting a career, preparation for marriage, navigating the marital ship during stormy weather, deaths in the family, etcetera. As they say ‘the whole nine yards,” he said.

Esseboom has been the recipient of an award for being the longest serving Pastor of a Church in the New Testament Church of God.  He said that he is still amazed that 43 years later, there is still so much to learn about God and His ways.

He asserted, “Biblical texts I have been reading since age 18 still have fresh meaning. Discovering truths in those verses still fascinates me.”  While the financial rewards for pastoring may be sparse and in some cases overlooked – deliberately –Esseboom still holds fast to the promise that “God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love.”

He emphasised, “ultimately, God is the just rewarder. So, I always keep pushing regardless! I try to keep an upbeat attitude too. I am not always successful, but I keep trying.”

Given his commitments, Bishop Esseboom said striking a balance in his professional and personal life has been a struggle for him.

He added, nonetheless, “my wife, Vanessa, and my children Trenacia and Trevon never added to the difficulties. I didn’t always strike the right balance but I think they saw I was trying. That was a sweet reward in itself. I have two grandsons, and a third is on the way and I am looking forward to enjoying them too.”

The Senior Pastor lists his marriage to his wife as his greatest achievement.

He revealed his life’s goal and vision is to bequeath to those for whom he is directly responsible an inheritance. To this end, he asserts, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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