Dr. and Mrs. Cunningham with the class of ordinands in  Belize.

With a tour of several Caribbean districts, Dr. Paul G. Cunningham recently presided over his last international district assemblies. Elected to the office of general superintendent in 1993, Dr. Cunningham has had jurisdiction over several world regions in the past 16 years, the last two of which were in the Caribbean Region, encompassing 23 nations.

The 63rd assembly of the Belize District began with a polished group of children singing their national anthem with great enthusiasm. Without an official regular public school system, the nation of Belize depends on churches to provide schools and assists with subsidies. As a result, the Belize District Church of the Nazarene has 370 students in their high school and 2,140 students in their seven primary schools. Because they are allowed to teach religion in whatever way they wish, this provides an excellent avenue for contacts for the church. Through this and other traditional efforts, evangelism led to the organization of four new churches this year, bringing their total to 46 churches. In a Sunday morning ordination service, Dr. Cunningham ordained three ministers, of whom he said, “It warmed my own heart to see how thrilled they were to receive this recognition from the church.”

Dr. Cunningham's final international ordinand-- an elder on the  Jamaica West District.

In Barbados, Dr. Cunningham, District Superintendent Orlando Seale, and Regional Director John Smee participated in a 30-minute interview with the Tampien National Radio System. This network is headquartered in Bridgetown but airs throughout the Caribbean. It provided a very positive experience of informing people about the Church of the Nazarene, especially relating to the denomination’s Centennial year and the district assembly and special services of the week. The district family and visiting dignitaries joined together for a Centennial rally, where Dr. Cunningham presented a Centennial sermon and invited those who would like to come to the altar for a fresh anointing from the Holy Spirit as they move into the second 100 years of Nazarene history. It appeared that almost everyone present surrounded the altars for a time of prayer. The district showed an increase of 138 in membership, putting their total membership over 4,000. Dr. Cunningham ordained two pastors as elders in the Church of the Nazarene.

The Leeward/Virgin Island District brings together Nazarenes from Dominica, St. Kitts, St. Croix, and Antigua. Their joy at uniting in Antigua from their various islands was apparent in their exuberant worship and fellowship. Their meeting place that holds about 500 people was overfilled, with many more in the lobby. Dr. Cunningham ordained two as elders and one deacon, followed by a grace-filled communion service.

Dr. Cunningham's final ordination of a deacon on the  Jamaica West District.

Jamaica West District, composed of 22 churches, met for district assembly business and Sunday worship. Dr. Cunningham described the people coming to the service at the Mt. Shiloh tabernacle: “You could see the columns of people walking down mountain roads dressed in their Sunday best and moving steadily toward the tabernacle. Soon more than 700 were inside with an uncountable number outside. It was an unforgettable sight.” They shared communion, and Dr. Cunningham preached and ordained five people, one of the largest classes of ordinands in the district’s history. Following his preaching, the district superintendent led in spontaneous singing of song after song. “Wings of glory swept through the tabernacle as these precious people opened their hearts and minds to a fresh outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit,” he said.

Dr. Cunningham reflected on this tour and on his 16 years of ministry as a general superintendent on the international scene. “What a joyous journey it has been! We feel so privileged to have been able to serve the church. We will never forget the humbling experience of traveling around the world enjoying fellowship with some of the best people God ever created.”