Tell Them About Jesus Now. They Might Not be Alive Tomorrow

Steve Dennie

August 1995

Simon and Pamela White met in Kingston, Jamaica, where they were members of a Missionary Church. They've been married 19 years.

Simon served three years in the Jamaican army, and then joined the police force for seven-and-a-half years, including four years as a patrolman, a year-and-a-half as an instructor in the police training school, and a year in the Commissioner's office.

In 1980, the White family moved to New York City. For 12 years, Simon worked with the New Testament Church of God in the Bronx--four years as pastor, eight years before that as assistant pastor. At the same time, he worked as an insurance underwriter and attended Bible college.

He kept in touch with some acquaintances from Jamaica who were United Brethren. A United Brethren congregation began in the Bronx under the leadership of Pastor Owen Gordon, and they sometimes attended or would sing for them. Then he was approached about becoming the pastor.

"I told them that I wasn't interested," Simon recalls. "But they asked me to pray about it, and I said I would. The more disinterested I wanted to be, the more the Spirit impressed on my heart that this is what He wanted me to do."

Simon notified his overseer of his intention to switch denominations. He responded, "If God is leading you to the UB church, there's nothing wrong with that. You're still working for the Kingdom."

So in November 1992, Simon and Pamela White began serving the Jamaican congregation in the Bronx. It was a low time for the church. They had a Sunday school of just 14, and 5 of them were Simon's family. But the church has experienced tremendous growth. Today, their little store-front church is packed out every Sunday with nearly 200 people, most of them immigrants from Jamaica.

Common Death and Eternal Life

Simon: My passion is to see people come to Jesus Christ. We have to evangelize people today. People die momentarily. It's not only a drug problem--it's just constant violence. People go down, as though life has no meaning.

Having worked in the police system, I have some understanding of criminals--not just their modus operandi, but how they react. A lot of ministers think, These are bad guys. Don't talk to them. But they are the ones I talk to. I walk up to them and say, "I need to talk to you." They say, "Do you know me?" I say, "Not before, but I know you now."

I'll walk up to a man and say, "Put those drugs away. You really need to make a commitment of your life to Jesus."

He'll say, "All right, preacher. One of these days I'll come visit your church."

People tell me, "Pastor, I wouldn't do it that way if I were you."

And I tell them not to do it like I do.

Some of these guys you pass on a corner tonight may not be alive tomorrow. They're gone.

"Where is Johnny?"

"Oh, he got wasted last night."

It's nothing traumatic. People are so desensitized, like watching the movies.

It's not just the guys who are committing the violence. The girls are there with them. It's everybody together. Once they get in that mainstream, the devil drives them right down.

I tell folks, "When you pass them on the corner, tell them Jesus loves them and died to save them from their sins. Make sure you tell them that, because you don't know if you'll see them tomorrow.

In New York City, a lot of witnessing is a one-shot deal. Talk to him now while you can, because you might not see him again.

I talked to 19-year-old young man on the way to church one morning. "You know, Dave, I think it's time you visit church with me. You've been saying that for a while, and you haven't done it."

He said, "I'll come one day."

"Dave, you might not have the chance to do it again."

"No, I'm gonna come."

I left him sitting there, and after church, I heard he got shot in the neck. He's paralyzed from the shoulders down. It was drugs; he crossed onto the wrong side of the street, somebody else's turf, and they popped him in the neck. It's very sad.

Bright Spots in the Church

Simon: What pleases me more than anything is that every time we open the door for a service, somebody comes in and makes a commitment to the Lord. I look forward to that. It's exciting to see people come here, especially young people, and commit their lives to the Lord, move on to baptism, and see them grow up in the Lord.

Pamala: It pleases me to see how the people really love the Lord, love to worship, and have an eagerness to serve and to see the work expand.

Simon: Our board is really behind us and very supportive. There's a great sense of unity among us. I love that. That is one of the keys to our church.

Another bright spot is that, in the very near future, we will have churches springboarded out of our church.

We're trying to get some of our men to go on to develop themselves in Bible school.

Pamala: It's like having kids. You never know what each one can do until you give them a chance to do something. When you can look in the church and see so many preachers springing up, it gives your heart real joy.

Simon: One other blessing that we have is that our church is predominantly young people. And they're quality people. They are people who have training in various areas--teachers, secretaries, social workers, nurses. They are quality, trained, talented people.

I tell them, "We don't understand how much we are blessed, because we are not a dying church--we are a growing church with a whole bunch of young people. The excitement just seems to keep going."

An elderly pastor who was looking for someone in the area wandered into one of our services. When he entered the church, he sensed such a good spirit that he wanted to enjoy the service and worship with us.

After the service, he introduced himself to me "You've got a good church with a good body of young people," he told me. "Take care of this church. This church is going to go places."

Problems and Challenges

Simon: Our greatest problem is space. We have people like grass, but we don't have the space to put them in. On Easter, folks were standing outside the door. Younger folks were standing inside my office area. It was awesome.

Pamala: We had a crusade in March, and had to borrow another church from Monday through Friday. On Sunday, we were cramped. The only reason we could hold it in our church on Sunday was because some of the people who visited during the week came from other churches.

We can't have special function at our church--Christmas, New Year's, special services. Forget it. Nobody wants to come and have to stand up. You lose people.

Simon: A friend of mine at another church here has lost a lot of folks. He told me, "There was just no space for them, and after awhile they just got tired. They just decide they're not going to go without. They don't want to dress up to go to church, and stand up for two hours for a worship service.

There are other things we'd like to do, but we can't, because our lease says this building can only be used as a church. We'd like to do an after-school program, but that would violate our lease. I'd like to give people hands-on training with computers; we have talented people who could teach others. But we don't have the facilities.

Pamala: I believe that if God gives you a vision and is providing the equipment, He will provide a place.

Simon: God doesn't start a job and leave it undone.

Pamala: "My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory."

Simon: And if it's according to His riches, he has tremendous resources you can never deplete.

Pamala: All we have to do is prepare ourselves and make ourselves available to God to use us in whatever area He sees fit. There is so much we can do, because when you help unchurched people, and they know they can come here and learn a skill which will help them find a job, they will be encouraged to come back.

On Meeting Physical Needs

Simon: What does the church offer people? It cannot be that they just come in and you preach to them and they go. It must be holistic.

Pamala: After the physical is taken care of, then God does the spiritual. It's important.

Simon: You can't leave a person in the cold and just tell him that Jesus loves him. He'll say, "Jesus loves you--just look at how you're dressed. But I don't have a coat to wear. How does the love of Jesus make me warm?"

But if I can give him a coat, I can tell him, "Hey, Jesus really loves you. He provided the coat that you wear."

About the Harvest Fields of New York

Simon: Jamaicans are not just centered in Bronx, or New York City. There are Jamaican communities throughout the entire state. Nobody knows how many Jamaicans are here. The Jamaican embassy only count the ones who come here legally. How many come on a visitor's visa and never return? They just don't know. I suspect a good half-million Jamaicans live in New York State. A number of ministries work among them, but so many are not being ministered to. I'm excited about what God is doing. I really am. I tell the folks, "I'm just getting ready to shout, because I know that God is going to tear down some strong towers. We're going to get a new building. We're going to set up a school. We're going to get things rolling. We're going to plant churches.

Chinatown is a tremendous harvest field. Especially where the church is--right in the heart of Chinatown. Hardly anybody lives there except Chinese.

I think the UB church has a tremendous opportunity to lift up our eyes and look unto the fields, for they are white unto harvest, and it's our time to put the sickle in to reap a harvest for God. We have tremendous opportunities. People are hungry. They have seen the drugs, the violence, the crime, and they are looking for answers.