Declaring the Sovereign Grace of God

Central Baptist Church

PRESIDING ELDER/PASTOR: DR. HENSWORTH W.C. JONAS

Personal E-mail: hjonas@baptistantigua.org

Dr. Hensworth W.C. Jonas was ordained to the pastoral ministry on March 2, 1986, after being installed as Pastor of the Central Baptist Church a few months earlier on December 31, 1985. He was used of God to plant the Tyrells and Covenant Baptist Churches, and these churches, along with Central Baptist Church, form the Baptist Circuit of Churches (ECBM), over which he presides. He completed his undergraduate studies, magna cum laude, at Oklahoma Baptist University. He also earned graduate degrees from the Pensacola Theological Seminary and the Master’s International School of Divinity. He has done additional graduate study at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Walden University. Dr. Jonas also founded and serves as Executive Director of the East Caribbean Baptist Mission, an indigenous missionary agency. He is also the Principal of the Baptist Academy of Antigua (K-12), having founded the school in 1991. He and his wife, Vandah, have two children, Joshua and Stephanie.

ELDERSHIP & AFFILIATION

The Central Baptist Church shares a common Eldership with the Baptist Circuit of Churches of the East Caribbean Baptist Mission, of which it is a member congregation. The elders are Pastor Dr. Hensworth W.C. Jonas (Presiding), Pastor Ivor J. Walker, and Pastor Orvin D.E. Paige. The Central Baptist Church is historically Southern Baptist in faith and practice.

Purpose:

The Central Baptist Church exists for the purpose of glorifying our God with specific reference to the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). The Great Commandment challenges us to love God and our fellowman. The Great Commission challenges us to evangelism, bringing people into right relationship with the Son of God; to covenant community, bringing people into a right relationship with the church of God; and to discipleship, bringing people into a right relationship with the Word of God.

History:

Central Baptist Church has ministered in Antigua & Barbuda since 1965. The church was led by six non-nationals, each serving for short periods for the first 20 years of its life. The founding minister was Pastor Cleo D. Morse of Texas, USA, an independently support missionary of Southern Baptist roots. Since December 31, 1985 Dr. Hensworth W.C. Jonas has served as Pastor/Presiding Elder, the first Antiguan born national to serve in this role. As the oldest surviving Baptist church on the island of Antigua, the church has given birth to the East Caribbean Baptist Mission, planted other churches and conducted a variety of ministries, including the Baptist Academy of Antigua, the Sovereign Grace Hour television and radio ministry, the Baptist Retreat Centre, and the Family Training Institute & Counseling Service.

Central Baptist Church

DIRECTIONS:

Turn off Independence Drive at the Antigua Plumbing & Hardware Center and drive through Ottos Newtown to Radio Range. It is a part of complex of pink buildings shared with the Baptist Academy on the hill overlooking the St. John’s habour.

Contact Information:

Weekly Schedule:

Sunday:
09:00 a.m. Sunday School
10:00 a.m. Congregational Morning Worship
06:00 p.m. Congregational Evening Worship
07:00 p.m. Sunday School
Tuesday:
06:30 p.m. Elders &/or Deacons Meeting
Wednesday:
07:00 p.m. Congregational Prayer Service
08:00 p.m. Fellowship Groups Bible Study or Congregational Stewardship Meeting
Thursday:
07:00 p.m. Intercessory Prayer Group
Friday:
06:30 p.m. Acteens Club/Royal Ambassador’s Club
Saturday:
Music Ministry Rehearsal

Calendar Highlights: