“A Voice Instructed Me to Give the Tithe”: An American Donor Paid for a J$130 Million Church in Rural Trelawny

• Abundant Life Ministry in Bounty Hall, Trelawny opened a new J$130 million church
• The building was paid for by American businessman Rod McSweeny
• It stands on four acres and holds 300 people
• The church began in 2009 with 12 people in a primary-school classroom

A congregation in rural Trelawny that started with 12 people in a school classroom now worships in a J$130 million building. The Gleaner reported in July 2021 that Abundant Life Ministry in the Bounty Hall community had unveiled its new church, and that the whole project was paid for by one donor, American businessman Rod McSweeny.

The church is led by Pastors John and Charlene Hines. It began in 2009 in a classroom at Bounty Hall Primary School and later moved into a tent before the permanent building went up. The new church measures 140 feet by 80 feet, seats 300 people and stands on four acres of land. “Today the membership stands at 112,” Pastor John Hines said at the opening.

McSweeny said the gift came out of a long friendship and a sense of calling. “I met John over 25 years ago and I appreciated the kind of work he did,” he said. He described the donation as a tithe: “A voice instructed me to give the tithe to John to build a church.”

Longtime members were emotional. “This is a miracle. I see the work of the Lord,” said foundation member Dian Bartley.

The scale of the gift stands out. A J$130 million building for a congregation of 112 is far beyond what most rural Jamaican churches could raise from collections, which usually pay for construction a little at a time over many years. Here, one overseas donor paid for land and a building large enough to hold nearly three times the current membership.

For churches in Jamaica and their supporters abroad, Bounty Hall shows both what is possible and what comes after. Overseas giving, whether from a friend of the pastor or from Jamaicans in the diaspora, can turn a tent congregation into a property owner almost overnight. A four-acre site and a large new building then bring the ordinary costs of ownership: maintenance, insurance, utilities and keeping the title in order. Congregations that receive gifts like this do well to plan early for how the property will be managed and paid for, and who will hold it in trust, long after the opening service.

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