Decades Without the Money, Then a Fundraising Push in 2021: NCU Dedicates a New Sanctuary at Its Front Gate

• Northern Caribbean University dedicated a new sanctuary in Mandeville on November 9, 2022
• It is the first phase of a church complex that will also house the School of Religion and Theology
• The project had been attempted for decades but lacked funding until a renewed drive in early 2021
• Construction moved ahead during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the university says the complex is not yet finished

Northern Caribbean University (NCU), the Seventh-day Adventist institution in Mandeville, has dedicated a new sanctuary that its leaders say was decades in the making. The Sunday Gleaner reported that the building was opened on November 9, 2022, as the first phase of a larger church complex that is eventually to include the university’s School of Religion and Theology.

According to the report, the 115-year-old institution had tried for decades to build a proper church on campus but never had the money. That changed in early 2021, when Dr Neil Reid, a former senior pastor at the university church, and Dr Owen Roberts led a renewed fundraising effort, supported by the current senior pastor, Pastor Joel Haye. The Jamaica Union Conference adopted the project, and construction progressed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Reid preached the dedicatory sermon, titled “Living in the Zeal Zone/The Zeal Factor”, urging worshippers to share Jesus’s passion for His church. The ribbon was cut by NCU president Professor Lincoln Edwards, Pastor Everett Brown, president of the Jamaica Union Conference and chairman of the NCU board, Pastor Haye and Pastor Meric Walker, president of the East Jamaica Conference.

Professor Edwards said the building’s position at the entrance to the university was deliberate, describing it as “a signal to all that we are a Christ-centred institution”. Pastor Brown said the “united effort of all those involved led by the Holy Spirit, is paying off handsomely”. Edwards also stressed that the project is not complete and asked for continued prayers and financial support, with a dedicated fundraising website set up for donors.

For anyone following property and development in Manchester, the story is a reminder that large institutional buildings are rarely paid for in one go. NCU’s sanctuary was built in phases, financed by an organised donor drive and denominational backing rather than a single loan, and opened before the full complex was funded. Congregations planning their own buildings, and diaspora members asked to give towards them, can take note of the model: a clearly defined first phase, a visible site, and a public campaign that keeps running after the ribbon is cut. The frontage choice also shows how a building’s location on a property can carry as much weight as its size.

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