From a Rented Storefront to a $25 Million Campus: A Nassau Church Marks 30 Years

• Bahamas Harvest Church began in 1995 in a rented storefront at Sea Grapes Shopping Plaza
• By 2002 it had built a 9,600 sq ft worship centre, later expanded to 15,000 sq ft
• It is now building a $25 million facility on seven acres on Bethel Avenue
• Pastor Mario Moxey has described bank financing for half the cost and an investment offer for private backers

Bahamas Harvest Church in Nassau marked 30 years of ministry on November 19, 2025, and the milestone came with one of the largest church building projects in the Bahamas, the Nassau Guardian reported. The church was founded in 1995 by Pastors Mario and Erika Moxey in a rented storefront at Sea Grapes Shopping Plaza.

By 2002 it had built a 9,600-square-foot worship centre on Blueberry Hill Road, later expanded to 15,000 square feet. The church is now building a $25 million facility for family ministries, outreach and community services, including a convention centre that can seat more than 700 dinner guests. Pastor Moxey told the paper that “true impact is not measured by attendance but by life change.”

In earlier updates to members reported by the Nassau Guardian, Pastor Moxey set out the numbers. The church bought seven acres on Bethel Avenue in 2015 and broke ground in 2018. The building had to be raised 13 feet because of road requirements, and after Hurricane Dorian it was upgraded to withstand 200-mile-per-hour winds. “We decided to make it stronger and so the building is rated to 200 miles per hour,” he said. Those changes pushed the cost up to $25 million. The church put in more than $1 million of its own money, bank financing was to cover $12 million, or half the cost, and the rest was to come from private investors, with a $2.5 million minimum investment opportunity offered first to members. Plans included a convention centre, amphitheatre, baptistry, playground, prayer garden, café, nursery and preschool, and dedicated children’s and youth spaces.

In another interview, Pastor Moxey called the building “pivotal” and said “COVID doesn’t stop progress.”

For Jamaican churches thinking about a major building, the Harvest story shows how such projects are financed today. It involved land bought years ahead, a bank loan for half, an investment offer to members, and costs that grew with the hurricane standard and site conditions. Congregations weighing a similar move should budget for design changes and code requirements, understand what investors in a church project are actually getting, and plan for the debt to be paid long after the opening service.

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