“The Entire Roof Caved In”: Two Churches Take Doctors, Lawyers and Builders to Melissa-Hit St Elizabeth

• Two New Testament Church of God congregations ran ‘Mission Rise 3.0’ in St Elizabeth after Hurricane Melissa
• Teams repaired three badly damaged homes, including a blind man’s house
• The outreach also brought medical, dental, legal and counselling help
• Middle Quarters’ own church lost its roof in the storm

In December 2025 the Jamaica Observer reported on a church-led relief effort in St Elizabeth that went further than food packages. Two New Testament Church of God congregations joined forces for “Mission Rise 3.0” to support communities battered by Hurricane Melissa.

The mission brought a full medical team of physicians, pharmacists, nurses and dentists, with the National Health Fund’s mobile clinic supplying medication. Lawyers offered legal guidance, counsellors provided psychological support, and charging stations and Starlink internet access were donated by Hands in Unison.

Housing was part of the work. According to the Observer, teams repaired three severely damaged homes: the house of a single woman who is a church member, a couple’s home linked to the Middle Quarters church, and the house of a blind man whose roof had been damaged by the Category 5 storm.

The churches were dealing with their own losses. Bishop Othniel Watson described what happened to the Middle Quarters church: “The entire roof caved in… All that we have here [was] destroyed.” The Rev Leslie Pinnock, pastor at Escarpment Road and parish coordinator for the mission, said the aim was to go beyond packages and show people “that we care” through medical, dental and psychological support. Donations came from Escarpment Road church members, Houston-based Spice Jamaica, local medical professionals and the national New Testament Church of God, among others.

Repairing three homes will not rebuild St Elizabeth, but it shows how churches can act as small, trusted building contractors in the weeks after a disaster, when government schemes are still processing applications. For diaspora donors, the model is useful: money routed through an organised congregation with local knowledge can go straight to roofs and walls. For churches, it is a reminder to plan for both their members’ homes and their own buildings, including insurance and reserves, before the next storm.

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