- Davie Community Worship Center gave US$6,000 (about J$1.1 million)
- Davie Mayor Judy Paul added US$1,000 of her own
- Part of the gift goes to churches in Lacovia and Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth
- The rest will help other hurricane-damaged churches across Jamaica
A largely Jamaican congregation in South Florida has sent money home to help rebuild churches damaged by Hurricane Melissa, the Jamaica Observer reported in December 2025.
Davie Community Worship Center in Davie, Florida, donated US$6,000, about J$1.1 million, to the New Testament Church of God in Jamaica. When Davie Mayor Judy Paul heard about the effort, she added US$1,000 of her own.
The congregation is led by Bishop Dr Fedlyn Beason, a former Church of God International executive and Caribbean field director. He directed that part of the gift go to churches he once pastored in Lacovia and Santa Cruz, in St Elizabeth, the parish hardest hit by the storm. The rest is to go to other damaged churches around Jamaica.
“Our hearts go out to our brothers and sisters in Jamaica who have endured so much in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa,” Bishop Beason said. “We are committed to supporting their recovery and rebuilding efforts, and we invite others to join us in lending a hand.”
US$6,000 will not rebuild a sanctuary on its own. But it is the kind of targeted diaspora gift that can pay for zinc, lumber, hurricane straps or a contractor’s first week, and when it goes to named congregations through an established denomination it is more likely to be tracked and spent on the building.
For Jamaicans abroad who want to help rebuild, the approach is worth copying. Give through a structure that can account for the money, link it to specific buildings, and ask for photographs and receipts as work progresses. Churches that receive such gifts, in turn, protect their credibility by publishing what was spent and what was built, which makes the next appeal easier.
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