$6 Million for One Roof, $31 Million for Another: What It Will Cost to Rebuild Jamaica’s Churches After Melissa

• The New Testament Church of God counts about 20 churches demolished and 70 badly damaged
• One Black River church needs more than $6 million just for a new roof
• Another church faces an estimated $31 million repair bill
• Some congregations plan concrete roofs and stronger walls

Five months after Hurricane Melissa, the Sunday Gleaner put numbers on what it will cost to rebuild Jamaica’s damaged churches. Its Easter 2026 report, by Mickalia Kington and Sashana Small, found that the bills run into the tens of millions of dollars for some congregations.

Across the New Testament Church of God’s 365 churches, about 20 were completely demolished and roughly 70 significantly damaged, mainly in St Elizabeth, Westmoreland and Hanover. Bishop Roy Notice, the church’s administrative head, said one church in Black River will need more than $6 million just to replace its roof, while another severely damaged church faces an estimated $31 million repair bill. “It’s going to be quite a journey over the next few years to at least get us back to where we were, and we’re also trying to build back so that there can be greater resilience,” Notice said, noting that a number of churches will put on concrete roofs and strengthen their walls.

Other denominations reported similar losses. The Anglican Diocese counted about 120 damaged churches, 18 of them completely destroyed, out of roughly 300. “All the congregations are still meeting, obviously not in the same space, but all the congregations are meeting,” said Canon Garth Minott. The Moravian Church said six of its 37 affected congregations were destroyed, 10 sanctuaries suffered total roof loss or severe structural damage, and eight church houses and two church halls were severely affected. “The church is not so much the buildings, but the people,” said the Rev Barrington Daley.

In Westmoreland, the congregation of St Peter’s Anglican Church in Petersfield, whose roof was torn off, now worships at Petersfield Primary School. “We’re using the school and the school has no roof. It’s a tarpaulin on top and the tarpaulin drains water sometimes,” said the Rev Hartley Perrin, the parish’s custos.

These figures show what church property really costs in a country exposed to hurricanes. A roof alone can cost more than many small congregations raise in years, and building stronger with concrete adds to the price. Manses and church halls, often the pastor’s home and the community’s meeting space, are damaged alongside sanctuaries. For diaspora members, overseas partner churches and returnees, the cost of rebuilding is now known, and the move towards concrete roofs is a sign that congregations are planning for the next storm.

Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com