Beginning in August 1968, Bethel Tabernacle, or the "Christ is the Answer" Church, underwent a radical transformation. As far as I can remember, Castries was a peaceful town at the time. Clarke and Gaiety Cinemas were the two most popular nighttime venues, and television hadn't yet made its way into people's homes. The Christ is the Answer Crusade at Victoria Park was a no-brainer for many folks who had little else on their plates and a lot of time on their hands. Thousands of people gathered to hear God's word.
During his final year as a missionary in St. Vincent, Rev. Jack Keyes of the Pentecostal Assembly of Canada chose to start a Pentecostal work in St. Lucia. He was invited to conduct an open-air crusade in Castries by Rev. Holms Williams. Pastor Keyes had called Brother and Sister Welch prior to Rev. Williams' arrival to begin planning for the next crusade.
Before the crusade began, the "Youth With A Mission" (YWAM) team arrived roughly two weeks early. All across Castries, the participants of the crusade distributed tracks and witnessed to as many people as they could. The established church had a strong hold on people in those days, according to Brother Wayne Webster.
Temperatures weren't too hot or too cold. There was no chance of rain, thanks to the stars lighting up the night sky. Thousands of St. Lucians descended on Victoria Park to hear the Word of God. 2,000 people were expected to attend each night.
Night after night, Pastor Holms Williams taught with the anointing, and many individuals came to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
In a major shift, the Crusades took a turn. After seeing God's might, the crowd went wild that night. The rain was halted by God that night. While Pastor Holms was delivering his sermon, it started raining, and many witnesses can confirm to this. Pastor Holms paused his sermon to pray for the rain to cease, and the rain did not. Only God could have brought an end to it so quickly. That's right; it was truly miraculous.
As a result, the number of people attending grew steadily over time. The next night, it rained, but the man of God was still able to preach in the rain. Many people anticipated him to pray to stop the rain, but he did not. Many people were impacted by the Word of God as it spread like wildfire. Many people who had given their lives to Christ did so in an open way, including their cigarette packages.
"Christ is the Answer" was born out of the crusade and continues to grow today.
On Sunday following the crusade, some 200-250 people attended the church service at the pavilion. For a while, the church met at this site, but as its membership grew, a new home was found in the building where Streams of Power Church is now housed.
As soon as they arrived at their new location, believers were forced to move into an abandoned school building that once housed Carmichael High School. It wasn't permanent, though.
It was in March 1969 that Bethel Tabernacle was dedicated to God's glory. The message "Christ is the Answer" was broadcast nationally on The Voice of Bethel from Sans Souci. Through this message, a country that had been in the dark was able to glimpse the light of Christ's gospel and receive salvation through His atoning work on the cross. Just teaching the gospel message that Jesus Christ is the only way to find salvation has had a significant impact on the growth of the evangelical movement in St Lucia.
Some of the most devout men and women of God in St. Lucia (including Remy Smith and Jacob Pascal and Euphrates Alexander) took the great commission to heart and toured throughout the island to spread God's word. There are currently fourteen congregations in the St. Lucia District of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies (St. Lucia District).
Rev. Wayne Webster, the Youth Team leader and later pastor of Bethel Tabernacle, told a pre-crusade group gathering that God had prompted him to read Acts 18:9–10 at the meeting. "I have many people in this city," he insisted, and God had kept his promise.
The Tabernacle of Bethel was born out of prayer and hard labour. We salute you in the name of Jesus Christ and thank God for His grace, mercy, love, and fidelity since truly Christ is the answer.