Testimony

At the time of writing, Don West has served as a minister, evangelist or some related aspect of church ministry for a period of approximately nineteen years. His has been a remarkable journey of faith which has proven to be abundantly satisfying in spite of challenges and which inspires frequent expressions of gratitude and admiration for God’s unfathomable providence and the magnificent methods whereby He calls individuals and prepares them for service in His vineyard—the church. This brief review is intended to provide readers with a snippet of this preacher’s back story, reflecting on certain events and circumstances in his early life that have guided him on this incredible spiritual journey. It begins with a look at the early influences in the family that established the underpinning for a lasting and meaningful spiritual orientation. Next, the impact of West’s early education and initial exposure to the responsibilities and privileges of leadership are explored. We take a brief look at his personal conversion experience, outlining how his subsequent journey prepared him for his later work as a pastor, evangelist and Christian apologist. Then we conclude with a brief discussion of the major experiences which, as he reckons, served as the final confirmation of his call to the ministry of gospel proclamation.

The blueprint for early spiritual formation set forth by Solomon in Proverbs 22:6 has served as an unfailing guide for many Christian families ever since it was issued from the pen of Israel’s wise monarch 3000 years ago. He wrote, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” This vital principle was cherished by the preacher’s parents Clement and Darien West, and it was their settled determination to execute it to the best of their ability when they welcomed their firstborn son in the fall of 1977. As recent converts to their faith community and a fairly youthful couple, they sensed an acute need for God’s wisdom and guidance in shaping the life path of their children in the quest to raise offspring who would grow to love the Lord and whose lives would be an influence for positive change in those whose journey they would be called upon to impact.

As they embarked upon the adventure of establishing a new family, the couple deeply desired to build upon a spiritually strong foundation. It was their purpose to create as conducive as possible an environment where their children would cultivate an understanding and appreciation for the true aims of life. An essential element in this process was the matter of where to establish permanent residence.

In the late 1970’s to early 1980’s, West Kingston, Jamaica—West’s birthplace, was not the ideal environment for raising a Christian family, due to the political instability of that period and the ongoing tensions between rival factions in that area. His parents eventually decided to settle for a rural retreat in the parish of Clarendon, where the family would remain until the completion of his elementary and secondary education. Here, two events in West’s early life gave indication of a possible call to leadership and confirmed his commitment to Christ and God’s plan for his life.

At both the elementary and secondary levels, Jamaican schools have followed a tradition whereby a head student from the senior class is appointed every year to provide representation for the general student body. This student was expected to participate in official functions and ceremonies, represent the school at selected events, provide appropriate mentorship and leadership to other students, among numerous other tasks. Students who demonstrated leadership potential and who were exemplary in their deportment and academic performance were the ones considered for this role. Young Don West, somewhat unexpectedly, found himself called upon to serve in this position in his final year of elementary (also referred to as primary) school. During the early 1990’s, many of the public schools in Jamaica, though not affiliated with a specific religious denomination, were nevertheless founded upon a strong Judeo-Christian philosophy. As such, many of the activities in which the student leader was called upon to participate took place in a spiritual context. This proved to be a blessing, as that first foray into leadership opened the way for other similar assignments and laid a foundation for the pastoral journey to follow in later years.

The other event that had a pivotal and life-changing impact on West around that time was a religious convention at which he was in attendance with his family. It was one of those periodic convocations in which several churches participated, with special guest presenters addressing a variety of topics, and other features of interest. These programs were designed to facilitate greater ministry collaboration among sister churches, provide an environment in which congregants from neighboring towns and villages could meet and fellowship together, and create a consecrated context in which youth and non-believers could have an encounter with the gospel, and possibly take a step toward making their own commitment to Christ. At this event, the movement of the Holy Spirit was particularly palpable. West’s youthfulness notwithstanding—he was merely eleven years old—the message was clear. He knew that the time had come to officially adopt the faith of his parents as his very own, not because of any requirement or obligation so to do, but simply because he was convinced that the only real way for his life to have true meaning was to become a personal friend of Jesus. He understood the sacrifice Christ had made on his behalf, and he was grateful. That weekend he made the decision to commit to Jesus the life that He had purchased with His own blood. Shortly after, this decision was sealed with the rite of baptism.

Although West took the important step of accepting Christ as his personal Savior at an early age, he did not at that time contemplate the idea of entering the gospel ministry. He did go through the typical adolescent phase of dreaming and imagining himself in a number of career roles in the future, but these did not include the prospect of becoming a preacher. Nonetheless, he was determined that whatever the direction that his life would take, he, like Christ, would seek to be about his Father’s business! The decision to follow Christ was a serious one, as evidenced by West’s certificate of baptism which he happened to stumble upon in the archives recently, on which were inscribed in endearing juvenile penmanship the following words: “I am a child of God. I love God.” The next several years were spent doing all the things that children and youth of his age were typically engaged in: growing up, attending school, learning about himself and the world, serving the family dutifully, and, of course, becoming increasingly involved in church life.

Without realizing it, this active involvement in the various aspects of church life as a teenager was beginning to play an increasingly influential role in West’s approach to almost all other aspects of his life. The leadership qualities that were identified as a young boy began to be more prominent. He was developing a keen sense of discipline and cherished a deep desire to live an exemplary life and be a true model of what God intends for every young person. As these elements of his character and personality continued to express themselves in the public sphere, he began to hear suggestions and opinions from friends and associates that there might be a role in the gospel ministry for someone with his capabilities and interests. At first, the suggestion was not regarded with much seriousness, as by this time he had come to the decision that his life would be spent working somewhere in the scientific field, possibly as a physician. Indeed, his subjects of deepest interest in high school gave a strong indication of this leaning. Nevertheless, just as a special event led to the decision to commit his life to the Lord in former years, another special event was destined to alter the trajectory of his life in a very significant way.

As was the case in the final year of elementary school, Don West was appointed head boy in his senior year of high school. By this time, he had strived, with some success, to distinguish himself as a diligent and capable young scholar and public speaker, playing a leading role in his school’s debate team. At church, he had been elected as the youth ministry leader for a number of years. In 1997, an evangelist visited his local church to conduct a series of seminars. These meetings had a profound impact upon the young man, not only through the power of the presentations themselves, but through his own participation in the daily programs. It was during this event that the prospect of dedicating himself to preparation for the ministry was first contemplated in an intentional and thoughtful manner. A number of heart-searching conversations both with the visiting preacher and other godly members of the church led to the decision to make this subject a matter of prayer. It was felt that if so many well-meaning individuals were pointing him in that direction, there was at least a possibility that this was the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking through them. It was a summer of keen inner conflict and earnest intercession. The dream of becoming a successful medical doctor is not easily given up, especially with the pressure exerted by expectant teachers and ambitious peers. Nevertheless, the desire to follow God’s leading and to use his talents for the furtherance of the gospel proved stronger than all other considerations, and the decision was finally made in the summer of 1998 to apply to West Indies College (subsequently Northern Caribbean University) to pursue the bachelor’s degree in Religion and Theology.

Although one would expect that enrollment in the School of Religion and Theology would remove all doubt as to one’s calling to the ministry, West did not immediately find this to be the case. There were moments of uncertainty as to whether the right decision had been made. One such situation arose at the end of the freshman year when all the theology students were dispatched to different cities as speakers for a series of revival meetings. For this student, this was a first. He had written and delivered many rousing and convincing speeches before, but nothing close to a series lasting two whole weeks. It was a major challenge going about the task of preparing the sermons. Delivering them was another story altogether. And it did not help the young preacher’s nerves when in one of the meetings a well-known government minister showed up and sat in the audience, looking on expectantly! The preacher was to learn very quickly that there was a major difference between being a skillful debater and serving as an effective communicator of the gospel. The series turned out to be a disaster, or so he thought! Despite that apparent setback, invitations kept coming for him to give sermons and conduct series of meetings. It was as though God was whispering in the ear of this uncertain youth, “I want to use you, and if you let me, I will show you how.” He finally decided to completely surrender, and the result was nothing short of remarkable. By the time he got to the senior year, he had visited and preached in all fourteen parishes on the island, and hardly a weekend came by when he did not have some engagement to fulfill. There remained, however, a need for still more convincing evidence of the call to pastoral ministry, and that evidence was supplied in at least two ways.

During the fall of 2002 as the ministerial prospect was commencing his final year of seminary studies, the youth department of the Inter-American Division of Seventh-day Adventists—a body that oversees the work of the church in Central America, the Caribbean and portions of South America—decided to embark upon an unprecedented evangelism project involving youth from all the thirteen territories which constituted the Division at that time. One of those territories was the West Indies Union, which encompassed Jamaica, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. A young person was selected from each territory to be one of the speakers for the series. This appointment involved travelling to Mexico City, the location from which the event would be broadcasted by satellite to the over forty countries which comprised the Division. Largely due to his dedication and widespread involvement in preaching and evangelistic endeavors during his student life, West was asked to represent the West Indies Union in this major event. The invitation to participate in an event of this magnitude, the outstanding success of the program and the countless affirmations that came as a result of his involvement were all regarded as confirmation that God had a work for him to do in the ministry of gospel proclamation, and that his decision to prepare himself to take up that work was not a mistake.

One piece of the puzzle was left to fall into place, and that was the question of employment. Yes, the preacher had reached a place of certainty that God had indeed called him to the ministry, but where would the journey begin? He had witnessed the plight of many a ministerial graduate who in frustration had been obliged to turn to other vocations because of a lack of employment opportunities. The local Conferences were the bodies to which aspirants would look for such opportunities, and very often, this resulted in greatly increased anxiety levels as one approached graduation. Once again, God intervened, and before any such anxiety crept in, West was contacted by his home Conference with the news of their interest in having him join their pastoral staff as a ministerial intern. Thus, the Lord confirmed His call on this young man’s life, and in the fall of 2003 he received eldership ordination, allowing him to take up his first assignment as understudy to a senior pastor of the Central Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

This brief introduction began with a declaration from Solomon concerning the blessing of training children in the way of the Lord. Another saying of the wise man that has provided much inspiration throughout the years is the following: “But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light, that shines more and more until the perfect day” Proverbs 4:18. There is no doubt whatsoever that this has been Don West’s experience, from the moments he spent learning Bible verses at his parents’ feet to the day he received his confirmation of official entry into the ministry. The experiences of subsequent years have confirmed that this divine guidance did not end there but has continued throughout his journey from that time to the present. It was not through a dramatic Damascus road encounter, but rather by the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, and the clear testimonies of the Divine Scriptures that this life has been directed, and the result has been a blessing both to the preacher and to the world. This online platform reflects West’s firm resolution to continue to follow that voice wherever and however it leads.