a history of family life...

Family Life Ministries was

born in the hearts of five

persons in a living room in

Kingston in 1982. The five

were John and Vilma Keane,

Barry Davidson, Gordon

Russell and Brendan Bain -

the venue was the home of

the Keanes and we discussed

the state of family life in

Jamaica. After our first

meeting, we agreed to meet

again at the same venue,

this time inviting the three

wives who had missed the

first occasion- Beverley

Davidson, Grace Russell and

Pauline Bain. We also

invited Charles and Grace

Royes and Arnold and Hope

Aiken.

We continued our reflection

about family life in Jamaica.

Some persons shared that

their own friends, including

persons in the church, were

having serious problems in

their families. We ourselves

felt vulnerable. There

seemed to be so few “model

families”, and few

programmes addressing

family life in the nation.

We looked at each other

nervously. Then the question

was asked — could this

concern that we were voicing

for families in Jamaica,

indeed for ourselves, be an

indication that God was

laying it on our hearts to do

something about it. We were

willing to explore the idea,

but first, we felt, we must try

to sort out our own thoughts

on the difficult areas of

family life. We thought of

various types of public

ministry involving the use of

films and videos followed by

small group discussions;

seminars; weekend camps;

and programmes in

churches. We felt very

strongly that if we were

going to minister effectively

to others, we must first

minister to ourselves within

this small group. We were

also convinced that, at least

for us as married couples

with children, our children

should be included.

The next step we took was to

have a weekend retreat to

which the parents and chil-

dren in our families were

invited. The retreat was held

at the University of the West

Indies house at Bellevue in

the hills of St. Andrew. The

families could relax, get to

know each other a bit better

and discuss family issues

from a Biblical perspective.

An enjoyable and successful

weekend was held in late

June 1982.

A second retreat was held at

Moorlands Camp in

Manchester a few months

later. By that time, the

group was joined by Ivan

and Faith Linton. We

shared ideas for a public

ministry and the group was

getting committed.

(continued overleaf)

The roots of a stable family go deep into the Word of God.

February 14, 2007

“To encourage and actively promote healthy family life in accordance with the principles of

the Bible, God’s Word, in Jamaica, the wider Caribbean and elsewhere.”

A History of Family Life Ministries ®

History written by Dr. Brendan Bain, seen here with wife, Pauline,

both Founding Directors

Family Life Ministries became a

registered organization in 1984.

In the 1980s we broke new ground in

church ministry, camps and radio. Our

speakers’ bureau grew to include David

Corbin, Gene Denham and Melrose

Rattray, among others. The prerecorded

radio programme, Family Talk, began

being aired on Trans World Radio

(TWR), Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles in

1985 and the live, call-in programme,

Family Time® was started on Radio

Jamaica in August 1986. These two

programmes have enjoyed wide

listenership. Through the generosity of

TWR, Family Time was replicated for

broadcast on Christian stations in other

parts of the Caribbean. In the 1990s,

Family Time was also broadcast in

Jamaica on Love FM with Nigel

Wilkinson hosting the programme for a

short period. We are grateful to a large

number of volunteers who have

appeared as guests on these two radio

programmes and to the several persons

who have made personal sacrifices to

serve as hosts.

Dr. Davidson meets with a client in the

role of Counsellor.

In March 1983, our team, consisting of

seven couples and Dr. Ramlal, held a

month-long series of meetings at

Bethany Gospel Hall in Kingston as a

pilot exercise. We believed that it was

fitting to hold the first public

programme in the home church of the

Davidson and Keane families. In fact,

during the programme at Bethany, a

remarkable meeting occurred between

Dr. Ramlal and Mr. Calvin Williams,

which eventually led to their marriage.

Calvin then joined us on the FLM

Board.

Meanwhile, Barry Davidson had been

weighing up the difficult decision to

leave Jamaica Youth for Christ for this

new family ministry. After wrestling

with the Lord in his own personal

retreat, he announced to the YFC Board

that he wanted to make the pioneering

move. With their blessing, he became

our first full-time staff member in June

1983, serving as Executive Director and

Professional Counsellor.

Barry Davidson was a key figure in the

development of FLM. In his time in the

U.S.A., where he was trained in

Counselling Psychology and later in

Marriage and Family Therapy, he had

made several personal contacts. One of

these persons was Dennis Guernsey, a

seminary teacher from California. In

1983, Barry invited Dennis to visit and

advise our group about how to organize

an effective ministry to families. Out of

that consultation came the plan to launch

an interdenominational movement to

serve the churches and the wider

community - first in Jamaica and then, as

opportunities came, in the rest of the

Caribbean.

Family Life Ministries (FLM) was

established in 1982, with a Board of Di-

rectors, an Advisory Council and a

Council of Reference. The seven couples

who had taken part in the preliminary

discussions formed the first FLM Board

of Directors. Shortly after Dennis’ visit

we invited Dr. Angela Ramlal to join the

Board.

History of FLM (continued)

“In the 1980s we broke new

ground in church ministry,

camps and radio.”

Dr. Barry Davidson

Between 1991 and 2000, FLM entered a

working partnership with the Caribbean

Graduate School of Theology (CGST) to

train persons to Masters Level in

Counselling Psychology. The programme

became the most popular of CGST’s

programmes, attracting a growing

number of students from year to year. It

has borne fruit not just for Jamaica, but

also for other Caribbean countries,

including Belize.

FLM acquired a home of our own in 2000

through the kindness of Mr. Samuel Fitz-

Henley. The FLM building at 1 Cecelio

Avenue houses our administrative

officers, the main FLM Counselling

Centre and a multipurpose auditorium.


We are convinced that the

pioneering work of FLM has

served to inspire and persuade

individuals and other groups to

pay more serious attention to

family life

Samuel Fitz-Henley

Family Life Ministries: No. 1 Cecelio Avenue before renovation.

Under the leadership of Barry Davidson,

our counselling ministry has grown. We

believe that the Counselling Centre at

Cecelio Avenue is the largest facility of

its kind in the English-speaking

Caribbean with a staff of ten. Two other

FLM Counselling Centres are situated

in Port Maria and Mandeville.

We are convinced that the pioneering work of FLM has served to inspire and persuade individuals and other groups to pay more

serious attention to family life. The evidence of this is the number of churches that now run organized programmes dealing with

family issues on a regular basis and the number of Government and non-Government agencies that are involved with family

programmes in recent years. There has been a very clear interest in the development of professional and lay counselling and

much of this appears to be as a result of the presence and influence of Family Life Ministries.

Written by Dr. Brendan Bain, a Founding Director

In the early years FLM families gather for fellowship.

Family Life Ministries Singles Retreat

Family Life Ministries participating at Children’s Expo

Family Life Ministries Couples’ Camp


a history of family life...

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