Freedom Come Rain

Members of the Tarrant Baptist Church (TBC) have reinforced their desire to be pastored by Apostle Jeffrey Shuttleworth, despite a recent move by the Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU) to unseat the outspoken preacher. Apostle Shuttleworth has been leading the congregation for the last 17 years after being called and employed by the then church council to serve in that capacity. His intolerance for unrighteousness, however, has seen him at odds with other pastors in and outside of the Union over the years. This culminated with 136 pastors in the Union voting to revoke his status as an accredited minister during a Special Assembly on June 11. The decision was publicised on the front page of a local newspaper on Sunday and then on Tuesday this week. But the heightened publicity has served to re-energise the congregation at TBC and also members of the Freedom Come Ministries International, which was started by Apostle Shuttleworth. Both entities have been engaging in a series of missions aimed at evangelising, dismantling evil altars islandwide, and ministering to the lost in communities and along the byways. The members of TBC insist that the mission will continue in spite of the “distractions.” “The only way persons are going to be distracted at this time is if their eyes were on the Apostle and not on God,” said June Maxwell, one of the ministers at TBC. She said persons should be focused on the leading of the Holy Ghost and maintain a personal relationship with God as He continues to use Apostle Shuttleworth. The minister made it clear that she remains committed to the mission as articulated by God through the senior pastor of the church. “I am excited. I am excited, and the reason why I am excited is because the Word of God says, ‘Be ye separated, come ye out from among them, and touch not the unclean things.’ I am also excited because the Word of God says, ‘When you are persecuted for righteousness sake, happy are ye.’ I am also excited that the man of God is one who stands for righteousness, who stands without fear or favour, and one whom I have grown to admire his faithfulness, his courage, his boldness. He stands for the principle and the Word of the living God. So, I am excited about what God is doing at this time, because I believe He's doing a shifting and a lifting, and then we will see who are the true remnants,” she told Freedom Come Rain. Dr Patience Alonge, a professor and pastor who co-hosts Conversations, a morning programme on TBC 88.5 FM with Apostle Shuttleworth, took the public discourse about Apostle Shuttleworth in stride. “The first thing that came to mind is defrock him all you want; God Almighty has clothed him with glory, with grace, with honour, and with truth, so he will continue to stand and speak the truth. God is mighty, and God is with him,” she said. “We can remember in the case of Daniel; we can remember in the case of Joseph; we can remember in the case of the early apostles; there were persons who rose up to persecute. For righteousness' sake, he is being persecuted. Therefore, we will continue to focus on the kingdom assignment. We will continue to focus and do that which God has called him to do. There is a nation to be rescued, there are souls to be saved, the church needs to be fully realigned to righteousness,” she said. Apostle Shuttleworth has been vocal in denouncing Freemasonry, the LGBTQ lifestyle, gambling, occultism, and other unrighteous practices, much to the chagrin of many politicians, business owners, and some church leaders. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when most churches closed their doors, he kept the 24/7-operated Tarrant Baptist Church open. It was during the pandemic that Olive Johnson connected with the church based at 51 Molynes Road in Kingston. The teacher said at the time, her church required that members register weekly to attend services in keeping with the government mandate to reduce numbers at places of worship. She registered for the first few weeks, but then she grew tired of the restrictions, and in her pursuit of a church to worship unrestricted, she travelled from Clarendon to attend the Tarrant Baptist Church. She has been active in the ministry ever since. “I have been a part of Boots on the Ground, the Peaceful Prayer Protests, the Legacy Project…” she said, as she listed some of the church’s flagship initiatives to counter Satan’s agenda for Jamaica. “I don’t believe in organisations – I don’t even want to say churches – that are full on a Saturday or on a Sunday and the unsaved are outside on the streets. I really believe in going out into the highways and the byways, and the ministry here is fostering that,” she said of the church. Apostle Shuttleworth, who is the publisher of Freedom Come Rain, continues to pastor the Tarrant Baptist Church, despite media reports that suggest he has been barred. He reinforced his commitment to preaching the undiluted Word of God during a sermon delivered at the church on Sunday. “The vessel of God does not need man’s validation,” said the senior clergyman before adding. “Once that man or woman of God has God’s validation, it is well.”

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