By Nadine Wilson-Harris
Reverend Osbourne Bailey can relate to several of the characters in the Bible who were called by God but faced several obstacles in fulfilling their God-given mandate.
Rev. Bailey, who has been a pastor since 1985, had initially applied to the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, to study Engineering, but he was turned down despite being an employee at the regional institution at the time. According to the university’s policy, employees were to be given first preference in the selection process.
“I was on a bus to go correct the error they had made, then I heard a voice; it was the second time I heard the voice that said, “Come off the bus; they did not turn you down; it was I who shut that door’. So I got off the bus and went back home,” he recounted.
Rev. Bailey then enrolled at the Jamaica Theological Seminary, where he spent the next four years preparing for the path God had predestined for him. There was the initial concern about how his school fees would be paid, but as it turned out, save for the first semester, he did not have to pay for the four years of study out of pocket.
There were some who doubted he would complete the four years because of his social background. His parents were poor, and he grew up in Payne Land, a tough inner-city community in South-West St. Andrew, where he had been exposed to gun violence from early. He was placed at Jamaica College based on his performance in the Common Entrance Examination but had no choice but to pull out of school due to his family’s financial challenges. Fully aware of his calling, Rev. Bailey remained at JTS and was given the award for the most outstanding academic student at his graduation.
Rev. Bailey first started pastoring a church in St. Ann, where he played multiple roles, including chief carpenter. After pastoring the church for two years, he was informed that they were no longer in a position to pay him. The recommendation was that he try to secure a job somewhere that could provide him with a steady income.
“A school invited me for an interview, and when I went, I said to them, “To be honest with you, I’m not able to turn up until January’. The principal said no, you will have to come, and that was the week before Gilbert. Monday the 12th of September 1988, Gilbert blew down the whole country. I was home for three months getting paid from the government until January, when I was really ready,” he said.
In 2013, Rev. Bailey founded the Covenant Life Christian Church, located at 37 Molynes Road in Kingston. While his journey as a pastor has not been smooth sailing, he has never doubted his call.
“I’ve had some Abrahamic moments where I had to make a decision and make sacrifices, and I couldn’t explain to people the kind of sacrifices that I had to make because they would think I was foolish to be making them. I had some David times. There are some Goliaths that I have had and is fighting. I’ve had some Daniel times because I held on to certain beliefs and was thrown into the lion’s den. I’ve had some Paul’s time when I’d have to literally put my pen to paper. I’ve had some Peter times when I felt that I failed when I could have stood up more for God. I’ve had some Elijah time when I had to pursue God to get another level of anointing in order to function and some Jacob time wrestling all night for particular blessings,” he said.
The act of Jesus washing His disciple’s feet has inspired him to serve others.
“I love to help. I love to see the joy on people’s faces when they are taught something and their lives are changed. I love to see rebirth. You know, when Jesus says, ;what is flesh is flesh, and what is spirit is spirit?’ I love to see when transition takes place,” Rev. Bailey said.
Rev. Bailey especially loves evangelising and has ventured out of the four walls of his church to visit prisons and other places to minister. One of the most painful things for him is seeing people walking away from God.
“We have a church with the gospel within the four walls for the most part, and evangelism is the work of the pastor or deacon, and many of the members are rarely given support. In many churches where you do an altar call, it is difficult to find altar workers. My message is that the church needs to put the ‘go’ back in the gospel,” he said.