James Mann: A Few, but Very Productive, Years

 

                                        Webb Memorial Baptist Church, Stewart Town, Trelawny

James Mann is a good example of a British Baptist missionary who came to Jamaica, spent only a few years, but made a vital contribution to Baptist work in the country.

 

He was from Scotland and he decided to offer himself to the BMS for service on the mission field. In 1826, BMS accepted him and commissioned him as a missionary to Jamaica, where he arrived in Kingston on June 7, 1826. He was on the island for almost 4 years before he died, a victim of yellow fever, on February 10, 1830.

 

He started his ministry in the country by filling in at Montego Bay for Thomas Burchell, who was on a visit to England. After this, he served enthusiastically in the parishes of St James, Westmoreland and Trelawny. At that time, of course, the parish of Hanover did not exist; it was a part of Westmoreland. His mode of transport was horseback!

 

Mann was involved in the planting or renewal of several churches – Fullers Field in 1827; Rio Bueno and Stewart Town in 1828, and Oxford and Cambridge in 1829. In cooperation with Thomas Burchell, Mann served the following churches: Montego Bay, Mt Carey, Shortwood, Crooked Spring, Bethel Town, Gurney’s Mount, Fletcher’s Grove, Watford Hill, Lucea, Fuller’s Field, Falmouth, Rio Bueno, and Stewart Town.

 

In January 1830, Mann left Rio Bueno to visit his fellow missionaries in Spanish Town and Kingston. He covered the journey to Spanish Town in one day and one night. He arrived unwell. However, he managed to preach at Spanish Town and Port Royal. After preaching in Kingston, he visited the Coultarts in Mt Charles, where Mrs. Coultart counselled him to rest and recover. Anxious for the welfare of the churches he served, he returned to the country and preached at Oxford Estate.

 

Soon, he fell seriously ill. His doctors failed in their bid to aid his recovery and he died. John Clarke reports that the members of the Falmouth Church loved Mann dearly and in 1839, they sent his father “a considerable present.”  This gift, he says, “cheered the heart of the aged Christian who, a few weeks after, entered his rest.”

 

One can hardly refrain from asking what would have happened if Mann had lived longer. It is very likely that Baptist witness in Jamaica would have benefited enormously from the Christian commitment and bounding energy of this tireless worker in our Lord’s vineyard.