Pastor Gemma Mohammed
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gemma Mohammed. I am the Senior Pastor of Eternal Spirit Deliverance Center in Arena Road Freeport, Trinidad and Tobago (the most southern Caribbean Island, 10 miles off the east coast of Venezuela). My husband, Nazab, who was previously a Muslim and I (previously Catholic) began a small church in our home in the midst of a Hindu community. I have been a pastor for 8 years and the church now has 50 or so dedicated Christians.My grandparents came from India to Trinidad shortly after 1900. They were Hindus. My father was also a Hindu, although my mother was Moslem. As a child, I attended church with neighbors and gave my life to Christ in 1981 (the first Christian in my family). I began helping local ministers in planting and nurturing churches. In 1995, I graduated from the West Indies School of Theology in Trinidad. I was ordained and asked to start a new church (October 1999).
Trinidad and Tobago is not only multi-cultural, it is also multi-religious. In the Freeport area, where the church is located, the total population is estimated to be rouguly 40,000 people. A high percentage of the locals are Hindu (approximately 60%) who engages extensively in idol worship. Muslims account for another 10% or so, with many other religious groups as well. The Christian component in Freeport is believed to be less than 10%. It is growing slowly. I was raised in a home with a Moslem mother and a Hindu father, but neither were seriously devoted to their faith. Having grown up in the Catholic faith, I have a rather unusual background to be a Christian minister. On the other hand, maybe it’s a perfect background for this fractured culture.
