Mission History

United Theological College of the West Indies

The United Theological College serves primarily the English-speaking Caribbean, which includes the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and Belize. Also included are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Turks and Caicos, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Montserrat. Non-English-speaking countries Haiti, Cuba, Suriname, and Panama send students to UTC as well. This means that although the student body and faculty are almost totally Caribbean, it is by no means a homogeneous group. The college affirms its common Caribbean identity but also celebrates these national differences.

The majority of the students at the college are nevertheless Jamaican, due to the location of the college and Jamaica’s position as the most influential country among the contributors. More than 2.7 million people live in this independent, constitutional parliamentary democracy. English is the official language of Jamaica; Jamaican Creole is rising in status and usage as the language of the general population. The ethnic population of the island is more than 90% black. The 2001 census represents almost two thirds of the population as Protestant, with the majority belonging to some form of the Church of God. Seventh-Day Adventists follow in percentage, with other Pentecostals, Baptists, Anglicans, and other Protestant Christians following in that order. 2.6% of the population is Roman Catholic.

Jamaica was among the first of the English-speaking Caribbean countries to gain independence. The division along race and class lines has made a sense of nation a central problem. Along with agriculture and bauxite mining, the tourist industry is one of the lucrative industries of the economy. A stagnant economy resulting in double-digit inflation, growing internal debt and high un- and under-employment will continue to plague efforts to improve the economic situation for Jamaica. Many of the same issues challenge the other Caribbean countries.

Crime and violence are the main problems occurring along with the drug trade in Jamaica. There are frequent police/drug gang clashes. Drug control is a difficult issue because many families depend on ganja (marijuana) production to supplement their incomes. Similar problems are developing on a smaller scale in many other Caribbean nations.