Jamaica Baptist Union

The Jamaica Baptist Union traces its beginning to George Liele, a ‘free black slave’ from Atlanta Georgia who came to Jamaica in 1783 and started preaching in Kingston. His work grew and spread to other parts of the island. The Baptists were very involved in the struggle for the emancipation of slavery. Three of our national heroes were Baptists: Sam Sharpe, Paul Bogle and George William Gordon. After emancipation Baptists were instrumental in establishing “free Villages” for the new emancipated people. This included buying large parcels of lands and cutting these into small holdings, which were sold to families. The villages also included a school and a Baptist Church. In 1849, some of the Baptist Churches in Jamaica came together to form the Jamaica Baptist Union. The JBU now has 338 Churches across the island and approximately 40,000 communicant members.