Our Team
Joel Shillingford
Pastor
Joel Shillingford was born in the French-Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, however, he was raised and nurtured in the Commonwealth of Dominica, of which he holds nationality. For the past eleven years, he has shared his love and life in marriage with his long-time friend, Minerva Shillingford. They have two children, Jashur, a student at West Indies College Preparatory School, and Jai, a toddler. He enjoys spending time together and considers them his first priority after God.
He believes he received his call to ministry while being an electronic engineering student at DeVry University, and thus his career path changed.
He was prepared for Gospel Ministry first by serving his local church in several offices, including Head Deacon, Elder, Assistant A.Y. Leader, Personal Ministries Leader, and more. He thereafter completed a B.A. in Religion at Northern Caribbean University in 2015. In 2017, he further graduated with a Master of Science degree in Counselling & Psychology with emphasis in Marriage & Family Therapy.
After employment with the CJC family, he was assigned in the Spur Tree district of churches as intern Pastor under the stewardship of Pastor Rufus Anderson. Then on August 11, 2018, he was assigned to the Mile Gully District of churches. The district grew tremendously under his leadership and enjoyed a strong Pastor/Elder/Member alliance. On April 30, 2022, Pastor Shillingford was ordained for the Gospel Ministry and was further equipped for rendering wider and greater service to the flock at the Mile Gully District of churches, where he served four fruitful years. Pastor Shillingford enjoys ministry and considers his time thus far as a fruitful season of Christian service.
Pastor Shillingford owes a debt of gratitude to some who have assisted in his ministry formation: Pastor Omri Davis, Pastor Rufus Anderson, Dr. Roy Dennis, Pastor Sean Hamilton, Pastor Latoya Forbes, Dr. Denton Rhone, and Dr. Greg Baldeo.
Pastor Shillingford served the church as a high school teacher within the East Caribbean Conference field, a colporteur, and more recently as a Minister of the Gospel. Since 2018, he has sat on the Family-Life advisory committee and Publishing Board of the Central Jamaica Conference. He currently serves the Ministerial Professional Association of Central Jamaica Conference as Director for Education and Empowerment. He also sits on the Child Diversion Committee of the Parish of Manchester. As a licensed Assistant Counselling Psychologist, he engages frequently in the counselling of people with mental health and relational problems.
He moves by the mantra: “It is better to be walking in the right direction than to be running full might in the wrong direction.”