THERE is no problem that prayer cannot solve. This is the code by which worshippers at the Angels Assembly of God in Monticello, Spanish Town, St Catherine, live each day.

And there can be no doubt about that resolve; guests are reminded – in big bold letters above the altar – that “my church will be called a house of prayer”. And soon, even those most foreign to the gathering, are compelled to clasp their hands and join in worship.

“We are a house of prayer. We are a church that prays and we believe there is nothing that prayer can’t solve,” reinforced proud pastor Everold Ainsley, who has been the head of the institution since 1996.

But prayer at Angels Assembly of God is well organised; different ministries, dealing with different issues, pray and even worship in their different ways. There is a ministry for young girls, a ministry for women, a singles ministry, a married couples’ ministry, a men’s ministry, a boys’ ministry – all catering to roughly 230 souls.

Pastor Ainsley is particularly pleased about the church’s couples ministry, which he said has helped to restore quite a few marriages both within the church and in the community.

“You find today that a lot of marriages are failing and they are failing for a lot of simple reasons. We have recognised this and so this ministry was organised specifically to deal with marriages, especially those that are in trouble,” said Ainsley. He has been married to Clover Ainsley, who members of the congregation last Sunday recognised as the church’s ‘first lady’, since 1993.

Ministries within the church also visit and feed, with the help of Food For the Poor, disadvantaged members of the community, the elderly and people who are too sick to leave their homes. For this reason, members of the community protect and respect the church.

Pastor Ainsley hopes that it will stay that way.

“Another thing is that unlike in other areas in Spanish Town, we do not have a lot of crime in this area and that is something that we are very proud about,” he said.

“So we have to keep on praying that the crime and violence that is plaguing so many communities stay away from ours,” he continued with a concerned gaze.

Paster Ainsley thinks that there is much more that churches in Jamaica can do to root out Jamaica’s crime problem, but noted that religious entities themselves are divided and as such defeat their own efforts.

“I think that the churches in Jamaica are not united. There is a whole heap of things that we can do for Jamaica but we are not coming together as one body, the body of Christ. Everybody is doing their own thing and as a result there is not one unified voice,” he said, adding that churches must unite for the service of the country.

He noted that the church must strive to help parents become better parents, as many of the country’s ills start from within the homes.

“We have to care for the parents and help them to become better at it, because you have some teenagers who are parents when they themselves need parents. There are parents who visit the school one time and then they never go back. We can’t work like that,” he said.

Angels Assembly of God has been growing steadily over the years, and as a result the church has opted to expand its building. The development has depleted much of the church’s resources, but Pastor Ainsley doesn’t mind much — the church will be capable of serving more than 120 more people when the expansion is completed.

“We try to let our members feel welcomed. Once you come here and you worship with us you must feel comfortable. People know this and as a result the church has been growing. So that is why we started construction,” he said, adding that God will see it to its completion.

Last Sunday, Valda Campbell, missionary, adult Sunday School teacher, and a member of the church board, spoke highly of the “community-oriented” institution.

“There is much camaraderie in the church. The members are very united and are very welcoming to strangers. It is a church where everybody is made to feel at home,” she said, before listing the work that the church has been doing in the community.

“We help persons with illnesses, persons with financial assistance, and we are very neighbourly as it relates to crime. We watch over each other,” she said.

Campbell said that she is quite pleased that the church is expanding its walls, because “persons were recommending people for prayer and we just didn’t have the space. Now with the expansion we can better cater to them,” she said.