Three things about this fence outside a church in Tobago illustrate the state of the peer accountability movement in the Caribbean: (1) it matches the context, (2) it supplies light, and (3) it aims to protect the church. That’s the vision for standards for churches and ministries in this region. They must fit the context, light the way for compliance, and protect those that follow them. This field report shares an update for regional praise and prayer.

The Caribbean region includes Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, St. Barthélemy, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and Turks & Caicos Islands.

CCEFA

After GTP work in Jamaica in September 2023, a working group, led by Flora Garth, assessed the standards of peer accountability groups (PAGs) around the world and mapped a contextualized draft of standards for the Caribbean region. That working group gave a name to this vision: CCEFA or Caribbean Council for Ethical and Financial Accountability. See the CCEFA standards on one page here. 

In December 2024, John Roomes and Horace Bennett, GTP Country Coordinator for Jamaica, invited Dr. Gary G. Hoag to travel from the USA and Lea Peguero to come from the Dominican Republic to celebrate the launch of the CCEFA vision with media events and meetings in Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Guyana. These gatherings cast the vision for one set of regional standards with checklists contextualized for each country. Participants learned ways to participate in this unfolding vision through prayer, giving, and service. 

Country Teams

As the Caribbean region includes a diverse mix of countries and territories coupled with a consistent set of cultural dynamics, CCEFA believes that a PAG for the region must have a board with regional representation. This will build unity. The events surfaced regional board candidates who will also serve on country teams. Our feedback surveys from the events also surfaced candidates for the country teams.

These country teams will accommodate the regional diversity and provide local oversight. Each country team will have a country director and volunteer accreditors who will draft compliance checklists based on the laws in each country and verify the compliance of churches and ministries that apply for accreditation. Like the fence above, the CCEFA country teams will light the way for God’s workers and protect churches and ministries.

Charting a Course

After sharing the CCEFA vision, getting affirmation of the standards, and hearing how people want to participate in this work, the CCEFA standards committee has charted a course to register CCEFA as a legal entity, raise $10,000 USD from stewards in the region in response to a $10,000 USD matching grant from GTP, form a regional board, and start building country teams and compliance checklists as a basis for activating operations.

While we realize we have much work yet to do, including sharing this vision more widely and in more languages in the region, we praise God for unity, a good start, and clarity of the next steps. Imagine, like the palm trees flourishing inside the fence, churches and ministries thriving with order and oversight thanks to regional CCEFA standards with locally contextualized accreditation.

Prayer Points

Please take time to praise God with us for the draft of the CCEFA standards. Also, praise God for the affirmation of this vision in three countries. Click to read the trip reports for Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Guyana. Pray for the legal registration of CCEFA, for fruitful local fundraising to meet the GTP match, and for the formation of both a regional board and country teams. At GTP, we are looking forward to seeing this fence grow. With you.