GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer

Pastor Garfield Hugh Griffiths grew up in the Spaldings Hill Apostolic Church of Jamaica and was always present in Sunday school. He was what can easily be described as an 'altar pest'.

"Every Sunday when an altar call was extended, I was always at the altar, and Pastor Linford Chaplin, the pastor for that church, would always pray for us. even though most of us were too young to understand what we were doing, he would still tell us about Jesus," remembered Griffiths.

He shared that his salvation began in 1995 when he went to a crusade at the Spaldings Hill New Testament Church of God in Manchester. He remembered a pastor Dallas preaching, and during his altar call, he led the congregation in singing the song what a Mighty God we serve.

"I, too, was singing and dancing and something got a hold of me. It must have been that Holy Ghost Shirley Caesar spoke about when she was a young girl. But something got a hold of me," said Griffiths.

The young pastor, who currently leads two Baptist congregations at John Reid and Aenon Town in Clarendon, remarked that since the night he got saved and accepted Christ as his Lord and Saviour, his life has been different.

"At that point, I was about to start grade six at Spalding Primary School and I could not read. I remember many times before I got saved, my sister, who is two years my senior, would pull me to that Home Sweet Home kerosene oil lamp at the table every night to teach me to read. Her method was not working. But when I got saved and was attending candidates meeting, Pastor Chaplin asked me to read the scripture one evening in the presence of a huge group of young people," said Griffiths.

He said that for a moment, he was very embarrassed to admit that he could not read, but he eventually did so. Ever since that evening, Griffiths started reading and up to this day, he cannot give a true account of his ability to read, but he is convinced that the Holy Spirit taught him.

"Upon entering high school, I continued to enjoy a wonderful Christian life and nothing bothered me initially. When I heard people say this Christian life is not an easy one, I used to be amazed and say they were joking. However, upon entering ninth grade, that was where I started to face peer pressure and class struggles. I grew up in poverty, but the Lord saw me through," said Griffiths.

Griffiths shared that ninth grade was where all the struggles started, and it was during that time he realised how difficult things were for Christians. He confessed that he had more than enough testing and temptations to agree that walking with the Lord was rough, especially at a time when he started to become more aware of his sexuality.

"Though poverty was one of the factors which could force me to surrender my Christianity, it still could not deter me because God always provided a way. Even though I attended primary school most of the time without lunch money, God provided beer bottles along the roadside so I could pick them up, sell them, and buy my lunch," shared Griffiths.

The past student of Spalding High School thanked God for Mr Hubert Johnson, a groundsman who sold soup at the school. He said whenever he had no money to buy soup, Mr Johnson would not let him return to class without having some soup to drink so that he could learn on a full stomach.

he decided to work after leaving school and worked up to 2008. He said that he knew from 2002 that the Lord would have him enter Bible College.

"I eventually started at Jamaica Bible College (JBC) following my passes in three CXC subjects in 2007. I went back to Spalding High Evening Institute to do CXCs. When I started JBC, I still had a low self-esteem issue and lacked confidence," said the pastor.

He said things were tough for him financially at Bible college, causing him to harbour thoughts of quitting in his second year. However, Griffiths said he prayed and asked God what His will was, and the following day He (God) sent a lady to him.

She was a lady he did not know at the time. her name was Mary Joyce Smith. he described her as a dear grandmother to him. He said Smith was very instrumental in his life.

"It was she who helped me financially through the rest of my time at Bible college. I finished Bible college and today, I am living with her and she's taking good care of me. I am currently pursuing my degree in guidance and counselling at the International University of the Caribbean," said Griffiths, who also said his mentor is Reverend Gareth Barham, pastor of the Portmore Gospel Assembly Church in St Catherine.

Griffiths' favourite scriptures are Psalm 91:1 and Proverbs 3:5-6. His favourite song is Create in me a clean heart.

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