The Associated Gospel Assemblies is a Jamaican church denomination which was incorporated in 1959 by "HENRY ALEXANDER WHITE, Overseer of the Church, ALBERT TEMEIR KARRAM, Treasurer of the Church, and STANLEY GEORGE KARRAM, Secretary of the Church" (Jamaica, Parliament 1959, p.1). For a number of years these men along with several others, had operated as a religious body and possessed several properties by a limited company known as Church Property (Undenominational) Limited. The group had not been incorporated earlier as a religious body because of a adherence to a doctrine that they had received in their early spiritual nurture. Incorporation in 1959 entitled these leaders and their group of about ten churches to operate Merl Grove High School, formerly a private institution, as a government grant-aided institution.
The Karram brothers and White were members of the Rehoboth Mission from which the other churches came. They were instructed in their early spiritual walk by Stanley Harris, pastor of the "mother" church, Rehoboth. He was not the founder of the church, but rather offered himself in 1925 to lead the small group of believers that had been meeting for about three years. The three years before Harris were on the one hand spiritually satisfying, but on the other hand marked by uncertainty as the group had no abiding location, and as such was relocated a number of times during that short period. It found a resting place on the premises at 66 Constant Spring Road in St. Andrew, the home of Temeir Joseph (T. J.) and Clarabelle Karram, and remained there for many years, often being identified as "Karram church".
In 1946, Stanley Harris and his wife Eunice migrated to England. Just prior to their departure, Harris ordained six men as elders to carry on the work: Henry White, Albert Karram (son of T. J. and Clarabelle), Phillip Christie, Louis Johnson, Lancelot Smart, and Granville Salmon. White emerged as leader among this corps of elders, and with fervent missionary zeal, these elders were able to spearhead the founding of about one church per year for over two decades. Churches were founded in the parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, and St. Thomas. Later, churches in London and New York were added to the Associated Gospel Assemblies.
A significant part of the work of the Association has been its effort in the area of education, which has been chiefly the mission of Albert Karram. Today there are about twenty basic and primary schools, and three secondary schools that belong to the Associated Gospel Assemblies.
PERIODS
The Formation Period (1922-1946)
Three fairly distinct periods can be identified in the Association's history. Firstly, there is the Harris era (1925-1946) which was forerun by a "pre-formation" period of about three years (1922-1925) which make up the formation period. It was under Harris that the church first established mission outposts, those being at Jones Town and Gold Street in Kingston, at Royal Flat, Manchester, and at a now unknown location in St. Mary. It was also under Harris that a certain measure of stability was experienced in leadership and doctrine. However, just prior to the Harris' migration, the work at Rehoboth had dwindled to a mere handful. The mission at Gold Street had been given up, and the work at Jones Town, as well as those in the rural areas had blossomed into a thriving breakaway denomination (The Church of the Firstborn) under the leadership of Rehoboth's first full-time worker and assistant pastor Frank Bent. Bent and Harris had differences which may have led to Bent's eventually leaving Rehoboth in 1935. The vast majority of the leadership and members sided with Bent, including T. J. Karram on whose property the fellowship met. "Father" Karram thereafter left the church on his own premises Sunday after Sunday to go to Jones Town where his former employee, mason Frank Bent, had become pastor. Among the few who remained faithful to Harris were T. J.'s two sons, Albert and Stanley.
The Expansion Period (1946-1979)
The second, or expansion period, is marked by engagement in missionary endeavour sustained at a previously unknown level, and which bore fruit that remains to this day. It began in 1946 with a freshly ordained corps of elders under Henry White's leadership at Rehoboth and continued up until the 1970's. The first church that was founded during this period was Bethel at St. Joseph's Road in Kingston. Cousins Albert and Joe Karram gave leadership to this new work which was and still is located in a socio-economically depressed part of the corporate area. Another task begun early in this period was the reviving of the work at Walderston, Manchester. During the early 1940's, Stanley Harris vacationed in Walderston; and in typical form, he held evangelistic meetings in the area at which a number of persons were saved. When Harris returned to Kingston, Louis Johnson was commissioned as the first supported missionary to do follow-up work with the new converts. It was initially to have been through the already established churches in the area that Johnson was to work. Before long, however, a shop was rented and Johnson commenced meetings with the hope of catering to the needs of the young believers. Johnson's work did not make much progress, however; and after a while, he was recalled to Kingston; and Walderston seemed forgotten until the new corps of leadership took the reins in the second period.
The Consolidation Period (1973-1993)
The third period overlaps the end of the second, beginning in the 1970's up to the present. Inasmuch as the present period is one of consolidation as far as intent goes, there have been signs of decline. As early as 1973 Albert Karram, in his convention report as chairman called for "an evaluation of each Assembly by an independent group of brethren . . . (to) see how effective, organized . . . your Assembly is." Karram went on to "strongly suggest that some self-examination be made, as perhaps there is much failure of which you are already aware, and which you should endeavour to correct" (AGACR 1973). A significant part of the numerical decline can be attributed to mass migration which Jamaica experienced during the 1970's, but dissension and division may also be contributing factors.
PERSONS
Stanley Harris
The three periods of the history of the Association relate to persons who played leadership roles in the early operations of the church, and those who were later involved in church planting. Stanley Harris' brother Cecil and an Alaskan native named Charles Wesley Long (refered to in ealier writings as John Wesley Long) figure prominently in the pre-formation years, as do a group of women who were the core of the faithful membership. The Karram family who eventually housed the young church was without question a key to the church's stability and survival. Notwithstanding, the person whose personality dominates the formation period is Stanley Harris.
Henry White, Albert Karram, & Others from Expansion Period
The expansion period has a number of important personalities, chief among them being Henry White and Albert Karram. Of note is the fact that both these men became part of Rehoboth in its first decade of existence, and survive to this day as active leaders on the Executive Board of the AGA. At this writing, Karram is chairman of the board; and White, the senior pastor in the Association, is Director of Home Missions. (Please see notes below.) Henry White, Albert Karram, and brother Stanley Karram are life members of the Executive Board having received such an honour for their contribution to the Association from the early years. Stanley migrated to Canada in 1970 and visits Jamaica occasionally. Among others who have played noteworthy roles in the expansion period are Louis Johnson, Joe Karram, Clive Afflick, James Morgan, Curtis Cole, Basil Chen, and Lloyd Bewry.
Leaders in the Consolidation Period
Since the 1980's, no new local churches have been planted. But migration has resulted in new churches being formed in the New York City area and in London. A few churches locally have reported gains in recent years; but overall, there has been some decline in spite of the efforts at consolidation. New persons in the leadership of the Association have helped to sustain the earlier efforts from demise. Odel Peart, Peter Garth, and Carlton Dennis, are among those that have had recent and important impact on the Association.
POLITY
The highest governing body of the Associated Gospel Assemblies is the General Council which meets annually. The council consists of delegates who represent the membership of each church, the larger churches having greater representation. The General Council is the policy-making body of the Association, and each year the council elects members to the Executive Board. The Executive Board is responsible to carry out the day to day affairs of the Association as decided on by the Council.
NOTE 1: Albert Karram went to be with the Lord September 2002 NOTE 2: Henry Alexander White went to be with the Lord November 2004