Located on picturesque property in Reading, St James, Family Church on the Rock (FCOTR), Montego Bay, stands as a monument to one man's obedience to his God.

In 1989, Apostle David Keane, responding to "Godly instructions", moved to expand the Church On The Rock ministry he had established in Kingston to western Jamaica. Little did he know that the tiny Montego Bay congregation would grow to over 500 in attendance in years to come.

Throughout the city of Montego Bay and beyond, FCOTR has become an integral link to the overall development of the spiritual and physical needs of our people. This ministry is characterised by prayerful lifestyles, practical love, and the evidence of the power of God transforming lives.

Emphasising the practice of sharing love to all, positively affecting lives and changing communities, the church spans a plethora of ministries that reach out to the various communities in and around Montego Bay and the Negril environs.

At the helm of this ministry for the past 20 years are Dr Richard Keane, supported by his wife Joye.

Richard, a dynamic leader and preacher, is in practice, a practical man. This is not only evident in the message he preaches, but also the manner in which he delivers it.

"The message of God is simple; God is simple - and you have to go back to the people with that same simplicity."

A foretaste of his divine calling showed up in the latter years of his medical practice.

"A lot of people would come to my office and talk and just leave. I would find that they left the prescription at the receptionist, or on a follow-up visit they would say that after talking, they found that they didn't need it.

"I studied the word and I reflected that word in my life in a way that was new to me," he said.

gradual withdrawal

J. Keane

This new dispensation was followed by a gradual withdrawal from medical practice, culminating in full-time ministry in 1992.

'I was down to three half-days a week and I said to myself 'this is foolishness. Who are you fooling? You are not making anything to support yourself here.' I just went into ministry full time. The people were in need of pastoral care and those who were leading were not from the area."

Pastor Joye, who holds a doctorate in pastoral counselling, supports her husband Richard, a medical doctor with a heart for God, in leading an august body of believers.

Together, they focus on providing ministries and services that impact every area of life of the communities.

Pastor Joye left a thriving career as a businesswoman to join Richard in full-time commitment to the ministry.

Her passion for music kept her as the head of the praise and worship ministry for many years before she advanced into a vibrant preaching and teaching office that eventually took on international proportions.

As her call to ministry intensified, so did her desire to return to study.

"Central Christian University came into my sitting room and I was to fulfill my dream," she said.

Having completed programmes in behavioural therapy, counselling and biblical studies, she ventured into postgraduate studies in clinical pastoral counselling.

These skills have changed lives in many St James communities and beyond.

training manuals

R. Keane

Keane has written training manuals on worship and for the 'Raising the wall series' that is taught to the new members of all the Family Church on the Rock ministries. She has produced a devotional series and hosted many women's conferences in Jamaica.

Pastor Joye and her husband are parents of three girls.

The Keanes have overseen the birth and growth of the ministry in FCOTR Santoy, Hanover, as well as expanded the reach of the organisation in Negril, currently meeting at the Negril Tree House Resort.

In 2002, when the ministry was only twelve years old, the church broke ground for a formal worship facility on its own property in Reading. Sunday morning services, worship and prayer functions and bible study and training sessions, concerts and conferences keep the facility occupied round the clock.

FCOTR ministries touch the lives of people from early childhood through to adulthood. In the earlier years at Railway Gardens in the heart of the city of Montego Bay, a monthly children outreach ministry engaged over two hundred and fifty inner-city children from ages three to fourteen through feeding programmes, play and spiritual development on the church ground. This ministry continues to play significant roles through 'Kid's Club' and 'G12 Cells', in particular in the communities of Moy Hall, New Ramble and Bogue Village and its environs.

There are ministries for teens, singles, couples, women and men.

Kid's Club, Family Church on the Rock's outreach programme, teacher, Tessa Thompson, hands Omario Willocks his Christmas Gift at Family Church on the Rock's annual fun day, Balloons for Jesus.