After only seven months and two different locations, there is a brand new church growing in a conference room at the Elbow Beach Hotel.

Rev. Dwight Grant, and his wife, Melody-Dawn Grant, took on the unique challenge of starting their own church in response to a call from God.

?We are a young church,? said Rev. Grant, pastor at New Genesis.

Rev. Grant hails from Nassau, Bahamas, and was trained at World Harvest Bible College and Oral Roberts University. Originally, he felt called to preach and teach, but never really considered the ministry of pasturing.

?Within my last year at Bible college, God really started talking to me,? he reminisced. ?God started giving me a vision.?

That vision was to disciple other believers and help them develop their personal talents as, ?a reflection of a kingdom that is unseen.?

The process of developing the vision God gave Rev. Grant took years of honing it in a written form and prayerfully seeking God?s direction. It was not until after they returned to Bermuda to be near his wife?s family after the premature birth of his son, that the vision started to grow. The young family became involved at the New Testament Church of God, ministering with Bishop Goodwin Smith for three years, until the restlessness became unbearable.

?When you get to that point and you know that God is calling you, you know you have to make a decision,? Rev. Grant said.

The result was the launching of New Genesis, which held its first service on December 18, 2005. The church comes under the ministry of world-renowned pastor Rod Parsley, Breakthrough Ministries and World Harvest Ministerial Fellowship.

Starting a new church is challenging, but making sure that you are meeting a specific need is even more difficult. ?One of the other things I was praying about, I was asking God how to be unique,? Rev. Grant said.

The church?s ministry focuses on developing the individual become the best they can be, through prophetic, deliverance and teaching ministries. Their Wednesday Bible Study is more of a miniature Bible school. Right now, the group is studying the true nature of discipleship. To follow will be teaching on leadership, ownership and kingship ? ?Understanding God?s sovereignty on your life and your sovereignty on the earth?.

The Grants have also organised a network to help members develop their own businesses.

?We focus all our energy and pool our resources together, helping one person at a time,? he said.

During the Bible study, the church also organises a youth group called Y Chronicles. He emphasised: ?Our core goal is developing youth.?

Building on that, the church is hoping to coordinate a youth leadership summit for next year with workshops and speakers from here and abroad.

New Genesis meets every Sunday in the Bermudiana room at the Elbow Beach Hotel at 11 a.m. They also meet at a member?s home on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. For more information, Rev. Grant can be reached at 335-1299 or 333-0605, or by email at newgenesisffhotmail.com.