Pray for Bahamas

The Bahamas’ Big Major Cay (or Pig Beach) offers people the chance to swim with pigs.  About 20 pigs and piglets greet the oncoming boats and tourists who flock to the location. Tourists are also drawn to the Bahama’s 700+ islands for their coral reefs, lush vegetation, and wide array of animal species. Tourism is the island’s largest industry and accounts for about 60 percent of the nation’s income and the majority of jobs. The government also employs thousands of people as teachers, healthcare workers, and police officers. The Bahamas is one of the wealthiest countries in the Caribbean and has its own currency, the Bahamian dollar. However, the nation’s large population of Haitian immigrants is mostly impoverished. The remainder of the population is 90 percent African, and about 5 percent are of European descent.

Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, the nation suffers from recurring hurricanes. The nation’s most devastating hurricane, Hurricane Dorian, was a Category 5 storm requiring major rebuilding efforts that left the nation in debt. The COVID-19 pandemic the following year only deepened the nation’s anxieties. Today, the Bahamas carries the lasting weight of these back-to-back crises in the form of abandoned buildings and high rates of anxiety and stress. Strained mental health contributes to increased drug and alcohol consumption, particularly in teens. In between the Caribbean and the United States, the Bahamas is part of human trafficking routes that leave women and children vulnerable. Migrant workers are also particularly vulnerable as Haitian immigrants in need of jobs are exploited or trafficked.

Bahamians enjoy religious freedom, with more than 90 percent of the population identifying as Christian. Protestantism is the largest denomination, but while the majority of Bahamians claim to be Christian, fewer are committed to the Church, and many churches lack pastoral leadership. Shifts in social and moral norms across the nation are highlighted by an increase in armed robbery, petty theft, and births outside of wedlock. Widespread practice of Vodou by Haitian immigrants has heightened social and cultural friction between Haitians and Bahamians. Pray for lives to be transformed by the Gospel, and for a powerful witness from Bahamians to their Haitian neighbors.