George Lisle was born in 1752 in Virginia. Being an African American during this time, he was born into slavery. He was taken to Georgia.
He was saved in Savannah in 1774, and he continued to worship God in the "white" church for the next four years. His master was a deacon in this church who gave him his freedom and encouraged him to preach to other slaves. In 1775, he was ordained as the first black Baptist minister in America. In 1777, he went on to help with the Baptist congregation and founded the African Baptist church in Savannah, Georgia. He even led his wife, Hannah, to the Lord.
When his former master died in 1778, George and his wife, along with their 4 children migrated to Jamaica. He indentured himself to on a British ship to pay back the $700 he borrowed to move to Jamaica. After 2 years, he was given a certificate of freedom.
An ex-slave preacher drew a lot of attention at the local racetrack in Kingston, Jamaica. Never before had the slaves of Jamaica seen a black man preach Christ. He soon had a congregation, and purchased land not far from Kingston where he built a chapel and established the first Baptist church in 1780. He is the first known Baptist missionary from America.
He worked doing different jobs like farming and delivery. He found support from another immigrant named Moses Baker. Moses was an African European barber from England. He came to Jamaica in 1783, and was led to the Lord by George. He eventually became a pastor himself in Jamaica.
Most of his members couldn't read, so he would read aloud to his congregation from the Bible every week. He employed a teacher to teach the children who could come. His work changed over 400 lives of black people in Jamaica.
But, the Lord had more plans for George. In 1792, George travelled to Sierre Leone, Western Africa. He helped to set up a Baptist mission there, too.
He came back to Jamaica, but troubling times were upon them. He was separated from his family and imprisoned in chains in 1802. In 1805, Jamaica passed a law making it illegal to preach to slaves. From 1802 until his death, there was much persecution and murder of Christians in Jamaica.
George died in 1828. The emancipation of slaves in Jamaica passed by Parliment in 1833 is attributed to George's mission work. But more importantly, many blacks throughout America, Jamaica, and Western Africa have come to find freedom from their sins through the work of George Lisle.
