Rev’d Ignacio Barrera Kelly is a dreadlocked Baptist minister

Reverend Ignacio Barrera Kelly, who sports dreadlocks, was born on the island of San Andres, part of an archipelago that also includes Providencia (Providence) and Santa Catalina. The archipelago is a political department of mainland Colombia.

He still lives on San Andres, where many enslaved people from Jamaica were taken in the 1600s by British enslavers. The Raizal people, as the natives are called, speak Spanish, English, and an English-based Creole similar to that spoken in Jamaica.

Family and Religion met him when he recently visited Jamaica to participate in a service at downtown Kingston’s East Queen Street Baptist Church honouring Reverend Philip Beekman Livingston Jr, who was sent from Kingston to the archipelago to help free enslaved people on the islands during the Emancipation period of 1834-1838. His British parents owned plantations in both Jamaica and the islands.

Asked whether he had any Jamaican ancestral connections, Kelly replied: “Yes, through Grand Cayman Island. The surnames are Dacas and Dilbert. We are told that our great-grandparents came from the Grand Cayman Islands, but it appears they were originally from Jamaica.”

An environmental engineer with a master’s degree in transportation planning and management, Kelly is also an elementary school bilingual teacher and an “ordained minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”. A lifelong Baptist, he serves as pastor of Central Baptist Church on San Andres Island.

He grew up about a mile from his home church, the historic First Baptist Church, which was founded by Reverend Philip Beekman Livingston Jr, and attended schools established by him. Livingston himself was ordained at East Queen Street Baptist Church, one of the earliest Baptist churches in Jamaica.

When Kelly appeared in the pulpit during the tribute service at East Queen Street Baptist Church, many in the congregation were seeing a Baptist minister with dreadlocks for the first time. He has been wearing them for more than 26 years.

“I had an encounter with Jesus Christ while studying to become an engineer. It was a personal encounter, much like what the Apostle Paul described in his own account. He instructed me to allow my hair to grow as a covenant with Him. I saw my hair growing into dreadlocks at 3 a.m. while standing in front of a mirror in my dormitory,” he said.

Responding to people who might find his story unbelievable, Kelly said: “My answer would be that they do not really know the God they profess to serve. After many people were healed of cancer, after travelling to the Promised Land and having Him fully pay for it, after years of supernatural provision, and after seeing many lives changed, including young people who were drawn in because of the dreadlocks and left with hope and salvation, I know it is all real.”

Asked about his own reaction to the experience, Kelly said: “In our modern form of Christianity, we tend to view these things as strange, while at the same time claiming to believe similar events recorded in Scripture. For me, the clear response was obedience. I obeyed and I have never regretted it.”

At the time, he wore twists or short curls and simply allowed them to develop into dreadlocks. Although dreadlocks are widely regarded as one of the hallmarks of Rastafarianism, they are also worn by many people who are not Rastafarians.

As for those who find it unusual for a Baptist minister to wear dreadlocks, Kelly said: “God is a personal God. He deals with us individually, yet always according to His Word. Even in the New Testament, we find the Apostle Paul undertaking a partial Nazarite vow on two occasions, recorded in Acts 18:18 and Acts 21:22. I respect their opinion but I must obey the Lord.”

Acts 21:22 highlights the practical and pastoral concerns of the Jerusalem church leaders regarding Paul’s ministry and the potential for misunderstanding among Jewish Christians. It illustrates the early church’s efforts to navigate cultural and religious tensions while advancing the gospel.

In Acts 18:18, Paul remained in Corinth for some time before sailing to Syria with Priscilla and Aquila. Before departing, he cut his hair at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. In essence, Paul cut his hair because of a vow, while Kelly wears dreadlocks because of the covenant he believes God called him to make.

And, how did fellow Baptists respond? “A few times I have been challenged, but most of the opposition has come from another denomination, namely the Pentecostal Church. I never argue or dispute with people. Instead, I try to educate those who come seeking honest answers in a reasonable way,” he said.