February 7, 1957 – Cortroy Winston Montgomery Jarvis was born to Samuel and Viola Jarvis of Swetes Village.
Growing up in Swetes, he enjoyed playing sports, especially cricket which was his favourite. As his father was a farmer, he spent time assisting him with livestock and crops after school and during vacations. Both parents, especially his mother, were devout church members who always ensured that the family was in attendance for service at the Cana Moravian Church. His mother insisted that church and God should always come first and this influenced his youthful days during which he spent much time around the churchyard engaging in various activities. He recalls one benefit of this was the lifelong friendships born out of these moments of fellowship.
Jarvis began his early education at the then Swetes Government School, known today as the Irene B. Williams Secondary School, followed by the All Saints Secondary School (ASSS). At the ASSS, he represented the school in competitive cricket and football. He also played with the Swetes Village teams and, throughout the years, he would traverse the Region to watch cricket.
Jarvis worked with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda in the Audit Department after completing ASSS. After four years he responded to the call of Ministry. As he puts it, Ministry was always calling him and after having been so involved in church life and with the spiritual values instilled in him by his parents, it was hard not to surrender to the call to become a servant of God.
Rev. Dr. Jarvis has equipped himself immensely, over the years, to Minister obtaining of a number certifications including a Certificate of Award in Alcohol and Other Drug Problems from the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas; a Diploma in Theology from the United Theological College of the West Indies, Jamaica; a Master of Arts in Missiology, from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California; and a Doctor of Theology from Covington Theological Seminary, Tennessee.
Rev. Dr. Jarvis has served almost 40 years as an ordained Pastor in the Moravian Church working in various offices. He was ordained as a Deacon July 17, 1983. Throughout his Ministry he has Pastored several congregations across the Moravian Church Eastern West Indies Province including the Memorial Moravian Church in Trinidad (1983-1985), the Montgomery Moravian Church, Tobago (1986-1994), the Spring Gardens Moravian Church, Antigua (1994-2008), the St. Maarten Moravian Church where he served as Lead Pastor, (2008-2019) and his current appointment at the Memorial Moravian Church, St.Thomas, Virgin Islands Conference. He also served in the capacity of Superintendent of the Moravian Churches in Tobago (1990-1994) and Antigua (2003-2007) and as Acting Superintendent in Trinidad (1991-1993).
He has held several administrative roles throughout the Province serving as Chairman of the Provincial Elders Conference (PEC), which is the Administrative Board of the Moravian Church Eastern West Indies Province, for 12 years (2007-2019) having been re-elected at Provincial Synods on 3 occasions (2009, 2012 and 2015) before becoming Chairman of the PEC, he served as Secretary of the PEC (1993-2000).
On January 1, 2017, he was elected the President of the Moravian Unity, that is, the Moravian Church worldwide. He was then re-elected as President of the Unity Board to serve another two (2) year term which culminated in November 2019. He also served as President of the Moravian Caribbean and Latin American Regional Conference (MCLARC) (2012-2019) which is a grouping of Moravian Unity Provinces in Suriname, Guyana, Eastern West Indies, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Honduras and the Mission areas of Haiti, Cuba, Peru, and French Guiana.
In addition to his numerous roles, Jarvis has also authored two books, The Biblical Leader as Bridge Builder, published in 2000, and reprinted in 2002, and Lighting the Fire, published in 2007. He has penned several newspaper articles; mainly about his favourite sport cricket. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic amidst the various lockdowns and social distancing protocols, he responded once more to the call of God through the sharing of a daily devotional entitled Fresh Bread. This devotional continues to be aired on Facebook live on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7:00 am.
Jarvis hopes to continue to minister once he has health and strength. He expressed much gratitude to God for life and noted that he lives one day at a time. In an age where some churches seem to be experiencing challenges in holding the interest of young persons, Jarvis advises that it is necessary to give young persons the space and freedom to operate with adults walking alongside them and modeling good behaviour. As he looks to retire in a few years, he hopes to continue to be active and do some traveling as it is something that he enjoys.