Meet Our Team
Apostle Christine Chiddick
Apostle Christine Chiddick is the founder and chief apostle of the Prayer Faith & Encouragement Ministry Int’l.
With almost 50 years of experience serving the body of Christ, Chief Apostle Chiddick stands as a visionary, a passionate servant of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. She is the first woman and minister of the gospel in the nation of Antigua & Barbuda to be ordained as an apostle, hence gaining the title Chief Apostle. In 1976, she was ordained as a Missionary, then as an Evangelist in 1982, followed by a Pastor in 1987, and an Apostle in 2004. Apostle Chiddick has traveled extensively throughout her island nation and the Caribbean islands preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Her travels have also taken her to the USA, Suriname (South America) and Holland, Netherlands.
Apostle Chiddick is known for the evangelistic and prophetic anointings upon her life and for her passionate delivery of the word of God. She has launched a number of radio broadcasts, airing in Antigua and neighboring islands, and a weekly televised broadcast, Reaching the Nations. Additionally, she has hosted and facilitated many ministers’ training workshops and seminars. Many men and women of God acknowledge her as their spiritual mother, having been birthed into the kingdom through her ministry and having received training and mentoring under her leadership.
Apostle’s service has not been limited to only the body of Christ but she has also invested years into community service. One of her initiatives included the Grays Green Child Care Project in Grays Farm, Antigua. This project is a non-profit community-based organization which addresses the needs of the children in a low socioeconomic community. Under her leadership, with assistance from Peace Corps Volunteers who were on her staff, a day care and a preschool were established. Hundreds of children have and are still benefitting from this vision. Apostle, by the help of the Lord Jesus, also launched and facilitated various Helps ministry in the village of Hatten (in the west of Antigua) providing food, clothing, school supplies, sewing classes (for young unemployed mothers needing a skill) and after-school tutoring for students in the village.
The saving of souls have always been and continue to be the thrust of Apostle Chiddick’s ministry. Despite the many challenges that she has had to face, this woman of God continues to embrace the scripture, “Wherefore criest thou unto Me? …. Go Forward” (Exodus 14:15, KJV). She looks forward to that which the Lord God has set for her and the ministry in the upcoming years.
Chief Apostle Christine Chiddick is widowed and currently resides in Summerville, South Carolina, USA.
Pastor Alex Wharton
Pastor Alex is one of the two pastors of SCPFEM Int’l. She was born in the nation of Antigua & Barbuda and made the conscious decision to give her life to Jesus Christ at the age of 7 years old. Pastor Alex has served with her parents, the late Apostle Conroy Chiddick and Apostle Christine Chiddick in ministry for about 25 years. She was ordained as a Teacher of the Word in 1998, as an Associate Pastor in 2004, and as Senior Pastor of Cooks Estate Prayer Faith & Encouragement Ministry in 2006.
Pastor Alex’s ministry work has included preaching and teaching the word of God in Bible Study Classes, Discipleship Classes and conferences/seminars; working in children and youth ministries; serving as one of the hosts of the ministry’s radio broadcasts and weekly televised broadcast, Reaching the Nations. Like her mother Chief Apostle Chiddick, Pastor Alex has travelled as a preacher and teacher of the word, ministering the gospel of Jesus in several Caribbean islands, in Canada, and the USA.
Not only is Pastor Alex a teacher of the Word, but she is an Educator by profession. She has served in the area of Special Education for over 30 years. It was her passion for students with learning disabilities that prompted her, along with her husband Pastor Thad Wharton, to start Visionaries for Christ Academy (2006-2013), a Christian-based educational institution catering to regular education students as well as those with special needs. After migrating to the USA in 2013, Pastor Alex continues to work with this population of students.
In addition to serving as a pastor in the body of Christ and as an educator in a public high school, Pastor Alex is also the author and content creator for a blog – ezerwatchers: Spiritual Warfare Guide for Women. She hosts workshops and seminars geared towards using the word of God to facilitate a shift in women’s focus and perspective, causing their eyes to be opened so that they can see visions and become catalysts and facilitators of change, bringing glory to the Lord Jesus, and advancing the Kingdom of God.
Pastor Alex currently resides in Summerville, South Carolina, USA with her husband and 2 of her 3 children. She serves alongside her husband, Pastor Thad Wharton, as Pastor of the SCPFEM Int’l. Pastor Alex’s passion is to “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12, NKJV).
Pastor Thad Wharton
Also born in Antigua & Barbuda, Pastor Thad is one of the two pastors of SCPFEM Int’l. He gave his life to the Lord Jesus at the age of 10 years old. From that time, he has been serving the church as a musician, first as a bassist and then, shortly after, as a guitarist (later, as a pianist also).
As Pastor Thad grew as a skillful musician, his gift made room for him. He started playing with the Gospel Gems band at age 16 and continued with that group as a guitarist until age 24. He traveled with the band to the USA (Midwest), Tortola, St. Croix, St. Kitts & Nevis and Barbados and played with the band for world-renown gospel singer, Candi Staton. In spite of the fame and good experiences he had through the band, Pastor Thad made a decision to leave the band so that he could spend more time at his local church.
Pastor Thad was very involved in his local church then, Melting Fire Tabernacle Inc. He served in various areas of ministry: Media, Transportation, Youths, Men, Praise & Worship and Pastors’ armourbearer. It was while he was busy in service to the Lord Jesus and His leaders that God blessed him in 2005 with the gift of a wife, Pastor Alex Chiddick. After seeking God, Pastor Thad, contrary to what was customary, left the ministry that he had been a part of for most of his life and joined Pastor Alex at PFEM. There, he continued to serve and thrive in the same areas of ministry. In 2006, he was ordained as a Minister in PFEM, then four years later in 2010 as a Pastor. His unique contribution to PFEM lies in the areas of music, youth leadership, finance, and administration. Additionally, he has shared the pulpit with Apostle Chiddick and Pastor Alex in Bible Study, Revival Services and Sunday morning “feedings” from the word and has also ministered the gospel of Jesus within the Caribbean, Canada and in the USA.
Pastor Thad’s tenacity and faithfulness is not limited to the church. He exhibited the same as a Steward in the Marketplace. He has worked as an Investment and Financial Analyst with over a decade of experience in financial services and has served as a Registered Representative licensed by the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission, from 2005 to 2009, and as a member of the Caribbean Association of Banking and Financial Institutes. After relocating to the USA in 2015, Pastor Thad changed careers from banking and finance to transportation. He now serves in the marketplace as a Training and Development manager for a rising company.
Pastor Thad currently resides in Summerville, South Carolina, USA with his wife and 2 of their 3 children. He serves alongside his wife, Pastor Alex Wharton, as Pastor of the SCPFEM Int’l. He continues to declare Isaiah 55:12 (KJV) over his life: “So shall my mouth be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Grace & John Wharton
Grace and John Wharton are children of Pastors Alex and Thad Wharton and grandchildren of Apostle Christine Chiddick. They were appointed as Ministers-in-Training in 2021 and serve alongside their parents and grandmother in ministry. They travel as part of the transgenerational ministry team, ministering locally and in other states (USA).
GRACE WHARTON: Seventeen-year-old Grace has been serving the Lord Jesus now for over 10 years. She has served the ministry in media and the worship team. She utilizes her talent as an artist to contribute visual artwork for the ezerwatchers blog and occasionally for Bible Study teachings. She is also the graphics designer for the ministry’s flyers, announcements, and ads. Grace is the head of the ministry’s worship team and ministers as the lead singer for all the ministry’s worship services.
Grace recently graduated from Berkeley High School and, besides serving the body of Christ, she has also been actively serving in the community through her high school’s clubs and organizations. For two consecutive years, she has functioned as secretary and vice president of her school’s Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) club, was an active member of Beta Club (an academic honors club with a strong emphasis on community service), and part of the leadership of her school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). She has represented FCA, as a minister of the gospel, ministering in events outside of her school.
Grace currently resides in Summerville, SC and will begin her college career at College of Charleston in fall 2023. One of her favorite verses is “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11-12, NKJV).
JOHN WHARTON: At an early age, John made a conscious decision to serve the Lord God. His service to PFEM Int’l has been in the worship/music team and in prayer. He is known for his gifting in music and minsters on various instruments: drums, bass, and clarinet; more often, he serves as drummer. John also functions as head of the prayer ministry, with responsibility for facilitating the weekly prayer meetings.
In Fall 2023, John will be a Junior (11th grader) at the Berkeley High School (BHS) and, besides serving the body of Christ, he has also been actively serving in the community through BHS clubs and organizations. He is a member of the AFJROTC Drill team, is an active member of Beta Club (an academic honors club with a strong emphasis on community service) representing the club in competitions at the state and national levels, a clarinetist in the Berkeley Blue Brigade Band (also representing his school at the county, region, and state levels), and part of the leadership of BHS Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).
John (15 years old) currently resides in Summerville, SC with his parents and sister. He finds comfort in the verses, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord ….” (Jeremiah 29:11-14a, NIV).
Updated July 2023