Arise & Shine

I had the privilege to attend the 10-year anniversary Arise graduation ceremony held at Kingscliff Church on Sabbath, May 6. Arise is a three-month intensive residential discipleship training program conducted in our Conference under a license from Light Bearers Ministries in the United States. It gives students exposure to in-depth Bible study, grounds them in the fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and trains them to share their faith. Over the past 10 years, a total of 375 students have graduated from the program comprising 255 domestic students and 120 coming from overseas. Forty-two students graduated from the 2023 class. Fifty-six per cent of domestic students (150) have come from our Conference, with South Queensland being represented by 45 students over the decade. Internationally, the Americas has been the region most represented, followed by Europe. A significant percentage of Arise students choose to commit to the Arise for Life program by giving the remainder of their year (six months) to being Bible workers allocated to one of our local churches. In 2022:

• 9 students had community contacts attend church

• 7 decisions were made for baptism as a result of their ministry

• 5 students were able to disciple or mentor other individuals.

Arise students become active leaders in their local churches, involved in mission projects within Australia and overseas, with a number accepting the call to be full-time ministers. In North New South Wales, we are privileged to have former Arise students as pastors in several of our churches and serving as departmental directors.

It was inspiring to hear a number of testimonies at this year’s graduation from former and current students about how Arise has changed their lives and given them a new direction and purpose. Appreciation goes to Pastors David Asscherick, Ty Gibson and Matt Parra, all of whom made a special effort to attend the 10-year anniversary graduation ceremony. Special thanks also goes to Kingscliff Church leadership for their willingness to host Arise for the last 10 years, which takes an enormous amount of time, effort and resources. Thank you to you too, as a percentage of the Big Camp appeal offering supports the Arise ministry. Conference administration are firm in their ongoing commitment to Arise.