Aw nad 2013 1010

The International Paper for Seventh-day Adventists

O c tob e r 2013

On the

HORIZON

MISSION to the CITIES

31

Lending a

“Happy Hand”

40

God’s Bountiful

Care

42

Blessings

and Curses

North American Division | n a d

O c tob e r 2013

C O V E R

24

F E AT U R E

On the Horizon

31

Adventists are engaging those who live in the world’s largest metropolitan areas.

A Letter to My Church Family 10 Ted N. C. Wilson

L I F E

Adventists in Copenhagen sponsor a unique outreach activity.

34 W O R L D

A D V E N T I S T

Lending a “Happy Hand”

By Sandra Blackmer

N A D

F E AT U R E

Our Ministry to Native Americans

By Ed Dunn Toward an understanding of respect and cooperation

V I S T A

Personal reflections about NY13

40

T H E

A D V E N T I S T

S T O R Y

God’s Bountiful Care

By Silvia Scholtus Roscher A history of one of the fastest-growing fields in the world

the Least of These 12 ByTo Gerald A. Klingbeil D E V O T I O N A L

They may not know it, but they still need salvation.

D E PA RT M E N T S 3

W O R L D

3 6 14 17 18 20

R E P O R T

News Briefs News Feature NAD Update NAD Perspective NAD Letters NAD News

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W O R L D

H E A L T H

43

B I B L E

44

I D E A

Making a Healthy Difference in Our Communities

42

S T U D Y

Revelation’s Seven Churches: Ephesus E X C H A N G E

B I B L E Q U E S T I O N S A N S W E R E D

Blessings and Curses

www.adventistworld.org Available in 13 languages online The Adventist World® (ISSN 1557-5519), one of the Adventist Review® family of publications, is printed monthly by the Review and Herald® Publishing Association. Copyright © 2013. Send address changes to Adventist World, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740. For information about advertising, contact Glen Gohlke, 301-393-3054 (ggohlke@rhpa.org). PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Vol. 9, No. 10, October 2013.

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Adventist World - nad | October 2013

Life, Concentrated

T

WORLD REPORT

Europe’s Adventist Youth

Help “Clear the Air”

C O Z Z I

During Congress

C O R R A D O

hirteen by 16.5 feet (four by five meters).

Enough space to grow a small garden. The size of an average bedroom in the United States.

The total living space per person in Dhaka, Bangladesh—the world’s most densely crowded metropolitan region.

Subtract all the commercial spaces, industrial buildings, government structures, streets and sidewalks, garbage dumps, and marshy regions, and the typical Dhaka resident has just about as much total living space as a body lying on the ground would occupy. “All are from the dust, and all return to dust” (Eccl. 3:20).

The sheer number of persons living in the great cities of the world—now estimated to be more than 3.7 billion—guarantees that the concentration of life apparent there will only accelerate. Millions of persons each year leave rural regions and move toward cities, driven by hunger, war, disease, and economic instability. They share the forlorn hope that life’s pain will somehow be reduced if they experience it with others in a grand community.

The cities of this planet have become a great historical experiment in “life, concentrated”—a previously unknown social phenomenon for which there are no evident rules or guidelines, and for which there can be no prophecy of peace and success. Life, concentrated, means that all of life’s experiences—pain, sin, brokenness, discouragement, and violence—will also be intensified and magnified. It’s not for nothing that all the dreamers of the world have placed their nirvanas and utopias on far-distant, undiscovered islands or planets. No one expects good to emerge from cities.

But the church of Jesus is always called to inhabit the real world—not utopia. Dream as we should of a “city . . . whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10), we are called just now to serve the billions who live in metropolises anything but ideal. Life, concentrated, must rapidly become mission, concentrated, for this church—a mission lived out in truth shared, food given, water carried, clothes provided, and friendship offered.

As you read this month’s special collection of articles focused on the church’s worldwide initiative called “Mission to the Cities,” pray for a heart made warm with the compassion of Jesus.

Above: YOUTH CONGRESS: The “Power of One” Pan-European Youth Congress drew thousands of young people from across Europe to Serbia in August to celebrate Jesus, the center of the Adventist faith.

Right: WATERMELON SWAP: A “Power of One” congress attendee offers slices of watermelon to passers-by in Novi Sad’s Liberty Square.

The effort helped raise awareness of the benefits of healthy living.

N Seventh-day Adventist young people helped clear the air this week in Novi Sad’s Liberty Square, where they asked passersby to trade their cigarettes for watermelon and other fresh fruit on a warm summer day.

Benjamin Zihlman and Reimo Butscher from Switzerland expressed surprise when most of the residents were willing to swap not just their lit cigarettes, but their entire pack of cigarettes. Others went further, indicating a desire to quit smoking altogether and exchanging contact information with the young volunteers.

Zihlman and Butscher plan to keep in touch with one couple through Facebook, where they’ll offer ongoing support in their efforts to quit smoking.

The outreach event was one of six community-wide activities undertaken by young people in Serbia’s second-largest city in early August for the “Power of One” Pan-European Youth Congress. Adventist youth also cleared rubbish along the banks of the Danube River, repainted playground equipment at local elementary schools, and donated blood.

Other young people handed out gift bags full of such books as Gifted Continued on next page

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Matthew Gamble, pastor of the Elmshaven Seventh-day Adventist Church in St. Helena, California, built on Asscherick’s message of spiritual growth.

“Some people believe they need to get over sin to be accepted by Christ.

This is not the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is this: You’re going to heaven because of what Christ has done, what he is still doing, and what he will continue to do.”

Asscherick and Gamble were both on hand to lead some of 17 workshops during the congress. In “The Mission Lifestyle” Asscherick outlined the importance of guarding both spiritual and physical health while leading a Christ-centered, mission-focused life.

“This was a life-changing message for me,” said Elycia Martins from Australia.

Martins wasn’t the only young person to travel to the continent for the congress. Two visitors from Papua New Guinea logged 87 travel hours and passed through seven countries on their way. All in all, 45 European countries were represented at the congress.

“If this congress has been the motivation for [young people] to either find Christ or to continue in this mission, I think it has achieved its main goal,” said Stephan Sigg, director of youth ministries for the church’s Inter-European Division.

—TEDMedia report

N Just weeks before the start of a new school year hundreds of parents found it difficult to get their children ready for school. However, the Seventh-

Adventist World - nad | October 2013

B U D D O O - F L E T C H E R

In Jamaica, Adventists Ease Back-to-School Financial Burden

day Adventist church in St. Ann, recognizing the plight of many, helped to ease the financial burden by hosting its fifth annual Health, Education, and Skills Expo on Wednesday.

The event took place at the Seventh-day Adventist church in Ocho Rios and at an Urban Development Corporation (UDC) open lot.

Omri Davis, health ministries director for North Jamaica Conference, and Ocho Rios, Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor, said, “People are facing serious financial challenges and cannot find the money to buy school books, uniforms, and other necessities, and that is why as a church we are conducting this fair and expo to educate, empower, and help ease the financial burden.”

The Health, Education, and Skills Expo attracted thousands of individuals from across St. Ann and its neighboring parishes who benefitted from textbooks for as little as J$10 (10 cents

DY H A N N

Hands, by renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, a Seventh-day Adventist.

“It is a privilege to watch our young people take the ‘Power of One’ to the people through practical Christianity and sharing the gospel,” said Janos Kovacs-Biro, director for evangelism for the Adventist Church’s Trans-European Division.

Back at the SPENS Sports Center, after helping passersby confront addiction, young people heard a message on facing their own struggles during a devotional by Adventist evangelist David Asscherick.

Asscherick reminded an audience of some 3,000 Adventist youth that growing in Christ is “a walk, not a leap. It takes time.”

“So many of us have been told that struggle is wrong, but if you struggle in your Christian experience, if you’re finding it hard to learn how to walk with Christ, that means you’re swimming against . . . the inclinations of the world,” Asscherick said, adding that the key to Christian growth is “to keep getting up.”

C O R R A D O

COMMUNITY SERVICE: A young volunteer paints playground equipment at an elementary school during the “Power of One” Seventh-day Adventist youth congress.

C O Z Z I

WORLD REPORT

EYE EXAM: Dr Tamara Henry uses an tablet to test Britania Clarke’s vision during the fifth annual Health, Education and Skills Expo held at the Ocho Rios Adventist Church and UDC parking lot in August, 2013.

B E R T O L L I F A B I A N A

U.S.), free health checks, talks about financial management and saving for education, and skills training.

Surprised by the offerings, Kaydian Williams said, “Where on earth would you find textbooks selling for J$10 or J$100? I saved thousands of dollars by purchasing textbooks here. I also obtained a free medical check for my son. This is indeed a good thing, and I thank the church very much.”

The main coordinator for the event, Dotlyn Bailey, education sponsor for Ocho Rios Adventist Church, said that the church understands the financial situation. “We see the needs daily, and because of this, we might have attracted more than 2,000 persons. You could see the parents checking off their books on the book list as they made their purchases. In addition, hundreds of students benefited from the free medical checks offered to them. This was indeed a crowd puller.”

Bailey added, “My only regret is that we did not have enough doctors.

Because of this great demand, at the next event we hope to have the doctors returning to finish the process.

Also, we will sell more books. This time, Sangster’s Book Stores will be here at the church.”

The day’s success came as a result of the support of St. Ann’s Bay Hospital; National Commercial Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, HEART Trust, CUNA Mutual, Carlong Books, Kingston Book Shop, Book and Nutrition Centre, Bashco, University of the West Indies, University College of the Caribbean, Victoria Mutual Building Society, Moneague College, and the First Regional Cooperative Credit Union.

—reported by Dyhann BuddooFletcher, Jamaica Union, in Ocho Rios.

ADVENTIST HOSPITALITY: Young people from the Rio de Janeiro Central Adventist Church share a meal with Catholic youth in town for the 2013 World Youth Day. Several of the young visitors said they liked what they heard at Adventist worship meetings.

Brazilian Adventists Offer Hospitality to World Youth Day Pilgrims N Seventh-day Adventist young people in Rio de Janeiro demonstrated Christian hospitality in July when they offered 170 Catholic youth in town for World Youth Day a place to stay.

The Italian Catholics were part of the World Youth Day Pilgrimage, which saw thousands of young Catholics worldwide travel to Rio de Janeiro for a week to celebrate the diversity of the Catholic Church and deepen their personal spirituality.

Members of the Adventist Central Church in Rio de Janeiro welcomed the group at the airport and provided transportation to and accommodation at their church during the week of pilgrimage.

“We have our doctrinal differences, but we serve a God who gave us an example of loving our neighbors. We are helping these young people not because of their faith, but because they are in need, and we would assist members of any denomination,” said Romulo Silver, a local church leader.

During the week of World Youth Day, local Adventist churches also took the opportunity to pray for the young Catholics and invited them to local church functions.

“Several of the [young people] wanted to join in our worship every night and said they liked what they heard,” Silva said, adding that he believes kindness and generosity can send a stronger message than preaching.

Costa Rican Adventists Commended in Blood Drive N The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Costa Rica was recently recognized by the National Blood Bank for being the most successful organization in obtaining blood donations.

During a special ceremony held at the University of Costa Rica in San José, Patricia Contreras praised the work of the church and said it is the most recognized entity with the most blood donor volunteers in Costa Rica. The recognition came as the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrated its World Blood Donor Day on June 14.

Continued on next page

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WORLD REPORT According to Contreras, the nation has only 50 percent of blood needs in regards to volunteer donors, and the goal is to cover 100 percent of the needs in the country with new and repeat donor volunteers every year.

Earnal Scott, youth ministries director for the church overseeing Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama, accepted the award on behalf of the church.

“We know that people in Costa Rica are interested in saving lives,” said Pastor Scott. “One blood donation can save five lives, and the church is prepared to continue campaigning and recruiting volunteer blood donors to save lives.”

—Marilyn Cernas/IAD, reporting from Alajuela, Costa Rica

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Adventists Bring

Health Evangelism Training to Papua New Guinea

Historic summit to spark community outreach

S O S S A / I A D

A

J AV I E R

CHURCH RECOGNIZED: Earnal Scott (left), youth ministries director for the church in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama, holds the award presented

by Patricia Contreras of the National Blood Bank in Costa Rica as Frank Artavia coordinator of the church’s blood drive campaign looks on. The church was recognized as the most successful organization to obtain blood donors during its “Gota a Gota por mi Projimo” (Drop by Drop for my Neighbor) campaign.

By James Standish, South Pacific Division, reporting from Goroka, Papua New Guinea

Adventist World - nad | October 2013

t Goroka Airport in Papua New Guinea (PNG) there’s a large billboard for Milo, a chocolate and malt powder generally mixed with milk. The slogan? “Milo Givim Yu Strong.”

The advertisement’s best feature?

The gleaming clean, healthy tooth prominently displayed in the advertisement. There are a lot of good things you could imply about Milo, but a force for promoting dental health seems a little counterintuitive.

And Milo’s just one of the many highly refined foods advertised heavily in this mountaintop town that is the capital of PNG’s Eastern Highlands Province.

It shouldn’t be surprising that, with an increase in the wide availability of high-calorie, highly refined foods, lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart attack, and stroke are on the increase here. There’s also a threat from HIV/AIDS—particularly as men leave their families to work in mining sites and cities far from home.

Historically the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s emphasis in PNG has been on health problems such as maternal health, infant mortality,

infectious diseases, and injuries. However, as PNG develops, the church is working to also address the threat of “lifestyle” diseases.

As part of this effort, the church recently organized a health summit at three sites—Port Moresby, Goroka, and Sonoma, near Rabaul. The concept was to provide practical training on health education, with the goal that every Adventist church, school, and clinic will become a center for health education. More than 1,700 Adventist pastors, teachers, and health workers were invited to the summit. In addition, some professionals from outside the Adventist community attended.

Many who presented at the summit are at the top of their field, including doctors Oscar and Eugenia Giordano, who lead an Adventist global effort in South Africa to stem the HIV/AIDS pandemic. There were also a number of presenters from PNG who added their expertise both on substantive issues and contextualizing programs and methods to the various cultures in PNG. “This health summit was directly related to the ‘health promoting churches/schools/clinics and hospitals

Top: BLOOD PRESSURE CHECK: Taking blood pressure as part of a demonstration of community health ministry during the summit. Middle: HEALTHY FOOD: Volunteers serve healthy, plant-based meals to participants.

Bottom left: SAY YES TO HEALTH: Participants raise hands in affirmative response to a challenge at the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s health summit.

Bottom right: HEALTH LEADERS: Pastor Kevin Price, Dr Allan Handysides, Dr Chester Kuma, Sibilla Johnson, Dr Peter Landless and Pastor Leigh Rice were leaders of the health summit. Johnson received an award for her health ministry service.

P H O T O S

C O U R T E S Y

O F

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initiative’ that’s currently being rolled out Pacific-wide by the South Pacific Division’s health team,” said Kevin Price, an Adventist pastor and team director. “We are determined to address the double disease burden that comes from communicable and lifestyle diseases that so many are experiencing in the Pacific. We believe our health message needs to be loudly reproclaimed. There has never been a time when it has been more relevant.”

According to Joy Butler, leader of Women of Faith and Excellence who participated in the summit, “counseling services and health screening

checks were offered throughout the program. The massive amounts of food (cooked on fires outside and in huge pots) provided by the school were both nutritious and attractive.”

The General Conference Health Ministries Department awarded Sibilla Johnson the Health Ministries Medal of Distinction for her lifetime of service in health ministry. Johnson, director of Adventist health ministries in Victoria, received the award at a ceremony at Sonoma Adventist College during the health summit, with retiring world church Health Ministries Department director Dr. Allan Handy-

sides and director-elect Dr. Peter Landless conducting the presentation.

Johnson began her health ministry work in Papua New Guinea in 1982.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has long been committed to improving the health of the people of PNG. It operates 31 clinics there—many of them very remote—and recently acquired Komo Hospital. The health summit is the first phase of a rollout of “comprehensive health ministry” that has been encouraged by leaders of the movement’s General Conference as well as the South Pacific Division.

—with Adventist World staff

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MISSION to the CITIES

Adventists Plan

By Mark A. Kellner, news editor

Gold Coast Campaign “Last Empire” comes to Australia’s Gold Coast “playground”

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Seventh-day Adventist evangelist is about to tackle an affluent, popular urban stretch of Australia’s east coast, bringing the three angels’ messages to life in 2014.

“The Last Empire” evangelistic series, with Anthony Kent, a native of Australia, will take place May 2 through May 30, 2014, and will be centered in the city of Gold Coast, whose population is just under 600,000, but is growing by 16,000 people annually.

The city of Gold Coast covers an area of 540 square miles (1,400 square kilometers), and is not far from Brisbane, Queensland’s capital, which has a population of 2.1 million.

The venues for “The Last Empire” series will include the Gold Coast Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, Reedy Creek Seventh-day Adventist Church in a small Gold Coast suburb, and the Coastlife Adventist Church, which meets in

C O L I N

R E N F R E W

Top: LOCAL PASTORS: From left, pastors Wayne Humphries (Surfers Paradise), Sean Berkeley (Gold Coast Central), Guy Lawson (School principal), Greg Pratt (Reedy Creek), Wes Tolhurst (Coastlife), Young Je (Gold Coast Korean), meet to plan "The Last Empire" outreach for 2014. Inset: Anthony Kent will be the lead speaker for “The Last Empire,” an outreach series scheduled for May 2014 in and around the Queensland, Australia, city of Gold Coast.

A D V E N T I S T

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Robina, a 33-year-old planned community that also adjoins Gold Coast.

“It’s in the newest cities that we’re finding the greatest challenge: cities are becoming increasingly secular and harder to reach, and we haven’t had the platform that was left by the pioneers in the past to build upon in the more recent cities,” Kent explained. “We don’t have any long-term, longstanding institutions to build a hub around. There’s no hospital, no publishing house, no conference office right in the middle of the territory. We do have a school or two, which is encouraging, and as regards those schools, their enrollments are largely from non-Adventists. That’s a great opportunity as well.”

How to approach this? Kent insists that prayer is critically important.

“Without the power of the Holy Spirit all our efforts will be futile,” Kent confessed, and added, “It would be wonderful if the world church would pray

N E W S

N E T W O R K

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earnestly for these people, that the Lord will draw them to Himself.” In September 2013 Kent was scheduled to visit the region and meet with pastors and local church members to organize preparations. After the visit, and up until the May 2014 kickoff, those congregations and pastors will train to be ready for outreach.

“This is about committed Adventist Christians, about reaching out, encouraging them to reach out, and training them to reach out,” Kent explains. “And it is about offering a resource for those Adventists who are reaching out to bring their friends, to move things along, to help them facilitate a walk with Jesus and an experience with Jesus, and be prepared for the return of Jesus.”

Thus, “The Last Empire” (see Adventist World, July 2013, http://bit. ly/13H45My) is relational and personal, avoiding a doctrinaire drumbeat that might scare off people living in a highly secular society. The essence of the message will be there, Kent said, but with a personal orientation.

“In many respects it’s focusing people on their future—what’s their future, what’s their destiny,” he explained. “Essentially we’re wanting to—in a truthful, honest way— encourage people to look at what they’re facing in their lives, and what is coming next for Planet Earth.”

Knowing that many come to the Gold Coast region in search of things other than faith, Kent is aware that lots of difficult work – “hard yakka,” as Australians might say—lies ahead.

“This is not a walk in the park.

This is a tough, challenging assignment,” he admits.

More information about the South Queensland Conference, which is sponsoring “The Last Empire,” can be found at http://sq.adventist.org.au/. N

By Allan R. Handysides and Peter N. Landless

W O R L D

H E A L T H

Making a Healthy DIFFERENCE in Our

Communities

We are hearing much about health evangelism, but how can my church—set in a city community—make a difference?

H

ealth ministry is a very effective tool for outreach in our church communities.

Sadly, many church buildings are used almost exclusively on weekends. They also could, however, effectively be used during the week in reaching out to the needs of the community.

Jesus is our example. Ellen White’s classic book on health ministry, The Ministry of Healing, opens with these compelling words: “Our Lord Jesus Christ came to this world as the unwearied servant of man’s necessity.

He ‘took our infirmities, and bare our sickness,’ that He might minister to every need of humanity. . . . The burden of disease and wretchedness and sin He came to remove. It was His mission to bring to men complete restoration; He came to give them health and peace and perfection of character.”

She writes a little further down the page: “None who came to Him went away unhelped.”1 On page 143 of the same book we find the method that works in this special ministry: “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence.

Then He bade them ‘Follow me.’”

We have the example, the method, and the churches! For the past seven years the vision of the General Conference Health Ministries Department has been that every church should be a community health center. That can

happen only when we actively strive to serve the needs of the community where we are—city or rural, large or small—and mingle with the people.

Churches can help ensure the cleanliness and security of water sources in a village, or run smoking-cessation initiatives in a city center. We can help to combat the current pandemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes that is plaguing both the developed and emerging economies by running screening programs and health expos to identify those who have diabetes and high blood pressure, encouraging them to seek professional help. We can host nutrition classes and provide instruction on how to prepare healthful, nutritious, plant-based foods, which can be so helpful in combatting obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other lifestyle diseases, including coronary artery disease and even cancer.

Our churches could be hubs for exercise clubs, providing fellowship and motivation to many. As friends are made, the ministry of the local church can extend to operating addictionawareness and recovery programs, as well as programs on mental and emotional health, well-being, and depression recovery. There’s no shortage of credible and evidence-based programs; our church members need to be informed and trained in sharing these.

Based on the instruction of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, the church has placed renewed emphasis on all church ministries—women’s, children’s, youth, education, and health—to engage in what is now

termed “Comprehensive Health Ministry (CHM).” The intention is to break down our silos of solo performance and together engage in Christ’s method of outreach, which will successfully minister to the needs of all. Health ministry then becomes the conduit of a grace-filled message to a needy and broken world. Every church becomes a community health center (in its broadest and most practical sense), and every member a “medical missionary” (health minister, heath promoter).

“We have come to a time when every member of the church should take hold of medical missionary work. The world is a lazar house filled with victims of both physical and spiritual disease.”2 What a need; what a commission!

We have the buildings, the tools, and, most important, the people. Let us move forward and make every church a community health center for the glory and honor of God’s name and the salvation of many souls. N 1 Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), p. 17.

2 Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 7, p. 62.

Allan R. Handysides, a board-certified gynecologist, recently retired as director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department.

Peter N. Landless, a board-certified nuclear cardiologist, is the new director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department.

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V I S T A

Dear Adventist Family :

W

orking in New York City this past summer was an amazing experience! It brought back many memories of working in the city many years ago as an intern and later as a district pastor. Nancy and I feel very much connected to New York City: We invested a number of years in that great metropolitan region, and two of our daughters were born there. New York City became a second home for us.

God is working through many dedicated servants to reach them through creative and innovative outreach programs.

Preparing the Way

Shortly before our recent evangelistic meetings began, students from the Northeast Evangelism Training School (NETS) went to Greenwich Village to find opportunities to give Bible studies. Amazingly, in just two four-hour sessions with four teams

Drawn to Christ

Watching hundreds of people coming night after night to the evangelistic meetings was very moving to me. Many non-Adventist guests attended and were drawn to Jesus as Bible truth was presented through the power of the Holy Spirit. I watched lives being changed as they responded to biblical truth and made commitments to baptism and membership in God’s remnant church.

Some of these included a Chinese

A Letter to My CHURCH FAMILY A personal message from the church president

By Ted N. C. Wilson

Preaching at the historic Manhattan church on West 11th Street was especially moving. Forty-two years ago I briefly worked as a pastoral intern in that same church, and along with several others, including the current pastor, Tony Romeo, pioneered a special youth center in that church during the “hippie” era.

Greenwich Village [the city neighborhood] was a center for young adults then just as it is now (see “City Lights Burn Out”).* It’s also one of the toughest, most sophisticated, most expensive places to live and work in the United States.

New York City’s residents are dynamic and demanding in their search for something better in life.

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knocking on doors, the students returned with 106 requests for Bible studies! Even in difficult territories people eagerly seek for Bible answers to today’s questions and are thrilled when they discover the good news of the three angels’ messages and Christ’s soon return.

Many others also helped prepare for the public evangelistic series.

Health and cooking schools were offered. Community services—food, clothing, and instruction—were shared. Church members were trained in small-group evangelism and how to use Bible study presentations. Hundreds of Adventist young adults moved out across New York City to witness for the Lord!

Adventist World - nad | October 2013

architect and his wife who plan on witnessing to their family in China; a sales executive with a major hotel chain who is now planning on becoming a minister of the gospel; a Ukrainian woman who had someone translate the nightly sermons into Ukrainian; a husband and wife who were baptized together; and a local man who grew up in Greenwich Village and now feels a gospel “burden” for those in his old neighborhood.

When you preach the prophetic, biblical messages explaining the book of Revelation, something happens to your own heart as well as to those who are listening. I found my own heart being renewed by the Spirit as I shared with others what it means to

MISSION to the CITIES be ready to meet Jesus in peace.

During the month of June more than 100 evangelistic meetings were held across the metro New York area, with a total of nearly 400 evangelistic meetings planned for the entire year of 2013. Many other General Conference officers and department directors participated in evangelistic meetings in New York City and the metro region. The NY13 activities covered a wide range of outreach events and were coordinated by a committee chaired by Don King, president of the Atlantic Union Conference, and involved the North American Division, the Atlantic and Columbia union conferences, and five local conferences—Northeastern, Greater New York, Allegheny East, New Jersey, and Southern New England. There was a tremendously cooperative spirit from all the church entities, and from pastors, church members, supporting ministries, and ASI [Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries] organizations. Through the blessing of the Lord NY13 showed how a united church can work in a harmonious manner to accomplish the Mission to the Cities goal of reaching a great metropolitan area for Jesus.

The International Field School

Another feature of NY13 was the extraordinary International Field School of Evangelism (IFSE), led by pastors Mark Finley and Robert Costa. Representatives from all world divisions participated in the IFSE, attending classes during the day and participating in the meetings during the evenings. At the beginning of the field school, Mark Finley provided a remarkable presentation on the need for evangelism in 2013 that inspired us all.

I wish every pastor, evangelist, and administrator from every division, union, and local field could have attended the IFSE. When you see

renewed dedication—when you see leaders rededicating themselves with new fervor to the work they’ve been given—you regain your confidence that we really can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!

Reaching the World’s Cities

Currently the world divisions, unions, and local fields are working diligently on plans for their targeted large metropolitan areas, with the goal of reaching approximately 630 of the world’s greatest population centers—all through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Recently the South Pacific Division sponsored a coordinated evangelistic series titled “The Last Empire” in 27 churches in the greater Sydney area.

According to reports I’ve seen, the churches in Sydney were so excited about the meetings that they plan to do it again next year!

I found it an amazing privilege to again be part of frontline evangelistic activity. Although it was challenging to organize time in my schedule for holding a three-week evangelistic series, it was entirely worth it! I wouldn’t trade the experience in New York City for anything! In 2014 I’m planning to be involved with evangelistic meetings in Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and in 2015 I expect to preach a major evangelistic meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe.

A Comprehensive, Sustained Outreach

It’s critically important that we encourage a comprehensive and sustained outreach and evangelistic approach to the work God has given us—a work that involves every member. As part of Mission to the Cities, comprehensive urban evangelism can include each local church’s outreach; the establishment of “centers of influence” in the big cities through vegetarian restaurants, health centers

or clinics; community service outreach; the distribution of church publications; healthful lifestyle seminars and lectures; small-group ministries; door-to-door personal evangelistic work and Bible studies; engaging Adventist young adults in personal witnessing, integrated media evangelism, and other creative approaches that touch the lives of city residents.

And for those who wonder how to go about it, the good news is that there are wonderful resources available for doing public evangelism. At the meetings in Greenwich Village I used a digital evangelistic sermon series called “Revelation of Hope,” produced by Mark Finley. The evangelistic series has 28 subjects, complete with beautiful graphics that the public sees and written sermon scripts that show up on the speaker’s computer screen or monitor. You can adapt the scripts according to your particular needs and illustrations. The system works amazingly well, and provides anyone willing to try with an opportunity to share the full message in a powerfully effective way.

Thank you, worldwide church family, for what you are doing for the Lord and this Advent movement as we focus on Mission to the Cities. I know God will continue to use you in helping to prepare people for the return of Jesus. Let’s pray for each other as we lift up Jesus, His righteousness, His sanctuary ministry, His Sabbath, His three angels’ messages, and His soon return! N * www.adventistworld.org/article/1462/resources/english/ issue-2013-1006/city-lights-burn-out-bring-them-the-lightof-the-world.

Ted N. C. Wilson is president of the Seventhday Adventist Church.

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D E V O T I O N A L

H

e sat silently in the last row of the small church in the center of Lima, the capital of Peru. I had seen him sneak into the building as I began my sermon on that foggy, cold Sabbath morning. It was the final Sabbath of a weeklong evangelistic series, and every ordained minister had been assigned to a church in metro Lima to help with the thousands of baptismal candidates that the local churches had prepared. I had been given the small church in one of the most dangerous areas of Lima.

By Early Sabbath morning my wife, Gerald A. Klingbeil our 6-month-old daughter, and I had left the campus of the Adventist university and were on our way to downtown Lima. When we arrived around 9:00 a.m., an elder was waiting at the entrance of the church. “Don’t worry about your car, Pastor,” he had told me cheerfully. “I will watch it during the entire service.” I felt slightly worried.

Downtown Lima, like many other downtowns all over the world, was known for its violence, crime, and drug addicts. Most addicts lived on the streets—ragged, seemingly faceless people, in tattered, dirty clothes who would do anything for the next high. Many of these, too poor to afford any other drug, sniffed glue and did not have too much of a future.

I wondered about the wisdom of bringing my wife and my baby daughter.

The little church worshipped heartily. No organ or piano helped with the singing, but the songs made their way to heaven.

Soon after my arrival I had met the baptismal candidates. Together with the elders we had talked about their decisions and what it meant to follow Christ and become a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. We had prayed together, and at the end of my sermon, when I had invited the congregation to commit their everything to Jesus, they had stood and smiled. They were ready.

Just before we entered the baptismal pool, one of my students who had served this church for the past year as a student pastor pulled on my sleeve. “Pastor,” he

Least

To the

hese T

of

God’s salvation belongs to all who receive it.

12

Adventist World - nad | October 2013

whispered, “there is somebody else who wants to be baptized.” I halted for a moment and asked the local elders if they knew the individual. No one seemed to know him, and so we proceeded with the baptism, of the other candidates. “Tell him to wait for me after the service,” I mouthed to my students.

Luis sat quietly in one of the pews of the church. Almost everybody had left. Luis was one of the drug addicts of downtown Lima, but on this morning God’s Spirit somehow had reached his heart. As I listened to him and shared God’s plan of salvation with him, I could see a little light that had been turned on in his eyes. It was just a glimmer—but it was hope.

tive of people, a city, even a world, changed because of Jesus’ sacrifice. It describes a handful of believers who were ready and willing to tell and change the world for their Master. Beginning in Jerusalem and the towns of Judea and Galilee, they go into all the world and tell those who are dejected, or lowly, or poor, or rich, or addicted, or lonely that the tears of Jesus were also meant for them, that divine compassion and boundless grace were freely available to them.

Their stories and the stories of many after them remind us that we too have been called to weep and work for the people living in the cities (or suburbs) all around us.

Another God Moment

Hot Tears

Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. The disciples, overwhelmed by the excitement of the moment, throw their cloaks on a colt and put Jesus on its back (Luke 19:35).

People spread their garments on the road—the air is filled with Hosannas, excitement, and shouts of blessings. Songs of praise accompany the Savior. It seems as if all of Jerusalem is out to greet the king.

As Jesus approaches a location overlooking Jerusalem and its glorious Temple, time seems to stand still. Tears wet the face of Jesus. His body rocks, His lips quiver. He can see the future of Jerusalem’s inhabitants—and it’s not a glorious one. “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42, NIV).1 Only twice we are told in Scripture that Jesus wept. He wept as He stood before the tomb of His friend Lazarus (John 11:35). Now, as He glances at the city of Jerusalem, filled with thousands of inhabitants and tens of thousands of visitors, He weeps again. Jesus’ tears anticipate the cruel future of the city. Jesus’ tears lament the stubbornness and pride and rejection of Jerusalem’s leaders and inhabitants.

Jesus’ tears are for the lost and headstrong and discouraged who cannot see salvation.

Weeping for the Cities

Since 2008 more than 50 percent of the world’s population has lived in urban areas. In most developed countries that number approaches 75 percent.2 Crowds of human beings, living closely together in teeming cities, struggling to survive, often lonely and without social networks capable of communicating human warmth, and with little knowledge of the Savior of the world—Jesus is still weeping for the cities and their inhabitants.

The Gospels tell us the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection in Jerusalem. The book of Acts continues the narra-

As we drove home to our university campus so many years ago I felt both awed and disturbed. I rejoiced with Luis in his acceptance of His Savior, who spoke that morning straight to the heart of this lost, glue-sniffing, young man in the heart of Lima. Several months later, following intense Bible studies with my student and careful mentoring by the leaders of the small church, Luis too joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church and became another disciple of Jesus. At the same time, however, I felt overwhelmed by the many others who had not (yet) heard God’s invitation to a meaningful life and eternal salvation.

Their faces had been etched on my heart as a constant reminder of Jesus’ tears.

Jesus weeping over Jerusalem is not only about raw emotions or prophetic insights. It represents the paradigm of how we too are called to minister to the people around us. First, we cannot reach others if we have not been reached ourselves. Second, city evangelism (or any evangelism, for that matter) requires heart work, not just funding, planning, and excellent execution. We are called to become personally involved. Finally, we come to our neighbors, friends, or the huge numbers of people that we have not yet met as saved sinners—not as saints barely touching the ground. We may not have sniffed glue or lived on the streets, but in God’s eyes we were as lost as anybody else.

That’s why He continues to weep for this world. N 1 Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

2 The numbers have been taken from http://www.prb.org/Educators/TeachersGuides/ HumanPopulation/Urbanization.aspx.

Gerald A. Klingbeil is an associate editor of Adventist World. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A., with his wife, Chantal, and their three daughters.

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N A D U P D AT E

By Ivan Williams, Sr., director, NAD Ministerial Association

Social Media

Catches Up With

Week of

Prayer

G

race Underwood feels a wave of nostalgia wash over her as she drives home from work.

It’s the first week of November. In a previous era she would be sitting at church with other Adventists enjoying the annual Week of Prayer readings. Unfortunately, with her commute schedule she will barely make it home in time to feed the kids, supervise their homework, and tuck them into bed.

A Different Kind of Fellowship

Grace represents many of those who treasure times of fellowship, prayer, and revival, but whose schedules will not allow for a nightly trip to the church. Yet things may be changing in the North American Division this fall. George Johnson, Jr., Communication director for the North American Division (NAD), is

14

turning social media loose on solving the Week of Prayer scheduling issue.

“We wanted to try something new this year,” says Johnson. “We know that not everyone is able to get out to the church every night, but we didn’t want them to miss out on the Week of Prayer.

Now, with the technology of social media, they can read and pray together through a virtual Week of Prayer.”

Week of Prayer has been a longstanding tradition in the Adventist Church. Stephen Chavez, coordinating editor of Adventist Review and Adventist World, reflects, “Back when I was a pastor we would order extra copies of the Review for the church, then gather together Sabbath evening and read and discuss the devotional.

Then we would continue throughout the week, sometimes at the church, sometimes at elders’ homes, to study and pray together.”

Adventist World - nad | October 2013

The tradition continues this year starting November 2-9. A special edition of Adventist Review dated September 26 carries all eight readings for the Week of Spiritual Emphasis.

The title, And They Followed Him, explores what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in the twenty-first century.

The primary author of this year’s readings is Larry Lichtenwalter,

director of the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies and chair of the theology faculty at Middle East University in Beirut, Lebanon. Other authors include Ted N. C. Wilson, General Conference president, and Ellen G. White, Seventh-day Adventist Church cofounder.

“The Week of Prayer focuses on revival and the Christian life,” says Wilson, “and how we can have a vibrant, happy, and rewarding relationship with God.”

For Grace and others who have a scheduling conflict, social media may provide a way to participate in this year’s Week of Prayer without space and time constrictions.

Embracing the Technology

Social media is a world in which people can interact, create, share, and exchange information without having to be in the same room at the same time. Facebook may be the most familiar social media site, with more than 1 billion users worldwide.

Churches have begun to take advantage of social media by engaging the greater virtual community on a personal basis in discussions, Bible studies, and mission projects. Social media-savvy churches see themselves

not confined to a specific time or place. Local ministry can happen 24 hours a day anywhere in the world.

This fall social media catches up with Week of Prayer.

Dave Gemmell, an associate director of the NAD Ministerial Department, is looking forward to harnessing social media for this year’s Week of Prayer. “Our staff will be hosting this year’s Week of Prayer virtually via Facebook. This November you can go to www.facebook.com/ NADAdventist and find the reading for the day, along with discussion questions. You can share your feedback on the reading as well as prayer requests. My colleagues in ministerial will be there. I’m looking forward to meeting you. Together we can study

and pray together.”

Perhaps things will be different for Grace Underwood this year. After the kids are tucked in, she may have some quiet moments to sit down with her computer or tablet device and take in the reading for the day.

She might type in her reflections on the reading. She could read others’ comments and give words of encouragement. Grace may be brave enough to type in her prayer requests and enjoy having many in the virtual prayer meeting lift her up in prayer as well as pray for others in the virtual meeting. Even though she is physically alone, Grace may experience the fellowship of hundreds this November in NAD’s virtual Week of Prayer. N

October 2013 | Adventist World - nad

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NAD PERSPECTIVE

A Homecoming Č?ČľČ?ÇžÉ‘Ç¸ÉœČ¨É„Éƒ

By Dan Jackson

I

remember seeing a cartoon that pictured a stage and podium.

On the back wall was a huge banner that proclaimed: “Welcome to the Second Annual Convention of Children of Non-Dysfuntional Families.� The next panel of the cartoon panned out to include an immense auditorium with two people sitting in it.

Sin Is Dysfunction

Home means different things to different people. For some it means love and acceptance. For others it means ďŹ ghting and dysfunction. The truth is that as members of the human family we are all sinners, and sin is dysfunction.

A powerful story of a dysfunctional family is told in the book of Luke. It is misnamed the parable of the prodigal son. This son set out with his inheritance to set the world on ďŹ re.

In short order he found himself penniless, friendless, jobless, and almost hopeless. Eventually this son of a wealthy landowner got a job feeding pigs—and was envious of the pigs for the food they received.

The King James Version of the Bible says a wonderful thing. It says that there in the muck and the mire of that pigsty, this young man “came to himself � (Luke 15:17). The truth set-

tled in that he was better off under his father’s roof than out doing what seemed right in his own mind.

The son went home and, of course, you know the rest of the story. He was welcomed home by his father, the family ring was placed on his ďŹ nger, he was clothed with a new robe, and the fattened calf was barbecued.

Many sermons have been written about this biblical passage. Preachers have drawn several points from this parable: young people sometimes make poor choices, wild living leads to unhappiness, the older brother’s heart was not right, or that we can go home.

Spotlight on the Father

But the real story here is about the father. He waited week after week, month after month, for his son to come home. Can you imagine this old man looking for excuses to go out and peer down the road searching for his son? Where could he be? Is he safe?

Then one day the father sees this ďŹ gure off in the distance. As the person comes closer, the father sees that the dirty, broken, emaciated ďŹ gure is his son. The Bible says the father ran to meet his son. This digniďŹ ed, wealthy old man takes off on a run and throws his arms around his

boy. The Greek says that he “smothered him with kisses.� No matter the stench of the pig manure, no matter the matted hair, no matter the diseases he might have, this is his son and he is back. What joy!

The real story here is that the father loved his son, he missed his son, and he welcomed him home on his return. The analogy is clear: we have a heavenly Father who has a heart that beats for all His children, even the

What an opportunity to reect the heart of the Father! ones who have gone their own way.

The powerful truth told in this parable is that God misses us when we separate ourselves from Him. November 23 is Homecoming Sabbath across the North American Division. What a wonderful opportunity for Adventist churches around North America to reect the heart of the Father, embrace the “homecomers,â€? and rejoice in the fellowship of our community of faith. N

Dan Jackson is president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Bermuda, Canada, Guam/Micronesia, and the United States.

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nad Letters The Messenger of Truth

God bless the faithfulness of Theodore N. Levterov, author of “The Messenger of Truth” (July 2013). Levterov wrote, “Sabbatarians never claimed equality between the Bible and the gifts of the Spirit; they had different functions.”

Adventists don’t have to distinguish between them either. The same Holy Spirit inspired both for different times.

Floyd Young Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada

A Heart Like His

Thank you for sharing Marcos Paseggi’s beautifully written article, “A Heart Like His” (June 2013). Well worth reading, sharing, and keeping.

Dot Carey Ocala, Florida In drawing an analogy between cardiac calciphylaxis and a spiritually stony heart, Marcos Paseggi includes the insight that the purpose of God’s heart transplant within us is so we can “walk in My statutes [chuqqah] and keep My judgments [mishpat] and do them” (Eze. 11:20).

Speaking of the everlasting covenant (the plan of salvation), Ellen White wrote: “When ratified by Christ, it is called a new covenant. The law of God was the basis of this covenant, which was simply an arrangement for bringing men again into harmony with the divine will, placing

18

How will the gospel go to all the world in this generation if we selfishly keep it here because of our indifference and greediness?

—Lillian R. Guild, Loma Linda, California them where they could obey God’s law” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 371).

God can write His law only on a new heart. When the law is outside us, it is seen as a burden to be borne.

When the law is written on our new hearts we see it as God’s loving character to be lived out in us. May God give each of us a new heart filled with the Holy Spirit, so that with the psalmist we can declare, “Oh, how I love Your law!” (Ps. 119:97).

Connie Dahlke Walla Walla, Washington Mission Offering

I was not surprised, but disappointed, when I read the article “Treasurer Says North American Tithe Up 1 Percent, 4.4 Percent Other Regions” (June 2013).

I understand the Sabbath school mission offerings in America have dropped considerably too.

No doubt the statement that local churches often give to many projects directly, or their members go on mission trips, is true. “These acts of mission giving go uncounted,” Robert E. Lemon is quoted as saying. But I feel there are more reasons that our Sabbath school mission offerings are so low.

It seems that most Sabbath schools I’ve attended in various churches do not make a special appeal to give to

Adventist World - nad | October 2013

missions. When the offering is taken up, the money that goes into the offering plate is not at all for foreign missions, but rather for Sabbath school expense. Not many church members, I fear, pay attention to the small type that says the mission offering has to be put into an offering envelope to be used for missions. If the Sabbath school superintendent would remind members after the mission story is given that the mission offering should go into the envelope, the amount for missions would increase.

How will the gospel go to all the world in this generation if we selfishly keep it here because of our indifference and greediness? May God open our hearts and our resources to make sure we individually are doing our part in fulfilling our mission.

Lillian R. Guild Loma Linda, California

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NAD NEWS out in aspects of the services. Students took responsibility for everything from teaching Sabbath school classes, to song service, even preaching the sermon.

One Sabbath Jean Butoyi, a junior and a preaching class student, gave his first sermon. “Preparing for this sermon led me to a better understanding of what it means to help others and be a true Christian,” said Butoyi. “I found what I like to call ‘true religion’ during my studies. Many of my teachers have shown me what it means to be like Christ by going the extra mile for me and other students. To me, that is true religion: serving others.”

—By Michelle Hansen, Iowa-Missouri Conference

Students

Learn About

Church Leadership T

The curriculum consists of preaching, spiritual leadership, witnessing, and hands-on church work classes. During the previous school year Haakenson took students from his SOE classes to the Mexico, Missouri, Adventist Church on a regular basis to let them participate in various church leadership roles. During the week the group traveled 20 miles to clean up the grounds and the inside of the church, as well as sit in on board meetings, attend Wednesday prayer meetings, and more. About once a month Scott took the students to the church on Sabbath so they could lead

Ten Receive Excellence in Teaching Awards

PREACHER IN TRAINING: Jean Butoyi (at pulpit), a junior at Sunnydale Adventist Academy, preaches the sermon at the Mexico, Missouri, Adventist Church, while a church member translates his message into Spanish.

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Adventist World - nad | October 2013

M I C H E L L E

H A N S E N

he School of Evangelism (SOE) at Sunnydale Adventist Academy, in Centralia, Missouri, has been operating for five years. SOE director Scott Haakenson sees the goal of the program as being “to train young people to be soul winners and to make a difference in people’s lives through service and witnessing.” The program has a two-pronged approach to evangelism: evangelism training classes incorporated into the academy’s curriculum, and students using this training to participate in local and overseas evangelism and outreach.

N Every year the Alumni Awards Foundation (AAF) awards 10 teachers across North America with an Excellence in Teaching award. Each teacher is presented with a $2,000 award, a medallion, and a certificate of excellence during events hosted by the recipients’ schools. Listed below are the award recipients for 2013 who are raising the bar in Adventist education. Learn more about these outstanding educators at www.alumniawards.org/archives/1298.

Ophelia Barizo, head of Science Department, Highland View Academy, Hagerstown, Maryland.

Catherine Farkas, second through fourth grades, Middletown Christian School of Seventh-day Adventists, Middletown, New York.

Sara Guzik, principal and second through eighth grades, Echo Ridge Christian School, Nevada City, California.

Jim Minty, fifth and sixth grades and music, Shenandoah Valley Adven-

A A F

HONORING EXCELLENCE: Rachel Simmons, teacher at Richmond (Virginia) Academy, receives an Excellence in Teaching Award from Keith White, a representative of the Alumni Awards Foundation. Simons and nine other award recipients each received $2,000, a medallion, and a certificate for their classroom accomplishments.

tist Elementary, New Market, Virginia.

Oliver Morada, History and Government, Thunderbird Adventist Academy, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Guadalupe Negrete, seventh and eighth grades, El Dorado Adventist School, Placerville, California.

Olga Simmons, principal and kindergarten through eighth grade, New Hope Seventh-day Adventist School, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Rachel Simons, English and history, Richmond Academy, Richmond, Virginia.

Tanya Stotz, Kindergarten through second grade, San Fernando Valley Academy, Northridge, California.

Reymelinda Villaruel, fifth and sixth grades, Jackson Heights Seventhday Adventist Church School, Jackson Heights, New York.

AAF partners with Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities to honor 10 excellent teachers. This program would not be possible without support from Andrews University, Loma Linda University, Oakwood University, Southern Adventist University, and Walla Walla University.

—By Kayce Foote, Alumni Awards Foundation

Sowing Good Seed N When someone asks where a mission trip is going, they typically expect an exotic answer: Dubai.

Geneva. Congo. But 26 young people from across the United States gathered for a 10-day mission trip to Allentown, Pennsylvania, as part of GYC INTERmission.

GYC INTERmission, working alongside the Pennsylvania Conference, Simplicity, Atlantic Union ASI, and GYC Atlantic, cooperated with Habitat for Humanity to install insulation in a home for a single mother and her four children. The next day, when half the team returned to finish the job, one member of the Habitat for Humanity crew commented that he would never forget the group because of how hard they worked while harmonizing in the singing of hymns. The other half of the team hauled cement from the basement of a homeless shelter that was under construction.

Every afternoon the missionaries went into downtown Allentown to seek out people’s needs, pray for them, and offer Bible studies. The team was

overwhelmed by the response: 197 Bible study interests (nearly half in homes) and 110 people prayed with, in only six to eight hours of outreach.

The team stopped searching for Bible study interests two days early because they found too many for the church to handle.

In the evenings an interactive health seminar and vacation Bible school for children were held at the Hamburg Seventh-day Adventist Church. At VBS children raced through the doors every night, giddy with joy to see “Joseph” tell them about his latest adventures in Egypt.

We often long to go to the most exotic, most unreached, most radical mission grounds. What the missionaries found during these 10 days is that people are longing to hear about God in one of the most urbanized states in the country.

GYC is a youth-initiated and -led movement of Seventh-day Adventists from diverse backgrounds united in commitment to Bible study, prayer, an uncompromising lifestyle, a boldness in sharing Christ with others, and upholding the distinctive message of Continued on next page

Special Days in North America Focus for November: Health November 2-20 .............Native Heritage Month November 2 .....................Stewardship Sabbath November 2-9 ............................ Week of Prayer November 16 ........... Human Relations Sabbath November 23 ............. Welcome Home Sabbath November 29 ............NAD Evangelism Offering

October 2013 | Adventist World - nad

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NAD NEWS Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and also organized a coat and food drive that helped 12 families in the community, raised enough money for 25 micro loans through the micro-lending nonprofit KIVA in honor of the Sandy Hook, Connecticut, victims, organized a “pay it forward” event at their school, and raised $982 for those impacted by the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.

“Even if they find a cure for cystic fibrosis, I won’t stop,” says Makaela, who is an honor student inducted into the Spartan Society based on her leadership, citizenship, and academics.

“I want to live my whole life caring for other people.”

Makaela began attending the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in March 2012, and was baptized by Pastor Tom Hennlein in February 2013.

—By Tamyra Horst, Pennsylvania Conference

WORKING TOGETHER: Members of the GYC Intermission team served Allentown, Pennsylvania with service and evangelistic activites.

Thirteen-Year-Old Won’t Take “No” For an Answer N As 13-year-old Makaela Smith begins eighth grade at Garden Spot Middle School, New Holland, Pennsylvania, she has more than just academics and cheerleading on her mind. Makaela is determined to make a difference in the world around her.

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Two years ago Makaela asked her principal if the school could do a fund-raiser for cystic fibrosis, a disease that took the life of her uncle. He told her no. Makaela’s mom, Joline Martin, thought it was a great idea, but figured that if the principal said no, the answer was no.

Makaela wouldn’t take no for an answer and contacted the school district superintendent. He encouraged Martin to bring her daughter in, so they could explain why the school couldn’t participate. By the time Makaela left that meeting, they had come up with an idea to make it happen.

The “Do Something” club was formed. This student-led club, sponsored by teacher Kelly Heisig, meets each quarter with about 30 students to do something that makes a difference. As president, Makaela led the group as they raised $500 for the

Adventist World - nad | October 2013

TA M Y R A

the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was initiated in 2002 by a small group of college students, and now draws upward of 5,000 people to its annual conferences and boasts an international influence.

GYC INTERmissions are biannual missions, both domestic and foreign, where young people are trained and mobilized for service.

—Callie Williams, Generation. Youth.

Christ.

H O R S T

G Y C

WON’T TAKE NO: Makaela Smith and her mother, Joline Martin, had to meet with the county’s superintendent of education before Makaela received permission to start a “Do Something” club.

C O V E R F E AT U R E

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years, it’s that you just can’t present the Adventist message in the big cities, and certainly NOT in a place such as New York City. It’s one of the world’s largest cities, with people speaking dozens of languages, chasing after riches, and totally uninterested in matters of eternal consequence. As they say in Brooklyn: “Fuhgeddaboutit.”

T

hat may have been the “accepted wisdom” in some quarters prior to June 2013, but you can now deposit that “wisdom” in the museum of disproven theories: New Yorkers are just as open to the Seventhday Adventist Church’s message as anywhere else, and we have the results to demonstrate it.

By the end of June officials of the Greater New York Conference and the Northeast Conference reported, “more than 2,000 people have been added to the church in both fields, and more are expected as meetings in metro New York continue” throughout the summer and fall.

Kevin Sears, assistant director of the church’s Northeast Evangelism Training School in South Lancaster, Massachusetts, knows this evangelism works. He was the outreach and training coordinator for one of the most challenging parts of the NY13 effort, the campaign

to reach people in and around the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. Packed with residents who are both highly affluent and who, in many cases, both support and live “alternative lifestyles,” you might not imagine it was a prime location for Adventist evangelism.

Think again, Sears said: “God is working. He’s doing something special.

It doesn’t matter where we go to do evangelism. It doesn’t matter where we do the evangelism; God has already been working in many people’s hearts.”

How many hearts? In a single day dozens responded to an invitation to Bible studies, he said.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

No place you go is easy,” Sears recalled in an interview. “So I remember the first week of outreach, our [evangelism] students, only nine students and four teams, went out, and in eight hours they signed up 106 people for

Bible studies. I remember I got up in front of the church and shared that, and the church was just floored.”

This was in the place the local pastor, Tony Romeo, a veteran of the advertising and marketing industry, was willing, but also wary: “I remember the pastor saying, ‘You know, Kevin, I don’t know what you guys think you’re going to be doing here.

This is Greenwich Village, and you can’t do these things here,’” Sears recalled.

Now, Romeo said he’s impressed with the results: “What they did was reignite a spirit of mission in the city,” he told Adventist World. “I think people are now focused on doing something bigger than their thoughts were before. Trying to get people in the community to take studies, but it also was a new attempt to create an understanding for Adventists of what Mission to the Cities is all about.”

The historic Adventist church that Romeo pastors in the heart of Greenwich Village, was the epicenter of the NY13 event. Ted N. C. Wilson, General Conference president and a onetime ministerial intern at this very church, hosted a “Revelation of Hope” evangelistic series

By Mark A. Kellner, news editor

“Christ’s Method” Reaches

HEARTS in NEW YORK

Outreach training key to hundreds o

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Adventist World - nad | October 2013

MISSION to the CITIES there, and was joined in New York City by many world church leaders hosting their own meetings in each of the five boroughs of the metropolis.

“At the same time [Pastor] Wilson’s meetings were going on, I believe there were 150 other evangelistic seminars that began that same weekend,” Sears noted. “And when you look at the numbers of all the baptisms!

There were about 200 baptisms at the [Nassau Veterans Memorial] Coliseum that last Sabbath, and there were baptisms leading up to that event as well.”

Sears added that there were plenty of other candidates for baptism who were almost ready, and are expected to be baptized soon: “So there will be over the next six to eight months maybe even double what we’ve had already,” he said.

“We left one of our students behind to do the follow-up with Pastor Tony,” Sears added. “They have a Wednesday night Bible study for the visitors, and they’re getting 40-plus visitors a week to come to that Bible study, plus the student has 10-12 Bible studies a week with other people, about 15 or 16 other people in those Bible studies a week.”

So despite Greenwich Village being perceived as “stony ground,” Sears noted the results that did happen: “In the beginning we were thinking this

CITY

s of baptisms

would not be a place that we would choose to have the world church leader front and center stage. This would not be—there are plenty of places in New York that would have been so much easier to work. So this showed me that this is God’s work. And no matter where we go, if we follow His lead, then He’s going to be responsible for the results. And we’ve seen only a fraction of the results there. So this really, for me, was faith building!”

Sears reported that it wasn’t only door-to-door contact with New Yorkers that brought people into the evangelistic meetings. Also helpful, he said, was an emphasis on the Adventist health message, something even the most affluent could find interesting.

“We filled the place with health P H O T O S

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lectures,” he recalled. “And in that, we were able to make some connections, make some friends. As a matter of fact, some people that came to the health lectures came to the prophecy series, and a few of them got baptized as well. So one of those [lessons] was in understanding the true power behind the health message.

Those lectures were a major component of the outreach, but not the only one: “It just showed—and I believe God was revealing this—that if we do evangelism correctly, if we do what’s called a cycle of evangelism, do the prework (and prework doesn’t mean you hand out flyers and invite them to the meetings and that’s it), God will bless; we have to be

K E L L N E R

Top: EVANGELISM TRAINING: Kevin Sears discusses the success of evangelism training for the NY13 event. Above: MASSIVE WITNESS: Thousands attended the wrap-up NY13 event at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, June 29, 2013. Left: READY FOR BAPTISM: Ted N.C. Wilson, in white shirt, prepares to baptize John MacKneil, who attended the General Conference president’s evangelism series.

in the community months ahead of time. We have to be studying with people,” Sears said.

One of those who attended the Wilson campaign was among those baptized by the series speaker at the June 29 wrap-up event on Long Island: John MacKneil, a former resident of New York’s Greenwich Village, who returned to the historic Seventhday Adventist Church to hear Wilson’s “Revelation of Hope” series. MacKneil was a bit overcome at the experience.

“It’s an inspiration to be baptized by this man of God,” MacKneil said, standing next to Wilson in the water.

“I wanted to be baptized; I needed to be baptized. I feel good, and I feel inspired.” Both MacKneil and Wilson said MacKneil’s brother would also soon join the church.

While Greenwich Village may have been the “hub” of the NY13 outreach, it was far from the only location. In

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the Harlem community of Manhattan—eight miles north of Romeo’s church but a world apart—Ella Smith Simmons, a noted educator and a general vice president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, conducted a four-week outreach of her own.

Simmons began the “My Whole Life Matters” outreach on the evening of June 7 at the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church in the center of Harlem. That morning she spoke to the church members, many of whom would take an active part in the campaign.

Simmons told the church members that the outreach series—running Saturday through Wednesday evenings— was designed to offer hope at a time encouragement is needed: “Jesus can comfort us . . . whose hearts have been broken,” she said in the morning sermon. “Your conscience can be cleansed. There is only One who can take away our guilt.”

Separately, a single week of outreach meetings—widely advertised, suffused with prayer, and presented by

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K E L L N E R A .

M A R K B Y P H O T O S

Above: WELCOME TO THE FELLOWSHIP: A family of five, joined

by Seventh-day Adventist pastors including Ted Wilson, pause after their baptism during the NY13 event. Left: SIMMONS SPEAKS: Ella Smith Simmons, veteran educator and evangelist, conducted a campaign during NY13 at the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church in New York’s famed Harlem community.

a guest speaker imported from Seoul—marked the NY13 outreach of Korean-American Seventh-day Adventists in the greater New York City area. At least 50 people have signed up for further Bible studies designed to lead to baptism, local Adventist leaders said.

Culturally sensitive and presented in a manner to which other Koreans can relate, the nightly meetings began June 17 and featured pastor Dae Sung Kim, president of the Korean Union Conference in Seoul. Preceding Pastor Kim, 10 young Adventists from the Republic of Korea spent three months in New York City helping to prepare for the event.

Among the 10 volunteer missionaries from the Republic of Korea, the experience of working in New York has already changed one life. Sulgi Park, age 21, is a major in multicultural and English communications at church-owned Sahmyook University in Seoul. Her three months in America ended on July 1, but the impact of her trip will remain, she said.

“This totally changed my life,” Park said, after describing weeks of holding Bible studies with young KoreanAmerican adults and guiding them toward greater participation in the church. “I want to live my whole life as a missionary now.”

One area Adventist pastor also endorsed the NY13 outreach: “I think NY13 is the beginning of something that ought to continue. One of the things that I find exciting about the group of pastors that I’m working with is that the camaraderie is real. I have also found when churches work together, members become more excited about the project, because unity of leadership leads to unity of membership,” Cameron Bowen, pastor of the Elim and Mount Moriah churches, told the Atlantic Union Gleaner. Bowen brought two candidates for baptism and also participated in the baptismal ceremony. N

MISSION to the CITIES

A

fter the evangelistic meetings of NY13, Mission to the Cities evangelism will be held in cities chosen by the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s 13 world divisions.

Occurring in the latter part of 2013 and in the spring of 2014, this evangelism will be followed by meetings in 130 union-chosen cities in 2014. Also, 500 conferences, missions, and fields will lay plans to reach their cities before the 2015 General Conference (GC) session.

Some of the cities include Lagos, Moscow, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Hamburg, Sydney, London, and Mumbai. Two cities, Tokyo and Manila, have started their campaigns.

Tokyo, Japan The Northern Asia-Pacific Divison (NSD) chose Tokyo, a city with a population of 13 million. According to Suk Hee Han, communication director for NSD, it’s also one of the least evangelized.

Between September 7 and October 6, 2013, seven evangelistic meetings are planned: four in Japanese, one each in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. Kwang Eui Hong, a NSD revivalist, Kwon JohngHaeng, NSD evangelism coordinator, and other departmental directors visited the churches in the Tokyo area to help with revival meetings, training, and seminars.

The top 2 percent of Metro Manila’s leaders of government, industry, finance, and entertainment are within Manila’s central business district. More than one-third of Metro Manila’s population lives within its expanding slums.* “These residents need to hear the message too.”

SSD is partnering with the North Philippine Union Conference, the Central Luzon Conference, and the South-Central Luzon Conference to bring “Hope for Metro Manila: iCARE” (the slogan for the evangelistic effort). Venn says they are implementing a threepronged approach: Integrated Lifestyle Evangelism, a family-to-family approach using “care groups,” intercessory prayer, sharing The Great Hope and other literature, acts of kindness, and community service. Presently care groups are using the WIN! Wellness curriculum developed by John and Millie Youngberg and Wes Youngberg.

Initiatives to Serve the Elite include family and marriage enrichment seminars, and health and longevity programs.

What’s NEXT? “Jesus@Tokyo” is the slogan for Tokyo 13. Norihiko Hanada, Japan Union Conference evangelism coordinator, says that 70 percent of the Japanese members have been led to the church by family members and friends. “It is only natural that the union places an emphasis on its network of members,” explains Han. Organizers of Tokyo 13 encourage members to contact past participants of Vacation Bible School and Pathfinders, people they have met through the HisHands project, as well as the Great Controversy Project.

“Evangelism in Japan is very difficult, but nothing is impossible with the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit,” says Masumi Shimada, president of the Japan Union Conference.

Manila, Philippines In the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD), Manila was selected. According to E. Douglas Venn, director of Adventist Mission in SSD, there are three main challenges. The first is reaching the masses. Manila’s metropolitan area is made up of 16 cities with a population of more than 11 million. “In addition,” explains Venn, “reaching the elite in this city area will be difficult.”

P H O T O

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Left: JESUS@TOKYO: Promotional card for Mission to Cities evangelism in Tokyo, Japan Right: CIRCLE OF PRAYER: Organizers of the Jesus@Tokyo evangelistic campaign pray during a planning session.

Adventist professionals are being prepared to reach their peers.

Various centers of influence will include vegetarian restaurants and health food stores. Ten new church planting projects have been funded by the GC’s extraordinary tithe funds.

Initiatives to Reach the Poor involve providing job training and home industries, livelihood workshops, and free health and dental screenings. Adventist youth and young adults will be instrumental in serving the poor through the SSD’s One Year in Mission program. N * www.futurarc.com/index.cfm/projects-2013/2013-manila-city-profile/.

To learn more go to manila2014.org, www.thegreathope.asia; or follow them on Facebook at OneYearInMissionSSD.

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L E A D E R S H I P I N T E RV I E W

You LEAN on the LORD

Adventist World editor Bill Knott and General Conference ministerial associate secretary Anthony Kent talk with Pastors Ted Wilson and Mark Finley about the involvement of leaders in public witness KNOTT: Pastor Wilson, there are easier places to preach an evangelistic series than in New York City’s Lower Manhattan. How did you make the decision to create the time in your schedule to preach a full-message evangelistic series?

WILSON: It almost seemed a message from the Lord to me.

And if you believe the counsel from the Lord about the mission given to all of us, you can’t just ask others to do what the Lord intends from all of us. But public preaching is just one facet of the initiative we’re calling Mission to the Cities. The Spirit of Prophecy is very clear that many different efforts—centers of influence, churches, young people, community service, gospel media, publications, and preaching—all need to work together to create a sustained outreach to our big cities. Public evangelism is simply the periodic reaping opportunity for what these vital efforts sow. As I was thinking about the needs of New York City, I reread Ellen White’s counsels about that city being a focal point of urban outreach. New York City is just the right place to initiate the worldwide Mission to the Cities effort.

Interestingly, I ended up preaching a three-week series this June in the same church in which I first served as a young ministerial intern in 1971. And even more remarkably, one of the young adults who worked with us in 1971 is now pastor of that church!

KNOTT: Public evangelism is often called a “reaping event,” but it sounds as though this series was a “energizing event,” too—a chance to put a flag in the ground and

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TED WILSON

BILL KNOTT

launch a new way of doing things. Was that part of what church leadership had in mind with NY13 (New York ’13)?

FINLEY: NY13 isn’t just an event. Church leadership sees

NY13 as a process—an extended, sustainable way of reaching an urban community for Christ. As a result the local conferences, the Atlantic Union, the North American Division, and the General Conference have focused on New York City for more than a year. Take Elder Wilson’s meetings in Lower Manhattan, for example. We began with a major weekend at Hunter College in January to inspire members and form prayer groups. Hundreds of members were trained to be actively involved in small groups, lay evangelism, personal witness, and conducting Bible studies.

There was a massive health outreach to the city as well.

Young people joined in the program. NY13 wasn’t an event that culminated in Elder Wilson’s series, but a P H O T O S

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MISSION to the CITIES

spiritually revived. So we focused on prayer, Bible study, and spiritual renewal. 2. Churches grow when members are equipped and trained for service in harmony with their gifts. So we offered training programs to help believers use their spiritual gifts—opening Scripture with others; teaching about physical health; building strong families; organizing prayer ministries. 3. Churches that make an impact on the community are actively involved in the community. The more contact church members have with their communities, the more people they’re going to win for Jesus. 4. Churches need reaping events to gather in the harvest. Reaping events are intended to give men and women a chance to hear the Word of God directly and make decisions to follow Jesus. 5. Churches that plan for the harvest actually keep what is harvested. We said, “We don’t want to ‘dip them and drop them.’ ” We want to immerse them and instruct them. Churches grow when faith is nurtured and discipleship is taught. Everything we tried in NY13 and everything that will be attempted in the global Mission to the Cities program grows from those five principles.

a Lot MARK FINLEY

KNOTT: Those five principles would be true in every great world city, but the plans that emerge from them will probably look different in Harare [Zimbabwe] than they do in Manila [Philippines].

WILSON: Every great world city is really a collection of many

ANTHONY KENT

transformative program to train and stimulate local Adventist churches and members to get actively involved in sharing their faith.

KENT: When you look at all the wonderful things that happened in the first phase of NY13, what do you think can be replicated in other cities? Is Mission to the Cities basically one program that will be implemented everywhere, or will leaders in other cities adjust parts of the program to match needs in their region?

FINLEY: We built our plan on what we called “five eternal

principles.” These eternal principles are valid everywhere and always, but the specific applications will be different in other cities and unique cultures. We asked, “What is eternal in time? What is true everywhere?” We framed our approach in five maxims. 1. Churches grow when they’re

smaller communities, and the church is dependent on the knowledge and insight of members in those smaller communities for what will work best in their region. But some specific practices are also useful everywhere. Put simply— cooperation always grows the kingdom! Close cooperation among members who are spiritually revitalized, as well as close cooperation among area churches in those city sections, always brings more people to Jesus. Each of the church’s administrative units—each conference, union conference, and division—depends on the wisdom and the witness of local congregations. You can’t just fly over with a gospel blimp and drop leaflets on a city to “reach it for Jesus”! We saw comprehensive, mutually supporting ministries working together in a thrilling way in NY13. We saw congregations embracing each other to work the harvest field together. For the first time in recent history, the Greater New York and Northeastern conferences came together on the last Sabbath of June in a combined camp meeting with mission as the focus. It was electrifying! Church members were clearly enthused and energized. NY13, coordinated by the Atlantic Union, brought an enormous amount of spiriOctober 2013 | Adventist World - nad

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tual momentum to a massive city whose needs require just that kind of cooperative effort.

KNOTT: I hear in this an implicit call to leaders on every level, saying, “Lead by example. Be out front.”

FINLEY: When leaders commit themselves and their sched-

KENT: Pastor Wilson, you have a big job to do. It’s no small thing to step onto a public stage to proclaim Christ and the three angels’ messages. I’m sure there was stress and pressure placed on you. Where did you turn for support? And what would you say to other evangelists who sometimes wonder if the price for doing this kind of work is too high?

WILSON: Jesus never asks to do anything that He doesn’t

ules to public witness, it sends a message that we’re placing priority on mission now—that the church is all about mission. Far more important than the number of people that will be baptized in NY13 of New York is the focus placed for the members and pastors on mission. That focus will keep energizing them for years to come. And there’s another aspect to this. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been emphasizing revival and reformation. Where does revival lead? Where does reformation lead? To a deepening prayer life, a deepening Bible study life. It leads to a desire to win the lost for Christ. Mission to the Cities takes the focus off of us, and puts it on Christ’s mission to lost people in the cities—reaching them by developing relationships with them, reaching them by touching their lives and meeting their needs, reaching them through a broadly based comprehensive effort to share the gospel with them.

The principles that were put into practice in NY13 will be just as valid—and just as effective—in Tokyo and Manila and São Paulo and Moscow. God is doing a special work right now for the great cities of the world, and it’s an exciting time to be partnering with His mission. N

give us the grace and strength to accomplish. Evangelists everywhere follow Christ’s example, and the gospels tell us He expended Himself in preaching and healing people.

When you’re out on His mission, you lean on the Lord a lot: He promises wisdom when we need it. And you lean on the experts to whom God has given great experience and insight. Who could wish for evangelistic series coordinators better than Mark Finley and Robert Costa? These two men did incredible things. My job was really one of the lesser jobs. And the support from church members was so important: they came out and supported the evangelistic campaign night after night. When you preach the message with that kind of encouragement, the preacher gets reconverted and reenergized every night!

Revealing God’s

CHARACTER

By Ellen G. White

The importance of living Christ’s message to the world God chose Israel to reveal His character to [humanity]. He desired them to be as wells of salvation in the world. To them were committed the oracles of heaven, the revelation of God’s will.

In the early days of Israel the nations of the world, through corrupt practices, had lost the knowledge of God. They had once known Him; but because “they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but

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became vain in their imaginations, . . . their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom. 1:21).

Yet in His mercy God did not blot them out of existence. He purposed to give them an opportunity of again becoming acquainted with Him through His chosen people. Through the teachings of the sacrificial service, Christ was to be uplifted before all nations, and all who would look to Him should live. . . .

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God’s glory must be revealed, His word established. Christ’s kingdom must be set up in the world. The salvation of God must be made known in the cities of the wilderness; and the disciples were called to do the work that the Jewish leaders had failed to do.

The passage is taken from The Acts of the Apostles (pp. 14-16).

Seventh-day Adventists believe Ellen G. White (1827-1915) exercised the biblical gift of prophecy during more than 70 years of public ministry.

A D V E N T I S T

L I F E

MISSION to the CITIES

Lending a

HAPPY HAND

By Sandra Blackmer

L

arge-scale evangelistic meetings, satellite programs that reach millions of viewers, and citywide outreach endeavors certainly play a notable and stirring role in the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s mission to share the gospel message with the world. The Holy Spirit has worked through these efforts to win countless numbers of individuals for Christ’s kingdom, and for that we praise God. Going to “all the world” to reach people “where they are,” however, often requires an approach different from extensive, wide-ranging events; sometimes it takes one-onone encounters and helping men and women with simple, basic needs.

Such is the premise of Happy Hand—a 2,368-square-foot (220-square-meter) secondhand store first established in May 2012 in the heart of Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen. This shop does much more than sell castoff clothes—it’s changing lives and providing hope to hundreds in that community and beyond.

Not Just a Thrift Shop

Happy Hand shatters the stereotypical thrift-shop image with its appealing décor, high-quality merchandise, and, most surprising, crys-

tal-like chandeliers. Its striking appearance and superior secondhand goods, though, are not its only draws; instead, customers say it’s the peaceful, spiritual atmosphere and the caring workers that bring them in.

“People come into the shop and say, ‘I can feel peace here,’” says Anne-May Müller, Family Ministries director for the Danish Union and volunteer for the Happy Hand project. “Often we sit down and talk and even pray together.

But we had no idea when we started this project that people would be so willing to discuss spiritual matters.”

Comfortable chairs and small tables are set strategically throughout the shop, and refreshments such as hot teas, cold drinks, fruit, and cookies are provided. Plaques displaying Bible texts and encouraging quotes line the walls. A small box set next to pieces of paper and pens so customers can write and submit prayer requests rests on a table. In a back room two more chairs and a table fill the small space for private conversations with a pastor, who comes once a week on Pastor’s Day. A store poster advertises this service, and individuals can sign up to make appointments. Bibles and other literature are offered free to those who are interested. And the insignia on the

Top: A BUSY PLACE: The shop’s downtown location brings in a large cliental. Inset: HAPPY HAND: The Adventist-run secondhand store is located in the heart of Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen.

front window—“The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Happy Hand”— leaves no doubt as to which denomination is supporting the program.

“The shop provides opportunities for our pastors and church members to make contacts with people and invite them to events and evangelistic meetings,” Müller says. “It allows us to develop and nurture relationships with those in the community.”

The enticing atmosphere didn’t happen by chance. Wanting to “do it right,” the Happy Hand board hired a professional in product branding.

“He helped us brand the shop regarding its name, its mission—every

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A D V E N T I S T

L I F E

detail that would brand it for the church members, the public, and the core group of volunteers working with the project,” Müller explains. “Then we renovated the place. It wasn’t in good shape when we first came in, but now it has nice chandeliers and furniture. People can come in and sit down on chairs and couches—which is an important part of the project. We want them to use the shop as a place to find peace, to rest and take a break.

We have conversations with them, and we find them eager to have a chat and to be prayed for—even in secular, postmodern Copenhagen. . . .

“We want the shop to live up to its name, Happy Hand: we strive to make it a happy place where we share happiness and joy with people in need; and it’s a happy place for us because we’re able to help others.”

The team also organizes numerous community activities and service programs connected to the shop, such as weekly prayer meetings; Bible studies; mini-concerts; seminars focusing on strengthening marriages, rearing children, and creation and evolution; and tutorials for school children.

“The community is multicultural and we have a lot of immigrants,” Müller says. “Many of the parents aren’t well equipped to help their children with their homework. So every Tuesday children 10 to 15 years old can come and be part of the tutorial program.

Young university students and a few teachers are heading that program.”

“Another new program,” she adds, “is seminars on how to deal with depression, anxiety, anger—all those kind of things—taught by young psychologists. So the shop is much more than a shop. It helps us make contacts with the community and organize all kinds of projects. Because of this shop, I believe we have more contact with people than most other churches in Denmark do.”

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Above: STRIKING APPEARANCE: Happy Hand shatters the stereotypical thrift-shop image with its appealing décor, high-quality merchandise, and chandeliers. Left: FEEDING THE BODY: Refreshments such as hot teas, cold drinks, fruit, and cookies are provided.

A Mix of Volunteers

The 30 volunteers who assist in the shop range widely in age from the mid-teens to those in their 70s, and about one third of them are not Adventists. Another one third Müller describes as inactive or on-the-fringe members. This diversity, she says, is both positive and a challenge.

“With a mix of conservative Adventists, fringe members, and non-Adventists, it’s sometimes difficult to help them all work together in a positive way. Challenges arise, and you have to be very caring and loving in order to sort these things out. But we’re all united in mission, and that keeps us working well together,” she says.

“Mostly the mix provides an excellent opportunity to establish relationships with those outside our church and discuss spiritual things. When we first opened the shop, people would walk in and say, ‘This is a nice shop. Can I work here?’ We didn’t have enough church volunteers to run the store, so that provided an opportunity to come to know and work with others.”

One woman who Müller says rarely attended church began working weekly at Happy Hand, and now she

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comes to worship services almost every Sabbath.

“I don’t think anyone talked to her and asked her why she wasn’t coming to church. She just now feels part of the church’s mission by being part of this project. We’re doing something she can relate to.”

Money for Mission

Church members and others in the community donate the items sold in the shop. Unlike the other church-run secondhand stores in the city, however, whose profits aid their denominations’ operating budgets, money raised through Happy Hand funds international and local missions. Through Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Happy Hand donates to such projects as refugee homes in Burundi and well drilling in waterdeprived regions. Closer to home, the team feeds and clothes the homeless.

“We can’t invite the homeless into the shop to feed them because it’s complicated to run a soup kitchen there—and we don’t have kitchen facilities,” Müller notes. “So we fill a van we borrow from ADRA with a lot of warm clothes and pack bags with

MISSION to the CITIES fresh fruit such as oranges and apples along with granola bars and a drink.

We also take toiletries: a toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant—stuff like this. We then drive to the shelters. One shelter is for women—mainly prostitutes, drug addicts, alcoholics. We knock on the door and say, ‘We’re here,’ and those who want something come out to the van. They are so happy to see us. Then we go to the men’s shelter.’”

Müller sometimes takes her four young sons with her to the shelters.

She describes the experience as lifechanging for them and valuable training for future service.

“They love it,” she says. “They enjoy seeing the smiles on the people’s faces and those who seem so happy just to be given something as simple as a hat.” The shelter residents also are delighted to visit with the children. Many of them

have children of their own, Müller says, but rarely get to see them.

“They thank me for bringing the boys,” she says, “particularly because my kids aren’t afraid of them.”

A Two-Way Window

A metaphor that comes to Müller’s mind when relating the mission of Happy Hand is a window through which “people can look into the church and see that there are happy people here; that we’re not so weird and there’s nothing to be scared of. But we also want to be a window through which the church can look into the world and see what it is like ‘out there’; to see what it means to be an Adventist Christian and do mission in this world, in this country where we live.”

For those Adventist churches that are feeling called to begin some type of ministry in their communities but are concerned about their chances of

success, Müller counsels them to “take the leap.”

“We’ve found that people really need other people in their lives, and they’re longing for authentic relationships, for authentic people to love them.

“After all, this is our mission. This is what we’re called to do.” N Some 2,500 Adventists worship each Sabbath in Denmark amid its overall population of 5.6 million people— about 1 million of which reside in the greater Copenhagen area.

For more information about Happy Hand, e-mail Berit Elkjaer at berit.e@ mail.dk or Anne-May Müller at annemay.muller@adventist.dk.

Sandra Blackmer is an assistant editor of Adventist World.

By Gary Krause

Launchpads for WHOLISTIC MINISTRY A hundred years ago Ellen White spoke of an innovative mission idea. She wanted to see in every city Seventh-day Adventist centers—which she called “centers of influence”1—that would connect church members with their communities. They would serve as urban launchpads for Christ’s method of ministry: mingling, showing sympathy, ministering to needs, winning confidence, and bidding people to follow Him.2 She wrote, “In large cities there are certain [people] who cannot be reached by public meetings.”3 Happy Hand in Copenhagen is one example. It is part of a rapidly growing network of twenty-first-century urban centers of influence—supported by the Office of Adventist Mission— that are impacting communities around the world.4 They show Jesus’ love in wholistic, practical ways, ministering to people physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. They lead people to Jesus and to the Adventist Church. Ellen White envisioned

vegetarian restaurants, treatment rooms, lifestyle education, and small-group meetings. Today they can also provide tutoring, counseling, health care, youth activities, English as a second language—whatever it takes to connect with people and help the community.

Centers of influence translate truth into action.

For more information about centers of influence, visit www.MissiontotheCities.org.

1 Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 7, p. 115.

2 Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), p.

143.

3 Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1915), p. 364.

4 Many, but not all, are called Life Hope Centers.

Gary Krause is director of Adventist Mission.

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N A D F E AT U R E

Our Ministry toNative A

Bridging cultural d

By Ed Dunn

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n July 13, 2013, the First Nations Seventh-day Adventist Church on the Six Nations reserve just west of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, celebrated 115 years of ministry. It is one the oldest Adventist churches in Canada. It was constructed in 1897 with the permission of the reserve’s chief after a colporteur sold Adventist books and held evangelistic meetings in the Native American community.

From that congregation two young men went to Battle Creek, Michigan, to learn how to do Bible work. They ended up spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to other communities.

The aboriginal people of North America are called First Nations, Inuit, and Métis in Canada, American Indian and Alaska Natives in the United States.

We welcomed the fleeing, persecuted pilgrims from Europe and helped them survive the first few harsh winters. We shared our land and taught them to grow potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and other foods native to this continent.

We did our part in fulfilling Bible prophecy as we shared our resources to protect the woman as she fled religious persecution (Rev. 12:14-17).

Our people helped with the Underground Railroad that helped move escaped slaves north to freedom.

Recent research shows that many aboriginal peoples of North America observed the seventh-day Sabbath, and in many tribes the number seven

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HISTORIC BUILDING: The Six Nations Church, near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, celebrated 115 years of ministry in 2013.

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WORKING TOGETHER: The Mamawi Atosketan Native School in Ponoka, Alberta, Canada, serves students from the Cree Nation.

e Americans differences with the gospel has special significance today.

Today we live on rural reservations (U.S.) and reserves (Canada), and in every large city in North America.

Our population in the United States is approximately 5.2 million (1.7 percent of the population). In Canada we number 1.4 million (4.3 percent of the population). We value harmony, sharing, and respect. We believe our Creator placed us here to take care of the land and its resources. We suffered our own hardships as some of the new immigrants took advantage of our generosity and imposed the residential school legacy. But

the Creator still is drawing His aboriginal people to share in His heavenly heritage.

Following are examples of the Creator’s blessings to our Native Adventists.

Education

Mamawi Atosketan Native School is a K-11 all-Native American education facility located in central Alberta, Canada. Mamawi Atosketan means “working together” in Cree. It is the largest Native American Seventh-day Adventist-operated school in the North American Division (NAD). Last

year its enrolment was 175 students from the surrounding Cree nations of Samson, Louis Bull, Ermineskin, and Montana. With the dedication and commitment of the principal and staff, the school has a waiting list of students who want to attend.

The Alberta Conference will soon erect another building for the upper grades, so Mamawi Atosketan will be a full 12-grade academy. Its goal is to provide quality Christian education to prepare the aboriginal young people to be leaders in their communities and churches (www.an6440.adventist schoolsconnect.org).

Holbrook Seventh-day Adventist Indian School is a boarding academy in Holbrook, Arizona. For 50 years it has been a place Native American children learn in a loving, accepting, and safe environment (www.hissda.org).

Worship

Randy Elliott is a First Nations pastor in Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Between 70 and 90 people worship at a beautiful Adventist church each Sabbath. Elliott’s wife, Cheryl, operates a successful, community supported food bank and thrift store. Elliott is known as the community pastor, and he gets requests for more Bible studies with community people than he can do himself.

Health Ministry

NATIVE MOTIF: The Native Adventist Church in Port Hardy, Vancouver, Canada, is home to nearly 100 worshipers every week.

Our Health and Healing Center opened its doors in Monument Valley, Utah, before it was completely finished. A woman had just been diagnosed with stage-four cancer, and her doctors gave her only two months to live. Her sister had heard about our Health and Healing Center, and she encouraged her to come.

The woman was there four weeks, faithfully following the program outlined for her. She started feeling better.

She actually felt the tumors getting smaller. Some she couldn’t feel at all.

At the end of the session she returned

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N A D F E AT U R E home for another cancer evaluation.

All the tumors had decreased in size by at least half. Many of them disappeared altogether. Her doctor was totally amazed and told her to keep up her program.

She was baptized the last weekend of her stay at the Health and Healing Center. She is continuing to follow the laws of health, and expects one day to be completely free from the disease.

The goal has been to begin a training program for Native American young people, teaching them how to use the right arm of the health message to win people to Jesus. With this in mind, the Health and Healing Center is open for guests of all nations.

Young people work closely with Pastor Charlie Whitehorse, visiting people, studying the Bible with them, assisting with meetings, and helping in churches across the reservation (www.monumentvalleymission.com).

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HEALTH SERVICE: The Health and Healing Center in Monument Valley, Utah, offers physical and spiritual healing to members of the Navajo Nation.

Outreach

Native American Youth Ministry Team: Peter Ford, who pastors at Hobbema, Alberta, Canada and is a chaplain at Mamawi Atosketan Native School, has formed a youth ministry team. They travel to reserves in several Canadian provinces to run Vacation Bible Schools, community projects, Bible studies, and more. The team is composed mostly of university students from Canadian University College and has had some awesome experiences as they travel and work in First Nation

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communities helping support existing Adventist ministry and starting new work.

Natives With a Mission (NWAM) is an initiative of the North American Division Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ministries Department. The goal of the program is to train Native American youth to experience the joys of sharing Christ with children of Native American nations during the summer season.

This year a team of 10 arrived in Plummer, Idaho, to the warm wel-

come of the Coeur d’Alene tribal host Louie Mahoney, who is not a Seventh-day Adventist but has fallen in love with the members and the mission of NWAM. He hosted the group for the third year.

When they arrived this year, Mahoney was watching 3ABN and later expressed interest in starting an NWAM group for Coeur d’Alene youth.

Oklahoma Native Ministries. Each summer Oklahoma Native Ministries conducts Native American camp. As many as 100 non-Adventist Native American children, ages 7-17, attend diabetes prevention camp. In addition to health and regular summer camp activities, Native American elders play stickball with the campers, tell stories, and lead out in crafts.

This summer, after six years of camp, the Seminole chief invited Jim Landelius, director of Oklahoma Native Ministries, to the January intertribal council meeting.

During Oklahoma camp meeting, the youth (ages 16-18) go into the community of Seminole, where they have repainted park equipment, mowed lawns, and passed out copies of The Desire of Ages and other books.

After the Moore, Oklahoma, tornado, Oklahoma Native Ministries sent a team to help with cleanup, handed out supplies for workers and victims, and provided a mobile refreshment station.

Oklahoma Native Ministries is partnering with area churches to bring Florida Hospital’s CREATION Health to their communities, reimbursing some of the expenses of seminars conducted for the Native American community (www.oklahomaadventist.org).

Lives Touched and Changed

The Navajo Nation near Page, Arizona, a tribal landmass about equal in size to West Virginia, is home to approximately 450,000 Native Americans. Diné Outreach, a

ministry founded by Allen Fowler, is dedicated to reaching the Navajo Nation for Jesus.

Seth, a Bible worker, gives close to 40 separate Bible studies to individuals and groups on the reservation. One of Seth’s students, whose father is pastor of the Full Gospel Baptist Church, suggested that Seth give Bible studies to his church members. However, before the pastor would allow Seth to give studies to his congregation, he wanted Seth to give him a Bible study in his home. They studied Daniel 2.

The next week the pastor asked Seth to start giving Bible studies to the entire congregation!

Jose Quezada is a Bible worker in northern Canada among the Inuit. He works in several communities near Iqaluit. He does health expos, gives Bible studies, and has a regular radio program, where he preaches the good news of God’s saving grace.

Zanna Ove produces a health magazine called Radiant Native Health, which she sends to approximately 150 Canadian First Nation reserve health centers across Canada, and some in the U.S. On the back page of the publication is an enrollment card for Native New Day Bible studies. Ove reports that every week she receives requests for the Bible studies from all over North America.

Yvonne is an Alaska Native from the village of Ruby on the Yukon River.

As she studied the Bible, searching for a better walk with her Creator, the Alaska Conference sent out Native New Day Bible study enrollment cards to all the Native American villages in Alaska.

Yvonne received one of these cards and ordered the Bible study guides and started study-

ON A MISSION: Natives With a Mission (NWAM) form teams to serve communities in a variety of outreach roles.

DISASTER RESPONSE: Oklahoma Native Ministries brought hands and hearts to the efforts to restore order after a tornado hammered Moore, Oklahoma.

N A D F E AT U R E ing with a friend. Yvonne wanted to help her people, so she and her friend organized a program to collect food and deliver it by small plane to people in remote locations.

Yvonne was baptized in the Fairbanks church and expanded her mission to reach every village on the Yukon River for Jesus. She can enter almost any village in interior Alaska, since many of the tribes know her or her family. She holds health expos, Vacation Bible Schools, and prophecy seminars. Already the village of Tetlin has expressed a desire for the Seventh-day Adventist church to be part of the community.

INUIT BAPTISM: Jose Quesada celebrates Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activity in the lives of two individuals who responded to his teaching ministry.

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new initiatives to reach into Native American communities with culturally appropriate resources.

Prayer, funds, and personal involvement; assisting with local projects such as health fairs, prophecy and health seminars, social issues, Vacation Bible Schools, buildings; helping people help themselves. We need an aboriginal training college and volunteers who will move to Native American communities and be frontline gospel workers.

May the Creator of all things bless us all as long as the sun rises, the grass grows, and rivers ďŹ&#x201A;ow. N

A Living Legacy

The Creator has not forgotten His aboriginal people of North America, and neither has the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church has committed funds and personnel, and is making

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Ed Dunn is director of Native American ministries for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada.

The

Adventist Story SOUTH AMERICAN

DIVISION

s God ountiful ’

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By Silvia Scholtus Roscher

Care

The beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church i

R

eading about the beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America brings to mind the words of the hymn “O Worship the King”: “Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?”1 As I have found out, however, few of those providential stories were written down for future generations.

The circumstances that allowed for the spreading of the blessed hope in South America are as rich and varied as is the contribution of every person of this continent who decides to become one of God’s people.2 The Lord uses the most diverse means to accomplish His purpose: a piece of literature, a casual encounter, a dream, a healing miracle, a testimony of faith.

The following three stories make up just a few links of the encompassing set of circumstances that contributed to the explosive growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America.

Before the Beginning

In the mid-nineteenth century various ethnic groups from Europe were migrating to South America. As those new immigrants exchanged letters with their relatives in Europe, they started receiving literature and news about the Seventhday Adventist message being shared in their home countries.

Thus, before the arrival of the first Seventh-day Adventist missionaries to the southern continent, God was preparing the way, creating a growing interest for the message of the Adventist hope. Years later, when the first foreign missionaries arrived, those first interests stepped forward to assist them as interpreters and helped them spread the gospel in the region.

A Strange Intervention

Sometime in the 1880s or 1890s, in Santa Catarina, Brazil, Carlos Dreefke got a package of German magazines

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from the United States. Since he had not requested any literature, he at first rejected the package. His neighbor, David Hort, however, encouraged him to open it, and the magazines were soon shared and read among the local settlers.

Interestingly, the arrival of Adventist literature was directly connected with the decision of Carlos’ stepson to travel to the United States as a stowaway on a German ship some months before. Seventh-day Adventist missionaries in the United States who were interested in sharing the gospel in the German settlements in southern Brazil gave the stepson Bible studies, secured his stepfather’s name and address, and sent Carlos Dreefke the package of magazines.

A growing interest in that literature prompted several immigrants to subscribe to the magazine.

Guillermo Belz, from Gaspar Alto, received Uriah Smith’s book Gedanken über dar Buch Daniel (Thoughts on the Book of Daniel). After studying the Bible, several families began to keep the Sabbath. Thus they got acquainted with the blessed hope before a single Seventh-day Adventist missionary stepped onto the southern continent.

A Baptism Thousands of Miles Away

In the town of Felicia, in Santa Fe, Argentina, several Swiss French Baptist settlers began keeping the Sabbath in 1885, well before any missionary visited them, once more as a result of a “strange” set of circumstances.

One day they read in a newspaper they received from Switzerland about an Adventist baptism in Lake Neuchâtel.

The story also mentioned the magazine Les Signes des Temps (Signs of the Times), and soon Julio Dupertuis and his wife, Ida, asked their Baptist pastor to get them a subscription. At first their pastor was reluctant, but they insisted to the point that he relented.

Far Left: FAMILY CONNECTIONS: The family of Julio and Ida Dupertuis became Adventists as a result of reading copies of Signs of the Times they received from Switzerland.

INTRODUCED IN A DREAM: Victor Thomann (left) dreamed about two men reading Psalm 103. When he heard Bishop (center) and Davis (right) reading from their Spanish Bibles, he knew his dream had come true.

h in South America

Adventist literature in Spanish, not only in Chile but also in Peru and Bolivia. Eduardo was in charge of the first Adventist printing press in the southern continent, which was eventually moved to Argentina to launch what is now the South American Spanish Publishing House.

The Story Goes On

After receiving the magazines and studying the Bible, the Dupertuis family was persuaded about Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. They began to share their newfound faith with their neighbors. For more than a century now, members of the Dupertuis, Arn, Mathieu, Dobanton, and Pidoux families have been spreading the message of the Adventist hope in Argentina and elsewhere.

A Providential Solution

One setback against spreading the gospel in South America was the lack of Adventist literature in the local languages of Portuguese and Spanish. Colporteurs usually sold books in English, French, and German among the immigrant population. But once more God’s providence facilitated the spreading of the blessed message.

Two foreign colporteurs, Frederick Bishop and Thomas Davis, arrived in Santiago, Chile, in 1896. Their task was not easy, since they did not speak a word of Spanish. One day as they walked down a major street in Santiago reading their Bible in Spanish aloud in order to learn the language, Víctor Thomann overheard them.

Víctor had dreamed about two men reading Psalm 103, so he approached them and began to chat. Since Víctor did not know a single word in English, they communicated by exchanging verses from the Bible. As a result, Víctor and his brother Eduardo—who had already been keeping the Sabbath—were eventually baptized. Both brothers began to take part in meetings with other people where the colporteurs were staying. In fact, the colporteurs’ landlady, Prudence Nuñez Balada, the wife of a Protestant pastor, was the first Adventist convert in Chile.

After their baptism Victor and Eduardo Thomann dedicated their lives to printing and spreading Seventh-day

Adventist literature is not the only important means for spreading the Adventist message today. Radio and television broadcasts, as well as the Internet, now complement the contributions of individual faithful believers. God knows no barriers, and His work knows no boundaries.

These three stories are just a few samples of God’s bigger plans for the continent. The Lord’s bountiful care was revealed in countless examples of His providence along the years, which contributed to the exponential growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the region.3 Some of the stories about Adventist pioneers in South America have been recorded, and many more are waiting to be written. Other stories, however, are known only by heaven. In South America Christ’s promise to one of His disciples is still in full force: “You will see greater things than these” (John 1:50).

In spite of all the human and technological resources now available, God’s bountiful care is still present. How wonderful it is to work side by side with God’s Holy Spirit in spreading the message of salvation! May the Lord keep working the miracles of His providence in South America! N 1

The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1985), no. 83.

2 The South American Division comprises Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

3 The South American Division was organized in 1916 with 4,903 members in 88 churches.

Membership now stands well above 2 million, in 11,535 churches.

Silvia Scholtus Roscher teaches theology at River Plate Adventist University, and serves as an editor of the River Plate Adventist University Press in Argentina. She has authored many articles and a book on the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America.

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B I B L E

Q U E S T I O N S

How should we interpret the lists of blessings and curses in the Bible? They give the impression that we should serve God out of fear.

A N S W E R E D

Blessings and Curses

The most important lists of covenant blessings and curses are found in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Blessings and curses are directly associated with the covenant God made with the people of Israel, so they should be interpreted within that context.

1. Covenant Blessings: A covenant is a mutual commitment made between two or more persons or groups. In the case of Israel, God took the initiative, and Israel responded with an oath of loyalty. The covenant is a common biblical metaphor used to describe God’s relationship with His people. This type of relationship is based on promises and mutual trust, and includes obligations and responsibilities. The covenant was rooted in God’s lovingkindness manifested in His deliverance of Israel from the enslaving power of Egypt (Ex. 20:2). Israel’s covenantal relationship with God, their commitment to exclusive faithfulness to Him, was their loving answer to God’s previous goodness toward them. The blessings (e.g., fertility of the Israelites, the land, and the animals; victory over their enemies; prosperity) were God’s promises to them as His covenant partners (Deut. 28:1-14). All covenant blessings flowed out of the initial blessing of redemption from Egypt; therefore, they were embedded in the daily experience of the people. This covenant was grounded in a divine, fundamental promise: “I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people” (Lev. 26:12). The Israelites committed themselves to Him as their only and exclusive covenant God, and to the preservation of the religious and social order established by Him through the covenant law.

They would live within the sphere of His divine blessing.

2. Covenant Curses: Since the covenant assumes a willingness to enter into a relationship, the possibility of weakening or simply breaking the relationship always exists. By listing the covenant curses (e.g., infertility, defeat by enemies, diseases, loss of the land, exile), God was acknowledging that humans could bring the covenant to an end. The fact that the results of such an action are called curses indi-

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cates that God does not ignore what we do as His covenant partners. He cares for us enough to respond or react with an equivalent reaction (verse 21). He takes us seriously!

The curses also function as a deterrent. God emphasizes the evil results of breaking the covenant in order to discourage us from breaking it. Our quality of life is radically damaged when the covenant relationship is broken. From a positive perspective, we could say that the emphasis on curses motivates humans to covenant faithfulness.

Finally, the curses are described as God’s disciplinary activity against disobedience (verses 14, 18, 27). God does not give us up easily.

3. Covenant Blessings and Curses: The juxtaposition of blessings and curses in the covenant relationship presupposes a cosmic order. The biblical world, as ours, was formed by spheres of blessings and curses. The first are experienced within the sphere of the covenant, and the second in the sphere of sin outside the covenant relationship.

Shalom and rest are available only in the covenant Lord, in the world order He established. Theologically speaking, the curses affirm that outside a covenant relationship with the Savior we would experience only inner disruption, chaos, and the constant irruption of death through defeat and suffering. God’s call to seek His blessings and avoid the curses is a dramatic way of speaking about choosing life over death (Deut. 30:19).

The conflict between blessings and curses will come to an end. God promised Israel that even if they were to break the covenant, He would be faithful to it and to His promises of salvation. Forgiveness is always available to covenant breakers (Lev. 26:40-45). God in Christ took the curse upon Himself and freed us from it (Gal. 3:13). We can look forward to when “there shall be no more curse” (Rev. 22:3). N

Angel Manuel Rodríguez was director of the Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference prior to his retirement.

B I B L E

S T U D Y

Revelation ’s

Seven Churches:

By Mark A. Finley

Ephesus

T

his month we will begin a series of Bible studies on Revelation’s seven churches. The messages to these churches applied in John’s day to specific conditions within each church mentioned in Revelation. Of course there were more than seven local Christian congregations in John’s day. These particular congregations were chosen for a purpose. They have special application to the Christian church in succeeding generations. They represent the Christian church on a historical continuum, starting with the first church, Ephesus, and proceeding to the last church, Laodicea.

In this series of short Bible studies we will ask, “What is the Holy Spirit trying to tell me in this passage of Scripture?” Precious truths regarding our own spiritual lives are present in these messages.

1 Who is described in Revelation 1:12-17? Read Revelation 1:18-20. What words of encouragement does He speak to each of the seven churches?

Jesus encourages His people with these hopeful words: “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last” (verse 17). The eternal Christ promises to be with His people in every generation.

He is not some “absentee landlord”; He is with His people. As the old hymn says, “Just when I need Him, Jesus is near.”

2 Read Revelation 2:1. What is Jesus doing? Who are the stars He holds in His hands, and what do the seven golden candlesticks represent? See Revelation 1:20.

Jesus’ church never needs to fear. He is in its midst, holding it in His hands, walking among His people. In spite of the enormous challenges that come to His church, it is secure in His grip and can face the future with confidence.

3 Read Revelation 2:2, 3. What does Christ find in the church of Ephesus to commend?

The word “Ephesus” means desirable. These early Christians labored to the point of exhaustion. They persevered in the face of overwhelming odds. They stood fast in the midst of persecution and protected the church against false doctrine.

They hated the “deeds of the Nicolaitans” (verse 6), a group of radical heretics who taught that love was license and that

obedience to the law was unnecessary. The Ephesian Christians were doctrinally straight and missionary-minded.

4 Read Revelation 2:4. What concerned Christ about the church at Ephesus?

Unfortunately, the church members at Ephesus left their first love. They placed duty before devotion. What they did for Christ became more important than who they were in Christ. Their work for Jesus crowded out knowing Jesus.

5

Read Revelation 2:5. How did Christ counsel them to remedy the situation?

Jesus counseled these church members to do three things: to remember, to repent, and to return.

What do you do when you lose your first love, when your Christian experience goes stale? What do you do when you are merely going through the motions and are locked in formalism? You remember when your heart burned with love for Jesus. You repent and return to the things you did when your Christian experience was fresh and new. You return to spending time with Jesus in Bible study and prayer. You place devotion before duty. You place “being” before “doing,” because who you are in Christ is more important than what you do for Christ. You can “do” without “being,” but you can never “be” without “doing.”

6 Each of the admonitions to the seven churches ends with the expression “to him who overcomes” (Rev. 2:7). Why do you think Jesus ends His instructions to each church this way?

7 Why did Jesus long for the Ephesian Christians to overcome, and what promise did He give them if they overcame?

The New Testament church was filled with people deeply committed to Jesus. It grew and flourished in His love and grace. Christ filled their hearts and transformed their lives. But as time went on duty crowded out devotion. Work for the church overshadowed worship of the living Christ. Echoing down through the ages is this appeal that Christianity is all about knowing Jesus deeply, intimately, and personally. N October 2013 | Adventist World - nad

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IDEA EXCHANGE

n w

Sometimes we think we are alone even though we aren’t. e

— Edjane Brito, Barra de São Miguel, Paraiba, Brazil

s

Letters Life Maps

Gerald A. Klingbeil’s article titled “Life Maps” (July 2013) renewed my desire to be involved in the mission field in northeast Brazil. Sometimes we think we are alone, even though we aren’t.

The advice given in the article was wonderful.

I’m glad to receive the magazine every month. Every article brings us joy. May the Lord keep you and bless you in your work.

Edjane Brito Barra de São Miguel, Paraiba, Brazil The Sweet Singer of Finland

I was delighted to see David Trim’s article “Plans for a Larger Work” (July 2013) about the early trans-European Seventh-day Adventist pioneers. There

Prayer

was, however, a mistake in the Finnish evangelist’s name, Elsa Luukkanen.

Her first name is Elsa, not Else. Luukkanen was an incredible evangelist in Finland. Even though there was only one sentence in the article mentioning her, I’m glad her picture was shown.

Luukkanen has an incredible story that can be found in a book titled Elsa, Sweet Singer of Finland.

Marita McLin Wenatchee, Washington, United States Stronger Than Death

I read the last paragraph of Sylvia Renz’s article titled “Stronger Than Death” (July 2013) three times! Renz’s consolation brought me to tears. Yes, Sylvia made it through, have gone through this suffering, and have found true consolation.

My mother is 89 years old. She often talks about how she thought last night would have been her last and

that God would’ve put her to rest. I encourage her and I tell her that I’m glad it was not her last night.

I love my mother very much. She is my best friend, a woman with whom I’ve shared mutual experiences with God. She is a woman with whom I can laugh, which can be so sweet and golden. I sometimes think, I hope I never lose her, for she is so precious to me and to others.

When God allows her to rest, I want to read that last paragraph again and again. It would comfort me.

Renz describes our faith and hope in wonderful words. Thank you for printing this article.

Waltraud Rühling-Huber Austria Rekindling Revival Flames

When I picked up the January 2013 Adventist World, I saw Alejo Aguilar’s article “Rekindling Revival Flames,” which included a photo of the burning sanitarium in 1902. The article

PRAISE

Our church was destroyed in the January 2010 earthquake. Because of a lack of funds, we cannot continue rebuilding, and we’re worshipping in a tent with more than 400 members. Please join us in praying that we will soon raise money to rebuild the church.

A Church Member, Haiti

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Pray for me. I am in trouble—I feel attacked spiritually and I’ve been searching for a job for a long time.

Ekpendu, Nigeria

Please pray for my friend who has been imprisoned unjustly. Pray that he is freed and that God’s name is glorified.

Linda, Guatemala

Please pray for me. My faith is wavering and I feel a gap between God and me that makes me unable to believe in prayer.

Pray that God may accept and help me.

Joshua, Kenya

Thank you for praying for my family.

We’ve received abundant blessings and answers to prayer. Please pray now for my sister’s health—and pray that she does well on her exams this summer.

Frank, United States

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commandments

5 Happiness for

A N D R E W S U N I V E R S I T Y C E N T E R F O R A D V E N T I S T R E S E A R C H

and photo touched my heart and caused me to consider whether my country, and my church where I am attending now, are functioning with or without the Holy Spirit’s leading.

It is true that “there is nothing more important than allowing the Holy Spirit to realign our lives with biblical values.”

I’ve come to understand that I need to pray and fast more for revival and reformation in my heart, my church, and my country. We should all heed the warning: please, look at our own churches before flames come!

My sincere thanks to God for such a wonderful magazine as Adventist World.

Lalrodinga Myaungmya, Myanmar Letters Policy: Please send to: letters@adventistworld.org.

Letters must be clearly written, 100-word maximum. Include the name of the article and the date of publication with your letter.

Also include your name, the town/city, state, and country from which you are writing. Letters will be edited for space and clarity. Not all letters submitted will be published.

1. Free your heart from hatred (Matt. 5:43-48) 2. Free your mind from worries (Matt. 6:25-34) 3. Live simply (Matt. 6:19-21) 4. Give more (Matt. 5:42) 5. Expect less (Matt. 6:2) —Submitted by Joe Cobb, Greenwood, Mississippi, United States

300 M I L L I O N Dogs have 300 million olfactory cells, 50 times as many as humans. Not only that, a dog’s nose extends from the nostrils to the back of its throat, giving a dog an olfactory area 40 times greater than a human’s.

Source: Smithsonian

Revived by His Word A Journey of Discovery Together Through the Bible God speaks to us through His Word. Join with other believers in more than 180 countries who are reading a chapter of the Bible each day. To download the daily Bible Reading Guide, visit RevivedbyHisWord.org, or sign up to receive the daily Bible chapter by e-mail.

To join this initiative, start here: NOVEMBER 1, 2013 s Psalm 86

Many thanks for the prayers offered on my behalf in the Adventist World office.

I sent in a prayer request for a university scholarship in April 2007, but I did not get any funds. Instead, God used other means to help me get through Bugema University for my first degree.

In July 2012, after five years of waiting, I was awarded a full scholarship for a

master’s degree at the University of Westminster in London. I am finishing in two months. Praise God for the answered prayer after waiting a little longer than I had planned.

Samuel Buol, London, England, originally from South Sudan

The Place of Prayer: Send prayer requests and praise (thanks for answered prayer) to prayer@adventistworld.org. Keep entries short and concise, 50-words or less. Items will be edited for space and clarity. Not all submissions will be printed. Please include your name and your country’s name. You may also fax requests to: 1-301-680-6638; or mail them to Adventist World, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600 U.S.A.

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IDEA EXCHANGE

Y

ears Ago

John Byington, a pioneering member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was born on October 8, 1798. The son of a Methodist preacher, he was involved in lay ministry for several years. He decided to leave the Methodist Episcopal Church when it opposed his anti-slavery activities. He joined the Wesleyan Methodist Connection and helped build a church and parsonage in Morley, New York.

In 1852 Byington came upon a copy of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. Reading articles about the seventh-day Sabbath, he became convicted that the day should be kept holy. He soon began conducting Sabbath meetings in his home and helped to build a church. In 1858 James and Ellen White invited Byington to Battle Creek, where he, along with J. N. Andrews and James White, made plans for the growing Adventist movement. In 1863 Byington accepted the invitation to serve as the first president of the newly organized Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Older than many of the other members of the young denomination, John Byington was affectionately known as “Father Byington.” Until his death in 1887, he served faithfully and generously the cause he loved.

P H O T O

C O U R T E S Y

O F T H E

E L L E N

G .

W H I T E

E S TAT E

Where in the C H U D L E I G H

Is This? orld W

“Behold, I come quickly…”

Our mission is to uplift Jesus Christ, uniting Seventh-day Adventists everywhere in beliefs, mission, life, and hope.

Publisher The Adventist World, an international periodical of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The General Conference, Northern Asia-Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists®, is the publisher.

Executive Publisher and Editor in Chief Bill Knott Associate Publisher Claude Richli International Publishing Manager Chun, Pyung Duk Publishing Board Ted N. C. Wilson, chair; Benjamin D. Schoun, vice chair; Bill Knott, secretary; Lisa Beardsley-Hardy; Daniel R. Jackson; Robert Lemon; Geoffrey Mbwana; G. T. Ng; Daisy Orion; Juan Prestol; Michael Ryan; Ella Simmons; Mark Thomas; Karnik Doukmetzian, legal advisor Adventist World Coordinating Committee Lee, Jairyong, chair; Akeri Suzuki; Kenneth Osborn; Guimo Sung; Chun, Pyung Duk; Han, Suk Hee Editors based in Silver Spring, Maryland Lael Caesar, Gerald A. Klingbeil (associate editors), Sandra Blackmer, Stephen Chavez, Wilona Karimabadi, Mark A. Kellner, Kimberly Luste Maran Contributors to the NAD Edition George Johnson, Lynetta Murdoch, Dan Weber Editors based in Seoul, Korea Chun, Pyung Duk; Chun, Jung Kwon; Park, Jae Man Online Editor Carlos Medley Operations Manager Merle Poirier Editor-at-large Mark A. Finley Senior Advisor E. Edward Zinke Financial Manager Rachel J. Child Editorial Assistant Marvene Thorpe-Baptiste Management Board Jairyong Lee, chair; Bill Knott, secretary; P. D. Chun, Karnik Doukmetzian, Suk Hee Han, Kenneth Osborn, Juan Prestol, Claude Richli, Akeri Suzuki, Ex-officio: Robert Lemon, G. T. Ng, Ted N. C. Wilson Art Direction and Design Jeff Dever, Brett Meliti Consultants Ted N. C. Wilson, Robert E. Lemon, G. T. Ng, Guillermo E. Biaggi, Lowell C. Cooper, Daniel R. Jackson, Geoffrey Mbwana, Armando Miranda, Pardon K. Mwansa, Michael L. Ryan, Blasious M. Ruguri, Benjamin D. Schoun, Ella S. Simmons, Alberto C. Gulfan, Jr., Erton Köhler, Jairyong Lee, Israel Leito, John Rathinaraj, Paul S. Ratsara, Barry Oliver, Bruno Vertallier, Gilbert Wari, Bertil A. Wiklander

G E R R Y

To Writers: We welcome unsolicited manuscripts. Address all editorial correspondence to 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600, U.S.A. Editorial office fax number: (301) 680-6638 E-mail: worldeditor@gc.adventist.org Web site: www.adventistworld.org Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible references are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011

by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Adventist World is published monthly and printed simultaneously in Korea, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Austria, and the United States.

ANSWER: Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States, at the 2009 International Pathfinder Camporee. A Sabbath afternoon baptism gave Pathfinders an opportunity to make a public demonstration of their faith in Christ. Pathfinders from more than 100 countries participated in the 2009 event. Another camporee in Oshkosh is being planned for August, 2014.

Vol. 9, No. 10

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Adventist World - nad | October 2013

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