“Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” Acts 8:17
SECRETARIAT
DECEMBER 12, 2020 | 12:00 P.M. Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church 4409 Pleasantview Dr | Arlington, TX 76017
By David Montoya
W
e begin our report by quoting the prophet Samuel from the Old Testament: “Thus far the Lord has helped us,” 1 Samuel 7:12. These inspired words appropriately summarize our acknowledgment of and gratitude to God for His faithful presence working in us, through us and for us in carrying out His work in Texas. He is our Divine Helper. Hallelujah! After expressing thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father, we are moved to also say “Thank You” to all our church members, locally hired employees, Bible workers, teachers and pastors for your dedicated work in ministry at the local church level. The apostle Paul’s words are fitting: “We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying
6 | THE FLAME |
Biennial Constituency 2021
always for you … since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints,” Colossians 1:3, 4. Family Growth We praise God whenever a person gives his or her life to God and makes this very important decision through baptism or profession of faith. When an individual accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord, he or she is one more precious person who becomes part of the family of God. We are thrilled to share the increase in church family members as shown on the graphs on pages 7 and 8. In addition to those numbers, the average church attendance for 2019 was 18,717. Even though COVID-19 greatly impacted our churches and church members, the average attendance for 2020 was 14,186.
