Seventh-day Adventists (SEC) - Annual Report

MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Guild Hall, Portsmouth University September 5 – 8, 2019

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Editor-in-Chief – Sam O Davies Copy-editing/Proofreading – Catherine Anthony Boldeau and Norma Borrett Design – The Graphic Design House. www.tgdh.co.uk Published by the South England Conference Communication & Media Department

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Session Reports // Contents

Contents 4 12

Photo by Lungani Sibanda

Presidents Report – Emmanuel Osei Executive Secretary’s Report – Douglas McCormac

Departmental Reports: 19 Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA UK) – Bert Smith 21 Adventist Muslim Relations (AMR) – Fergus Owusu-Boateng 25 Adventist Radio London (ARL) – Michael Hamilton 28 Church Growth & Adventist Missions – Wayne Erasmus 34 Communication – Sam O Davies 38 Cornerstone Counselling Service (CCS) – Thembie Mapingire 41 Disability & Diversity – Sophia Nicholls 48 Education – Gina Abbeyquaye 51 Family Ministries – Augustus Lawrence 55 Health Ministries – Chidi Ngwaba 59 Men’s Ministries – Devon Boyd 61 Media – Sam O Davies 64 Ministerial Association – Ebenezer Jones-Lartey 68 Music Ministry – Mike Johnson 72 Pathfinders – Kevin Johns 76 Personal Ministries – Michael Njagi Mbui 79 Prison Ministries – Kevin Johns 82 Prayer Ministries – Veronica Williams 85 Property Development – Steve McKenzie 88 Sabbath School – Michael Njagi Mbui 91 Safeguarding, Children’s & Community Services – Malika Bediako 95 Stewardship – Todd Frias 99 Teens / Chaplaincy & AVS – Juan Carlos Patrick 103 Women’s Ministries – Maslin Holness 107 Youth Ministries – Anthony Fuller Evangelism Everyone Everywhere Strategy Plan is included in the report.

MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

President’s Report Emmanuel Osei

intentionally involved and engaged in soul winning.

According to Dr de Lisser, the theological rationale for this theme is found in the Living Bible rendering of Mark 16:15: ‘And then he told them, “You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.”’

Outcomes and Impact

Richard de Lisser

I

wish to pay special tribute to Dr Richard de Lisser who was elected as President in September 2015.

My appreciation also goes to the members of the Executive Committee for shaping the plans and giving direction to the South England Conference (SEC) during these past 4 years, 2015 – 2019.

The lay members of our Executive Committee have made a great sacrifice in coming out to special evening meetings, as well as giving up their Sundays to accommodate our meetings. I am also grateful to our pastors, Bible workers, departmental directors, support staff, institutional workers and other categories of employees.

In the weeks succeeding the Conference Session, Dr de Lisser and the newly elected Conference team held a series of strategy meetings to plan for the next four years under the theme, Evangelism Everyone Everywhere (EEE). This became the clarion call of the SEC. It is a rallying cry to its members to be

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‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’. This statement echoes Solomon’s sentiments: ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish...’ Proverbs 29:18 (KJV).

In order to fully explore the vision, the Conference set SMART goals to monitor and evaluate the efficacy of our work. The EEE (Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere) strategic plan was introduced at the beginning of the four-year term.

Working with Antonio Belgrave, our Strategic Planning Co-ordinator, each departmental director set out their mission, strategic objectives and targets for the four years. Each of these centred around overarching themes for each year, namely, Revival (2016), Restoration (2017), Reclamation (2017) and Retention (2018). While considering the vision of the conference, we also took into account the recommendations of the Plans Committee, which were:

Session Reports // President’s Report

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Create an effective evaluative process for ministerial workers Inspire prayer and fasting in congregations Raise the profile of giving and church finance Provide more financial support for the Pathfinder Bible Experience Mentor and train church leaders Update the Safeguarding policy Promote the use Creative Ministries for evangelism.

I am pleased to report that through the work of the Ministerial Director, we have developed a new appraisal system for our workers, and this is under constant review to ensure that it complies, not only with legislation, but with best practice, in order to effectively develop the vast skills of our worker-force. Prayer Ministries has regularly spearheaded the prayer and fasting initiatives throughout our conference, including assisting in the development of the Sacred Conversations programme, broadcast regularly on Adventist Radio London. Our Stewardship Director worked hard with our Treasurer to encourage systematic giving by all of our members, and this is evident in the increase of Tithe and Gift Aid. Over the four years, the Pathfinder Bible Experience has expanded exponentially, and it’s wonderful to be able to provide support for an increasing number of clubs who have participated internationally. Each of our directors has regularly provided training for volunteer leaders in their fields, and also mentoring where required. In collaboration with the British Union Conference and the Secretariat, safeguarding policies have been updated in line with government guidelines. Creative initiatives have been utilised in Family Ministries, Men’s Ministries,

Women’s Ministries, Youth and Teens, Community and Children’s and the Disability and Diversity departments, to assist in outreach.

I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of the Directors to fulfil the plans from 2015.

With regard to departmental strategic objectives, each of the directors will highlight how they fulfilled their targets, highlight the positive aspects of their work, discuss some of the challenges that they faced and provide recommendations for the future.

A strategic plan is an organic document that requires constant revision to keep abreast of the changing climate of the world and the church. We are creating processes, policies and procedures to assist in effectively evaluating the way in which we monitor the retention of members from baptism forwards.

Evangelism is our core business and therefore we need to find ways to encourage our members to be actively engaged in mission. It is crucial that each church participates in the Natural Church Development survey, as this assists the Conference in identifying the profile of the church. And while we praise God for our financial stability, we must not sit on our laurels, but encourage each member to be faithful in returning their tithes and freewill offerings.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Personnel

Ordained Ministers

During this quadrennial, the SEC was blessed to have had the services of a number of ministers who have now either gone on retirement, been called to other entities or called overseas.

We have also had the privilege of welcoming new workers into our ďŹ eld.

During this quadrennium the SEC has ordained the following ministers:

New Pastors

Farewell

Wentworth Sewell

Desmond Raerty (Early retirement)

Greg Wilson

Christopher Peake (Retirement)

Amos Mitchell

George Howson (Retirement)

Lon Jones

Miroslav Pujic (Early retirement)

Adil Habib

Leslie Ackie (Called to the BUC)

David James

Kirk Thomas (Called to the BUC)

Lorraine Fontaine

Jonathan Burnett (Called to USA)

Doreen Edwards

Bernard Clemow (Retirement)

Clebson Bragga

Richard Daly (Called to the BUC)

Rolando Bernados

Samuel Davis (Early retirement)

Alexandru Marenuic Simon Martin (Called to Norway) Jerry Vincent

Anand Measapogu (Secondment to India)

Ivo Mendes

Kirsten Oster-Lundqvist (Resigned)

Bogdan Dumitru

Maureen Rock (Called to the BUC)

Hezron Adingo

Daniel Thompson (Resigned)

Robert Osei-Bonsu

Dejan Stojkovic (Called to the BUC)

Jude Jeanville

Michael Toy (Retirement)

Thomas Gill

Andrew Leyland (Resigned)

Mark Borrett

Paul Wilmott Dhanaraj (Resigned)

Denias Chihwai Bernard Holford Laszlo Liebhardt Sophia Peart

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Deyvid Batista Ghartey Joojo Bonnie Sam Gungaloo Wilson Lagos Max McKenzie-Cook Adrian Peck Andrei Balan Andrew Davis James Shepley Royston Smith Julian Thompson VaughnThorpe Vili Costescu Andrew Leyland Jonathan Burnett Rio Espulgar Matthew Herel Kwesi Moore

Session Reports // President’s Report

Adventist Radio London

The Millennial Challenge

After months of preparation, the SEC was granted a Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) license to begin transmitting the Adventist message. By means of modern technology, our broadcast can be heard throughout the world. Programmes can also be downloaded on podcast and listened to at one’s own convenience. We wish to express our gratitude to Adventist World Radio for their financial gift, making this project a reality. Special thanks is due to Pastor Vili Costescu who worked closely with AWR to start this project. Presently, Dr Mike Hamilton and his team of dedicated producers and presenters share the Adventist message 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We praise God for this wonderful opportunity and privilege.

The SEC is blessed with an army of young people.

However, we have noticed that most of the members who leave our church fall into this demographic.

We have worked very hard to find innovative ways of engaging with our millennials. The Executive Committee recently voted to release Pastor Matthew Herel from his churches and to give him the special assignment to establish a contemporary service to meet the demanding needs of our millennials. This is to be accomplished using the ACTS (Active Christians Transforming Society) principles, where church is not seen as a one-day activity, but ministry is practiced throughout the week and becomes a part of daily living.

Camp Site for Pathfinders In April 2015 the previous administration purchased a property in North Runcton, a small village to the south of King’s Lynn in Norfolk. The property consists of 33 acres of pasture and woodland, former riding stables, barns and a detached house.

The site obtained planning permission to develop 32 holiday log cabins and a club house. It is hoped that this site will be developed to enhance youth ministries, retreats and a conference centre for the SEC churches. The SEC spends a lot of money for training in hotels, but it is hoped that training events will now take place on this site. The site will enable the church to hold camping experiences for our Pathfinders and Adventurers.

New SEC Office After many years of operating from a single house at 25 St John’s Road, the two adjacent properties were purchased, providing the base from which the Conference has operated. Discussions have been ongoing to try and secure premises that are representative of our conference. A favourable idea is to proceed with the demolition of these properties and construct a purpose-built office with several flats to the rear. This is a project that we were unable to execute this term, and it is hoped that the next administration will take up this challenge and see it to completion.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

3ABN Campaign After several months of preparation, the SEC in collaboration with 3ABN launched the One Life evangelistic campaign. From 3 – 17 September 2016, London was ablaze with evangelistic campaigns being conducted in various locations.

Brixton 3ABN evangelist Pastor Gamal Alexander Chiswick 3ABN evangelist Pastor Kevin Hart Croydon 3ABN evangelist Pastor John Lomacang Greenwich Pastor Robert Vassell Hampstead 3ABN evangelists Pastor Kenny and Chris Shelton Lewisham Evangelist Pastor Alex Royes London Ghana 3ABN evangelist Pastor Cory Jackson North Wembley 3ABN evangelist Pastor Philip Wesley Oxford Pastor Jonathan Burnett Stoke Newington 3ABN’s Programme Manager Shelley Quinn Tottenham West Green Road 3ABN evangelist Pastor CA Murray Walthamstow 3ABN evangelist Pastor John Dinzzey Each evening, SEC Health Ministries Director Dr Chidi Ngwaba held health seminars, motivating attendees to live a healthy Christian lifestyle.

The campaign concluded with over 100 baptised.

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With the slogan Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere, as our mantra for this quadrennial, we focused on a particular emphasis each year: 1. Revival 2. Restoration 3. Reclamation 4. Retention Our annual Evangelism Expo has always been the day where we have shared our vision and strategy for the year. In 2016 we had representatives from 3ABN, in 2017 we had Pastor Mark Finley, in 2018 we had Pastor Samuel Telemaque, and Pastor Louis Torres in 2019.

We wanted to restore the evangelistic element to our conference, and this was achieved by collaborating with 3ABN in 2016. Under the theme of Reclamation, we emphasised the need for our churches to become relevant in our communities.

This was achieved by churches approaching their local councils to find out the needs of the community.

The members returned and prayed about those needs. They then selected one or two of those needs and made that their ministry for the year.

After ministering and engaging with the community, the churches were intentional in opening their doors to their neighbours in the final quarter.

In 2018, under the theme of Reclamation, the conference rolled out the Connect-to-Reconnect programme. Every pastor within the conference was given the material to implement within their churches. The churches were encouraged to conduct a membership audit. As a result of this audit, the lapsed members were identified, and the Reclamations Ministries team had the task of reconnecting with them. This was a very robust programme to assist in reclaiming lost members, however, we had hoped for more participation to get the best results.

Session Reports // President’s Report

Statistics indicate that we tend to lose 40% of members who are baptised. This is a very high percentage. Thus, under the theme of Retention, we focused on closing the ‘back door’ and retaining our members.

Camp Meeting Our annual camp meeting continues to be the event that many of our members look forward to. It’s a time where our members are nurtured through the many workshops, inspiring preaching, prayer and social interaction. We were blessed to have as our Commitment speakers, Pastor Debleaire Snell in 2016, Pastor Whitney Phipps in 2017 and Dr Carlton Byrd in 2018. Recognising the high cost of camp meeting, efforts have been made to find alternative venues, however, this proves to be a challenge due to our numbers and our needs. Also, trying to do camp meeting during the summer, when our children are off school, has been a great financial challenge for which we continue to seek a solution.

Finance The Treasurer reported that a figure of £59,276,760 has been received in Tithe over the past 4 years.

I wish to thank and commend our members for their faithfulness to God and their commitment to the SEC. We have also received from the HMRC, £10,038,193.42 in Gift Aid returns. These funds have been used for the following properties: 1. Chingford Community Church £790,000 in 2018 2. Stevenage Church £465,000 in 2018 3. Southend Church £375,000 in 2017 4. Bracknell Ghana Church £375,000 in 2017 5. Edmonton Community Church £225,000 in 2016 6. Reading Ghana Church £390,000 in 2016 7. Serenity Community Church £148,000 in 2016 8. Isle of Wight Building £150,000 in 2016

We have also been able to refurbish the following churches: 1. Torquay Church £3,000 in 2015 2. Stanborough Park Church £100,000 in 2015 3. North Wembley Church £50,000 in 2015 4. Willesden Church £14,000 in 2015 5. Norbury Baptistry £12,000 in 2015 6. Newbold Church £10,000 in 2015 7. Chiswick Church £75,000 in 2015 8. Hounslow Church 20,000 in 2015 9. Clacton-on-Sea Church £100,000 in 2015 10. Southall Church £25,000 in 2015 11. Peckham Church £10,000 in 2016 12. Battersea Church £10,000 in 2016 13. Serenity Church £60,000 in 2016 14. Clacton Church £100,000 in 2016 15. High Wycombe Sands Community Church £100,000 16. Reading Ghana £350,000 17. Beckenham Church £25,000 18. Newbold £2,410.50 19. High Wycombe Community Church £50,000 20. Norwich Church £20,000 21. Stevenage Church £308,250 in 2018 22. Hampstead Church £10,000 in 2018 We have also been able to replace 9 caravans at our Chapel Porth camp site and have improved the infrastructure for the use of our members.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Centres of Influence (Life Hope Centres) These are centres in urban areas that offer services and ministries in accordance with Jesus’ method of evangelism. EG White summarises: ‘Jesus mingled among the people as One who desired their good.

He showed sympathy. He ministered to their needs. He won their confidence. He bade them “Follow Me.”’ The SEC has identified two sites for our Life Hope Centres – Advent Centre and the Swindon facility. The Executive Committee recently voted to purchase a former Sikh temple in Swindon which can accommodate well over 1000 members.

It will house an ABC bookshop, offer counselling services and spiritual support, services for the elderly, toddlers groups, youth clubs, a night shelter, services for refugees and asylum seekers, a media centre and a cafe.

Newbold School has a good reputation in the community and is supported by the Families of Newbold. The Head Teacher, Jacki Chrissey, does an excellent job and is supported by her staff. They received a ‘Good’ Ofsted report and are preparing for a major refurbishment to commence in 2019.

Fleetwood, in Plymouth, runs a very efficient educational establishment for the pupils who are predominantly non-Adventists and come from the local community. However, the School Board is chaired by Pastor Clifford Herman.

The school is financially viable and produces very good exam results.

The Eden School continues to provide consistent Adventist education for pupils in West London.

This Independent school is led by Mrs Laura Osei.

They have about 60 pupils and are renowned for turning around pupils with challenging behaviour.

They are due to have a AAA Inspection in 2019 with the view to becoming an accredited Seventh-day Adventist school.

PARL (Public Affairs and Religious Liberty)

Schools Our teachers continue to do an excellent job in training the minds of our young people for the kingdom. We often forget that these teachers are the real evangelists when it comes to moulding these young minds. We recently rejoiced with the staff of Hyland House who achieved an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted assessment for their Early Years provision and ‘Good’ in all four of the other areas. We commend the Headteacher, Mrs Gina Abbequaye, and her staff for their excellent work.

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Our world is constantly changing. We have witnessed changes in the political world, religious world and in the sphere of education These changes have impacted our religious freedom here in the UK. Dr Brighton Kavaloh has been very meticulous and effective in following the trends and keeping our members aware of the changes that effect our church. I wish to pay tribute to him and a number of other dedicated members who have worked closely with him. We have been kept informed through the many weekend retreats and one day seminars on such topics as Counter Terrorism and Extremism, and how they impact our Sabbath School and youth clubs; marriage, sex education, as it is taught in schools and gender recognition. We have also been encouraged to participate in the government consultations over these issues. We are indebted

Session Reports // President’s Report

to Chucks Golding and her team from the legal field who have shared their expertise in this area of Religious Liberty. Recently, a team of experts was set up at the British Union Conference level to be a sign- posting committee, to help members who were facing religious liberty challenges.

Appreciation I take this opportunity to thank God for the privilege of leading this Conference. The experience I have gained through the many challenges and joys have contributed to my personal and spiritual growth. My family have been a source of strength and encouragement as we have made this journey together. I am truly grateful to God for them.

My fellow administrative officers have supported me and together borne the burden of leadership

of this great Conference. All the directors and support staff have worked together in harmony as we sought to discharge our duties and serve our members in the SEC. A special thanks to my Personal Assistant Paul Lee for the great support that he has given to the President’s department. My gratitude and well wishes goes to Ruth Stewart who has served as the Administrative Secretary to the President for the last 17 years. We wish her well as she goes into her retirement. Finally, I must express my appreciation to Anna Berwise-Ebanks who has taken over the role of Administrative Secretary to the President.

She is efficient and brings a new vibrancy to the department.

Emmanuel Osei

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Executive Secretary’s Report Douglas McCormac

was built by Pr John Surridge. However, we have been looking for a replacement for a number of years which would be able to keep pace with changes in technology and data protection provisions.

T

his has been an extraordinary four years for our conference and the country in which we live. But by God’s grace the Church continues to grow and influence the communities in which we live for the Kingdom of God. Secretariat is a team effort. I have a great team that I work with and I am forever in their debt for all the hard work that they put in, to ensure the smooth running of our department. To Valerie, Jacqui and Tanya a very big Thank you for all that you have done. To the Church clerks in the local congregations, thank you.

Adventist Church Management System One of the biggest changes that occurred over this quadrennium was the introduction of the Adventist Church management system (ACMS).

The Conference has for many years kept its membership records on Memtrack, a database that

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ACMS was originally developed for use in the South American Division before it was picked up by the General Conference. It was first demonstrated in February 2016 to the Secretaries of the BUC at the Dutch Union office in Amsterdam. The system had to be rewritten for use in the EU to meet our strict data protection laws. It was not until March 2017 that we were finally able to transfer our records and move into a new era of membership management. ACMS gives us the ability to delegate the management of local church records to the local church clerk. Information can be updated immediately rather than making reports at the end of each quarter. And the accuracy of the membership lists now resides with the local congregation. That being said, rolling out the access has taken longer than anticipated.

Membership Statistics We are not in the numbers game; not everyone whose life we touch or reach, will be reflected in the numbers that follow. However, as a conference, every number listed here is a person. There are thousands of stories and testimonies of how Christ has made a difference in people’s lives. But there are also those whose story has taken a different path, who no longer see themselves as members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

As of the 31 December 2018, the membership of the Conference stood at 25,295 that is an increase

Session Reports // Executive Secretary’s Report

of 1,986 over the four years from 2015, which equates to almost 8% growth over the period.

As you can see from the chart, the membership continues to grow steadily.

Membership growth is through three primary avenues: baptisms, professions of faith and through membership transfers into the Conference.

Over this four-year period, we have had a total of 1,892 baptisms and 277 professions of faith.

Compared with the previous quadrennium, this equates to a 24.6% fall in baptisms and a 15.2% fall in professions of faith.

As the conference continues to grow, there is also the movement of those who are leaving our congregations. We have a very fluid membership, and just as there are members transferring in, we also have those who transfer out. The membership subtractions table shows this movement, including those who have been dropped by their local congregations for various reasons, and also those who have died.

Additionally, we continue to see members come, settle and transfer their membership to our conference. We have had 913 existing members added in this way. There has been a small fall of 5.7% over the previous period.

Although membership growth continues, there are indicators that it is slowing. The chart below tracks the current trend of baptisms and professions of faith over the last ten years.

Over the last four years, we have focused on four major themes: Revival, Restoration, Reclamation and Retention. Each theme was to focus on different aspects of spiritual growth and, at the same time, feed into the spiritual and physical growth of our church family. Having shared the growth and falloff characteristics, we are able to suggest what our current retention rate looks like.

And as the table below shows, we currently have an average retention rate of 62%.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

in Sabbath school and in the Divine service be counted, including the adults, visitors and children.

On average, about 20% of the churches report this metric.

However, we have another metric which we have been requesting churches to report to us. On the second and seventh Sabbaths of each quarter, we have asked that the total number of those present

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For the last three quarters of 2018, the membership count for the Divine Worship service are recorded below. The chart shows the numbers reported, followed by total membership (as entered in the database), attendance as a percentage of the actual membership and, in the ďŹ nal column, the membership based on attendance. These ďŹ gures reect the retention chart (left).

Qtr

Second Sabbath Count

Actual Membership

Percentage of actual

2nd 3rd 4th

2243 2079 6183

3519 3281 9275

63.74% 63.36% 66.7%

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Estimated SEC Membership 16050 15954 16955

Session Reports // Executive Secretary’s Report

Churches, Companies, Plants and Groups At the end of 2018, I can report that we had 161 organised churches, including the Conference church with 72 companies, church plants and groups.

The following groups were recognized as companies: Hanworth and Watford Romanian.

The following companies have been organized as churches: Basingstoke, Bracknell Ghana, Frimley, North London Hispanic, Downham, East London Romanian, Harlow South, Romford, Bristol South and Wokingham.

Personnel of the South England Conference at 31 December 2018 Conference Officers President Executive Secretary Treasurer

(Dr R de Lisser) Pr Emmanuel Osei Pr Douglas McCormac (Mr Earl Ramharacksingh) Mr Fred Shone

Departmental Directors Church Growth (Pr Simon Martin) Pr Wayne & Global Mission Erasmus Director Communications Pr Samuel Davies Children/ Ms Malika Bediako Communities Disability/Diversity Mrs Sophia Nicholls Education Mrs Gina Abbequaye (Pr Leslie Ackie) Pr Family Ministries Lawrence Augustus Health Dr Chidi Ngwaba (Pr Vili Costescu) Pr Samuel Media Davies Ministerial (Pr Emmanuel Osei) Pr Association Ebenezer Jones-Lartey Pathfinders Pr Kevin Johns

Personal Ministries/ Sabbath School Radio Stewardship Teens Women Youth

(Pr Kirk Thomas) Pr Michael Mbui Pr Michael Hamilton Pr Todd Frias (Pr Dejan Stojkovic) Pr Juan Carlos Patrick Pr Maslin Holness Pr Anthony Fuller

Departmental Coordinators AMR Pr Fergus Owusu-Boateng Cornerstone Mrs Thembie Mapingire Counselling Men’s Ministry Mr Devon Boyd Student Chaplaincy Pr Juan Carlos Patrick Prison Ministries Pr Kevin Johns Property Pr Steve McKenzie Development Prayer Ministries Veronica Williams

Trustees of the South England Conference The SEC is a registered charity in England and Wales and as such the members of the Executive Committee serve as trustees. Most will not be familiar with the level of responsibility that our trustees take on by accepting this role, and I am thankful for all the work that they have put in over the last four years.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Since 2015 31 persons have served as trustees of the Executive Committee:

16

Appointed

Resigned 25 March 2018

Mohan Rao

Abbadasari

6 September 2015

Esther

Aryee

6 September 2015

Samuel

Asamoah

6 September 2015

Victor

Barendse

6 September 2015

Gloria

Christopher

6 September 2015

Andrew

Davis

6 September 2015

13 December 2015 9 April 2017

Richard

de Lisser

6 September 2015

Wayne

Erasmus

14 January 2018

Simeon

Esson

25 March 2018

Anthony

Fuller

6 September 2015

Dominic

Gyasi

6 September 2015

Careen

Hanson

6 September 2015

Cliord

Herman

6 September 2015

Ebenezer

Jones-Lartey

6 September 2015

Christopher

Levy

6 September 2015

Robin

Lewis

17 January 2017

Eulalee

Marshall-Wiggan

6 September 2015

Simon

Martin

6 September 2015

Douglas

McCormac

6 September 2015

Pamela

Millington

6 September 2015

Derek

Morrison

6 September 2015

Emmanuel

Osei

6 September 2015

Earl

Ramharacksingh

6 September 2015

Judith

Redman

6 September 2015

Steve

Roberts

25 March 2018

James

Shepley

6 September 2015

Fred

Shone

20 October 2016

Dave

St Marie

6 September 2015

Trevor

Thomas

24 January 2016

Stephen

Weekes

6 September 2015

Abigail

Wright

6 September 2015

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31 October 2017

20 October 2016

15 January 2017

Session Reports // Executive Secretary’s Report

Office Staff As of 31 December 2018, the office staff were; Michael Agyei-Asare Samuel Alfazema Philip Amos Valerie Austin Godwin Benjamin Anna Berwise-Ebanks Nana Bonnie Nadine Bokhoory Mavis Bramble Natalie Bryan Ligia Buzac Onysha Collins Jacqui Crawford

Treasury Treasury Maintenance Admin Secretary 50% Advent Centre Manager Secretary Treasury Buildings Manager Secretary Secretary Secretary Media Assistant Human Resources Manager

There are also those who have served on the staff at the SEC at various times over the previous four: Katherine Allen, Kerri-Ann Anim, Michelle Bahadur, Giles Barham, Aftab Barki, Zinze Bishop, Nikisha Brown, Jodie Burnett, Ronnie Campbell-Stewart, Tiffany Clarke, Alina Dascalescu, Lydia Hamblin, Natasha Mirilov, Valerie Pearce, Rebeto SamuelOuadjo, Anita Simon and Sha-Lee Worrell-Miller.

Vanessa Dawson Rosamond Farrell Diana Gaga Tanya Grant Theresa Howard Andrae Johnson Candy Layson Pauline Peck Stefan Stanciu Ruth Stewart Ann Swaby Kevin Weier

Secretary CCS Receptionist CCS Secretary DBS and Church Clerk P/t Receptionist Audio technician Treasury P/t Admin Secretary Media Technician Admin Secretary Treasury Treasury

The following chart provides a comparison between the office-based staff and the pastoral staff.

Pastoral Staff At the end of 2018 there were 118 pastoral employees, compared to 98 at the beginning of 2015. Naturally, over the four years, there were those who left the Conference, being called to serve the wider church and its institutions in other territories. Some have left pastoral work altogether and some have retired from service. These losses have been offset by bringing in pastors from other fields, as well as employing graduates from Newbold College and other tertiary institutions.

Those who retired from the 1 January 2015 to the 31 December 2018 were: Ron Clemow, Samuel Davis, George Howson, Christopher Peake, Miroslav Pujic, Desmond Rafferty, Elsie Staple, Michael Toy and Aris Vontzalidis.

Data Protection It is impossible to write such a report and not mention GDPR, General Data Protection Regulations. GDPR became law on the 25 May 2018. And whilst much of it was already law in the UK, it was a timely reminder of the serious responsibility we have been entrusted with to protect the information which we store on our church members. This is not just about our membership database, but it touches every aspect of what we do as a conference, from Secretariat to treasury; from Pathfinders to teens and from the conference to local congregations.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

We have been working with our local congregations, departments and all our employees to ensure that data protection is a priority for our organization and that it is compliant with data protection legislation and GDPR.

DBS Disclosures Safeguarding remains a priority of this conference.

Ensuring that our all our employees and congregations are familiar with the ‘Keeping the Church family Safe’ policy,and that adequate training is being provided; also, that all necessary Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks are being done. There continues to be resistance from some members to these checks being carried out. However, the DBS check is the first line of defense in protecting our congregations and especially our children. There are no ‘ifs and buts’; if there is no DBS then volunteers cannot serve in any capacity.

Protecting the vulnerable in our congregations is not only a legal requirement, but it is a moral responsibility. The alternative is not something we should ever want to entertain.

Our congregations are being constantly exposed to the ravages of abuse and fear, and we should all be prepared to do what it will take to protect our church families.

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Conclusion As we reflect on the past four years, witnessed the highs and lows and watched the world around us change dramatically, it is hard not to be reminded of the passage in Daniel 12:4, “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” We are certainly living in those last days and, as Seventh-day Adventists, we have a message of hope which points us to the soon coming of Christ. This message of hope should be what drives us to share our faith with all those around us. It should be reflected in all our relationships, not just to the communities in which we live, but also in a very real and tangible way within our church family. There is no time to waste and the urgency only multiplies as each day, month and year flies by.

Christ is calling each precious soul to Him. May we look to His soon return and allow it to consume each and every one of us to do our part for the kingdom.

Douglas McCormac

Session Reports // ADRA Report

ADRA-UK REPORT

SEC Session Report 2015-2018 Development With years of field experience, ADRA-UK has designed professional development programmes that are proven to lead whole communities out of extreme poverty. Over the past four years, we have worked in Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Thailand and Zimbabwe, as well as supporting projects in the UK.

A

DRA-UK is part of the world-wide ADRA network which touches millions of lives in more than 130 countries. The UK charity has been working in some of the poorest areas of our world, enabling people to live life to the full, physically, socially and spiritually.

In order to break cycles of extreme poverty and bring about lasting, positive change, it is necessary to commit to long-term, integrated programmes that provide multiple interventions that bring water, sanitation, health, food and nutrition, education and income opportunities. ADRA is running specific programmes in multiple countries while, here in the UK, we are empowering local churches to help those in need.

Relief Hurricanes, flooding, drought and ongoing conflict were some of the key causes of emergencies across the globe in the last three years. By working through our partners in the global ADRA network, we have been able to respond quickly and effectively by providing life-saving assistance and protection to populations in need of food, water, sanitation facilities and temporary shelter. This included the response to hurricane Maria in the Caribbean in 2017.

To achieve these goals, we collaborated with local governments, ADRA network offices, local churches and other organisations. Together, we are working to lift people out of poverty, establish hope, empower communities and provide positive change.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

In 2018 alone, ADRA-UK helped over 1.3 million people, of which 383,000 were women and 583,000 children in our overseas projects.

As part of the Seventh-day Adventist family, we are fulfilling the commission given in Isaiah 58:7-10 (NIV) to ‘share your food with the hungry... provide the poor wanderer with shelter...when you see the naked, to clothe them...and satisfy the needs of the oppressed...’.

Urban Ministries In 2017 we offered grants upon application, for local church community outreach projects, in partnership with Community Services at the BUC. Successful projects in the SEC that received funds through this particular scheme included, The Advent Shelter in Chelmsford, Edmonton, Emmanuel, Ipswich, London Ghana, Stoke Newington and West Bletchley.

For 2018 this was increased to10% of the total raised for every church, raising more than £500 during the Appeal with a submission deadline of the 31 May. The churches and projects that were part of this new initiative were: The Advent Shelter, Balham, Bournemouth, Chelmsford, Emmanuel (West Kilburn), Hanwell, Hounslow Cornerstone, Lewisham, London Filipino International, Luton Central, Newbold, Peckham, Riverway Sidcup, Stanborough Park, Stoke Newington, Sydenham, Welwyn Garden City, and Willesden. Under the I AM URBAN initiative, funding was also provided for the Stratford Shelter.

Volunteering In the period since the ADRA Connections programme was launched, 177 volunteers have served on missions to Swaziland, Ghana, Nepal, Thailand, Rwanda, Cambodia and Peru.

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Gift Boxes After delivering boxes to Swaziland, Ghana and Rwanda, we successfully launched a new Virtual Gift Box Appeal in 2018, benefitting Burundi and Sri Lanka. Open to all churches and able to access areas we normally could not reach, the new digital format is already proving to be a success.

Financial Support The members of the South England Conference have been faithful in contributing to the work of ADRA-UK and I would sincerely like to thank them for their support of the work of ADRA during the previous quadrennium.

Funds raised in the SEC during the ADRA Appeals: 2015: £ 334,680 2016: £ 270,494 2017: £ 263,674 2018: £ 279,632 (excludes gift aid) Our world continues to face many challenges affecting women, men and children. It is ADRA’s purpose ‘To serve humanity so all may live as God intended’.

Thanks to the help of the SEC membership, thousands of vulnerable people will continue to be able to meet their basic needs and access opportunities to thrive.

ADRA-UK thanks you!

Pastor Bert Smit CEO, ADRA-UK

Session Reports // AMR Report

Adventist Muslim Relations (AMR) Fergus Owusu-Boateng

3.

4.

Equip: Out-reach training, on sharing God’s Word; and in-reach training, on the tenets of our SDA identity, are both re-emphasized as absolute truths to counteract Islamic conversion.

Encourage: Integral to our mission is supporting and discipling newly-baptised Muslim converts; facilitating Adventist members involved in evangelism; and supporting, within their families, those members who are encountering a conversion to Islam.

Our goals were implemented as follows:

T

he overarching mission of SEC AMR – Is to declare to the world that salvation is freely available and to train all Seventh-day Adventists to share God’s Word effectively with our Muslim brothers and sisters.

The goals for the department regarding the theme of Evangelism Everyone Everywhere during the four-year term were to Evangelise, Educate, Equip and Encourage the Adventist churches in SEC, particularly to reach the Muslim members of our communities.

1.

2.

Evangelise: Adventist Muslim Relations’ primary objective is to work for God’s Kingdom. Our evangelism strategy is based on reaching people individually, and to take the initiative to intentionally reach out to share God’s Word with Muslims.

Educate: Adventist Muslim Relations seek to educate Adventist Churches about Islamic culture, practices, and Islamic evangelism

Educate and Equip • Training provided to various churches within the conference on how to nurture newly baptised members.

• Holding Muslim Evangelism Seminars in the churches (40 in 2016; 38 in 2017, 30 in 2018) • AMR conducted over 70 AYS Seminars during the past 4 years.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

• AMR Consultation days held quarterly at the Advent Centre; 50 Adventist church members participated.

• 2 AMR courses were offered in the SEC School of Evangelism. The courses ran from 20182019, yielding 23 graduates.

• 4 Annual Retreats- educational three-day seminars for networking and resourcing • 1 AMR Coordinators’ Training course in collaboration with GC- AMR (30 graduates) • Workshops at Literature Evangelism Seminars (2015, 2016; 2017) • Training seminars and visitations to a mosque in the Scottish Mission (2016) • Workshops at SEC Camp Meeting (yearly) • Workshops at BUC Lay Bible Convention (yearly) • Training pastors at BUTREC (yearly)

•

•

faiths and to engage them with other faith communities, as representatives of SDA Church.

We are designing and conducting personalised Bible studies for those who have recently started their Adventist journey.

SEC AMR started working CRIB (Christian Response to Islam in Britain), the Church of England mission group, which led to promoting the name of the Seventh-day Adventist Church outside the Conference. As a department, we believe in close association with those who are connecting with the Muslim community.

Results from AMR Ministry The Church, for these newly baptised members, is truly a persecuted church. In the past four years, 27 new members from Muslim background were baptised. AMR is involved in: • Supporting them to gain access to basic human needs • Providing them shelter • Supporting their children • Supporting them to build basic skills through the Job Centre or volunteering • Meeting their spiritual needs with one-to-one Bible studies • Familiarising them with Adventist church practices and culture

Challenges Encourage •

•

22

At Conference level, the AMR Department assisted the Evangelistic Days in various Churches in Muslim-majority areas.

At Conference level, visitations were arranged for Adventist groups to visit mosques, synagogues and Sikh temples situated near Adventist churches. The aim was to educate members regarding the practices of other

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As a team, we face persecution, harassment, and hatred from outside the church. However, we sometimes encountered hostility and intimidation within the church, as a result of lack of training and misinformation. Occasionally, it has been mentioned that AMR is not working, as there is no information available on common SDA communication platforms. Due to the sensitivity of this ministry, we are unable to share information on media platforms.

Session Reports // AMR Report

Notable Achievements

A vision for the Future

•

We are working hard to build a ‘safe haven’ for those converts who face persecution and alienation from their families and communities.

This place will not only act as a shelter, but will also be used as a house church for discipling activities for converts. This vision includes, at Conference level, an establishment that allows for more systematic nesting and for the networking of AMR coordinators.

•

• • •

27 newly-baptised followers of Christ from Muslim backgrounds (2 in 2019) Completion of theological education (MA) of one female convert and a male convert (BA); both are working for AMR 23 graduates from the SEC School of Evangelism Fifteen AMR Co-ordinators for SEC Churches Gospel Brunch – A yearly prayer meeting for newly-baptised members

Gratitude I am grateful to my assistants – Adil Habib, H. Ahmed, and Venessa Dawson-for their dedicated work.

Fergus Owusu Boateng

MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

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AMR Vision

Departmental Strategy

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Departmental Targets

1

yearly retreat only for the youth- in collaboration with the 2 Youth Department.

3

abused disowned

Establish 1 “SAVE HAVEN” Home for the

4

AMR Newsletter

4

Create an environment where our activities will be advertised to our churches with sensitivity.

1 conference wide

3

Develop facilities & services to nurture Body, Mind, Spirit of our Muslim friends in church and the wider community

50

2

Create conditions for our youth to learn, grow, and serve in Muslim evangelism

AMR A-TEAM of Trainers teaching up to Level 3 certification Muslim evangelism

1

Pastor F Boateng

Every SEC congregation becomes a centre of excellence for Muslim evangelism

‘Evangelism to Muslims Everywhere’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Session Reports // ARL Report

Adventist Radio London Michael Hamilton

1. Set-up Heart-felt gratitude goes to Pastor Vili Costecu, the then Media Director of Adventist World Radio, the generous sponsors of this ministry, and to the SEC administration, for grasping the opportunity and venturing on this mission of faith. The successful application for the license to broadcast on DAB proved to be divinely led.

A

dventist Radio London has come about as a result of a divinely appointed opportunity for the South England Conference to broadcast the Everlasting Gospel to London and beyond. From the outset, untiring energy has been expended to get this radio ministry up and running and, as a result, we are proud to report on the journey experienced so far.

Having been granted the license by OfCom, we set about making preparations for the construction of the broadcasting studio and acquiring broadcasting equipment. Within a period of seven months, this was accomplished.

In the meanwhile, a most essential step was to recruit sta for the running of the station. This process began in September 2017, and we have arrived at our current position in August 2018, where we are able to boast a team consisting of ten budgets (4 full-time Producer/Presenters, 1 Personal Assistant, 1 Programmes Manager, 1 Religion Editor, 1 Technician, 1 Marketing Manager and 1 Director). In addition to our full-time core team, we are also very grateful to our ad hoc sta

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

who provide essential cover for absences and also, for our seven regular dedicated unpaid weekend broadcasters.

costly to attain. We pray that, as financial resources become available in the near future, these figures will be attained.

5. The Future

2. Training Having recruited staff, our next task was to conduct training and orientation for broadcasting our message. Gratitude goes to Neil Nunes, a BBC broadcaster who dedicated his time to conducting our first residential training and has been our on-going consultant. The training was intended to ready the team for programme production and live broadcast presentations.

We give God thanks and praise for the clear evidence of his presence and blessings in our journey so far, and we have confidence that he will continue to lead this ministry into the future.

Growth must take place, and this will be seen with the integration of Adventist Radio London and the outreach ministries of local churches and the South England Conference. As we endeavour to increase listenership amongst the general public, we anticipate positive responses to the proclamation of the end-time message commissioned to this church for the salvation of humanity.

3. Dedication Service Our dedication service was held at the Brixton SDA Church on 7th April 2018. A big “Thank You” goes out to the leaders and members of Brixton for their kind hospitality and support. The day was graced with the presence of representatives from Adventist World Radio, BUC, TED, and the SEC.

4. Live Broadcast Our first live broadcast took place on Sunday 8 April 2018. This was followed on April 9th by our regular weekday schedule. By 31 December 2018, Adventist Radio London were pleased to report that our on-line listenership had grown to over 30,000. This, of course, does not include those listening via DAB radio, the data for which is very

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6. Thanks I would like to take this opportunity to express heart-felt thanks to the dedicated staff and volunteers of Adventist Radio London. Each has shown passionate commitment to this mission and, as a result, we have experienced the growth that has been reported. May the anointing of the Holy Spirit rest on each one, as Adventist Radio London moves closer to a finished work.

Michael Hamilton

TIME

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST IT IS WRITTEN SPOTLIGHT

PLAYLIST

IT IS WRITTEN SPOTLIGHT

BIBLE DISCOVERY SPOTLIGHT

EVENING WORSHIP

EVENING WORSHIP

EVENING WORSHIP

SONGS IN THE NIGHT

SONGS IN THE NIGHT

SONGS IN THE NIGHT

PLAYLIST

TAKE HIS WORD Michael Hamilton

TAKE HIS WORD Michael Hamilton

HYMNS ON SUNDAY Thelma Gage

PLAYLIST

DRIVE TIME Vanesa & Nigel

DRIVE TIME Vanesa & Nigel

SOUTHERN GOSPEL

TREVOR JOHNSON

PLAYLIST REFLECTIONS PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

REFLECTIONS PLAYLIST

SONGS IN THE NIGHT

PLAYLIST

EVENING WORSHIP

TAKE HIS WORD Michael Hamilton

DRIVE TIME Vanesa & Nigel

REFLECTIONS PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

IT IS WRITTEN SPOTLIGHT

MID-DAY MESSAGE

MID-DAY MESSAGE

MID-DAY MESSAGE

VOCAL SOUNDS

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

BREAKFAST Sam & Lynette

FRIDAY DAYBREAK Mike Johnson

COLOUR CODES PRE-RECORDED MUSIC LIVE SPEECH/MUSIC SPEECH

SONGS IN THE NIGHT

PLAYLIST

EVENING WORSHIP

TAKE HIS WORD Michael Hamilton

DRIVE TIME Vanesa & Nigel

REFLECTIONS PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

IT IS WRITTEN SPOTLIGHT

PLAYLIST

MID-DAY MESSAGE

SONGS IN THE NIGHT

PLAYLIST

EVENING WORSHIP

TAKE HIS WORD Michael Hamilton

DRIVE TIME Vanesa & Nigel

REFLECTIONS PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

IT IS WRITTEN SPOTLIGHT

PLAYLIST

MID-DAY MESSAGE

SACRED CONVERSATIONS SACRED CONVERSATIONS SACRED CONVERSATIONS SACRED CONVERSATIONS SACRED CONVERSATIONS FOCUS ON FAMILY FOCUS ON FAMILY FOCUS ON FAMILY FOCUS ON FAMILY FOCUS ON FAMILY

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

BREAKFAST Sam & Lynette

THURSDAY DAYBREAK Mike Johnson

PLAYLIST

BREAKFAST Sam & Lynette

WEDNESDAY DAYBREAK Mike Johnson

BREAKFAST Sam & Lynette

TUESDAY DAYBREAK Mike Johnson

BREAKFAST Sam & Lynette

MONDAY DAYBREAK Mike Johnson

GOSPEL CLASSICS Tony Best

IN THE NEWS Mark Grey

RAY OF HOPE Ray Patrick

SUNDAY BREAKFAST

SUNDAY DAYBREAK Mike Johnson

Wake up and inspiration for the day Themed music reflecting our core beliefs Programmes from within local communities or containing teachings and practical answers to the issues of life Information and news for commuters and parents Specific teachings and messages explaining our doctrines Music and conversation to unwind and prepare the mind for rest

CLOSEDOWN

ZONES Arise: Reflect: Community: Inform: Doctrines: Closedown:

22:00 - 23:00

DOCTRINES

21:00 - 22:00

20:00 - 21:00

INFORM

19:00 - 20:00

17:00 - 19:00

COMMUNITY

16:00 - 17:00

15:00 - 16:00

14:00 - 15:00

13:00 - 14:00

REFLECT

12:00 - 13:00

11:00 - 12:00

10:00 - 11:00

ZONE

ARISE

09:00 - 10:00

06:30 - 09:00

06:00 - 06:30

SONGS IN THE NIGHT

PLAYLIST

EVENING WORSHIP

THE BIBLE HOUR

GOSPEL MELODIES Paul Lee

REFLECTIONS PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

IT IS WRITTEN SPOTLIGHT

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST

SABBATH WORSHIP

PLAYLIST

THE BIBLE HOUR

SABBATH BREAKFAST

SATURDAY DAYBREAK Mike Johnson

Session Reports // ARL Report

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Church Growth & Adventist Missions Wayne Erasmus

England Conference that multiplies disciples, leaders and healthy churches!

Mission Possible

Simon Martin

Session Theme: Making Disciples| Building Communities The Church Growth & Adventist Mission Department was affected by mid-session changes which saw Pastor Simon Martin accept a role in Norway, working with the Trans-European Division, and Pastor Wayne Erasmus replacing him as Director in November 2017. This report reflects the work of both Pastors.

1. Vision and Strategy The Church Growth & Adventist Mission Department exists to engage, educate, equip and empower church communities, pastors and individual members to live out the ‘Great Commission’ (Matthew 18:19-20). Recognising that this last command of Jesus is to be the first priority of the Church, the vision of this department has been to promote and nurture a disciple-making movement within the territory of the South 28

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Pastor Martin travelled to Israel in June 2016 with a cohort of leaders and planters from the SEC where, while “on location”, they explored concepts of discipleship as taught and modelled in the life of Jesus. A group of twenty, led by Pastor Erasmus, conducted a Mission Possible UK in June 2018, that took a coach trip from Canterbury to Lindisfarne and Whitby Abbey, in order to explore the early narratives of Christianity in the United Kingdom.

Taking a local journey was significant to our need to live and work as missionaries in our local contexts. A series of short documentaries produced from footage taken on this trip is available to view https://youtu.be/GlJ8TO2AJWc

Coaching and Training In partnership with the BUC, a biennial “Seeds UK” Conference began in October 2015. A second conference took place in October 2017 and a third is planned for October 2019. These conferences bring church planters and leaders from across the BUC to a weekend of visioning, workshops, preaching and networking.

The annual cycle of coaching and training includes the January Evangelism Expo at Newbold; the SEC School of Evangelism where the Church Growth Department offers its own cohort, currently teaching strategies for life as missionaries in our local context; short courses on Coaching Training, along with equipping pastoral and local leaders to

Session Reports // Church Growth & Adventist Missions

use and engage the Natural Church Development tool. In 2018 a joint training retreat was offered by the PM and Church Growth departments under the title, “Essentials for a Healthy, Thriving Church”.

Pastor Martin was invited to teach at the BUC Literature Evangelists Residential at Leicester University, held in August 2016, and the department continues to be involved in the BUC Lay Bible Workers Convention, held annually in November. Pastor Erasmus was invited to speak on Church Growth at the Northern France Conference camp meeting in August 2018.

One of the strategies the department has been promoting, as we have visited local plants, groups and churches is “B.E.L.L.S.” (Bless, Eat, Listen, Learn the story of Jesus, learn to tell it and Send).

The strategy seeks to grow effective evangelistic habits that engage the natural normal daily routines of life. Alongside BELLS we also teach on the topic “Romancing your Community”, which leads a congregation to minister more intentionally in the wider Community. Both strategies are aimed at engaging a ‘discipleship’ mindset and activating a mission-driven heart.

It should be noted that during his term in office, Pastor Martin played an active role in the SEC/3ABN London evangelistic meetings in September 2016.

2. Church Growth Targets: Following the “Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere” initiative the department had three main targets: a. Growth Over the past four years, eight new plants/groups were registered. Three progressed to company status and ten companies progressed to church status. Three groups/plants closed within this Session term.

An aspirational goal of 30 new churches for unreached people was set in 2015. We would still like to see more church plants and groups reaching out to the wider population of the SEC territory; alongside which, we would also like to see those groups begin with greater health and resources, and with the strong support of “mother churches”. b. Discipleship Training In addition to the training mentioned above, both Pastor Martin and I have maintained a heavy preaching and teaching programme, in an effort to support our plants, groups and churches engage intentionally around mission and discipling themes.

The aspirational goal of 60% is laudable, but difficult to measure. c. Implement Natural Church Developed (NCD) achieving 70% involvement Take up of NCD continues to grow. 2012 – 2014 saw twenty new surveys conducted, with five resurveys. 2015 – 2018 saw a further twenty new surveys, with re-surveys increasing to fifteen. We set an aspirational goal of 70% which did see us increasing the uptake of NCD over this Session term. We have included NCD presentations in several Workers Meetings, including Montenegro.

In order to deliver a better service in this area, the department has actively sought stronger working ties with NCD since 2018.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

A simple visual summary of our combined SEC/ NCD reports is included below.

It should be noted that another signiďŹ cant contributor to the Church Growth Department is Mrs Mavis Bramble, our Department Secretary, whom we greatly value and appreciate. Pastors Martin and Erasmus wish to express their .

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appreciation for the opportunity to serve the South England Conference in the Church Growth Department and pray God’s continue blessing and leading as the South England Conference seeks to reach out with the Gospel into the various people groups who make up the wider community of our territory.

Session Reports // Church Growth & Adventist Missions

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Plants/Groups Registered: (8)

Churches: (10)

Wembley Park Portuguese Group (22/05/2016) Braintree (15/01/2017) Eastbourne (17/09/2017) Swindon Old Town (17/09/2017) Lighthouse Community (Edmonton) (17/09/2017) Maranatha Wokingham (Romanian) (25/03/2018) South Reading (16/12/2018) Chard (16/12/2018)

Basingstoke (15/02/2015) Bracknell Ghana (19/04/2015) Frimley (19/07/2015) North London Hispanic (19/07/2015) East London Romanian (24/01/2016) Downham (24/01/2016) Harlow South (15/01/2017) Romford (17/09/2017) Bristol South (17/09/2017) Wokingham (20/05/2018)

Companies: (3) Hanworth Community (19/04/2015) Watford Romanian (15/01/2017) Braintree (16/12/2018)

Closed: (3) Borough Group (merged with Bethel) (17/09/2017) Greys Serenity Church Plant (25/03/2018) The Bridge (Maidstone) (20/05/2018) Wayne Erasmus

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Departmental Strategy

1

Church Growth Vision

Departmental Targets

New Churches At least planted for unreached people

30

20% by

membership of 2019

2

60%

Achieve people receiving discipleship training, becoming discipleship practitioners

3

70% conference achieving a involvement rate of all church by end of term

To Implement Natural Church Development across the

3

Empower local churches as healthy, multiplying communities for effective mission and retention

A minimum increase of

2

1

Equip Believers as disciples who make news disciples (Be one make one)

Engage in Mission: Increase the membership growth of the church

Pastor S Martin

Engaging, Educating and Empowering for a Mission Movement with the SEC

Inwardly Transformed, Outwardly Focused’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

Session Reports // Church Growth & Adventist Missions

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Communication Department Sam O Davies

The goals for the department regarding the theme of Evangelism Everyone Everywhere during the fouryear term were: 1. To Enhance the visibility of the church within the South England Conference. 2.

To increase the impact of communication to our members.

To achieve these, we implemented the following:

Training 1.

i.

O

ur mission statement has been “Building bridges of hope” with a goal to reach out to diverse church audiences, both internally and externally, through the avenues of communication. We endeavoured to create informative and intuitive websites, updating social media sites and writing news stories and press releases as a way of sharing our messages.

ii. iii.

iv.

2.

3.

4.

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We organised annual training events for local church communication secretaries during the last four SEC Evangelism Expo’s: How to share local church stories in the local press - 2016 Tips on writing for the local press - 2017 How to use social media in the local church; training provided by Social Media consultants – “Pixoloute” – in 2018 How to advance visibility of the local church in its community (workshop at Elders Retreat) 2018 We conducted several Sabbath afternoon programmes on “How to share our local stories with the press.”

In 2017, we worked in partnership with the TED and EUD Communication departments for a GAiN Europe conference which took place at Newbold. We subsidised the cost for SEC communication secretaries who attended.

In November 2018, we delivered training for local church interpreters to enhance interpreting skills in the ever-growing language churches within our conference. Participants commented that it provided an extra edge to their ministry.

Session Reports // Communication Department

5.

We ran two training programmes for our pastors: In 2017, Strategic and Creative Communications, by Ezri Carlebach; and in 2018, Spokespersons Training, by Jane Constantinis. Both presenters are experts in their field.

Engagement with the Community 1.

2.

2.

The Conference responded to national tragedies by writing press releases, including in response to: The Grenfell Tower disaster, The Manchester theatre attack, The Finsbury Park Mosque attack, The London Bridge attack, and The Pittsburgh Jewish Synagogue attack.

Website: With regards to this platform, we focused on updating relevant information pertaining to who we are and what we do, for the interest of the general public, should any do a search. We shared many stories of local church activities within their communities, on health, feeding the homeless, and many more. Feedback, from people whom we asked to do training for us, suggested that the information on our website was helpful to them when searching for who we are. However, one of the challenges we encountered was with refreshing the website, on a regular basis, with new relevant stories.

With the initiative to be visible in our local communities, many of our churches began focusing on sending their stories to the local press.

At the Conference level, the Communication Department assisted with writing profiles of some of our ministers deployed to new districts for publication in various local newspapers. It was a systematic lead to promote the name of the church within our conference.

Crisis Communication 1.

3.

We established a “Crisis Management Committee” to prepare our Conference for potential crises. The Crises Team, which comprises the administration, has subsequently received yearly refreshers from the best trainers in the industry to enable adequate preparation.

We have organised annual spokespersons training for all SEC directors with industry leaders for the same reason.

Social Media sites: We focused mainly on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and Twitter. Some of the successes here included seeing an increase in our following to over 3000. We have been able to share some of our stories on these platforms.

Notable Achievements 1.

Revamping the SEC Communicator: One of the significant accomplishments for the department has been the revamping of the SEC Communicator as a progressive medium MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

for addressing not only our internal audience but also our external audiences on matters of relevance. The revamp has also aided quarterly reporting to our constituents from departmental directors. The communicator is now online for a wider readership.

2.

3.

External institutions are now interested in the new look magazine, with subscribers including Andrews University Library, Newbold College of Higher Education Library, the GC Communication Department among others.

60SEC news The creation of the 60SECnews is to capture the latest happenings within our conference in a brief format and to increase awareness of activities within our conference.

Engaging the Local Press with our News Stories: One of the main developments has been to share our stories in the local press.

Challenges 1.

2.

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InsuďŹƒcient personnel and resources for achieving overall goal.

The availability of Communication secretaries

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3.

4.

for training. A lot of training is needed to bring some personnel to a functional level.

Expectations are exceeding resources available for achieving goals.

The range of responsibilities within the role – which includes, editing, publications, weekly news reporting and trainings- all causes us to constantly prioritise.

Projections for the Future: Making video reporting an integral part of local church news.

Gratitude: I am grateful to my assistants for their dedicated work - Onysha Collins, Natasha Pujols and Secretaries, Anna McLarty, Gabriela Lupu, Lydia Hamblin, Jodi Burnett. Sincere thanks go to all Communication Secretaries for sharing their stories.

A big thank you to the SEC Communicator editorial team and contributors - Cathy Anthony Boldeau, Norma Borrett, Lynette Allcock, Peter Mensah, and the many who contributed in various ways.

Sam O Davies

Comms Vision

Departmental Strategy

Departmental Targets

1

No. of articles about activity of SEC published in the local secular press

2

80%

2

1

Average score or above for membership satisfaction with quality of outputs from SEC communications team

Increasing the impact of communications to our members

Making the Seventh Day Adventist Church known throughout the Territory of the SEC

Pastor Sam Davies

‘Engaging Everyone Everywhere in SEC mission’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

Session Reports // Communication Department

MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Cornerstone Counselling Service (CCS) Thembie Mapingire

SEC Vision The SEC vision for the 2015- 2019 quadrennium was Evangelism, Everyone Everywhere (EEE) everyone being called to evangelise in their communities.

CCS Strategy

I

n the past four years, Mental and Emotional Health has received unprecedented attention in the media, among politicians, within the National Health Service and among high profile individuals including members of the Royal Family.

In recognition of the work being done by the Cornerstone Counselling Service (CCS) team, and the extent to which the need for its services is growing, CCS became a separate department from the Family Ministries Department. CCS made a significant impact in the lives of people across the South of England, both within various churches and local communities, helping individuals, couples and families to improve their emotional and mental wellbeing.

The CCS vision was Healthy Minds, Healthy Hearts! having an emotionally and spiritually healthy church and community. This was to be accomplished through departmental themes for each year: Reviving emotional health through our thought patterns (2016); Restoring emotional health through trust (2017); Reclaiming hope, rebuilding lives (2018); and Retaining emotional health and relationships through nurturing and listening (2019).

CCS then developed three strategies to fit in with being a nurturing and relevant church. These were: Promoting the Counselling Service, making church members aware of CCS, how the service operates and the benefits of counselling to members and their communities. CCS initiated a promotional drive with presentations and sermons in churches, giving psycho-education on emotional health, aimed

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Session Reports // CCS Report

at eliminating the stigma on mental health and receiving counselling among church members.

Accessibility, making the service accessible to more church members by creating satellites across the SEC; Expansion, increasing the operating hours, increasing the team of counsellors to 20 and moving from the Advent Centre to new premises with disability access and facilities.

Thus far: Rebranding – CCS embarked on a rebranding exercise, emphasising confidentiality and trust, with a new website (www.ccscounselling.org.uk.), a new logo, leaflets and mental health information brochures. CCS also is on instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ccs.counselling/ to cater for our younger clients.

Promotion – CCS has promoted counselling and emotional wellbeing in 96 churches. Presentations and onsite counselling have been provided at retreats and events for women’s ministries (SEC & BUC), youth, teens, pathfinders, special needs, prayer ministries and camp meetings. CCS also participated in radio talk shows with Adventist Radio London promoting counselling, especially among Christians.

Accessibility – Currently there are 19 satellites across the SEC. Telephone and Skype counselling continue to be available. Online counselling will be available soon.

Expansion – Since the counselling coordinator became full-time in March 2017, CCS is now open from 9:30am - 5:30pm, Tuesday to Thursday.

Sundays are open from 10am- 5pm and Monday from 9am - 9pm. The team has steadily increased to 20 counsellors over the years. A Counsellor Training programme started in 2016 and, to date,

27 counsellors have been trained in Level 2 and 3 CPCAB-accredited Christian Counselling Skills. In turn, they work for CCS according to their level of qualification. Four of these proceeded to Diploma level and are in placement at CCS. As the team grows bigger and more rooms are required, there is the need to move out of the Advent Centre to a bigger location. This has been approved by the CCS Management Committee. SEC Properties Department, together with Treasury, have been tasked to look for suitable premises. This growth created the need to employ an Administrative Assistant who works 10 hours a week.

First CCS Graduates 2016

Community impact: CCS counsellors, together with CCS students in training, have supported their local communities during Health Expos and the Advent Shelter. In 2016 this team had a huge community impact, supporting victims and families in the wake of the Grenfell fire. Training on how to support victims of trauma and abuse was given to the church members.

Appreciation

Special appreciation goes to: Ros Farrell, our dedicated receptionist; Diana Gaga, our new administrative assistant; Team of counsellors: CCS is indebted to the work of this dedicated team; The SEC Management for their continued support, advice and guidance; my husband Douglas who has continued to support me in my work. Most of all, we thank God for sustaining, energising and protecting each member of the CCS team as they travelled throughout the SEC. Thembie Mapingire

MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

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Counseling Vision

Departmental Strategy

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Departmental Targets

1

2

100%

awareness of the counselling service, how it operates and its benefits to church members

1 2

of the churches and their communities

70%

Counselling service accessible to

20

3

2018 • Move to new premises by

• Team of counsellors increased to

areas to have a satellite

8 • All

3

New premises with disability access and facilities

Increase team of counsellors and operating hours

Expansion:

Making the service accessible to more church members and their communities

Accessibility :

making church members aware of the Counselling Service

Promoting the service:

Sis. Thembie Mapingire

Having an emotionally, spiritually healthy church and community’

‘Healthy Minds, Healthy Hearts!

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Session Reports // Disability and Diversity Department

Disability and Diversity Departments Sophia Nicholls

thereby open the doors, not just of our churches, but also of our hearts, to many in need of the gospel. The ministry also aims to empower people with disabilities to feel a part of ministry and mission by their involvement in the same.

Restoration – The ‘EEE’ Strategy in Action

To achieve this, the department focused on training and support for equipping, enabling and empowering church members to develop sound relationships with people living with a disability or special needs, and thereby becoming more aware of the issues they are facing and to address any stereotypes or prejudices which might affect behaviours and attitudes relating to disability. The department has also worked alongside disabled members and their families to help them engage in ministry in their local church and community.

The aim of SEC Disability and Diversity Ministries is to empower the local church to become places where everyone belongs and is able to be part of the body of Christ in ministry and mission. The vision for the department is to make the gospel accessible for everyone.

Disability Ministries Opening minds, hearts and doors: This has been the goal for the SEC Disability Ministry over the last year 4 years. Working closely with ASNA and other local and national Christian organisations, SEC Disability ministries have achieved a number of objectives towards the goal of opening the minds of the membership. The ultimate aim of the department is to support a change in attitudes and behaviour towards people with disabilities, and

The focus for the future needs to be more outward facing, as we move from awareness to engaging and supporting a community of over 11 million people living with disabilities in the UK. Activities have included training and support throughout the 4 years.

MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Targets included Disability Training days in all 11 Areas.

Every year, the SEC Disability Department has carried out over • 50 seminars, workshops and trainings in local churches, during SEC- organised events and in the local community, giving a total of over • 200 training sessions in four years. With an average of over • 50 attending each session, this gives an estimated overall total of over • 10,000 opportunities that people have taken to hear and get engaged in the ministry in some way.

Training Disability training and awareness has been a key focus over the first 2.5 years of the quadrennium.

The training involved seminars, workshops and celebration Sabbaths in the following areas: • Disability awareness • Specific Disability training • Deaf awareness • Signature accredited British Sign Language training • Addressing and recognising unconscious bias

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Session Reports // Disability and Diversity Department

Partnership Work During National Learning Disability Awareness week in 2017, the department worked with ASNA to launch the #thinkaboutit campaign. Attendees were encouraged to consider issues and barriers facing people living with disability and special needs, including negative attitudes, inappropriately built environments and limited disability- specific resources. A free online course was developed to provide self-directed training and in-depth study, with many signing up.

Partnership with the Pathfinder Department – This has included the provision of Disability Awareness training for the Pathfinder club leadership, policy development and support, advocacy and the empowerment of young people with disabilities and special needs. Over 20 seminars and workshops, and local church disability resources have been developed for the pathfinders on a local level; training provided in assessing and working with families with disabled people; and making opportunity for Disability ministries to work closely with other SEC departments. Closer links, with the BUC and TED have been developed. The SEC Disability Director has been recently asked to be a part of the GC Special Needs Task force to help effect change on a global level.

The Disability Ministry in the SEC has worked closely with other church entities such as the, NEC, BUC and General Conference. We have also worked closely with ASNA to provide 12 Residential Respite and Training weekends, attended NEC camp meeting and have run training during the NEC annual Leaders Training conferences, as well as local church awareness days.

Diversity Making connections, creating belonging: The vision of the Diversity department is to enable the membership of the churches in the SEC to create places of belonging for everyone through nurture and support for ministry and mission. Belonging is a strong and inevitable feeling that exists in human nature. Belonging develops when people feel they are valued and are able to contribute in some way, no matter their ability. Without belonging, one cannot identify themselves as clearly, thus having difficulties communicating with and relating to their surroundings and others. Belonging fosters good health. The department aims to foster belonging by creating safe spaces and the environment where open, honest and sincere conversations can take place, where differences can be understood and celebrated.

During this period 2015 – 2018, the department ran a number of seminars and training programmes in churches and SEC-wide events. These included • a 4-week series in AREA 5, • a series in AREA 6D, • seminars at the annual SEC Expo and Camp Meeting, • training in local church programmes.

Further resource development and partnerships, working across SEC departments, continued till 2018.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Diversity Ministry On taking office in November 2015, as the newly established South England Conference Diversity Ministry Director, the department carried out a detailed research project which included a survey and in-depth interviews with the church membership and leadership, to establish the issues and understanding of diversity within the SDA church and its relevance to church, mission and ministry. The survey identified three key areas which formed the basis of the Diversity Ministry from November 2015 – December 2018.

The three areas included issues around: • Church and culture, • Church and gender • Cross-generational relationships Other areas identified in the survey were either being addressed through other ministries, or as areas for development over the next four years.

Directed by the overarching SEC strategy and informed by the survey results, the departmental strategy and objectives for the ministry were developed to include an understanding of the spiritual benefits of diversity in the body of Christ.

The ministry is based on the following: The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding and valuing each individual as unique, made in His Image and recognising our individual differences. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.

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The focus of the ministry has been to create places where open and frank conversations can take place to achieve understanding and welcome opportunities to celebrate the diversity within the church.

Since 2015, the opportunities that have been created for open and frank discussions have included the SEC Diversity Days of Fellowship and Breaking the Trend, seminars addressing specific issues linked to SEC’s strategy.

The first programme, in 2016, looked at ‘The Church and Sexuality’ as one of the strategic areas of challenge and concern. Many were able to address questions and receive clarity on the issues.

Other opportunities to address ideas of Church and Culture took place at the Area and local church levels. Members were invited to discuss the question, ‘Multicultural Church: Can it work?’

Healthy and insightful conversations have taken place between young and older members of the church, and between members of diverse cultural backgrounds. The issue of Cross Generational Relationship was addressed in the Breaking the Trend II Day of Fellowship.

Sustainability and Development During the 4 years, we launched the Regional Hubs for Ministry in Disability, Diversity and Inclusion (RHMDDI). These Hubs consist of churches within an AREA that ‘sign up’ to engage in disability and diversity ministries. They are supported by the SEC Disability and Diversity departments.

Session Reports // Disability and Diversity Department

The HUBs have been, • running a regular course of disability-specific training, including disability awareness; • involved in active ministry in the local community, forming effective and lasting partnerships with organisations involved in disability; • involved in empowering church members with a disability to be involved in mission and community ministry in effective and creative ways.

Some examples of good practice supported by the SEC Disability and Diversity Department: • RHMDDI Area 5 - Reading SDA Church runs a programme, Hand in Hand, supporting the church and local community In Reading; Oxford has a local community weekly music programme, which includes gospel music, for people in the learning disabilities programme.

• RHMDDI Areas 6A, 6D, 7, 5– BSL Accredited courses are running in these areas: Willesden, Holloway and Stanborough Centers, Ilford, Reading, and one soon to begin at Newbold College.

• RHMDDI Area 6A - New Life SDA Church have developed a sound team of volunteer members with professional experience and interest in disability matters and have a programme to raise awareness of autism.

Centers running BSL Level 2: Holloway – 5 students 52 students took part in the BSL initiative from 2017.

Further training in BSL and Deaf Awareness: • Over 50 students attended a one-day update and intensive training day; • 30 students attended the SEC Certified BSL Deaf Awareness training; • 30 students attended the jointly organised training day, GC Gifted, Needed and Treasured Conference in December; • 160 BSL contacts and students (on average, 40 per year) have benefited from accredited BSL courses and Deaf Awareness training.

New Initiatives The first ‘Homeschooling with a Difference’ conference, organised in response to the growing concerns of holistic schooling and the impact of disability, was launched in November 2017. This event brought together homeschooling parents, families and church leadership to identify where issues may arise, and to provide training for families living with disability and special needs.

The department has been instrumental in developing resources for the Regional Hubs for Ministry in Disability Diversity and Inclusion.

Centers running BSL Level 1: • New Life – 12 students • Reading – 5 students • Watford – 10 students • Ilford – 5 students • Holloway – 7 students • Willsden – 8 students

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

In Summary Members with disability have identified that the ministry has enabled them to feel more empowered to lead, share their stories and to be affirmed through their sense of belonging and involvement.

Members without disability have expressed great appreciation for the ministry for opening their eyes to ministry and equipping them to work in this mission field alongside people that have differing needs, abilities and skills.

The diversity ministry has identified that for healthy church membership, all members need to be nurtured, empowered and involved in ministry. At the local level, training has enabled churches to develop strategies for membership nurture, peer

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support and spiritual development towards better communities, where members thrive in the mission and ministry of the church based in Matthew 28.

Appreciation I would like to thank the leadership of the SEC for their support of this ministry. Also, thanks to my husband Nigel and sons Matthew and Christopher James for their continued support and contribution to this ministry. I would like to express appreciation to my secretary Ligia Buzac for her constant commitment to ministry and mission. Finally, thanks to Rhiannon Lee-Murray, who recently joined the SEC team.

Sophia Nicholls

Departmental Strategy

1

Disabilities Ministries Vision

Departmental Targets

11

celebration Sabbaths in all AREAS of the conference

Disability Ministry training and

2

30%

An increase of involvement of people and their families engaged in mission and evangelism

3

50%

All Area and in Local church projects geared towards disabled people and their families

4

4

3

least

3/6

1 Qualified BSL up to level

AREA wide Independent resource hubs resourced with at

11

The development and improvement of Area wide resource Hubs

Increasing and improving the intentionality of ministry for Disability

Increase the number of People with disabilities and their families involved in Mission 2

1

Sis Sophia Nicholls

Improving the understanding of the Disability Ministry mission and purpose

‘The Accessible Gospel’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

Session Reports // Disability and Diversity Department

MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

47

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Education Department Gina Abbeyquaye

Following are the goals that were set for the past quadrennium: 1.

2.

3.

Making Adventist education a first choice for Adventist parents.

Increasing support available to Adventist educators working in the state sector.

Empowering Adventist students to be in control of their learning and spiritual journey.

Making Adventist Education a First Choice for Adventist Parents.

Fletewood School in Plymouth

R

edemption and Education are both fundamentally about human development. There is a definite synergy between education and redemption because they work together towards the same goal - God reconciling each of us to himself.

Fletewood school is dedicated to the Discovery of Excellence in each child. Their aim is to encourage the pupils to develop strength of character and gain a desire for life-long learning.

The recently appointed headteacher has maintained the high standards already established. The behaviour of pupils is exemplary, and the School has been rated ‘GOOD’ by Ofsted. Presently, there are no Adventist pupils in the School; but Fletewood continues to offer Adventist Education, witnessing to the population of Plymouth.

Newbold Primary School in Berkshire The mission of Newbold Primary is to create a secure, loving environment by presenting God as the source of all life and truth, and encouraging children to practise Christian values with respect to themselves, others and the environment.

The headteacher sets high standards, and pupils leave the school strongly prepared for secondary education. Pupils are proud of their school and

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Session Reports // Education Department

courteous towards each other, always. The School has been rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted. Newbold Primary offers a quality education to its pupils, of which 75% are from Adventist homes.

Eden School in West London Eden School seeks to develop the whole child, building strengths and developing weaknesses.

Their ultimate aim is to ensure that students fulfil their God-given potential, becoming the very best they can be through education -for now and for eternity. Having moved premises, the school is patiently awaiting a visit from Ofsted. Eden School provides a strong Adventist Education to all of its pupils, 50% of which are Adventist.

Hyland House School in North London At Hyland House, the mission is to work diligently to establish a ‘Centre of Excellence’ which produces God-fearing, well-grounded and wellrounded citizens of their community. Within its nurturing and friendly environment, pupils thrive academically, culturally, spiritually and socially.

They are empowered to cultivate optimism and to become effective citizens dedicated to ‘achieving excellence’ in a 21st Century world. Its Early Years programme was rated ‘OUTSTANDING’ by Ofsted, and every other area rated ‘GOOD’. 80% of pupils at the school are from Adventist homes.

I want to applaud our Headteachers and their staff for their dedication to Adventist Education.

Adventist Accrediting Association (AAA Inspection) This is an inspection which is performed on our schools by a panel of 5 to 7 accredited individuals within the BUC, NEC and SEC. This inspection is compulsory and comes from the General Conference. It is rigorous and meticulously ascertains if our Adventist schools are being run in accordance with the Adventist Education ethos as set out by the General Conference.

I am able to report that all of our SEC schools have undergone this inspection successfully.

Training The following trainings have taken place: • Head Teachers and Senior Leadership Teams have received regular training through the BUC. This training included school management, staff management, academic and subject training, current legislative updates and developing school ethos; • Teachers and support staff have received training for a variety of academic subject areas, incorporating faith and learning in the curriculum; middle leader training, etc.

• Training has also been offered to the ‘church family’, in order to better equip them to understand education in ‘Modern Britain’.

• Numerous training events were held throughout the SEC churches, preparing our members for the changes in legislation; the National Curriculum and Religious Education; and Parental Rights in Education.

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Engagement with the Community: Our schools continue to tour their local communities, showing the true benefits of Adventist Education.

Our schools take an active role in local initiatives involving the environment, recycling, fundraising initiatives and making a positive representation of Adventist Education.

This has highlighted the need to maintain a biblically sound yet inclusive approach to education today. Although we have played our part, attending many meetings to strategise and plan how to contribute and respond to Government Consultations about the direction of education in Britain, we have much more to do.

Projections for the Future: Challenges lie ahead for our Adventist schools, Adventist educators in the state sector and all of our children. We are in the process of developing a Working Education Policy in preparation for the new legislation coming into the British education system. This Working Policy will reflect our Christian beliefs and Biblical principles, strengthen our Adventist identity and mission, and equip us for life in this modern world and in the world to come.

Gratitude:

Empowering Adventist Students to be in Control of Their Learning and Spiritual Journey.

We have experienced the growing change in the National Curriculum. It began with the introduction of ‘British Values’ and continued to the compulsory teaching of LGBT topics as part of regular lessons.

Presently, the country is preparing to introduce legislation to make Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) compulsory for all children, from Infants to Secondary schools, by 2020. This raises concern for all of our children, whether they are in state or home school; whether in faith-based schools or Independent schools.

Increasing Support Available to Adventist Educators Working in the State Sector.

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I would like to thank the many individuals who share the passion for educating our young people and have supported my department by holding educational programmes throughout the SEC. I want to extend my gratitude to my husband and children who have always been patient, understanding and encouraging. Finally, I give all thanks to God for the strength and energy that he has given to me in this endeavour.

Gina Abbeyquaye

Session Reports // Family Ministries

Family Ministries Augustus Lawrence

•

Increase family life educators to provide family life education in local churches and communities Increase relational education to support relationships.

•

To achieve this, we implemented the following:

Seminars 1.

Leslie Ackie

U

nder the theme Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere, and in keeping with the job description of the Family Ministries Director, we set out during this quadrennium to continue with the strategy as laid out, but with slight adjustments. Our goals were to:

• •

a. b. c. d.

During the last four years, the Family Ministries Department took the opportunity to provide training seminars for Family Life leaders during the annual SEC Evangelism Expo. These addressed: How to be a family advocate by listening and sharing practical ways of relating to others; How to develop a family life programme that meets the needs of church and community; How to relate to modern day parenting challenges; How to strengthen families and communities in an inclusive parent programme;

Enhance restoration and healing through family worship Increase the use of family life themes as a means of evangelism

MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

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63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

2.

Family Life Weekends. In 2017 and 2018, several Family Life weekends were conducted.

3.

Prepare-Enrich. In 2017 several pastors were trained, and others updated their skills in the Prepare-Enrich programme. Skills entailed: Communication Conflict Resolution Parenting Style and Habits Financial Management Relationship Dynamics (assertiveness, selfconfidence, avoidance, partner dominance and scope personality scales).

i. ii. iii. i. v.

4.

52

Premarital Seminars. During 2017 and 2018, we held several premarital seminars entitled ‘Before I Say I Do”. Their aim was to provide education and highly practical insights into love, sex, dating and courting.

5.

Marriage Enrichment Seminars. Two enrichment seminars were held annually.

These focussed on couples who have been married up to 12 years. The department also partnered with the ‘Rekindle the Spark’ team to host the ‘Marriage on The Rock’ Retreat, addressing the needs of couples that have been married 12 years or more.

6.

Parenting Conventions. In 2017 and 2018 we planned and held two Parenting Conventions for the community. Several professionals shared with parents and care-givers their experience, knowledge and expertise on helping to change mind-set, trajectories and thinking.

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Community Engagement 1.

Widowed Gathering was a community initiative designed to bring hope and healing to many who may have lost a spouse. In 2017 and 2018 Widowed Gathering was held for those whose spouses had passed away.

2.

Divorce Care seminars were held in 2017 and 2018 with several in attendance, including children. It is the hope of this department to continue to seek ways and means to bring hope and healing to those who seek help, as well as train volunteers to provide help, hope and healing to those in need.

3.

Mothers and Fathers Prayer Conference.

Organised by Mums in Action, a supporting ministry of the Family Ministries Department, the Mothers Prayer Conference is believed to be the first prayer conference in the Adventist Church in the UK for mothers, run by mothers. Because of the enormous success of this project, the need to pray for fathers became vital; thus, Mothers and Fathers Prayer Conference became the theme for this annual programme.

4.

GosFest Community Programme. In 2018 Family Ministries sponsored the first ever outdoor GosFest programme, featuring the 250-strong Kidz Praise children’s mass choir.

Performances were held at various venues around London, between 12 noon and 6 pm, welcoming over 1000 people to the joyous family-friendly event. The main aim of GosFest was to provide an inclusive, family-based programme. Several people from the local community stayed to listen to the variety of singing groups that performed.

Session Reports // Family Ministries

Single Adult Ministry (SAM).

Challenges

In 2017 and 2018, two single banquets were held.

This ministry plays an important and vital role that should be integrated into our Family Ministries teams. When implemented, it will help to embrace, support, encourage, disciple, nurture and mentor existing church members, as well as new converts to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sharing the good news about Jesus means that we are to actively care and support OUR FAMILIES in all of their forms.

One of the main challenges encountered during this reporting period was the lack of contact information for the Family Life Leaders. Second, the Family Ministries department need to get resources to the local Family Life teams in a timely manner.

Lastly, we need to encourage more local Family Life leaders to attend the organised training sessions.

Family and Lone Parents Camp Over the last 4 years, Family Camps were held at Chapel Porth in Cornwall. The Lone Parent Camp is run jointly with the Community Ministry department. For all the families who attend each year, it is a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time together and experience the joy of Christian fellowship. The beautiful setting, creative spiritual focus and healthy fun for all the family make these camps extremely popular.

Achievements •

• • •

• •

• • •

Training – Some of our pastors were trained in how to give marriage and premarital education through the Prepare Enrich programmes, covering the following areas: parenting sex education couples and family’s spiritual development through prayer conferences couple’s relationship enrichment divorce prevention premarital education Articles – Relational issues were featured in the Communicator.

Targeting – Various family groups were identified and reached with support and a message of hope, healing and restoration.

The Future My vision is for our communities to be empowered to find creative ways to explore, understand and work through important relationship issues.

Appreciation I thank my wife Barbara who has given the Family Ministries Department tireless service, as well as my sons, Nathanael, Enoch and Luther. I must acknowledge the many years of excellent service given by Pastor Ackie and the many achievements accomplished during his more than 6 years as SEC Family Ministries Director. Angela BakerWright for her dedicated and sacrificial service to SAM. And the tremendous contributions Nicole Gooden gave to the department since 2017.

I also acknowledge the years of excellent service and commitment given by Arnnell Smith and her team to Single Adults Ministry. Millie Williams has given many years of service through her delicious meals at the annual Family camp. Finally, thanks to my secretary Ligia Buzac for her service.

Augustus Lawrence

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Family Life Vision

Departmental Strategy

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Departmental Targets

1

families involved in some form of family workshop

2

70%

of Churches in some form of family evangelism

3

30

individuals each year to complete Family Ministry Leadership Training

To train

4

continually online

2016 to be updated

4

Increasing the awareness of specialists in the area of family life education and emotional wellness for church leaders

SEC

3

Increasing the number of family life specialists to provide family life education within our churches and communities

100%

2

Increasing the utilisation of family themes as a method of evangelism

Completion of a directory of FM specialists by December

1

Pastor L Ackie

Enhancing the participation in family worship for households within the South England Conference

‘Connecting Lives for Eternal Living’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Session Reports // Health Ministries

Health Ministries Chidi Ngwaba

operations. But what is most fascinating to me is that lifestyle diseases- diabetes, hypertension, arthritis and other chronic conditions-are reversible.

By using the information that we have, we are truly able to set people free from disease, helping them move from illness to wellness.

Healing

O

ur goal has been to introduce people to the Lord Jesus Christ through mission focused on the core values of Health, Healing & The Hope of Jesus Christ, as the keys to a transformed life. Our department demonstrated Christ’s compassion, love and healing power through programmes designed to reach people at different stages of life and health, and of different ages, backgrounds and experiences, helping them progress to a more abundant life.

Health

After assisting people with their physical illnesses, we are able to offer help for the root causes of those illnesses; stress, bitterness, anger, guilt, shame. Many of these conditions keep us in unhealthy lifestyle practices, such as overeating, smoking, drinking alcohol and taking recreational drugs. By coming to a place of love and forgiveness for oneself and others, it is possible to break out of these conditions and to be freed from unhealthy lifestyles.

Hope Once we introduce the ideas of love and forgiveness, we acknowledge and explain the author of both.

This means introducing people to Jesus.

We believe that this is a modern way of practicing ‘Christ’s Method,’ as recorded in the Spirit of Prophecy:

“Lifestyle Medicine” is powerful but not new. Ellen G. White was promoting this over 170 years ago.

Dr Kellogg became famous because of it, and it is at the heart of our health message. In my career as a doctor, I have seen some remarkable things. I’ve assisted in heart transplants at Papworth hospital in Cambridge, helped to deliver newborn babies and even assisted Dr Ben Carson in some of his

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‘Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching people. The Saviour 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.”’ Ministry of Healing 143.3

Bristol The health team has become well-known in the area. They now are able to have an annual health event at City Hall. This is attended by hundreds of locals, including councillors and MPs. The church is seen as a resource for healthy living.

Gloucester Over the years the church has also been able to use interesting neutral venues, such as the central sports hall or museums to attract local people, including the mayor, to their health programmes.

Stanborough, Brixton & Croydon Health Ministries is a mission that is fuelled by love and compassion for our neighbours.

This method has been used widely, especially promoting the “LIFE COLOURS” programme which advocates simple ways to help prevent or reverse the 9 biggest lifestyle diseases: diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, depression, stress, auto immune disease, obesity, cancer and dementia. The general public have shown a positive response to this programme.

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We ran a series of public health talks once a week for a whole month in their churches. This enabled the public to hear the messages, get help, and also to become acquainted with the church family. Once the health programmes ended, many started to worship at the church as a result of these seminars.

Plymouth & Willesden An entire week of public health promotion and health talks were held at these churches, with diverse groups of people in attendance, including those of other faiths.

Session Reports // Health Ministries

Great Yarmouth, Bexley & Stevenage Diabetes reversal weekends were held in those congregations, and these were well attended by church members and people from their local community.

Aylesbury, Brighton, Portsmouth & Southampton These four churches are dedicated to reaching out to the public through health ministry. It is gratifying to see the response from their respective communities.

There are so many more churches that have caught the vision of how to reach the public with our unique and comprehensive health message.

sort of knowledge. We had over 70 members from the BUC. It is really exciting to see how the message is being received. The government, the media and many other countries are finding that what we are doing has relevance to their needs also. Several years ago, few people were talking about reversing diabetes; now it’s becoming common. I hope and pray that the future will see more and more people receive Health, Healing & the Hope of Jesus Christ.

Appreciation We have really enjoyed taking this message out to the people of southern England and beyond.

We are grateful to God for His direction and leading in this work.

I would like to thank Natalie Bryan who, despite her many other roles, ensured the smooth running of the department. I also must thank Millie Williams and our dedicated team of Health Expo and First Aid volunteers. This work has been much appreciated throughout the conference, for helping churches to sow seeds in the community, highlighting personal health issues of the general public and giving life-changing and life-saving advice.

In September 2016, with the help of Mervyn Weir and Marge Malcolm, we were able to produce a truly spectacular event which motivated, educated, entertained and inspired the people of London.

Culminating in a musical production based on the theme “Life Colours”, we reached over 1,500 members of the public in one day.

Lifestyle medicine was also the theme of the 2nd European Health Conference in Bucharest, Romania, in April 2018. The SEC assisted in the planning of this conference, as we are really leading the way in reaching the public with this

I would also like to thank the leadership team at the SEC (President, Treasurer, Executive Secretary) for supporting this department, creating a Health and Wellness Consultation office. Many members and non-members are benefitting from this office.

The Health department’s ultimate goal is to promote Health, Healing and Hope to all.

Chidi Ngwaba

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Evangelism Vision

Departmental Strategy

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Departmental Targets

1

SEC Awareness of LIFE COLOURS

Each area to have at least 1 Life Colours Community Group FOR HEALTH & HEALING

EACH AREA TO HAVE AT LEAST 1 HOPE GROUP.

4

4

LIFE COLOURS! People will encourage each other in groups Life Colour Groups

3

3

LIFE COLOURS! HOPE- Showing how the answers to health are found in the Principles of Jesus

No.s No.s attending LC HEALTH events. Gaining info & being Healed 10 PER AREA

2

LIFE COLOURS! HEALING- Helping people to understand that Emotional & Spiritual factors Lead to Healing

2

1

LIFE COLOURS! HEALTH- Dealing with the 9 biggest Diseases.

How to Reverse Improve & Prevent

Dr Chidi

Health, Healing & Hope for All

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Session Reports // Men’s Ministries

Men’s Ministries Devon Boyd

and training has been undertaken in many of the churches in this conference.

During the past 21 months, the Men’s Ministry team has organised workshops on topical issues, including domestic violence and effective communication. It remains, however, that not all local churches have formed a Men’s Ministry department, but there is strong encouragement and support for them to start such a ministry.

Social Media and Branding

T

he department set out the following goals: In March 2017 the Men’s Ministries Department envisioned the goal of Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere, in terms of enabling men in the BUC toward a more resourceful and wholistic spiritual experience.

To this end, the department set out the achieve the following objectives: 1.

2.

3.

Men’s Ministries has established a fresh and exciting media presence. The Facebook page SEC Men’s Ministries, set up by Basil Lumsden, was launched in November 2017. Basil continues to maintain the page, keeping content updated and relevant. Also, a new logo reflecting both innovation and inclusivity was created by Natalie Bryan (Simon).

Equip men with the best tools to boost their ministries.

Organise self-awareness workshops to develop men’s self-understanding.

Encourage older men to mentor younger men in the areas of leadership at home, church and in the workplace.

The empowering of men to become positive role models and mentors to the younger generation is a ministry opportunity not only within the church, but also in the surrounding communities. For this purpose, necessary safeguarding procedures MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

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Men’s Breakfast The first SEC Men’s Breakfast was held at the Advent Centre in November 2017 in celebration of International Men’s Day. This event blessed attendees through inspiring music, warm fellowship, sincere worship and delicious food.

2.

3.

4.

Men’s Retreat In September 2018, the first joint retreat was held in London, in collaboration with the Family Ministries department and the Willesden Seventhday Adventist Church. Dr Spence, the speaker from Canada, encouraged the 53 attendees to ‘unlock our greatness’ and to change what we they are doing in their homes, in their local churches, and in their every sphere of influence. It was a blessing to see men fellowship together; to be educated, equipped and encouraged to reach their potential.

Plans for the next 4 years: 1.

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5.

6.

7.

department, organise workshops on men’s health, domestic and sexual abuse and other topics relevant to men.

Organise retreats, conferences and workshops within the community.

Work alongside schools and universities, giving presentations on goals and life experiences.

Establish mentoring models for younger and older men.

Raise the church’s awareness of the benefit of ministries to men.

Encourage churches to work in partnerships so as to encourage best practice.

Lastly, encourage all men by giving them the opportunity to speak out, as Speak Out! will be the theme for the next few years.

On the behalf of the Men’s Ministry department, I would like to thank the administration of the SEC for their support and also my team of volunteers who have worked tirelessly to develop the work of this department.

Devon Boyd

Session Reports // Media

Media

Sam O Davies To achieve these, we have done the following in the past four years: 1. Regularly review our use of social media platforms; 2. Produce Christian videos; 3. Stream and broadcast evangelistic and departmental events; 4. Train local church media volunteers; 5. Accelerate the creation of a new Christian radio station.

Review of Social Media Platforms.

Vili Costescu

T

he Media Department has a wide variety of responsibilities which involves overseeing media productions for the South England Conference.

As media is a huge part of the way we do church, our goal has been to use the many media avenues available to enhance the spreading of the gospel to our visually-driven audiences. Our resolve has also been to be current in engaging our ever-changing world through the use of technology and media, and to equip as many ministries of the church as possible to use digital and electronic media as a worship and outreach tool.

Our social media platforms have been the main channels for sharing messages meant to connect with both Adventists and non-Adventists. We have used the following platforms to accomplish that: 1. YouTube channel with over 2500 subscribers (841 videos) 2. Facebook – over 3000 followers since 2015 3. Twitter – 370 followers 4. Vimeo – 383 videos 5. secmedia app

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Produce Christian Videos.

Training

One of the significant functions of the department has been the production of Christian videos for various audiences. During the past four years we have done the following productions: 1. Fullishness – A video production aimed at explaining the fulness of the Christian faith; 2. Rewind – This was a monthly round-up of new items from within the conference; 3. Biblios – A theological discussion on some doctrinal issues; 4. Women Unwrapped – A Christian chat show on contemporary issues relevant to women; 5. 60-Sec News – A brief weekly news from around the conference; 6. Recording of the President’s annual messages/ other messages; 7. The first episode of “A life Less Ordinary”; 8. Recordings of various events, teachings, and sermons, which are made available for viewing on the secmedia app and on our web site;

The Communication and Media departments provided training opportunities and consultations for media personnel in local churches and provided them with resources.

Other training events took place, as follows: 1. Media Academy – 2015 2. Camp meeting 2016 3. Evangelism Expo 2018 4. GaiN 2017

Live Streaming The department has been responsible for streaming, recording and distributing largescale programmes such as Camp Meeting, the Conference Session and Conference Days of Fellowship. These projects were largely carried out through the help of our team of volunteers.

During this term, we have managed to bring under the SECmedia unbrella, 11 of our churches who stream their Sabbath worship and other events: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

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Streaming Events Camp meetings 2015 – Present Conference Session 2015 Conference events Teens – at least three events every year Pathfinders – at least two events every year Youth – at least two events every year Personal Ministries – once every year Treasury Conference training – 2015, 2017

Session Reports // Media

BUC Events 1. Personal Ministries – once a year 2. Religious Liberty days – once a year 3. Youth – Once a year 4. Treasury – 2015, 2017 TED Events 1. Pathfinder Camporee 2. TED Ministerial Conference (Serbia) We are extremely grateful to our media streaming volunteers for their professionalism and dedication.

They are the ones who work behind the scenes, making it possible to share the messages of all our events with large groups of people through amplified sound recordings, PowerPoint presentations, and all the streaming which has enabled the smooth running of our broadcasts at important events.

Adventist Radio London Project With the prospects for an Adventist radio station for London, the Media department devoted most of 2017 helping to establish a studio fit for purpose, by converting parts of the Conference rooms for the construction of the studio. The team had some training as well, by attending a Radio 2.0 training, organised in Romania by the EUD. We were pleased with the outcome of our involvement- the implementation of Adventist Radio, a live broadcast station for London.

As a result of this project, the Media department had to postpone nearly all its productions for more than six months to accommodate the setting up of the station.

Challenges 1.

2.

3.

The department has struggled with having sufficient personnel to undertake the various responsibilities within the department.

Local churches have more demands for help and expectations of support with their local needs than is possible to provide.

The ever-changing innovations in the digital world demand that the Media department has ongoing support and training to remain current and effective.

Gratitude We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the media staff: Stefan Stanciu, Andraé Johnson, Onysha Collins and Natasha Pujols for their dedicated work. We are also immensely grateful to the entire team of media volunteers for giving their valuable time to the media ministry. We are thankful also to all who helped, in diverse ways, the work of the Media ministry.

Sam O Davies & Vili Costescu

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Ministerial Association Ebenezer Jones-Lartey

NCD in the last four years was 35. However, the churches that did the NCD reported that the findings helped them to identify and work on areas of strength and weakness.

Equipping Elders, Deacons and Deaconess Training weekends focused on Revival in 2016, Restoration in 2017, Reclamation in 2018 and Retention in 2019. The trainings also offered the opportunity for the attendees to interact with the President, Treasurer, Secretary and Area Coordinators. At the end of the conference, the feedback has always been positive.

A

s part of the South England Conference’s vision of Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere, the Ministerial Association Department planned to resource and empower pastors, elders and deacons for ministry. The departmental strategy over the last four years was twofold: 1. Make elders, deacons and deaconesses aware and equipped to deliver all aspects of their roles and responsibilities; 2. Support pastors and improve accountability to the Church.

Two outcomes emerged from the vision. Firstly, to help local churches to retain 90% of new members after one year; and secondly, to encourage 70% of churches to participate in the Natural Church Development programme, to assess their strengths and weaknesses. The retention of 90% of new members is ongoing and remains a key objective of the SEC. In the last four years, we were unable to achieve the target of 70% of churches participating in NCD. The actual number of churches that did

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The training of the elders continued with Godwin Benjamin at the Advent Centre in London.

Regrettably, we were not able to take the training to the whole of the SEC for logistical reasons.

Attempts were made for Newbold College to validate the Elders’ Training Course. There is an ongoing discussion to make this available in the future so that all church elders can update their training needs online.

Session Reports // Ministerial Association

The Ministerial Association Department has developed a training package for our Area Coordinators to use for training the deacons.

Area Elders Advisory “The call of the gospel is an intensely personal and individual matter, yet it requires corporate responsibility and community. While we are not saved as a company of believers, we find strength and security in the fellowship of a Christian community. We are admonished to “consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:24, 25, NKJV). We are intended to band together as Christians for the mutual benefit it provides. Clearly, the strength of what we can do together is greater than our individual efforts” (Elders’ Handbook p19).

We encouraged the formation of the Area Elders’ Advisory. The two areas in London that formed an Advisory met regularly to achieve the following objectives: • Discuss how the mission of the church could move forward in the Area • Discuss best practice in our churches • Develop cohesion among elders of an Area • Provide feedback to the Area Advisory Council on actions to be considered by the Area • Provide the platform for continuous dialogue among elders in the Area • Provide feedback to the Ministerial Association Director about training and continuous education for elders • Organise Area Elders social outings

began the session with the core objective of resourcing and empowering pastors for ministry.

Core to the duty of a pastor is visiting members.

Visitation requires special skills, especially as it involves the empathy to listen more and talk less.

The Ministerial Association is aware that pastors are often under many pressures which can often take their toll if left unchecked or unaddressed.

There are several ways by which pastors can access support to deal with burnout. Three ways are highlighted. First, the Ministerial Association Department encourages pastors to attend all meetings duly called by the President and all Area meetings. These meetings are meant for pastors to engage with matters relevant to pastoral ministry and to support each other. Second, it has been recognised that pastors may need to talk to somebody outside the SEC. There are free confidential counselling services available to pastors. Lastly, the Ministerial Association has set aside a small budget for retreats.

Chaplaincy Observation Every year, we support individuals to visit The Florida Hospital to observe hospital chaplaincy.

Pastor Rosemarie Lethbridge said, “I learned so much from visiting the Florida Hospital, and I wish that Newbold College would offer a course in Chaplaincy to all students planning to be in ministry.” Mrs Jacqueline Crawford testified that visiting the Florida Hospital had helped her, from a HR perspective, to appreciate how to offer support to the pastors.

Improving Ministerial Support and Ministerial Accountability Ministerial support is key to best practice. There are enormous benefits when the support is provided within the strategic objectives of the SEC. We

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Improving Ministerial Accountability One of the core objectives of the Ministerial Association is to encourage accountability to God and to the church. Improving ministerial accountability cannot be done in isolation of a local church’s input. To this end, under instruction from the SEC Executive Committee, a new evaluation tool has been developed to help pastors improve on our accountability, in the context of serving local churches. The new tool takes into consideration the health and profile of the church. The central focus is not primarily on the pastor but on the identified strategic needs of the local church.

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In conclusion, from every corner of the SEC, God is on the move, though we may not see it. From poverty-stricken slums to multi-million-pound mansions, God is on the move. This is no ordinary time. God’s final call is going out all over the SEC. Through toils and danger, we will certainly survive under the bloodstained banner of Jesus Christ.

Appreciation I sincerely thank all pastoral colleagues, Lydia Hamblin and all SEC support staff who made work a delight. I commend this report to the delegates.

Ebenezer Jones-Lartey

Ministerial Vision

Departmental Strategy

Departmental Targets

1

church after 1 year of baptism

Of new members retained in the

90%

2

70%

2

1

Pastor E. Osei

Churches Participating in Natural Church Development (NCD)

Improve ministerial accountability

Making Elders & Deacons aware and equipped to deliver all aspects their roles and responsibilities

‘Resourcing and Empowering, Each Pastor, Elder & Deacon for Ministry’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

Session Reports // Ministerial Association

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Music Ministries Mike Johnson

SEC Music Philosophy “The Love of Wisdom”, the music philosophy of the South England Conference (SEC), is based on the foundation of a Bible-based education programme designed to prepare music practitioners and other supporting ministries to engage a Spirit-led approach to music for worship, evangelism and enterprise.

Executive Summary This report is based on the department’s accomplishments from 2016 to 2017.

Central to our plans was the need to supply music makers and worship leaders with the necessary skills to develop music for worship, evangelism and enterprise. Notable achievements over the period include: • Formation of the Music Advisory Council (MAC) which executed the departmental plans; • Formation of the Music & Worship Academy (MWA) which delivered practical skills training; • Promotion of successful conferences and workshops; • Promotion of the Gala Gospel Concert; • Promotion of concerts for the Oakwood University Aeolians in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. The choir went on to be crowned World Choir Champions in 2017; • Publication of The Worshipper’s Guide.

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We consider music and worship as the expressions that the Church will continue throughout eternity, and so we believe that this ministry is especially significant to everyone’s spiritual experience.

Those who minister before the Lord in this way are under an obligation to usher the worshippers into the presence of the Lord where they can express their worship.

Session Reports // Music Ministries

The music philosophy was built on three pillars:

1. Music for Worship Musicians and Praise teams preparing music that is appropriate both for worship and for the age of the congregation, and that will usher them into the presence of the Lord. To work effectively, the leadership should create an atmosphere where worship can be offered.

2. Music for Evangelism “Song is one of the most effective means of impressing spiritual truth upon the heart. Often by the words of sacred song, the springs of penitence and faith have been unsealed.” (Testimonies V.5, P.491). The vital and effective role of music in evangelizing hearts is evident from this quotation. Music as outreach could include such projects as seasonal concerts, community gospel choirs, and concerts that support local charities.

3. Music for Enterprise Developing projects and music would contribute to a source of income necessary for the ongoing support of the ministry. Such projects could include, for example, live concerts, CD/DVD recordings, music publishing, music production and directing, artist management and development.

Music & Worship Academy The Music & Worship Academy (MWA) is a virtual Bible-based Centre of Excellence where qualified practitioners will share their skills via seminars, conferences and workshops. The aim of the Academy is to prepare individuals to minister through music with understanding and purpose.

The Worshippers’ Guide Much training has been provided for those in ministry, but there is one neglected stakeholder in the worship experience that has been overlooked for far too long, and that is the worshipper. The Worshippers’ Guide, written by SEC Music Director Mike Johnson, will provide Biblical principles on worship, to assist the members in their worship experience.

Strategic Plans Our targets were for the full quadrennial, but results below reflect two years only, due to the transfer of the Music Director to a different area of ministry.

1. Raise the Standard of Musicianship and Spirituality The aim was to equip worship leaders with the skills required to transition from a congregation from ‘members’ to ‘worshippers’.

Target: Register 250 delegates at conferencesResults: • Worship Leaders – March 2016 (Balham) = 56 • Music Makers 2016 (Newbold) – July 2016 = 100 • Worship Leaders – January 2017 (Newbold) 77 • Songwriters & Arrangers* – August 2017 (North Wembley) = 15 • (*Curtailed due to lack of funding.)

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We achieved 99% of our registration target for the two years of the programme, with approval ratings ranging from 88% to 91%.

Other ‘teaching’ events included church-based workshops called, “Singing His Praise”. These were conducted in Tottenham West Green Road, Milton Keynes Central and Bristol Central.

2. Improving the Quality of the Worship Experience The objective was to focus on the members, to emphasise the role they had to play in the worship experience and to document it for easy referencing.

Targets: Lead 20 Worship Services Launch The Worshipper’s Guide Results: 1. Worship services: In 2017, I led out in 27 worship services, with another 13 in 2018.

2. The Worshipper’s Guide was launched at the 2017 Worship Leader’s Conference.

3. Music Evangelism The objective was to use people’s love of music to share the gospel. In 2016 the SEC Music Department produced the Gala Gospel Concert and invited guests from the world of showbusiness and politics. The concert featured a 20-piece orchestra.

Target: Secure 100 acceptances to outreach concerts.

Result: On the night, we had four Members of Parliament and one foreign diplomat amongst the audience.

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4. Creating the Adventist Music Legacy The objective was to start a project to identify UK-based SDA songwriters, produce a songbook for use in our churches and to publish the songs so that writers and arrangers could receive royalties.

Target: Identify 5 new songs for publishing Result: This did not go as planned because the first event (Songwriters & Arrangers) was curtailed due to lack of funding. These workshops would have been the recruitment ground for new songs.

The Future for Music in the SEC Music is an “Eternal Ministry” and, on all levels of church experience, members are eternally invested in worship. It is a sad fact, however, that despite its centrality to our church services and its vitality to our expressions of faith and worship, the Music Ministry still lacks the investment it deserves. I urge the delegates to install a permanent and dedicated director to this position and make available the funding required to do justice to its broad and important vision.

Mike Johnson

Departmental Strategy

Music & Worship Vision

Departmental Targets

300

1

Register conference attendees

2

Distribute personal worship guidelines

3

£10K

4

2000 Achieved CD sales

4

Creating the Adventist music legacy

Raise for Cancer research UK

3

Music Evangelism

20K

2

1

Bro. M Johnson

Improving the quality of the worship experience

Raising the standard of musicianship and spirituality

‘Worship, Evangelism, Enterprise’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

Session Reports // Music Ministries

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Pathfinder Department Kevin Johns

The theme for the Pathfinder department during this quadrennium was simply, “Pathfinders Everywhere!” With the focus on Revival for 2016, the aim was to reconnect churches with the Pathfinders and Adventurers programmes.

This resulted in the revival of Pathfinder and Adventurer clubs in each of the 8 Areas in the SEC and a significant increase in Pathfinder events in local churches. Many saw the birth of new clubs, particularly in Area 1 where there were no Pathfinders or Adventurers; now there is a club.

T

he mission of the Pathfinder Department is, “The Advent message to all the world in my generation”. This is the wholistic development of young people, by enlarging their windows on the world, helping them build a relationship with God that, through their experience, introduces God to others. This is being achieved through the ongoing Adventurer and Pathfinder programmes which seek to instruct young people from the earliest age through to adulthood.

Most churches have seen the value of using Pathfinders in evangelistic outreach, as Pathfinders have an effect of attracting the community to events. The value of Pathfinders is recognised by our administrators who ensure that there is a Pathfinder presence at Camp Meeting every year. As for public events, each year a number of clubs have taken part in Remembrance Day Parades in London with our drum corp at the forefront, leading the procession. It is significant to note that in the London Borough of Dagenham and Barking, the Mayor’s New Year Parade was led by a Pathfinder drum corp at the personal request of the Mayor!

Over 110 adults have completed the Master Guide programme and are actively involved in their local clubs and encouraging others to become Master Guides. Recognizing that many of the new Master Guides had little experience of Pathfinders, apart from the essentials of the Master Guide training, a Master Guide Club has been introduced to facilitate the ongoing training and skills development of our Master Guides. This includes one pastor.

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Session Reports // Pathfinder Department

This quadrennium saw the introduction of the Pathfinder Leadership Programme (PLP) which is intended to replace the Pathfinder Leadership Award (PLA) and Advanced Pathfinder Leadership Award (APLA). The objective of the PLP is to better equip leaders with recognized leadership qualifications, making them certified instructors in whatever area they choose. The challenge with PLP, however, is the expense involved, as some activity modules need to be completed through outside agencies which can be costly. Over 30 new PLA’s and PLP’s have been invested.

Although the goal was for small groups to use the resources of Pathfinders and Adventurers for outreach, I am not aware of any small groups which are using the resources at this time.

Since its introduction, the Teen Leadership Training programme has proved popular amongst Pathfinders in the early stages, but as they progress along the course, many drop out. Some factors that have contributed to this are conflicts with school work, loss of a mentor or loss of the desire to continue. But those who have continued have reported that the training has improved their personnel skills, enhanced their personal development and has been a catalyst for them to get employment.

The competition element is simply the incentive, and it is working well; so much so that the Pathfinders have stated they would not have been so interested, were it not for that particular incentive! The incentive for adults and parents is seeing their children studying their Bibles and engaging them in challenging Bible discussions! A combination of PBE with other Pathfinder activities has resulted in well over 300 Pathfinders being baptized during this quadrennium. It was my privilege to conclude the last Sabbath of 2018 by baptising two Pathfinders who in turn will be giving Bible studies to Adventurers in their local church!

Due to the growth of Pathfinders throughout the conference, five additional Area Coordinators have been appointed in Areas, 3, 6b, 7 and 8. More will be appointed in the future.

The Drum Corp programme has proven to be very popular amongst Pathfinders and is proving to be a valuable instrument for evangelism, not only in the community, but amongst Pathfinders. I want to thank Stanborough School for coming to the rescue, by providing a space where the SEC drum corp can practice and perfect their skills on a regular basis. Also, a word of thanks goes to my Drum Majors, Alex Silcott and Marcus Anti, who lead the team of drummers and provide training for clubs throughout the SEC.

The Pathfinder Bible Experience (PBE) continues to grow in number and popularity amongst Pathfinders. The programme started with just 12 teams of 7 Pathfinders participating. To date, we have 70 teams of 7 registered. More awareness and encouragement are still needed however, as the goal is for all Pathfinders to be involved in PBE. The objective of the PBE programme is to encourage our Pathfinders to study their Bibles in their own way and to enjoy and appreciate the process of committing scripture to memory.

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Appreciation goes to our Volunteer Area Coordinators. They are: Mrs Carolyn Daniel, Mrs Cassandra Burton, Natalie Bryant, Gloria Phillips, Marcia John, Rosalyn Parson, Pam Catchpole, Pam Millington, Mrs Susan Miller-Preston, Sabrina Ramharack-Deen, Kessia Ducas, Kim WaldronRoberts, Tyrone Waldron, Warren O’Hara, Trevor Harewood, Percy Fraser, Vernon Noel, Nigel Manunure and David Aboage.

I would also like to express my thanks and appreciation to our department Secretary,

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Miss Vanessa Dawson, for her dedication and commitment to the PathďŹ nder department!

I must also express appreciation to my wife Margaret and my sons Dwight and Aaron for their continued support and willingness to help when needed and being part of this ministry with me.

Finally, all praise and honour be to God for calling me to serve in this ministry. It has been a truly joyful experience to see God at work.

Kevin Johns

Pathfinders Vision

Departmental Strategy

Departmental Targets

1

1. Pathfinder events in churches 2. Pathfinder involvement in local evangelistic outreach 3. Pathfinder attendance at conference events

2

1. Increase number of churches with pathfinder clubs 2. Increase number of pastors as qualified Master Guides 3. Increase Adult MG 4. Small group of resources

3

400

Baptisms amongst Pathfinder 2. All clubs involved in PBE 3. Pathfinders giving & receiving bible studies

1.

4

1 Resource Centre

200 MG’s 50 PLA’s 20 APLA’s 50 TLT’s

4

3

Re-establishing the process of grounding in spiritual empowerment Proactively seek Pathfinders who have left the Pathfinder club

Developing spiritual leaders leaders for the future- Training resources

2

1

Pastor Kevin Johns

Pathfinder/Adventurer Club in every church/Company small group using Pathfinders and Adventurers a community resource. Every Pastor a Master Guide

Reconnecting churches with Pathfinders & Adventurers

‘Praying Pathfinders Everywhere’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

Session Reports // Pathfinder Department

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Personal Ministries Michael Njagi Mbui

During the last four years, under the Evangelism Everyone Everywhere Strategy, the goal of the department was to offer outstanding evangelistic and mission training to the members and churches that would lead to Active Spirituality and Loving Discipleship. Specific targets included training 60% of active members, and to have15% of churches gaining a higher NCD score and a comprehensive prayer and Bible study programme for all the churches.

Kirk Thomas

T

he role of Personal Ministries is to Empower, Inspire and Enlist the members and churches throughout the SEC for their mission to their communities. Christ’s mission and the mission of the church is to make Disciples who are DiscipleMakers (Matt 4:19, 28:19). The department endeavours to train, resource and support members and the churches in their mission.

The above aims have been achieved in three ways during the four years: (1) The training made available by the SEC School of Evangelism, Leadership and Mission, (2) The “Discipleship Training” programmes facilitated in the local churches, and (3) Direct personnel, resources, financial support and participation with the churches.

School of Evangelism, Leadership and Mission The school (SoELM) is our training centre. It aims to equip every member and church with skills to make friends, win confidence, make disciples and develop disciples into disciple- makers.

1.

2.

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Starting with only 6 cohorts in 2012, by 2015 the school grew to 8 cohorts, then to 12 cohorts in 2016 and 19 cohorts in 2017 and 2018.

The school expanded from one site at Hyland House to six sites at: Advent Centre, Balham, Reading, Bristol and Ipswich. Colchester and Chelmsford churches also offered discipleship training.

Session Reports // Personal Ministries

3.

4.

5.

The cohorts offered were Lay Preaching (Basic and Advanced), Business and Professional Evangelism, Health and Community Evangelism, Woman to Woman Evangelism, Church Growth and Missions, Creative Writing for Evangelism, Stress Therapy for Community Evangelism, Lay Bible Worker/Instructor, Forgive to Live, Literature Evangelism, Biblical Prophecy, Conflict Resolution, Biblical Counselling, Eldership Training and Discipleship 585 people successfully completed their courses between 2015-2018. In 2015, 81 completed 8 courses. In 2016, 110 completed 12 courses. In 2017, 168 completed 19 courses and in 2018, 226 completed 19 courses. In 2017 and 2018, students who could not attend the SEC camp meeting where able to graduate at their sites of training.

One key feature and major accomplishment, which has brought great joy, is to see one-time students of the school becoming tutors.

•

•

In 2018 the disciple-makers training was facilitated in 15 churches and areas across the whole conference (Peterborough, Croydon, Milton Keynes, Hackney, Bristol, Luton, Peckham, Colchester, Bedford, Tottenham, Guildford, Milton Keynes International, Stratford, Gloucester, Beckton); Follow-up support is provided for churches that embark on training members to be fruitful disciple-makers, in keeping with the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19.

General Training and Support

Discipleship Training •

This all-day Sabbath or weekend training program involves presentations, group discussions and interactive dialogue with the whole church, to help clarify Christ’s vision and mission, and compare the coherence of the church to the vision and mission so as to develop models, structures and routines that create and/or continue Christ’s mission and methods in the local church.

The department leadership and teams have been directly involved in helping and supporting the local churches in their mission • At the start of the year, the department always organised training at the Evangelism Expo for the Personal Ministry Leaders to attend; • The department provided finances and resources to assist local churches with community- connecting events and evangelism resources. Among the beneficiaries are High Wycombe who received £1000 for the Rye Festival, Clapton received £826 for Music Outreach to the community and Stoke Newington £700 with their Youth Revival.

• In August 2015 the PM was fully involved in all the phases of the Mission to the Cities programme at Bristol, starting with the

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•

•

bridge-building activities such as community health programmes, choral singing in the malls, literature distribution, giving free school meals, doing school assemblies, Pathfinder marches, open air concerts and hospital visitations.

The department was at the forefront of coordinating and supporting the SEC AND 3ABN evangelistic meeting from August 3-17, 2016. The Cambridge church and 8 churches in London ran evangelistic meetings with various speakers from the 3ABN team.

87 persons were baptised following these meeting, and many more in the months that followed.

In November 2015, Dr Thomas worked with Pastor Roach of the Tottenham West Green Road Church for their evangelistic programme.

The department supported the church with training and resource, and even Dr Kirk Thomas led in the evangelistic preaching. This programme was only one part of the church’s process of mission in their community and had been proceeded by engagement with the community. 23 people were baptised at this event.

Supporting Growth of the NCD •

The department promoted and supported the NCD programme in the local church through the Church Growth Department.

Challenges and Recommendation •

•

•

The uptake of training offered through the School of Evangelism is too low compared with the need of the churches. Better promotion and the location of the training near the churches may help more local leaders; Getting the trained leaders to bring back their training to the local church is still a challenge.

The school needs to liaise better with the local church so as to provide the training needed by the local church.

The department would love to support more churches in establishing ongoing training for their leaders, members and areas.

Appreciation •

•

•

I thank Dr Kirk Thomas under whose leadership the department has made these commendable achievements. I feel honoured and humbled to step into his shoes to take the work forward.

I thank the department secretary Marvis Bramble for the assistance and coordination of the department, especially with the School of Evangelism.

I thank the tutors of the different cohorts of the School of Evangelism (SoEML) for their dedication and sacrifices for the mission of the church.

Michael Njagi Mbui

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Session Reports // Prison Ministries

Prison Ministries Kevin Johns

Interest in Prison Ministry work continues to increase throughout the Conference, with individuals attending the Evangelism Expo and then going on to form prison ministries teams in their local churches. A number of churches have received training sessions and are actively preparing for the opportunity to enter into prisons.

T

he Prison Ministries Department exists to facilitate the spiritual growth of prison inmates within its territory. This is done through the ministry of Prison Ministry Volunteers (PMV) in the local churches.

Prison Statistics • • •

140 Prisons in England and wales 19 Built since 1995 Currently, each prisoner costs the tax payer £47,000 per year

Prison Population Statistic • • •

Prison Population as of 13 April 2018 – 83,568 Male prison population – 79,740 Female prison population – 3828

The challenge still remains, however, of gaining access to the prisons, but there has been a significant rise in the requests for a visit from an Adventist minister, from inmates who have Seventh-day Adventist affiliations. This has created an opportunity for dialogue with prison chaplains, allowing for the fostering of good relationships and potential group access to the institutions.

The number of incarcerated Seventh-day Adventist foreign nationals has increased and this is creating an opportunity for entry into prisons, not only to provide pastoral care for them, but also to raise awareness of the Seventh-day Adventist church and to dialogue about the possibility of volunteer teams to support the resident chaplains.

Quite concerning also is the fact that the number of “home grown” incarcerated Seventh-day Adventist young men has increased. The common denominator between these young men is that they, at one time, attended church, but, since leaving, their circumstances have caused them to make unfortunate decisions.

Access has been gained in prisons as far north as Durham in the north of England, and we are working to gain access for volunteer teams in the NEC to support resident chaplains. The prisons

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where some form of access for volunteer groups has been achieved so far are: HMP Eastwood, HMP Bronzefield, HMP Aylesbury, HMP High Down, HMP The Mount, HMP Rochester, HMP Isis, HMP Cookham Wood, HMP Frankland, HMP/ YOI Portland, HMP The Vern, HMP Isle of White, to name a few.

Potential access to more prisons has also been achieved through volunteer groups joining the Prison Outreach Network. This multi-faith organization, recognised by the Prison Service and Chaplaincy HQ, has access to a large number of prisons which are constantly seeking volunteers to work with them in prison ministries. They provide ongoing training for volunteers and regular prison access as part of a multi-faith group.

Volunteer teams are encouraged to work with this organization, as it will provide them with network opportunities and prison entrance experience, pending access to the prison of their choice.

The work of prison ministries extends beyond the prison walls to families. One Prison Ministry leader reported that, as the result of singing at a prison, an inmate made a request to the soloist to sing at the funeral service for his sister who had recently died. The request was approved, and arrangements made for this to happen, accompanied by three individuals from the Prison Ministries team. When visiting the prison again, the inmate expressed his appreciation and could not thank them enough for their support.

The Prison Ministries Department will continue to strive to fulfil its aim “to establish a network of Prison Ministry Volunteers (PMV) within the churches of the South England Conference, by raising the awareness in churches of things they can do to get involved in prison ministry and present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to inmates, their families and prison staff.

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I would like to express my appreciation to Vanessa Dawson, Secretary to the Prison Ministries Department, who continues to tirelessly serve this department.

‘For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me ... When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me”’ (Matt 25: 35 – 40, NKJV).

Kevin Johns

Prison Vision

Departmental Strategy

Departmental Targets

1

1. PM Days in churches 2. PM Day of Fellowship 3. PMV’s attendance at Conferences

2

1. Increased number of PMV’s 2. Number of churches with PMV’s

3

1. Each PMV team active in at least one prison.

2. PMV’s Involved in Bible Study 3. PMV’s taking prison worship service

4

100

300 PMV’s 50 prisons

4

3

2

Access to at least

PMV Teams Study resources for inmates

Promote training , resources and mobilization of PMV’s 4

Present the Gospel within the context of the prison system for the benefit of inmates and prison staff

Prison Ministry Volunteer (PMV’s)s in every church

1

Pastor Kevin Johns

Educate churches in prison ministry matters, exploring ways in which those interested can be actively engaged in prison ministries

Evangelism Behind Bars (EBB)

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

Session Reports // Prison Ministries

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Prayer Ministries Veronica Williams

Conferences Prayer Ministries actively pursued raising awareness of the importance of prayer. In January 2016, a teleconference prayer line was launched, featuring 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. The following year, it began to meet on a weekly basis and, in 2018, those who attended felt the need to meet on a daily basis. Among the many prayer themes featured, were such issues as marriage, parenting, knife crime, local communities, ARL, with the latest being, “Our Nation in God’s Hands: Countdown to Brexit”, launched in November 2018 to pray for the needs of the UK.

Knowing God’s Heart, Seeking His Presence As the movie War Room commences, the narrator states that “victory don’t come by accident.”

Essential to the SEC Prayer Ministries battle plan of prayer, is the theme, Knowing God’s Heart, Seeking His Presence, the aim of which is to develop and nurture our relationship with God and to experience His power through prayer, in readiness for Jesus’ return. The objectives of Prayer Ministry fall into the following areas: • • • •

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Increasing the level of participation in prayer across the Conference Reaching out into our communities with prayer Improving the spirituality throughout the SEC Engaging every member in prayer to improve the overall spiritual heath of the SEC

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Many prayers have been answered. Even more so, callers speak of the support received from the prayer community, testifying of their spiritual growth and increased faith as they see and hear God answer prayer since participating on the teleconference. There have been, collectively, over 6,000 callers participating since its inception. Other teleconference prayer lines were established by local churches, notably The Living Room, Church without Walls, and South East London Community Ghana.

Prayer Coordinators Prayer Ministries worked closely with local church Prayer Coordinators to make prayer accessible and visible, whenever possible, by having representatives available for workers meeting and camp meeting, to support those in need of individual prayer, as well as to support the meetings as a whole. In its second year at camp meeting, 2018, over 100 people approached those wearing Prayer Ministries’ colours to request prayer. Prayer

Session Reports // Prayer Ministries

Ministries supported the TED Pastoral Council 2018 in Serbia and the LMC/Core of Adventism Residential, by working together to create spaces where workers could retreat for spiritual refreshing and oneness with God. The Area Prayer Coordinators reported the establishment of Prayer Tower, a monthly prayer meeting in local churches within their area. Prayer Tower in Plaistow regularly took prayer into the community, members dressed in their distinctive apparel to engage with the public in prayer.

Churches reported door to door prayer ministries, praying with members of the local community.

Other initiatives include Prayer Academy at Beckenham SDA Church; a two-year prayer strategy involving prayer calendars, prayer walks, a dedicated prayer line; and community prayer at the Watering Hole and End Time Rain Network.

Training sessions ran at residentials and local churches to motivate and inspire individuals to build and strengthen their relationship with God throughout the quadrennium. The annual prayer conferences have been faith moments. Attendees witnessed immediate answers to prayer, and the training received offered practical help relating to how to listen to God, how to pray, experiencing spiritual restoration, spiritual warfare, difficulties faced when visiting and personal profiling- to name a few. Attendees also raised over £1,000 towards Prayer Ministries. Many returned home, determined to continue in prayer and to encourage others to do the same. A Prayer and Bible conference with Dan and Rose Augsburger in May 2016, which nearly 100 people attended, empowered, encouraged and equipped Prayer Coordinators in their role and provided training for Bible workers.

Prayer Ministries enhanced and supported spiritual growth, deepened commitment to God and increased involvement in prayer through the array of prayer events and initiatives during this quadrennium, contributing to the improvement of the overall spiritual health of the SEC. All glory be to God Who has made this possible!

Prayer Ministries is built upon the foundation of Jeremiah 24:7 and Psalm 84, to have a heart to know God and to commit everything we do towards the relationship which we will forever share with Him as we journey to our heavenly home.

Thank you to the SEC prayer team, the Area and Local church Prayer Coordinators and others who have advanced God’s kingdom through prayer.

Through their dedication, time and efforts the South England Conference has been revived in Knowing God’s Heart and Seeking His Presence.

God Bless You! Veronica Williams

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1

Prayer Ministries Vision

Departmental Strategy

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Departmental Targets

churches across the SEC have a prayer Coordinator

Of

100% 2

community focused prayer centres

3

Aid

4

Churches Participating in Natural Church Development (NCD)

70%

4

God’s intention is to improve the spirituality of each member through prayer and thus create a healthy church

£65M Tithes £15M Gift-

3

Improving spirituality of members through prayer for natural giving

12

2

Expanding Prayer Ministries directly into our communities

Establish

1

Increase the level of participation in prayer across the SEC

Pastor V. Williams

‘Knowing God’s heart seeking His presence’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Session Reports // Property Development Department

Property Development Department Stephen McKenzie

should provide adequate space for training, have the ability to disseminate useful information, and cater for the needs of children, those with special needs, the disabled, the elderly and people from different cultural backgrounds. With that in mind, the overall aim and motto of the department is to: “Develop Churches as Happy, Healthy, Healing Spaces”.

The Objectives of the Property Development Department

O

ver the quadrennium, the SEC Property Development Department has embraced the Conference’s vision of EEE (Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere). As this department has a very specific function, the focus has been to: “Assist churches to be relevant community places of worship; these spaces are to be inviting, resourceful and help promote excellent programmes.”

Coupled with this, our vision has been to: “Establish and maintain healthy SDA places of worship that support our members’ evangelistic effort to connect their local community to Christ.”

Our Churches & Our Motto Churches are houses of prayer. However, our members and local communities have a need for the buildings to be multi-purpose. In addition to facilitating worship and fellowship, our buildings

With the ultimate goal of evangelism, our objectives were, and continue to be, fulfilled through the acquisition, refurbishment, maintenance, technical development, and disposal of properties.

Several objectives were to: Objective Create a list of highly rated contractors and member advisors.

Outcome Achieved. A list of contactors has been developed and is frequently used.

Encourage all churches Ongoing. Churches continue to be asked to have an officer to identify an officer to dedicated to church property development. deal with this function.

Ongoing. During our Urge all churches to Property Development have an outreach plan Retreat the attendees for their property to become inviting places of were encouraged to worship and centres that utilise their church are willing to assist the building as a tool in traditional as well community. as non-traditional outreach activities.

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Identify and employ part-time personnel to assist within the department.

Create a resource of church buildings policies.

Conduct a Health & Safety Audit of all churches to ensure our properties are compliant, and where necessary, offer guidance, support, and advice so they become and/or remain compliant.

Report the stock and condition of every church.

Achieved. A full-time Property Development Manager has been employed by the conference.

Completed.

Ongoing. Owing to the large number of properties and limited manpower, the audit of all the churches will roll over into the next quadrennium.

Ongoing. We have identified a company who are willing to undertake the project of reporting the stock and condition of our assets, however, this work cannot commence until an appropriate stock control computer package has been purchased.

Our Resources At present, the SEC occupies over 240 places of worship. Approximately 55% of these properties are leased, 40% are owned and the another 5% are start-ups with various occupation agreements.

Although our properties are in various states of condition, our portfolio remains one of our main strengths. Three strengths associated with our properties are: • High property ownership • High in value • Prominent locations.

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Property Acquisitions Below is a list of properties purchased during the quadrennium: • North Runcton Retreat Site • Clacton-on-Sea Community Church • Edmonton Community Church • Reading Ghana Church • Serenity Community Church • Isle of Wight Building • Bracknell Ghana Church • Chingford Community Church • Stevenage SDA Church The Property Development Department have successfully contributed to a number of church renovations and refurbishment projects; churches helped include: • The Advent Centre • Norwich SDA Church • Welwyn Garden City Adventist Community Church • Hope Community SDA Church • Aylesbury SDA Church • Clacton-on-Sea SDA Church • Isle of Wight • Tottenham West Green Church • Dunstable Community Project • Reading Ghana SDA Church • Clapton SDA Church • High Wycombe Central SDA Church • Peckham SDA Church • North Runcton Site • Chiswick SDA Church

Session Reports // Property Development Department

Other Achievements The department are pleased to report the completion of the Maidenhead Adventist Church “new build”. We also conducted our very first retreat which looked at the practical and legal aspects of church building, maintenance and development.

Challenges The Property Development Department have encountered a number of challenges during the quadrennium. These include, but are not limited to: • • •

•

Budgetary constraints The need for additional human resources The need for churches to recognise the financial and reputational damage for churches not adhering to statutory regulatory rules Local churches operating outside of their bounds and conflicting with SEC policies.

Despite the challenges, there are a number of opportunities for development, acquisition and

possible revenue for the SEC within the next four years. Some of these opportunities involve converting leaseholds to freeholds and utilising the North Runcton site to its maximum potential.

Words of Appreciation As Director of Property Development, I must express my appreciation to all those I have worked with and who have assisted in making the last four years a great success. From the Treasury Team and Building Committee to the Executive Committee, from my colleagues in ministry, to all of the administrators in the office, your support in all of its various forms is very much appreciated and gratefully received.

Special thanks must be given to our Property Development Manager whose professionalism, efficiency, and skills have made an overrun department much more manageable – you are truly a pleasure to work with! Finally, all praise and honour must go to God for what He has enabled us to achieve, and for what He will continue bless us with, as we enter a new quadrennium.

Stephen McKenzie

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Sabbath School Department Michael Njagi Mbui

On-Going Training •

•

• Kirk Thomas

T

he aim of Sabbath School is to help the churches in the conference reflect the full purposes of the Sabbath School programme.

From its inception Sabbath School was organised for fellowship, spiritual nurture, community outreach and global mission. The majority of our churches only provide for spiritual nurture and global mission. They miss out on fellowship and community outreach.

Under the Evangelism Everyone Everywhere strategy, the goal of Sabbath School was to help churches develop and produce Sabbath School programmes and resources that are relevant and needs based.

In the last four years, these have been achieved through on-going training for leaders, together as a group, as well as training at the local church level.

Training at Church – Super Sabbath School •

•

•

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In January of each year, the conference-led Evangelism Expo provided training for all Sabbath School leaders and teachers; On March 10 – 12, 2017, the department organised a Sabbath School retreat for all leaders and teachers under the theme, ‘Nurturing the present – Discipling the Future’.

International educators, Drs Allison Thomas and Nadine Joseph Collins, led attendees to understand the nuances of making Sabbath School a place of learning and nurture.

Other aspects of the training were led by Kathleen Hanson from the BUC, Malika Bediako, Dr. Brighton Kavaloh and Pastor Anthony Opoku-Mensah, while Christine Quon, Anthea and Leon Barclay led in the worship. The training concluded with a commitment by all to revitalize their Sabbath School.

These Super Sabbath School days are organised to help the church understand and embrace all the purposes of Sabbath School: Spiritual Nurture, Fellowship and Mission, first in the community and then globally, through the Mission Report.

In September 2015 – March 2016, Super Sabbath School days were held at Reading Central, Tottenham West Green Road, Hanwell, Southall, Battersea, Holloway and Lewisham.

January to March 2017, the Super Sabbath Roadshow was at Bristol Central, Croydon,

Session Reports // Sabbath School Department

•

•

Cambridge and Bournemouth SDA Churches.

Super Sabbath School have been held throughout the conference.

Other churches where the program was heartily received include Hounslow Cornerstone SDA Church, Micklefield SDA Church in High Wycombe, Wood Green, Central London, Welling, Southall, and Hackbridge, and Luton North Seventh-day Adventist Churches.

These training days have helped the churches allocate time for class members to care for one another through 10 minutes of fellowship; to become an action team to share their faith through 10 minutes of class mission time; and to grow in their knowledge and relationship with God through 30 minutes of reflective relational study of their Bible, using the Sabbath School lesson.

Training Resources • •

“Here and Now Stories of Faith and Mission” were produced by the department in 2017.

Dr Kirk Thomas put together a set of 5 magazines to help the Sabbath School: (a) Can Dead Things Grow? (b) God’s PhD; (c) Ways of Wisdom; (d) Guardians of the Great Commission; (e) Mission for the Souls.

Challenges and Recommendations 1.

2.

The Sabbath School remains the sleeping giant within Adventism. Where it is rightly valued, its core elements- spiritual nurture, fellowship, outreach and mission- remain the most effective agency in growing God’s vision for the church. Spiritual nurture grows the church into a community of faithful worshippers.

Fellowship grows the church into a family of caring brothers and sisters. Outreach and mission grow the church into fruitful and passionate witnesses for Christ.

Ongoing training for local church members is urgently needed to help them fully appreciate the purposes of Sabbath School. The annual training of leaders and teachers will help towards this end.

Appreciation •

•

I thank Dr Kirk Thomas under whose leadership the department has made these commendable achievements. I feel honoured and humble to step into his shoes, to take the work forward.

I thank the department Secretary, Marvis Bramble, for her invaluable assistance.

Michael Njagi Mbui

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Evangelism Vision

Departmental Strategy

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Departmental Targets

1

60%

of the Active Membership of the SEC

Training of

The evangelistic/ Missional The evangelistic/

Implementation of a comprehensive prayer & bible study programme

Produce & develop sabbath Produce & develop school programmes that are relevant & needs based

gaining higher NCD scores

of churches

15%

4

Loving Disciples

4

3

Exceptional Relational Sabbath School Programme

3

2

Active Spiritual Spirituality

2

1

Pastor Kirk Thomas

Outstanding Evangelistic/Missional Training

NOW!

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Session Reports // Safeguarding, Children’s and Community Services

Safeguarding, Children’s and Community Services Malika Bediako

Pathfinders, Youth and Teens departments.

Also, many churches run Holiday Bible Clubs, Vacation Bible Schools and host Homework Clubs. In 2016 the department ran a Children’s Ministries conference, attended by 58 people, which was intended to provide leaders with the tools to effectively work with children in their local congregations. Over the past four years, we have visited numerous churches and provided hands-on training and support to leaders, in the changing landscape of children’s ministries. We have also supported churches, financially, in setting up holiday clubs and other children’s initiatives.

O

ver the past year, the news has been filled with reports of safeguarding issues from a number of leading denominations. Bishops have been suspended, words such as ‘secrecy’ bandied around, and confidence in the Christian faith damaged due to the lack of the implementation of safeguarding policies and procedures.

Over the past four years, our department, in partnership with the Secretariat, has worked tirelessly to ensure that our safeguarding policy is fully updated and compliant with legislation and best practice. In addition to this, training has been provided in 10 of the 11 geographical Areas in the SEC. Safeguarding is essential, as the majority of our congregations have active Children’s Ministries,

Safeguarding is an essential element in Community Ministries, and never more so, than for the Advent Shelter programme, held at the Advent Centre each Christmas. Over the past four years, we have seen our clientele increase, as has the numbers of volunteers, especially of a younger age group.

In 2018 several churches sent their Pathfinders to assist with the set-up of the shelter- which is encouraging for the future support of Community Ministries. The shelter has also attracted support from the local Waitrose supermarket, which not only provides food each year, but has two managers visit the weekly soup kitchen that is run at the venue.

Advent Centre was pleased to be able to support Stratford’s inaugural project, a Shelter launched in the borough of Newham in 2018. Many churches are running community outreach initiatives and we are providing support for training and signposting.

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We are a member of the I AM URBAN partnership initiative, launched in 2018 with ADRA-UK. The partnership is leading the way in training community leaders, through the Urban Ministries and Community Services online training on the Adventist Learning Community. The Leaders of Area 6b are currently undertaking the course and hope to complete it in October 2019.

received funding for their outreach projects included Stanborough Park, Newbold, London Filipino and Balham, among others.

In 2017 ADRA-UK and Community Services provided grants to churches for Community Services projects. 25 churches throughout the Union were given funding to run their outreach initiatives.

Churches in the SEC that received funding include Stoke Newington, Edmonton and London Ghana. In 2018 ADRA gave 10% of monies from the ADRA Appeal to the churches that collected donations (and fulďŹ lled the relevant criteria). Churches that

Appreciation

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We are grateful for these grant-making initiatives

by ADRA-UK, and we continue to work to support the outreach projects of churches with this additional funding.

I am grateful to Natalie Bryant and Ligia Buzac for their support in the work of these three departments. I would also like to thank my team for their dedication and hard work in Safeguarding and Children’s and Community Ministries.

Malika Bediako

Departmental Strategy

1

Children’s Ministries Vision

Departmental Targets

actively sharing their faith with friends

50% of kids 2

of our kids make a commitment for Jesus

50%

70% of churches

3

actively involved in 3 home and foreign child led mission

Get Our Children into loving Jesus and also the joy of mission

2

1

Sis Malika Badiako

Guiding our children into a personal relationship with God

CHILDREN COME FIRST They are Honest about their faith They will share their faith with others

Tell a child, Tell the World

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

Session Reports // Safeguarding, Children’s and Community Services

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Community Services Vision

Departmental Strategy

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50% of our

Increase by 50% the number of youth involved in 2 community action

3

2

1

By 2017 at least 35% of our churches will be involved I some community outreach 3 activity

Every church and everyone developing inclusive. community programs

Each person in the church will have a heart for Community Ministries

Healthy church’s that can deliver good healthy service’s to their communities

Sis Malika Badiako

Touching hearts, transforming comm[you]nities

churches have holiday clubs 1

Department al Targets

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Session Reports // Stewardship and Trust Services Department

Stewardship and Trust Services Department Todd Frias

On most Sabbaths, seminars were held to motivate the congregation, including children and young people, to be involved in the ministry and mission of the church, using their spiritual gifts and God-given talents. The Q & A part of the seminar was of prime importance, as any issues regarding Stewardship could then be addressed and clarified. Furthermore, the blessings of Gift Aid were promoted, as well as sharing on-the-spot tips on how to maximise the benefits of all offerings and donations given to the church.

I

n fulfilling the departmental goal to Disciple Faithful Stewards in Every Church, the Stewardship Department has spent the past four years in educating, engaging and empowering churches and their members to become ‘A More Resourceful Church’– a strategy of the Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere vision.

The department hosted the Stewardship Leaders’ Conference 2018 for local church leaders and Stewardship Secretaries. The theme was ‘Stewardship: A Heart-work”, and featured Pastor David Neal as the main presenter, together with Dr Mbui, Pastor Ackie, Mrs Jaz Sargeant-Bartlett and Mr Bernard Saunders, who shared topics on Discipleship, Worship, Relationship and Leadership.

Stewardship Emphasis and Training Days Stewardship Emphasis Sabbaths gave us the opportunity to reach seventy-seven congregations, promoting faithful stewardship and generous living. These were occasions to engage members in renewing their life commitment to God, encouraging them to ‘Put God First’ in life and stressing the significance of managing the 8 T’s of Stewardship - Talents, Time, Temple, Treasure, Terra, Ties, Testimonies and Technology.

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The department also participated in promoting stewardship values at the yearly SEC Expo, SEC Camp Meeting workshops, BUC Treasurer’s training, Area Stewardship training, Trust Services surgery and at the local church.

The department developed the 8 T’s of Stewardship Study Guide to help church members grow deeper into the study of God’s word and the 8 T’s of life which God desires us to manage wisely and unselfishly.

The GC Stewardship Department released a beautifully designed Promise Card to encourage church members to “put God first and to prioritise God’s plans in every decision.” These cards were made available at the SEC in five different languages and have been distributed to local churches.

Stewardship Resources The department commissioned the printing and distribution of the Children’s Tithe and Offering Envelope, a colorful, educational resource which youngsters enjoyed using while learning to be regular givers for God’s mission.

A Stewardship Resource Pack, a bag full of reading materials aimed at Stewardship Leaders, and covering the principles and practices of stewardship, was distributed to 101 local churches, equipping leaders to share with membership counsels for living a more generous life.

In partnership with the Treasury Department, Stewardship Ministries has commissioned the printing of the newly designed Tithe and Offering Envelope. The new envelope aims to promote biblical stewardship principles and includes a user-friendly corner for supporting Adventist Mission offerings by placing a distinction between Local Church offerings and Conference funds.

The envelope also encourages donors to register on Gift Aid.

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Tithe and Gift Aid While it is not directly within the remit of this department to report on the tithe returns and the Gift Aid reclaimed by the SEC, nevertheless, I would like to thank our church members for returning their tithe faithfully and generously, helping to finance and advance God’s work here at the SEC. My gratitude also goes to the 9,944 individuals who are actively registered on Gift Aid. The graph shows our members’ commitment to supporting the goal set in 2015, on becoming ‘A More Resourceful Church’. The total tithe returns for this period (2015-2018) was £ 59,276,760 and the total Gift Aid claimed was £10,038,193.42 Tithe

2015 2016 2017 2018

£ 14,295,111 £ 14,679,586 £ 14,717,249 £ 15,584,814

Gift Aid Claims Active Gift Aid Donors £ 2,806,388.69 8622 £ 2,515,607.73 8920 £ 2,203,752 9549 £ 2,512,445 9944

Session Reports // Stewardship and Trust Services Department

Challenges and Opportunities Here are some suggestions on how to increase generosity in our churches: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Every church could elect/appoint a Stewardship Leader who could promote the stewardship principles and values. To date, there are 90 leaders out of the 200-plus congregations.

Stewardship values should be adopted in every area of church life.

Pastors and elders could preach and teach stewardship principles regularly.

Giving and returning of tithes can be emphasised as an act of worship.

Promote more transparency on financial reports, allowing members to understand how and where they can support God’s mission.

Involve every member in the mission of the church, allowing them to recognise their value and responsibility in fulfilling the great commission.

Offer members/donors technologically advanced methods to support missions and local projects.

Promote stewardship as a total-life responsibility of every follower of Jesus.

a special mention to the Treasury team, to Mavis Bramble for your assistance, and to the Filipino and Heathrow International Churches for their love and understanding as I served them on parttime basis, while serving as Part-time Stewardship Director from 2015-2018. I am thankful to Pastor David Neal, TED Stewardship Director, for his support in the department. To all the churches I have visited, your hospitality is amazing; and to every pastor, thank you for your friendship and inspiration.

In closing, I’d like to solicit your generosity in advancing the cause of God through faithful stewardship of your life and everything God has blessed you with.

Todd Frias

As Frank Holbrook suggests, “God has high expectations for His special people to press together spiritually and to pull together financially to accomplish His global objectives. The times demand a personal renewal of our covenant relationship with God. …

With so large a challenge before us, let every minister and member enter wholeheartedly into the spirit of Nehemiah and Israel’s commitment: “We will not neglect the house of our God” (Neh. 10:39).

I’m grateful to God for letting me serve in this role and His Spirit for guiding me. To my predecessor, Pastor Richard De Lisser, thank you for supporting me as I took on this responsibility. To my colleagues in the office, I appreciate your encouragement, with MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

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Stewardship Vision

Departmental Strategy

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Departmental Targets

1

Retention Of the Church Membership

Improved

Membership practices a faithful, responsible and systematic pattern 3 of giving

4

increase on tithes, church budget and Gift Aid returns

70% Annual

4

Implementation of Christian Financial Management

60% Of

3

Empowering Personal Life Management

church membership engagement in mission 2 and community outreach

2

Fostering Organisational Renewal

50% Increase on

1

Pastor Todd Frias

Encouraging Spiritual Renewal

‘Discipling Faithful Stewards in Every Church’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Session Reports // Teens / Chaplaincy & AVS

Teens / Chaplaincy & AVS Juan Carlos Patrick

1.

a. b. c. d. e.

Dejan Stojkovic

O

2.

ur mission statement was “Inspiring, encouraging and empowering our teens”.

Our goals were: 1. To describe how to deal with everyday challenges while keeping and sharing our faith; 2. To identify practical ways in which to share faith in a secular society; 3. To demonstrate and discuss ways of sharing faith, both in the local church and in society.

3.

a.

To achieve these goals, we implemented the following:

b. c. d. e. f. g.

Annual Workshops: We organised workshops for Teen Ministries personnel during the last four Evangelism Expo’s, as well as in the local churches. These events addressed how to: Create a local calendar of events for Teen Ministries; Explore channels to authorise these events and activities in the local church; How to organise programme content for Teens; How and where to access resources for teen events and activities; How to be a visible witness for Christ in the community and local church.

Local and Area Teens Days: We conducted several Teen days, locally and by Areas, during the Divine Service time and in afternoon workshop-seminars. The themes discussed during these workshops included, but were not limited to, building healthy self-esteem, dealing with anger and dating.

At the Conference Level: The Teens Department is heavily involved in the organisation and implementation of seven major events throughout the year.

April: Prayer and Faith Conference April (PFC): attendance 80 to 150 teens June: Camp Meeting: June (Teen Services): 100 to 200 teens July: Student Camp: 50 to 65 students (18+) August: Extreme Teens Camp: 105 teens September: Summer Teens Concert: 200 to 300 teens October: Prayer and Faith Conference: 300 to 400 teens December: Teens Day of Fellowship: 1,500 to 1,700 teens.

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4.

SEC Teens Website: We constantly shared relevant information on the site. The feedback received indicates that the website is helpful in raising their levels of awareness about who we are and our mission.

5.

Social Networking Sites and Platforms: We have seen an increase in our following on our Instagram page- from 200 to 1,000 followers. We have been able to share some of our stories, events, videos, inspirational messages and pictures of local and SEC events here.

Notable Achievements

100

6.

Let’s Talk About It: One of the significant accomplishments for the department has been the introduction of features such as “Let’s talk about it” which is a workshop/seminar for teen girls and teen boys, which takes place during our events.

We separate the teens and discuss some of the challenges they face then return together and share findings.

7.

Anonymous Survey: The anonymous survey contains a list of topics ranging from faith issues and scientific issues on the one hand, to the most common and difficult challenges on the other. The teens

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place a tick on the topic they would like us to discuss or preach about, or they add whichever topic they would like to talk about; and that’s how we decide the theme for our Teen Days.

8.

The Social Dimension Our programmes also included organised games, arts and crafts, sports, pizza night, ice cream socials, hikes etc. We want to ensure that, when the teens go back to their homes, they are encouraged to keep walking with the Lord; that they help at their local church, and be better sons, daughters and citizens, by the grace of God.

9.

Teens and Student Ministries: Besides the events and activities mentioned above, the department has also worked closely with the SEC Campus Ministries Department, in leading, developing and carrying out programmes and events for the university students.

On October 12 – 14, 2017, SEC Campus Ministries held its first SEC Student Congress at Newland Park. It was attended by about 375 students from all over the UK. On Sabbath 14 April 2018, we held a Student Day of Fellowship at Stanborough School. It was attended by about 300 students. In July 2018 the SEC Campus Ministries celebrated the Student Camp at Cornwall. It was attended by about 50 to 60 students.

Session Reports // Teens / Chaplaincy & AVS

10. Student Day of Fellowship One of the significant accomplishments for the department has been the SEC Students Day of Fellowship. This event combines pastoral, academic and spiritual topics.

11. Compass: The Student Congress Another significant accomplishment for the department has been the creation of Compass: The Student Congress. This event addresses the spiritual needs of young people and, through a series of talks and seminars, tackles the scientific and philosophical challenges our students face daily. It is an inclusive event, serving students, regardless of religious affiliation, colour or creed.

12. Social Networking Sites and Platforms for Students Ministries We have also designed Facebook and Instagram pages for the SEC Campus Ministries. These pages were designed to keep students and friends informed about our events and activities. Here, we share our stories in the local churches and students’ associations.

3.

Ages among the teens: The difference in ages within the teen population, ranging from 12 to 18 years old, presents a challenge. A possible solution would be to welcome the teens, 16 and older, to the Students Camp.

4.

Financial requests outside the department: Financial requests and expectations are exceeding the resources available for achieving goals. In 2018 we received financial requests of about £21,000 from outside the department, for local activities, trips etc.

5.

Teens should be separated from Student (Campus) Ministries in order to serve both groups more effectively.

Projections for the Future: Creating a Teens Congress and a Parents of Teens Congress.

Gratitude: Thanks to our secretaries, Lydia Hamblin, Anna McLarty and Alberto Francis, our dedicated staff, our pastors, elders, leaders, parents, teens and friends for their support. We also want to thank the Lord, without whom none of the above would have been possible.

God bless you Pr. J. C. Patrick (and Pr. Dejan Stojkovic) SEC Teens and Chaplaincy Director

Challenges of Teen/Student Ministries: 1.

Staff: Insufficient personnel and human resources for achieving our overall goal.

2.

Registrations and parental consent: Late registration and lack of documents that guarantee the legal safety of the teens.

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2

3

Teen baptism decisions through the events of SEC teens/year

>100

3

Inspire- Teen, Parents, Churches and Areas in the mission of Christ

Increase of non- Adventist teens in all SEC teens events

2

1

Events- Prayer and faith conference, Teens day, Summer Camps, Camp meeting, Training

Spirituality- Emphasis on Spiritual development of our teens through the leading of Holy Spirit

Pastor Dejan Stoikovich

‘Wholistically engage the teens for Christ’s mission’

Increase participation, planning and involvement of teens in ministry

1

Teens Ministries Vision

Departmental Strategy

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Departmental Targets

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Session Reports // Women’s Ministries

Women’s Ministries Maslin Holness

Fifty women attended the conference at the Advent Centre, where they gained skills, shared tips and insights and were challenged on their thinking in terms of ministry and evangelism.

Effective Communication A course was established to run yearly, to improve communication skills in three areas: (a) building confidence in communication, (b) goal-setting, identifying values and areas of giftedness; and, (c) a sociological look at women, faith and culture.

Domestic Abuse Women’s Ministries Coordinators We have established seven coordinating teams (three in Area 6, and two outside London in Areas 5 and 7). Where there is no Area Coordinator, we have sent information to interested parties who have volunteered their services with the local pastor’s consent. Local training for Coordinators and Women’s Ministries leaders was concentrated during 2016 and 2017 in Areas 5, 6 and 7.

Leadership & Training We established four leadership training programmes to develop women in communication skills, domestic abuse awareness and holistic evangelism ministry.

Our first leadership conference took place in October 2016 with the late Jackie Lynton, Director for Community Ministries, Health and Disability in the NEC (who sadly passed away in 2017) entitled, “For Such a Time as This: A Call to Action for Women”.

In 2017 we partnered with Women’s Aid and Solace, two leading organisations in the area of domestic abuse. We now have our own internal Training Coordinator for Domestic Abuse. Our course is recognised by AQA, a UK certificate-awarding body. The course runs twice yearly. Afternoon workshops were held at churches and during our Breaking the Trend Conferences in 2018/2019. We sponsored two plays, Asylum and End the Silence in 2017 and 2018, respectively, to address issues of brokenness, abuses of power, healing and restoration, and a questionnaire was made available on our website for gathering information on abuse.

Woman of Faith A course developed in 2017 (offered twice a year through the School of Evangelism) is designed to help participants define their spiritual gifts, boost confidence through greater understanding of their emotional intelligence, manage stress and conflict, and set goals for leadership and personal development.

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Special Programmes Retreats May 2016 saw the launch of the Women’s Retreat at the Selsdon Park Hotel in Croydon, entitled, Women Inspiring Women. 187 were in attendance.

We launched the Woman of Virtue programme, presented by Sharon Platt-McDonald, BUC Women’s Ministries and Health & Community Services Director.

In October 2016 a follow-up training seminar, as part of the Woman of Virtue (WOV) programme, and joint with the NEC, took place at the Milton Keynes Church. Approximately 50 women were in attendance. Smaller workshop programmes were taken to Areas 1, 6 and 7. We have partially fulfilled our WOV Roadshow.

Our second retreat Restored in His Image- Reclaiming the Power, took place on September 2018 at the Mercure Hotel, Daventry. With the focus on Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships, the main speaker, Dr René Drumm, Associate Dean for the College of Health in Southern Mississippi, delivered the uncomfortable and rarely discussed topic of Domestic Abuse. One hundred and eighty (180) women were in attendance.

Other speakers at the retreat included Claire Sanches-Schutte, TED Women’s & Children’s Director, who encouraged attendees to spend time focusing on mentoring younger women and girls.

This successful programme, ‘Girls for Christ’, seeks to bring the next generation of young women to the forefront, to nurture and direct them to finding self-worth and value in Christ. Dr Sarah Itam from the Lewisham Church conducted a live survey on stress.

Day of Prayer In March 2018 we worked in partnership with Area 7’s Women’s Ministries team and held an International Women’s Day of Prayer at the Luton Hightown Methodist Church, with guest Yvonne Lopez, a Licensed Mental Health Counsellor from Indiana, USA. Our focus was to strengthen spirituality, learn more about prayer and reconnect with God. Over 200 women attended. Depression was the afternoon topic.

Tea Party Our first Women’s Ministries Tea Party was held at Balham Church (February 2017). Although a time of social interaction, three emotional health topics were addressed- Anger, Guilt and Rejectionby presenters Marlene Levy, an experienced counsellor, and psychologist Leslene Peat-Brown.

Special Projects Easy Sew School We established three Sewing Schools at Balham, Luton and Stratford. Sewing is a fantastic way of mentoring and building relationships with people, learning new skills and rekindling old skills in a relaxing environment. We offer dressmaking and soft furnishing classes. We have recently started a sewing school at Hyland House School (2018) for children. All our sewing schools have at least two persons from our communities. Our sewing school is also a feature at our annual camp meeting.

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Session Reports // Women’s Ministries

membership, yet the role of the Women’s Ministry director still remains a part-time position. Such crucial positions of leadership, essential to the health and wellbeing of the church, can become compromised at times, without the benefit of a full-time, stand-alone director. Women’s Ministries deserves no less, and I trust that this session consider this.

Resources

Ongoing Projects 2019/20 Support for a woman’s refuge is one of our longterm goals. Some of the refuge shelters offered by other agencies do not cater for women’s spiritual needs. We are working closely with Cornerstone Counselling, Family Life and Children’s Ministries for this project to be fully realised in 2019/20.

We now have a number of resources to support our various ministries. These include bookmarks, keyrings, mirrors, T-shirts, bags, baby blankets, pamphlets and supportive literature on domestic abuse.

Thank you to Ligia Buzac, the Department Secretary, the SEC Women’s TUF Team, area coordinators, advisory teams, and course trainers for all their hard work and dedication which has made all of the above possible.

Maslin Holness

Challenges The Women’s Ministries department was established in 1995 to address the spiritual, emotional, physical and social needs of women in the church. Over the last twenty years, the church has grown and developed dramatically. Statistics show that women make up almost seventy per cent of church

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Women’s Ministries Vision

Departmental Strategy

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Departmental Targets

1

3

Increasing involvement of women in evangelism and mission.

3

2

Improving the quality of our women’s spiritual, emotional, physical & social welfare.

2

1

Improving women’s understanding of their God given purpose.

Pastor M Holness

‘Everyone everywhere leading in their personal mandate to evangelise through their God Given Gifts’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

63rd Session of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Session Reports // Youth Ministries

‘NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL’ Youth Ministries Anthony Fuller

‘Entitled!’

‘Pragmatic Idealists’ ‘The Me, Me, Me Generation’ These are the words and phrases that are often used to describe the demographic that I serve Millennials - those from the ages of around 18 - 35 (different researchers may define the age group somewhat differently). This is the age group that we, in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, class as ‘Youth’.

than it does around traditional forms of mass communication. However, despite the integration of technology into all aspects of their lives, they are compassionate, and the majority of them see themselves as global citizens, relinquishing patriotism in favour of a sense of responsibility to make the world a better place. They are also conscious with regards to health, society, and economical and environmental issues. The result of this is that many of them are frugal; they believe in authenticity and want open and honest relationships. They are a generation that is more tolerant of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and religion, which some consider to be liberal, and this opinion is often reinforced, as they don’t believe in or follow the status quo, as did the majority of previous ‘youth’.

So, for this generation, the generation living in a ‘no-deal’ Brexit world, the generation for these end times, we, as a church, can’t just do ‘business as usual’. For that reason, as Youth Director, I took the view that we needed a paradigm shift, not only in our strategy but operationally.

This is the generation that differs from any other and is far removed from the Silent Generation of 50 years ago. Millennials are by far the most educated generation in Western history. They are technologically savvy and life for them revolves around the use of artificial intelligence, social media and the internet, significantly more MAKING DISCIPLES | BUILDING COMMUNITIES

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In my first year, I sought out those former youth who had left, and to honour the previous youth directors and highlight the work that they had done, in order that I could build on it. This resulted in the Throwback Day of Fellowship January 28, 2017 where there were more than 2000 people in attendance. Year 2, I went out on the road and engaged with the eight Areas and their young people.

Of the Millennials that responded, 65% were ‘somewhat’ to ‘completely’ dissatisfied with the way the church is fulfilling its purpose in the 21st century. 55% do not agree that the church regularly puts on events that provides resources that are relevant to their lives. One young person wrote, ‘Do not judge us, but get to understand us and build a genuine relationship with us, demonstrating God’s love, as a reflection of what is scripted in the Bible’.

It was during this year that I initiated the 50*7 initiative, an inter-generational dialogue with youth and young adults. The two-day event attracted more than 400 people, both online and face to face, and provided key data as to the way forward in the department. The consultation focused on 7 multi-targeted groups:

Based on the data, it was evident that there was an urgent need for spiritual revival, authentic community and innovation. This challenged the original Youth Ministries strategy that I initially prepared at the beginning my term, and a revised one was launched at our Visioncast event in the third year.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

The data highlighted that there were three areas that needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency - connection, culture and constructs - and the new strategic vision and implementation incorporated these three areas.

Parents Church Leaders Non-Churched Millennials (18-35) Generation X (36-52) Baby Boomers (52-69) Traditionalists (70+)

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Session Reports // Youth Ministries

Connection For Millennials, authentic relationships are extremely important and, as part of the strategy, relationships with the Teen, PathďŹ nder, Church Growth and Personal Ministries departments are crucial for the Youth department to establish ways in which it can best connect with a younger generation, to develop their faith in God.

The Game Changers initiative has and will: 1.

2.

3.

Culture For years, Youth Ministries has focused on the Sabbath afternoon AY programme. However, with a Millennial generation, this needs to change to a more wholistic approach. The Active Christians Transforming Society (ACTS) programme which was introduced in 2018, to be formally launched in the Summer of 2019, will provide a sense of community for the young people that are involved.

4.

5.

Create safe spaces where young people can build relationships with the older generation and with church leaders.

Educate parents, church leaders and youth themselves on youth culture, such as the Gun and Knife Crime workshops that were held during 2018.

Provide fresh theological perspectives and engage millennials in developing deeper relationships with God. Learn from world-class youth leaders through residential training.

Make available university-level, accredited Leadership Training that will provide eective continuing professional development for Youth leaders.

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Constructs The Youth department organised and supported several programmes over the past four years, as listed above. In addition to these, the Dare to Dream mentoring programme was launched in the summer of 2018 to provide sustainable mentoring for young people and youth leaders. This pilot project will be rolled out during 2019.

Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to say that being the Youth Director catapulted me into a journey of discovery, adventure and innovation. There were times that I laughed with the youth and times

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that I shed many tears for their experiences. I was blessed to have key people who supported the ministry through planning and execution, and I want to thank them for their support, professionalism, sacriďŹ ce and belief in me.

I would like to thank my wife Caroline, and AJ, Christian and Ethan for bearing with me in this work when I was away overseas or working.

Finally, thanks to the Father for allowing me to serve these past four years. I have been both blessed and privileged to work with the young people of the SEC. Anthony Fuller

Youth Vision

Departmental Strategy

Departmental Targets

1

fully functioning SEC youth federations

4

Average engagement of 25-35 year old in active church life 2

8/10

3

New Youth Church Plants within the SEC Territory

2

4

4 8/10 AYS satisfaction scores

Regional launches of new AYS Package

4

3

Creating an environment for our Youth to flourish holistically

Improve the quality of AYS programming across the SEC

2

Engaging the 25-35 year olds in active church life

1

Pastor A Fuller

Regionalised Youth Federations to improve retention of our youth

‘Next Level Discipleship’

Evangelism, Everyone, Everywhere

Session Reports // Youth Ministries

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