On October 14, 32 North American Division (NAD) and General Conference employees visited New York City to minister to the hurting and discouraged. Greater New York Conference ACS director Bill Bremner took the group within two blocks of Ground Zero. With smoke and rubble as their backdrop they hugged and prayed with people; listened to the stories of witnesses to the tragedy; thanked firefighters, police officers, and other volunteers; serenaded the crowds; distributed nearly 1,000 brochures and flyers dealing with stress and grief; and gave out flowers and stuffed animals.
The New York Project
North American Division officials announced a new initiative called the New York Project. Under the new plan denominational employees and lay members are being invited to move to New York City for periods of two months to two years to help congregations plant new Adventist churches.
Among those responding were Pastor Terry Nennich and his wife, who were ready to begin pastoral work in Minnesota when the conference committee reassigned them to New York. They joined a newly formed company meeting on 16th Street on Manhattan.
NY churches honor police and firemen. |
The Kansas-Nebraska Conference sent Pastor Jim Wood, who is starting an outreach series called "God Loves New York." Andrews University (AU) teacher Mark Regazzi and his wife, Lydie, are now in New York to plant a church in Manhattan's upper west side (Regazzi grew up in New York). Seminary professors Don James and Jon Paulien, with a group of AU seminary students, are planting a church on Roosevelt Island, a bedroom community adjacent to Manhattan.
Adventist youth will also play a major role in the church's outreach. The eXtreme Team, from the Center for Youth Evangelism at Andrews University, will engage in street evangelism in the squares and parks of Manhattan. Louis Torres, director of the Black Hills School of Evangelism, sent a group of Bible workers. Sponsored by Adventist-Laymen's Services and Industries, the group looks forward to studying with the new Bible study interests being developed.
James Black, NAD youth director, and Ron Whitehead, of the AU Center for Youth Evangelism, are organizing one-week trips for youth to come to New York, hand out literature, and seek people interested in Bible studies.
ASI Kickoff
To launch the New York Project, the Adventist-Laymen's Services and Industries (ASI) organized a one-day convocation called "Changed in a Day." The program featured preaching by It Is Written speaker Mark Finley and Amazing Facts director Doug Batchelor. This was the first large-scale rally for the New York Project.
Though two local conferences, Greater New York and Northeastern, now administer the Adventist Church's outreach to the city, NAD officials say that more people are interested in the gospel of Jesus Christ than any single entity can handle. For that reason NAD officials recently appointed Gordon Henderson, a retired union president, as NAD field director. An office was established above the Greater New York Adventist Book Center at 12 West 40th Street, New York, New York 10018 (phone 212-719-5306). All inquiries about the project should be directed to this office.
The borough of Manhattan was divided into territories that were then assigned to each of the nine union conferences in North America. Union leaders have pledged their support for church planting teams to spend up to two years in planting new congregations in New York, in cooperation with the local conferences and churches. Shorter term teams will find interests, sign up Discover Bible School students, and give Bible studies.
For more information about the Adventist Church's New York Project, call 212-719-5306 or visit the NAD Web site at www.nadadventist.org.
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Jim Gilley is a vice president of the North American Division, providing leadership for the special efforts to help reach New Yorkers with the gospel.
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he Seventh-day Adventist Church's response to September 11 is gaining momentum as pastors, students, and lay members take an active role in sharing Christ's love in New York City. North American Division leaders say the new outreach will increase in the months ahead. Examples of the church's efforts:
An Adventist church in Manhattan's upper east side opened its doors to passersby to come in for prayer. More than 100 nonmember neighbors came for prayer and counseling.
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