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"Go One Million" Surges Ahead

eventh-day Adventist leaders in the Southern Asia-Pacific region report that 8,000 people have been baptized since the beginning of 2002, as part of the region's emphasis on "Go One Million"--an international initiative encouraging lay evangelism.

The baptisms are the result of a series of lay-run evangelistic events held during April at a number of local Adventist churches in Southern Philippines, says Leonardo Asoy, personal ministries director for the area. He says these events represent only 40 percent of the number of churches that have planned evangelistic series. The remaining 60 percent will conduct their programs over the coming months. Adventist leaders in the Southern Asia-Pacific region are also preparing to conduct another round of "Go One Million" leadership training seminars to be held during July and August.

"This time, we will train local church leaders on how to nurture new church members as thousands are added to our church rolls each year," says Pastor Violeto Bocala, president of the Adventist church in the Southern-Asia Pacific region.

"Go One Million," a plan to recruit, train, and equip 1 million Seventh-day Adventist lay people for evangelism by the next Adventist world session in June, 2005 was approved a year ago by the Adventist Church's top executive committee.

The project is coordinated by the Personal Ministries department of the Adventist world church, and includes a number of partners, including lay organizations.                                         --Adventist News Network

California Churches Connect with World Church through "One Church" Program
Evangelistic meetings in Peru received the full attention of several churches in the Southern California Conference (SCC) when two SCC pastoral teams led out in meetings as part of a recent area-wide evangelism program in Peru. Pastors Rick Roethler and Manuel Avitia kept their respective Santa Clarita and Oxnard churches informed on the excitement of nonstop activity and encouraged their members to continue praying. The Peru meetings concluded with the area congregations joining in large stadiums to hear messages preached by Evangelist Alexander Bull�n, Ministerial Association Director of the South American Division. "Long lines, cold weather, and concrete seats were no hindrance to the people. The concluding meetings reached more than 45,000 people," said Bull�n.

Local mission leaders in Peru estimated that more than 3,000 people were baptized at the conclusion of the meetings. "Those of us who went to be a blessing to others took home a greater blessing than can be put into words," said Pastor Roethler. "The local churches in Peru warmly welcomed the new members into their churches, involving them in small group Bible studies and youth activities. The new members were also given discipleship training which will equip them to effectively share the gospel."

The churches within the West Region of SCC developed and sponsored this concept as part of "One Church," a program developed to acquaint the SCC West Region=s pastors and members with first-hand knowledge of the world work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the benefits of being "one church."

Philippines Youth Conference Draws Thousands
A record 25,000 Seventh?day Adventists attended the May 11 Sabbath program of the 10th annual youth congress in the southern Philippines. Organizers report that people came by cars, busses, cargo trucks, and many other modes of transportation to hear world church senior youth leader Alfredo Garcia?Marenko. The Alumni Church of Mountain View College, where the event was held, was filled to overflowing. "I am very excited to see this army of youth show their commitment to finish God's work in this area of the world field," says Garcia-Marenko.

The theme of the congress, which ran May 7 to 11, was "Choose and Change," and was intended to help young people identify their priorities, choose those that are right, and make them work for both personal benefit and for the church.

"In the Southern Asia?Pacific Division, youth play an important role in evangelism," says Hiskia Missah, youth director of the division. "We're not only talking of the quality of service but the quantity of help that thousands of our youth give towards church programs in this division, particularly in the Philippines." He notes that the southern Philippines is well known for its high rate of baptisms due to strong participation by members, most of whom are young people. --Adventist News Network

Baltic States Resume Training Adventist Pastors
For the first time in 50 years the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Baltic states will graduate Adventist pastors from a local training program. "This is a major milestone," says Joseph Gurubatham, president of Griggs University, one of the partners in the venture. "This is a service to a part of the world field that had been greatly disadvantaged because of Communism."

The first group of 10 students will receive their Bachelor of Arts degrees in theology this July. Students are from the three Baltic States--Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania--as well as Albania, Finland and Greece.

"We were cut off from the worldwide church for many years," says Valdis Zilgalvis, president of the Baltic Union. Church members had to go underground: some were sent to Siberia, and the Baltic Theological Seminary in Suzi was shut down in 1940. Now we are preparing pastors for worldwide church work," says Zilgalvis.

Griggs University, the Adventist Church's international, distance-education institution based in the United States, teamed up with the Trans-European Division and Newbold College in England to provide a curriculum. Teachers from Newbold College spent three-week stints at the training center at the Baltic Union office.

"This is a good system because it's practical work," says Zilgalvis. Students are trained during the school year and study at the church's Baltic regional headquarters in Latvia during the summer. Zilgalvis says this work is helped by private donors in Denmark and in the United States. Today 6,500 Seventh-day Adventists in the Baltic States worship in some 80 churches. These Baltic countries gained independence after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

News Notes

Members of the Bala SDA Church in Wales were invited to participate in a live debate on science, evolution, and creation on BBC Radio Wales in March. "The debate was part of Welsh science week and in view of current media interest in teaching creationism in schools, they wanted us to be there," reports Rosemary Lethbridge, Bible instructor. Of the four questions selected for airing, the question submitted by the Adventists was given 50 percent of the total air time.

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