More than 50,000 people gathered for an annual Sabbath
School and Personal Ministry Congress at Mountain View College in southern
Philippines.
The church leaders and laypeople listened to speakers from
Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division
explain how they share Jesus even under sometimes difficult circumstances.
Michael Ditta, president of the church in Pakistan, saw a
connection between such personal ministries as sharing literature and visiting
the sick and the Adventist church’s Sabbath School program.
“The work of the
Sabbath School department of the church is threefold: spiritual development of
the members, promotion of the world mission program, and local evangelism,” he
told the May 18-24 event, titled “Revival and the Christian Life.”
“This
process unites [people] to achieve the work … bringing the gospel message to
the entire world,” he said.
ADRA’s branch in the Czech Republic has brought together 22 authors,
including young debutants and some of the country’s most respected figures, to
create a collection of stories for a book titled The One Million Times.
The stories in the book, presented at the World Book Fair in
Prague in mid-May, revolve around the theme of honor, which was chosen to
highlight dedicated workers who go all over the world to help build relational
bridges between people.
The project aims to make ADRA more visible in the Czech
Republic, and all profits from the book are going toward work by the Czech
branch of ADRA in Kenya and Bangladesh.
The book's stories have also been published in the Salon supplement of Právo, a popular Czech newspaper.
ADRA, the relief agency of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, started work in the Czech Republic in 1992 and gradually grew to become one
of the three largest humanitarian organizations in the country.
A team of seven Washington Adventist University missionaries
participated in a two-week mission trip to the city of Davao, Philippines, that
resulted in 141 baptisms.
“Students love to reach out and touch others with the love
of God — most just do not know it yet,” said Baraka G. Muganda, the university’s
vice president for ministry and leader of the team. “When you give them the
right opportunity and preparation, they will discover the joy of serving God
while serving others, and their lives will be changed.”
Seven evangelistic sites were set up in Davao, and people
who wanted to be baptized were invited to do so at the end of the evening
meetings.
The May 6-23 trip is among several planned for students in the
upcoming months. The next trip will be to Brazil in July, followed by Jamaica
in March, St. Kitts in May and Kenya in June.
Adventists in two British cities decided not to sit at home
on a recent public holiday.
Instead, the Portsmouth and Isle of Wight churches organized
health screenings and a special revival program.
The Adventist congregation in the Isle of Wight is
small, but 25 volunteers, including those from nearby Portsmouth and
Bournemouth, offered blood tests, BMI calculations, blood pressure checks, and heart
pulse and lung capacity tests. Afterward, two doctors and a pharmacist offered
advice to those who were tested.
"We assessed between 40 and 50 people,” said Judith
Fajardo, the event coordinator. “Some of them asked for spiritual support
and prayer, while others showed interest in a healthy lifestyle and diet.”
People with results that deviated seriously from the normal
were referred to their regular doctors.
The Portsmouth church held a revival program in which
speakers Errol and Paulette Nembhard spoke about issues relevant to families
and young people, including pornography and sex. Former members and those
visiting church less frequently were specially invited to attend.
Contact Adventist
Review news editor Andrew McChesney at [email protected]. Twitter:
@ARMcChesney
