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The Southern Union constituency reelected Ron C. Smith as president at its quinquennial constituency session on Sept. 18, 2016. Smith said, “I’m feeling most honored to have received your affirmation through your reelection of me as your president for a new term.” MORE
The Mid-America Union convened its constituency session on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in the College View Church in Lincoln, Neb. The one-day session, themed “Collaborating for Ministry in the Heartland,” brought together nearly 290 delegates to review and discuss the progress of the Adventist Church in Mid-America from 2011-2015. MORE
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl., was the backdrop for the North American Division (NAD) Women Pastors and Chaplains Retreat held on Sept. 11-14, 2016. The event themed “Renew” offered the 160 attendees time to relax, reflect, and recommit through workshops, keynote presentations, a special outreach activity, prayer, worship, and fellowship. Check out our video report.
ACS dispatched a mobile unit to bring flood relief supplies to French Settlement, La. The truck was loaded with supplies from the multi-agency warehouse in Baton Rouge on Sept. 9, 2016. Watch the video report by SAU’s Stephen Ruf.
Public Affairs and Religious Liberty leaders from the Adventist Church came together for a rally in New York on August 26-27, 2016. Experts in the religious liberty field dispersed across a dozen New York City churches to speak on the theme of Building a Bridge for Freedom and Religious Liberty. Local congregations heard a message proclaiming the gift of religious freedom and explaining the vital role the church plays in public affairs. MORE
Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) has once again ranked in U.S. News & World Report Regional Colleges West rankings list. SWAU is ranked at 21 out of 65 schools, up from 22 on last year’s rankings. “It is nice to receive affirmation from a reputable organization of the quality we all experience on a daily basis,” shares Ken Shaw, SWAU president. MORE
Desmond Doss: Generations of Seventh-day Adventists in North America have grown up with stories about Doss. His heroic actions on the island of Okinawa in the bloodiest battle of World War II were shared with Adventist youth at summer camps and in Pathfinder meetings for decades. Doss himself would teach groups of boys and girls the bowline knot that he used to lower 75 injured soldiers to safety, an act that awarded him the Medal of Honor. In November, “Hacksaw Ridge” will appear on more than 3,000 movie screens around North America, and eventually in every major media market of the world. Click here for a special commentary and NAD statement.
REACH Columbia Union Urban Evangelism School Welcomes New Director
Harbor of Hope SDA Church Grand Opening (Mich.) With Pancake Breakfast; Church in Former County Health Building
Waynesboro (Pa.) Women’s Ministry Makes Baby Blankets for Newborns
Florida Hospital Implements a Biometric Identification System for Patient Security
Adventists Join Volunteers of Brother’s Redevelopment Paint-a-Thon (Colo.)
Parker Adventist Hospital (Colo.) Hosts Vigil for Police Detective
Commentary: Adventist Contributions, Role of Churches and Families in Eldercare
The fourth annual EYE RUN will be held Sunday, Oct. 2, at Holmes Lake Park in Lincoln, Neb. Registration is still open! The EYE RUN is a fundraiser and eye health education event that encourages you to walk or run with family and friends. Don’t live in Lincoln? Register to walk or run on your own or with a team in your local area as EYE RUN virtual participants. Encourage friends, family, and church members to participate with you on Oct. 2. Church health ministries leaders: Consider using the EYE RUN as a way to connect your ministry efforts with individuals from your community. LEARN MORE
Free registration available for people who are blind and their guides. Individuals who are blind and their sighted guides are eligible to receive complimentary registration. Contact EYE RUN coordinator Jeri Lyn Rogge for more information at 1-402-488-0981, extension 213.
Adventist Community Services is sponsoring the Nonprofit Leadership Certification program Oct. 10-13 to equip both pastors and lay-people with nonprofit management skills, insight into the social dimension of evangelism, and leadership techniques that successfully enact change. Online registration is closed; the $300 registration fee can be paid at the venue: Southern Union Conference 302 Research Drive, Norcross, Ga. Note: this is Session II of the program, but Session 1 is NOT a prerequisite. More info HERE
SDA Attorneys’ Conference and Retreat is back! In the 1980s, this event brought attorneys from across NAD together for networking and learning. After a 20-year hiatus, the conference will be held in Henderson, Nevada, on Oct. 20-23. Attendees will also be able to earn 10+ hours of CLE credits. This conference is sponsored jointly by the Office of General Counsel of the General Conference and the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department of the North American Division. Click here to request more information. Read the article.
The Society of Adventist Communicators invites you to Denver, Colo. (Oct. 13-15) for a time of inspiration, celebration, training, and growing as professional communicators. Join us to “Keep Climbing” as we continue to blend traditional and digital communication practices in our field. Space limited, price goes up after Sept. 30. Use #SACdenver16 and #AdventistComm on social media; and click here for registration info.
Let’s Pray! This popular live show has moved to Fridays, 8 p.m. (EDT). Now you can fill your early Sabbath hours with prayers and praises—and call in with your own prayer requests! Click here for more info.
September’s health focus encompasses physical, spiritual, and mental health. Adventist Family Ministries offers a directory of counselors and mental healthcare providers who practice with a Christian worldview. Search by practitioner name, location, or specialization HERE.
I Want This City. Doug Venn looks for unique opportunities to share Jesus with the predominantly non-Christian population of Bangkok, Thailand. Experience the journey with him in this new Hope Channel reality show! I Want This City airs Fridays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT; and premieres Sept. 23.
Adventist Colleges Abroad (ACA) offers Adventist education in some of the most history-rich cultural hotspots around the world. Global studies no longer are confined to a textbook as students are immersed into the arts and language studies of Spain, Italy, Germany, and more. For more information on full-year programs and summer programs offered through ACA, click HERE.
Resources and assistance for those struggling with unemployment, substance addiction, domestic abuse, elder neglect, as well as crises and natural disasters and those simply in need of a listening ear or helping hand can find assistance through Adventist Community Services. To find a local chapter, consult this map of ACS centers in North America.
Children’s Ministries has created coordinating podcasts of each Sabbath School lesson for Kindergarten, Primary, and Junior levels. Kids can listen to their lesson and follow along with the print version, or listen in the car or anywhere on the go. Kindergarten and Primary podcasts available HERE, Junior podcasts available HERE.
Adventist-Laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) is a community for Adventist professionals who seek to further the gospel in the marketplace and in daily professional interactions. Members also seek to use their skills and resources to support Adventist mission work and various annual special projects that benefit those in need all over the world. For a list of regional chapters, click HERE.
NEW VIDEOS! It Is Written’s SALT Program is a three-month evangelism training school that takes place each fall on the campus of Southern Adventist University. Now you can watch SALT 365, It Is Written’s free online evangelism training. This week’s video presentation is a special “Salt 365 Q&A.” Next week features “The Do’s and Don’ts of Giving a Bible Study, Part 2,” with Greg Wilson. This is valuable material you won’t want to miss!
How God Sees Us
“If you were to ask the seed of an oak tree to describe itself, it would probably look at itself and say I’m just a little round ball… I’m not much to look at. But if you were to ask God to describe it, He would describe it as a great big oak tree; not how it is, but how it could become. And that’s how God sees us. Not insignificant, uneducated, inexperienced — He sees us as what we can become, how He envisions us to be.”
— Henry Juarez, technical assistant & global mission coordinator for the NAD Ministerial Association, speaking at a recent NAD morning worship
Reaching Refugee and Immigrant Populations — Interactive Map
In His Word, God is very definite about our responsibility to care for “the stranger who dwells among you” (Lev. 19:34, NKJV). Adventist Refugee and Immigrant Ministries is working to plant churches and share the Gospel with refugees in North America, and immigrants from least-reached people groups.
Since the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church launched Adventist Refugee and Immigrant Ministries (ARIM) in 2009, the network of refugee congregations has grown to 150 organized congregations worshipping every Sabbath across North America. Check out this interactive map of refugee church plants across the NAD.
September 22, 2016
Special Days
September Focus:
Health
Sept. 18-24 – Hispanic Heritage Week
Sept. 18-24 – Let’s Move Week/Health Education Week/Vibrant Life
October Focus: Adventist Heritage
Oct. 1 – Children’s Sabbath
Offerings:
October Special Offerings
Oct. 8, ,Voice of Prophecy/La Voz de la Esperanza
Helpful Special Day Websites and Resources
Sample Offertory Readings (in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French)
Sept. 28-Oct. 2, Health Summit Canada
Oct. 10-13, Nonprofit Leadership Convention, Session 2
Oct. 13-15, Society of Adventist Communicators Convention
Oct. 20-23, SDA Attorneys’ Conference & Retreat
Nov. 18-20, HE SAID GO Missions Conference
2017:
Jan. 8-11, 2017, Adventist Ministries Convention, Tucson, Ariz.
Adventist World/
NAD Edition
September 2016
NAD Feature: “AIMing to Make a Difference,” by Kimberly Luste Maran, pp. 17-20
NAD News: Church/Community Volunteers Complete 15th Home Renovation; VOP’s “Shadow Empire” Returns in Sept.; ACF Institute Connects College Students to God and Each Other; Pathfinder Bible Experience Grows, pp. 11-13
NAD Update: “Adventists Gather in Washington, D.C., to Pray, Call for Action,” pp. 22-23
NAD Perspective: “Help! I’m a Parent!” by Claudio and Pamela Consuegra, p. 25
The Sept. 2016 Adventist World magazine also features the annual Week of Prayer readings, “A Heart for Mission.”
Daily Prayer Guide
Months of Aug.-Sept. 2016 – For this period, please pray for the Adventist Church in Canada, with 376 churches and 68,087 members.
Sept. 25- Oct. 1 – This week please pray for the Maritimeand Newfoundland/Labradorconferences, with 26 churches and 1,616 members and 8 churches and 616 members, respectively.
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2016 North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists | 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904
Dan Weber, communication director | Julio Muñoz, associate director
Kimberly Maran, assistant director
Email: newspoints@nad.adventist.org | Website: nadadventist.org