Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

20 Aug

WHAT IS YOUR CALLING?

By Nathan Cranson …The Coronavirus has brought with it so many challenges and difficulties, but it has also offered us so many valuable lessons.

How do we deal with inactivity, isolation and silence? How do we face ourselves, our families, and our kids? How do we remain spiritually strong without our regular Christian fellowship? We have had to face fear and uncertainty and I think many of us have begun to really examine our worship services and our relationships with God and His church. What are the essentials and what can we live without?

I have certainly been asking a lot of questions this summer. On August 1, I marked my fifth year in pastoral ministry and only in the last couple of weeks do I feel like I have grasped my calling.

My calling is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:12 ESV).

You see, for years I worked to minister to the saints not realizing that every saint is a minister. Anyone connected to the Head has something to contribute to the body. So, my job as a pastor is to lead people to Christ so that Christ can lead His people.

So, how do I do that? How do I connect people to Christ? This is where it starts getting exciting. It turns out that every single individual on planet earth has direct access to the throne of God, thanks to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which has purchased every soul back from slavery to sin. Thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit every one of us can know Jesus personally and powerfully. What we often don’t realize is that the presence of the Holy Spirit is just as real as the presence of Jesus Christ some two thousand years ago. Jesus healed, taught, comforted and discipled His people. The Holy Spirit is doing all of these things today, but on a much larger scale. That’s why Jesus said that it was to our advantage that He go away, because if He goes away, He will send us the Helper, and when the Spirit of truth would come, He would lead us into all truth.

Have you ever wished that you could have been discipled by Jesus? Well, you can! Right now the Spirit of Christ is willing to disciple anyone that will give Him the time of day. Notice what Ellen White says:

All who are under the training of God need the quiet hour for communion with their own hearts, with nature, and with God. In them is to be revealed a life that is not in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices; and they need to have a personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will of God. We must individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” This is the effectual preparation for all labor for God. Amidst the hurrying throng, and the strain of life’s intense activities, he who is thus refreshed, will be surrounded with an atmosphere of light and peace. He will receive a new endowment of both physical and mental strength. His life will breathe out a fragrance and will reveal a divine power that will reach men’s hearts. (Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 58)

So, as a minister of the gospel, what is my job? To encourage every one of the members to spend a quiet hour with the Spirit of God every day. This is how we are connected to the Head. This is how we are equipped for ministry. This is how God will finish His work.

And the good news is, no number of masks or government mandates can separate us from communion with our Father, which art in heaven.

—Nathan Cranson is pastor of the Montrose, Colorado District.

20 Aug

FINANCIAL CHURCH SUPPORT INCREASED IN JULY

RMCNews – Denver, Colorado … “We are thankful to report that our total tithe and base tithe, excluding windfalls, have strengthened through the month of July,” George Crumley, RMC VP for finance, stated to the members of Rocky Mountain Conference Executive Committee August 18.

“When we looked at our June report, base tithe was down 3.92 percent compared to the prior year. The good news is that our July report showed base tithe was only down .55 percent. Now, lest we become overly elated, it is always important to make sure we are comparing apples with apples. As we looked at that report more closely, we noted that last year, three large churches were still outstanding when we closed our remittances for the month, whereas this year those churches were in on time,”

He further explained that “if you adjust the percentage as if those churches had been in on time last year, our base tithe would be down by around 2.00 percent as opposed to .55 percent. Still, with that adjustment, we have improved by almost 2.00 percent when compared to RMC’s June report.”

Commenting on the report, Ed Barnett, RMC president, said, “I praise God for what He is doing and the faithful stewardship of our members.” Crumley echoed his words, “We very much appreciate the faithful support of each of you in returning your tithes and offerings. Not only do these gifts support the Rocky Mountain Conference, but also your local church. Additionally, because of the sharing of our tithes within the Adventist Church structure, it advances ministry throughout the world.” He expressed hope that “we can continue to have funding to advance the gospel even in these difficult times. May the Lord continue to bless each of you in the days ahead.”

Barnett reported that though “GVR was unable to conduct summer camps, 16 young people worked this summer doing projects around the camp. They also provided services for small groups using the camp facilities.”

Referring to the effect of COVID -19, he expressed “great appreciation for the challenges met by pastors, teachers and principals during this time. They need our continued support and prayers.”

Addressing the situation of churches under pandemic restrictions, Eric Nelson, RMC VP for administration, commented “that primary importance should still be placed on social distancing, cleaning churches properly, and cooperating with the mask mandates by the state of Colorado and New Mexico.”

In reference to pending Town Hall meetings currently under the COVID-19 restrictions, Barnett explained the process that will be used to “meet with the RMC church members, [though] it will not be possible to conduct area meetings” as before. “Yet we wish to comply with the requirement for annual events by receiving input and sharing reports with our conference membership.”

The plan includes recording a video presentation of the officer reports followed by addressing questions submitted by members. The video will be posted on the conference website on October 9 and may be viewed individually or shown in church meetings. Church members are encouraged to send their questions for administration to them by September 1.

The meeting of the Executive Committee concluded with a report by Lonnie Hetterle, RMC education superintendent, who shared an education update from around the Conference. He expressed appreciation for Cathy Kissner, RMC coordinator of community services and disaster relief, who obtained masks for churches and schools as well as hand sanitizer.

For the current academic year, 18 new teachers were employed within RMC, representing many school positions around the conference. For the majority of schools in our conference, Hetterle said most schools had a small drop in enrollments compared with the previous year. “Most [schools] were worried there would be a huge drop in enrollment. There was not,” he commented. Don Reeder, Campion Adventist Academy principal reported that Campion’s opening enrollment was 143 with the potential for more students to join the Academy.

–RMCNews

20 Aug

Community outreach brings new students to Adventist school in Grand Junction

By Jon Roberts — Grand Junction, Colorado … Community outreach is at the center of the education experience at Intermountain Adventist Academy (IAA) in Grand Junction, Colorado as it opens for the new academic year.

Adventist education has a strong presence among the community in Grand Junction. Classes at Intermountain Adventist Academy began on August 12 with 32 students enrolled, including five community children. The five families had a specific reason to send their children to IAA.

IAA head teacher Joel Reyes explained, “We have two (families) that are coming from public school. For them, when (education went) via zoom last year, in their opinion, the public-school system was a disaster for basic education. They were pretty impressed with what we did and how we handled it. They are afraid (of the results of another lockdown) and they would rather be with us.”

Outreach opportunities exists for pupils of IAA.

“There’s a Catholic community service here that has an outreach program for the homeless. They have daily lunches, and free laundromats for them. We’ve volunteered in the past with them. The Catholics are wonderful,” Reyes added.

While the current pandemic has made volunteer opportunities nonexistent, hope exists that the school will once again be able to give back to the community.

“I’m trying to work something (with) the local Parks Department because I want to find something outdoors where student can distance,” Reyes said.

Educators are facing unique challenges in teaching while a pandemic ravishes the nation.

“It’s hard to stay apart. It’s hard to listen to kids read from six feet away even though they’re trying not to talk too loud,” Jami Simpson, 2^nd – 4^th grade teacher said. “The masks. We try, but they don’t always (stay on). I do wear mine. They don’t last that long on the kids.”

Temperature checks are performed on students each morning, and those students who wish to attend without wearing a mask are kept away from the others.

With 17 students in 5^th– 8^th grade, IAA moved the classroom to the fellowship hall of the Grand Junction Church while the gym was being retrofitted with audio absorption boards to maintain social distancing. Having a classroom in the church brings its own unique challenges, including moving all the desks and teaching materials against the wall after school on Friday and arriving early on Monday to re-assemble the classroom.

–Jon Roberts is communication/media assistant for the Rocky Mountain Conference; photos by Rajmund Dabrowski

**To view a video of the first day of class for IAA please click here

20 Aug

AN UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER AT GVR

By Jessyka Dooley – Ward, Colorado…You might find yourself wondering, “What does a summer camp do without kids all summer?'”

Although Glacier View Ranch was not filled with the energy and excitement that flows from our campers and staff, GVR had the incredible opportunity to hire 16 young adults as summer camp staff and two youth volunteers.

Throughout the summer dreams for GVR, that had seemed so far off, became reality. Pump Tracks were built, the camp store renovated, activities developed, and worship resources created thanks to an incredible team who sees and believes in the vision of GVR.

Check out our summer recap video to see these projects in action and hear from our team! (https://vimeo.com/449353138)

–Jessyka Dooley is Rocky Mountain Conference assistant Youth Director; photo by Rajmund Dabrowski

20 Aug

STUDENTS ARE WELCOMED BACK TO MILE HIGH ACADEMY FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR

By Karrie Meyers –Highlands Ranch, Colorado… Mile High Academy opened the 2020-2021 school year on August 17 by welcoming 198 students back to the campus for in-person education.

“We appreciate the support from the Mile High Academy community as we reopen our doors to in-classroom learning for the 2020-2021 school year,” Brenda Rodie, vice principal of Operations, Admissions and Records said. “It’s good having the classrooms filled with student voices. While this is a journey that could change at any moment, we are thankful to have our family together again.”

Registration was held online and MHA hosted its first virtual back-to-school night, where parents and students “met” their teacher(s) through Zoom sessions and toured their classrooms online.

Campus was closed to families for the traditional first-day-of-school activities. MHA’s prayer walk has been a highlight for parents and students to start the year in prayer. This year’s prayer walk was confined to classrooms and teachers prayed together and a meet-the-staff video played in the classroom.

Many exciting changes have been put in place to address the challenges social distancing brings. Changes include wearing masks in the buildings, social distancing in classrooms, and temperature checks. Wristbands are worn to show the student has passed the drop-off screening process. Other changes include students separated into grade-level cohorts, with lunch and recess staggered in zones around campus to allow for social distancing; plexiglass installed in areas where social distancing isn’t an option; and the flow of traffic in stairways and hallways rerouted to limit unnecessary exposure.

When asked how the new procedures are affecting the classroom, Christiana Hernández MHA middle school teacher said, “The hardest challenge so far is talking with a face covering. I miss seeing all the smiling faces.”

“I’m very thankful to be at school with the students and seeing their eyes sparkle with happiness. We have an amazing family of students who aren’t complaining about all the new policies. The Lord has blessed me by allowing me the privilege to serve at a time such as this,” Hernandez added.

A cleaning service is sanitizing restrooms, sink stations, and other high-traffic areas during school hours. Dismissal of students is done safely, with parents staying in vehicles while students stay in classrooms to be released when their family number is called.

Teachers are prioritizing spending as much time outdoors with their classes as possible.

Students are enjoying being back together with their friends and meeting new classmates. “I’m so glad that we’re able to be on campus,” Allyson Rasco, MHA senior said. “Even though there are changes, we will get used to them. The teachers are doing the best they can to help make this transition go smoothly for us.”

The Meet the Staff video is available for viewing on Mile High Academy’s YouTube page at https://youtu.be/V_E9eQ6Jtfk.

–Karrie Myers is Mile High Academy’s communication assistant; photos supplied

19 Aug

NAVAJOS TAKE TO THE AIR WAVES

By Alan Steele and Rajmund Dabrowski – Farmington, New Mexico … Adventist church member Kyle Boyd is sensing that God has given him a special opportunity to reach out to his fellow Navajo tribal members. “Our people are desperately searching for hope,” he says. Recently, he was able to realize his dream of sharing God’s message in a very special way.

About a year ago, he heard from members at his home church in La Vida Mission of an idea to establish a radio station to reach the Navajo Nation with God’s last-day message. He immediately volunteered and discovered that the Voice of Prophecy had produced programs in Navajo many years ago. That source, with updated scripts from long ago, forms the basis of his ministry. On August 2, his voice was heard for the first time around the huge reservation, the largest in North America, and his ministry was launched.

The original dream of Navajo church members was to acquire their own radio station. However, a plan to participate in a radio license auction scheduled earlier this year was foiled by the Federal Communication Commission when the Coronavirus epidemic hit America and the auction was postponed.

They saw the postponement, though, as a mere delay, and their strategy changed to the concept of a trial run on KTNN, the most powerful station on the reservation. Thanks to numerous private donations and a sizable contribution to the project from Adventist World Radio, the group had enough funds to buy airtime on “The Voice of the Navajo Nation.”

They had no expectations for receiving feedback from listeners after their first half-hour on the air, but four listeners called for the study course that was offered. That was three weeks ago. Three programs on, five more people asked for Bible studies.

Kyle Boyd is assisted by Michael Mace, a volunteer at La Vida Mission who was previously involved with setting up a studio. He is a nine-year French missionary veteran who has worked in Adventist broadcasting internationally. He came to La Vida Mission not knowing that he was to be involved in radio ministry. “I just applied and God’s will had to be done, right? So, now I know that there was a radio behind [God’s plan], but I didn’t know that before I came.” Michael set up the studio and serves as an engineer.

Pastor Steve Gillham, director of La Vida Mission, said, “You see we have been having this dream of winning the reservation for Christ. We just kept asking ourselves here on the front lines, “What can we do?” and we talked it up when we were around others.” They got Allen Steele’s ear, and “we talked to others involved, and in God’s providence, word came from AWR [there was] interest in a Navajo station,” he shared.

The rest is history. Programs are on the air and Bible studies are being requested. La Vida Mission has increased its outreach among the Navajos.

The early surprise response has energized the program producers in their new work of preparing radio programs and follow-up that the requests have generated. To prepare programs, three church conferences with territory in the Navajo Nation agreed to make programs possible by installing small production studios where tribal members can conveniently record their radio messages.

The Rocky Mountain Conference helped fund a studio at La Vida Mission in San Juan County, New Mexico. The Arizona Conference installed a studio at the Adventist Church in Window Rock, the national capital. The Texico Conference installed a studio at its Gallup Church in the western part of the state. Holbrook Indian School in eastern Arizona also has a studio and hopes to involve students in the programs. Thanks to a weekend of training by Allen Steele, a former AWR vice-president, a dozen volunteer program producers were ready to go into action.

Until the next opportunity arrives to acquire their own station, the trial run has convinced church members that radio ministry is the best way to reach out to the huge desert expanse of their territory that straddles three states: Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

–Allan Steele with Rajmund Dabrowski; photos by Rajmund Dabrowski and Alan Steele

Holbrook studio
Photo credit: Allen Steele

19 Aug

La Vida Mission’s First Drive-In Church Service

By Dorie Panganiban – Farmington, New Mexico … For the first time since March, La Vida Mission Church welcomed, August 8, some 25 community members on to worship together again.

While New Mexico eased the restrictions on gatherings in June, the Navajo nation remained under a stay-at-home order on weekends to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

On August 6 when restrictions were eased, places of worship were allowed to resume Saturday gatherings since the lockdown was still in place from Saturday evening through Monday morning. The gatherings, however, had to be drive-in services.

La Vida staff immediately began to plan and organize the first-time-since-March event to welcome the community back to the mission. Word of the gathering began to spread around the reservation.

The staff received an early morning text message on Sabbath asking if church was still happening. When an affirmative reply was sent back, a new message was received: “We’re coming. When I told my husband that La Vida is doing a drive-in church service, he jumped in and said, ‘We’re going’”.

As cars arrived for this unique event, their occupants were greeted by the sight of a flat-bed trailer used as a platform. With a portable sound system installed and a keyboard configured, La Vida worshipped God amidst the surrounding nature.

“I feel so blessed that I can worship with my fellow church members even if it’s just in my vehicle. I’m so happy to be able to sing again and listen to a live sermon,” a community visitor said.

When an offering appeal was made, people left their vehicles one at a time and dropped their offerings in the basket on the flat-bed trailer.

During the service, people waved their hands out car windows and honked their horns to show appreciation for once again being together to worship their Creator.

After the worship service, fellowship lunch boxes were given to attendees allowing them to fellowship together even if they couldn’t sit around the same table, but remained in their cars.

The La Vida Mission Church plans to hold drive-in services through the month of August.

When hearing how the staff talked about the August 8 Sabbath service, you could not miss an excitement in their voices about seeing their fellow faith community believers together and worshiping as a family once again.

–Dorie Panganiban, is La Vida outreach director; photos supplied.

19 Aug

ESCAPING THE RAINSTORM BIKERS RIDE INTO THE CHURCH

By Jamey Houghton – Franktown, Colorado…Sitting in his office at the Franktown church on a Friday afternoon Jamey Houghton, Franktown pastor, was just putting the final touches on his sermon.

Outside it was a beautiful day–white fluffy clouds in the sky. Suddenly a loud clap of thunder filled the office, followed by the sound of rain pounding the roof.

Suddenly the unmistakable roar of Harley Davidson motorcycles filled the empty church.

“As a motorcycle rider myself, I knew exactly what was happening—some riders were trying to get out of the heavy rain and were coming under the porch by our front door to try and stay dry,” Jamey Houghton, said.

Meeting them outside a conversation followed. Soon, the couple revealed they lived very close to the church. They began asking questions about the church and what Seventh-day Adventist believe. As the conversation grew the topic of the Sabbath arose.

During the continuous rain a Bible study on the benefits of the Sabbath continued.

As the storm was coming to an end the man expressed, “I think God sent the rain so we could meet you and find this church”.

Mounting their bikes an invitation to attend the next day was given.

“As I preached, I scanned the audience and didn’t see them,” Houghton said with disappointment.

“The next Sabbath though, as I was walking up to the front pew to start the announcements, some people waved at me—I went over and they said “Hey! We are the motorcycle people,”’ Houghton added with excitement.

The couple has become regulars at the Franktown gatherings, studying the Bible and becoming involved in the Biblical Foundations Sabbath School.

The family is excited to share with everyone they meet how a rainstorm changed their outlook on life and opened new doors of faith to them.

“On that beautiful Friday, I believe God knew these dear people were searching for Him, and sent the rain to steer their Harley Davidsons right up to the front door of the church,” Houghton concluded.

–Jamey Houghton is pastor of the Franktown church, Colorado; photo courtesy of Franktown Facebook page.

19 Aug

NAD Executive Committee Recommends Name for New Division Secretary

Columbia, Maryland … The Executive Committee of the North American Division (NAD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church voted on August 18, 2020, to recommend the name of Kyoshin Ahn for the position of NAD executive secretary. Ahn’s name was presented to the executive committee by the nominating committee, which met on Aug. 17. G. Alexander Bryant, officially voted in to the position of NAD president on July 9, 2020, chaired both committees.

On Thursday, Aug. 20, the General Conference Executive Committee will meet to vote the name recommended by the NAD Executive Committee. The NAD executive secretary, along with the two other NAD officer positions of president and treasurer, are voted by the General Conference Executive Committee and then assigned to work for the North American Division.

The division’s nominating committee is termed a standing committee appointed by the NAD Executive Committee in 2015. The nominating committee has recommended the names of individuals to the executive committee for vote during the past five years in order to fill division vacancies.

Kyoshin Ahn is currently serving as undersecretary for the NAD, a position he’s held since February 2016. He also served the division as an associate secretary from 2013 to 2016.

Before coming to the division, Ahn served almost eight years as executive secretary for the Illinois Conference.

Ahn began his pastoral ministry in 1995 in the Potomac Conference, and served there until 2001. He was then president of the Korean Churches Association in North America from June 2001 to October 2005.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Sahmyook University in Korea, followed by a Master of Divinity from Andrews University Theological Seminary in Michigan, U.S., and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Early Christianity from Vanderbilt University.

**This article was originally published on the North American Division website.

13 Aug

HE’S STILL ON HIS PURSUIT

NN Aug 2020

By Nestor Soriano … My family and I travelled to Indonesia in the spring of 2019. Katherine, my wife, was thrilled to go back to her native country. We flew to the popular island of Bali and enjoyed the beautiful beaches and delicious food. We also flew to Singapore to enjoy the sights and sounds of the bustling country. After a few days, we returned to Indonesia and spent the remainder of our vacation in Jakarta, the capital city where Katherine grew up.

On our last Sabbath in Jakarta, I had the privilege of preaching at Katherine’s home church. I preached in English and Katherine translated my sermon to Indonesian. I preached on how Jesus is the Good Shepherd from John, Chapter 10.

After the church service, I found some youth who played and sang popular Christian tunes. After reveling in our music, our family was ready to leave, and I told them I’d like to say goodbye and thank their pastor for the opportunity to preach at his church. I noticed the pastor was speaking with an elderly gentleman who was a member at his church and a young woman in her 20s. When I approached the pastor to say farewell, and he said, “Please sit down. You need to hear this story.”

Then the pastor introduced me to the young woman whose name was Nuryl. She didn’t speak English, but the pastor and his friend shared her story with me. Nuryl grew up in a Muslim home. Her father was a Muslim leader and she attended Muslim schools. But then they shared something spectacular: Nuryl had recently been having dreams of a man in white. She was convinced that this man was Isa, the name for Jesus in the Quran. She said she came to this church for the first time to learn about Isa, or Jesus from the Gospels. She wanted to study the Bible with a pastor, become a Christian, and be baptized. I was ecstatic when I heard this story! I affirmed her in her search for Truth. I then had a special prayer for her journey with Jesus.

I learned an important lesson from this experience: Jesus is still in the business of drawing people to himself. Jeremiah 31:3 says, “I have loved with you an everlasting love; therefore, with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (NKJV). It was quite obvious to me that Jesus was using dreams to draw Nuryl to Himself.

The English poet Francis Thompson wrote the poem entitled the “Hound of Heaven,” a 182-line poem that describes the endless pursuit of man by God:

The name is strange. It’s startling at first. It is so bold, so new, so fearless. It does not attract, but rather the reverse. But when one reads the poem, this strangeness disappears. The meaning is understood. As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurrying and unperturbed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His Divine grace. And though in sin or in human love, away from God it seeks to hide itself, Divine grace follows after, unwearyingly follows ever after, till the soul feels its pressure forcing it to turn to Him alone in that never ending pursuit.

May we never forget that the Hound of Heaven is still pursuing us.

—Nestor Soriano is associate pastor at Campion Seventh-day Adventist Church