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Did you ever pull out a jacket in the fall that spent the summer in the closet, only to discover a $20.00 bill in the pocket? Even though it was yours all along, you kind of feel like it was a bonus. You weren’t expecting it, so you shout to whoever is nearest, “Hey, look! I found some money! Isn’t that cool?”

Blessings from the Lord can be like that. The moment you discover it, it can feel like something new even though it was yours all along. That’s the way I feel right now after seeing the latest tithe figures.

In case you haven’t heard, our Conference was blessed with a tithe increase in 2019. That’s always good news, but this year it is especially noteworthy because we enjoyed the highest increase in the North American Division.

Can you handle more good news? Gross tithe increase for January 2020 over January 2019 is (drum roll, please): 29 percent! Okay, one month is a small sample, and nobody expects that to hold over the course of a year, but still… that’s amazing! And it’s not like that’s due entirely to a windfall because base tithe is up 26 percent. This is a tremendous start, and I hope you join me in prayer that the rest of the year will follow through with good returns as well.

What this means is that the mission goes on. It goes on without drastic cuts to programs or personnel. Because of increasing costs there is some belt-tightening, but praise the Lord, there will be no major interruption to the mission.

While we are praising the Lord, we don’t forget your role in this. It is through our faithful people that His blessings flow. In reality, the blessing is not the increase itself. The blessing is that we have members who care about the mission. When we have that, the tithe increases take care of themselves. There is no doubt in our minds that we have such members, because the increase makes it plain.

We do the mission. We don’t hire teachers and pastors, build academies and camps, or drop an envelope in the plate so we can have a mission, because we do the mission. The people and institutions are an integral part, and it takes faithful giving to keep it going, but never think that you give so that someone else can do the mission. We all do our part in it because Jesus calls us to do the mission. I thank everyone for all that is done, and I invite you to rejoice with me that our tithe indicates that our members take the mission seriously.

—Doug Inglish, RMC Director of Planned Giving and Trust Services

Glenwood Springs, Colorado … The Rocky Mountain Conference Literature Ministry team joined Glenwood Springs church members as they visited people living near the church the weekend of February 22. The group was able to register 10 people for upcoming cooking classes and Bible studies, and they prayed with more than 30 people, leaving GLOW (Giving Light to Our World) tracts at more than 200 homes. God blessed the team’s community visit.

Here’s a sample of one exchange:

“Hi, my name’s Matt and I’m from the church down the street.” Matt Hasty smiled and pointed towards the church, “We’re out in the neighborhood today collecting prayer requests. Is there anything you would like to add to our prayer chain?”

The woman at the door paused and looked surprised. “Wow! I was just praying for my daughter’s salvation when you knocked on my door. Please add my daughter to your prayer list.” It was a heavy burden on her heart, and she felt blessed to have others share her burden.

Matt wrote down her daughter’s name. “May we pray for your daughter right now?” he asked.

“I would like that,” the woman replied, bowing her head as Matt prayed for her daughter. When the prayer ended, Matt invited the woman to the upcoming healthy cooking class and left her with a few GLOW tracts, making sure to leave her with extras to share with her daughter.

Matt Hasty, who coordinates the RMC Literature Ministry, commented about this experience. “What a blessing it was that God brought Matt at the right time to be this woman’s prayer partner. Matthew 18:20 says, ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them,’” he said.

—Amanda Hasty; photo by Ruejeina for GLOW Testimonies Newsletter

Gillette, Wyoming …What would it be like to be a survivor of human trafficking? Thirty-five women from the Gillette community joined the Gillette Church women’s ministries team to hear survivor Dormalee Wood share her story of being kidnapped and held for a year while attending college. Through God’s providence, she was rescued!

Together with the Gillette women’s ministries team, Karen Fettig, who leads a ministry that provides awareness about human trafficking to Wyoming communities (“Beneath Our Wings”) Karen shared statistics, provided safety tips, and helped educate on ways to be vigilant and aware, to do everything possible to prevent or intercept trafficking.

For helpful tips and more information, check out http://beneathourwings.com/

10 Days of Prayer – During the Gillette Church’s observance of 10 Days of Prayer, the yearly initiative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, giving opportunity for corporate prayer, Gillette members had a unique opportunity to pray for and to help a stranger who showed up on the third night of the series. Having reached out to Pastor Lester Bentley, the man was invited to attend the meetings that night.

He had attended a Bible study for a different denomination the previous week, and realized, while studying, the truth of the seventh-day Sabbath. That’s when he began to look for a Sabbath-keeping church. In the process of traveling home to Quebec, however, the man’s ride had not materialized, and he was stuck.

Church members prayed with him and provided a bus ticket for his trip home. They continue to pray for him and his walk with Jesus.

—DeeAnn Bragaw; photo by Raelyn Wortman

Denver, Colorado … Rocky Mountain Conference Executive Committee was informed on February 18 that the “year-end (2019) report of the North American Division has RMC as the top conference in the Division with a 5.59 percent tithe gain for the past year,” said Ed Barnett in his President’s Report.

“The Lord blessed us during the month of December. We praise Him for what He did, and we express our gratitude to our members for their faithfulness,” he stated.

Barnett also informed the Executive Committee that the Lifestyle Center will have its opening night event on February 20. He invited committee members to tour the center which, apart from the main lecture hall, includes workout equipment and a library. Rick Mautz, RMC health ministry director, shared plans to also open a kitchen and explained that presentations will be livestreamed on the center’s Facebook page.

The start of the evangelism outreach in the Northeastern part of Colorado is on course and involves 18 congregations, with the first meetings scheduled for March 6. Wayne Morrison, pastor of Brighton Church and coordinator for the Catch 2020 team said “There is church member engagement we have not seen before. We are changing the culture of the church. Seven-hundred Bible study requests have already been made,” he informed the committee.

Principal Don Reeder, reported that Campion enrollment in the current semester increased to 153, after welcoming seven new students. He also shared that the academy just received a grant to continue their agricultural program which was temporarily paused.

At the conclusion of his report, Barnett commented on scheduling changes for the upcoming Town Hall meetings, beginning in March. Wyoming churches will host their own Town Hall meetings in each district in the state. The remainder of the Conference will hold regional meetings.

The committee welcomed Centura Health’s pledge of $90,000 for a new ropes course at Glacier View Ranch. It was voted to provide the remaining cost from non-tithe dollars, and a portion of GVR-allocated funds.

“We ended 2019 with total tithe of $18,174,772, an increase of 5.59 percent over 2018 tithe,” reported George Crumley, RMC VP for finance. “Our 2019 base tithe, which excludes what we call ‘windfalls’ amounted to $16,998,459. This meant a 1.42 percent increase over 2018 base tithe,” he explained. He also shared that Rocky Mountain Conference Advance offerings ended the year at $208,272, which was down by 9.94 percent compared to 2018. The conference ended the year with a strong, unaudited profit in our operating fund of $972,250, thanks to the strong tithe windfall.

The Executive Committee voted to allocate much of the profit into the following areas of the church’s program:

– Campion Development Program:  $200,000

– NE Colorado Evangelism:  $200,000

– NAD Pastoral Ministerial Meetings/GC:  $95,000

– Pastoral Reserves:  $300,000

– GVR High Ropes Course:  $90,000 (from non-tithe dollars).

Crumley also reported that the Revised Budget for 2020 was in balance. “Because of the 2019 base tithe being up by 1.42 percent and controlled costs in medical and other areas, it relieved some of the pressure that was being felt on the Preliminary Budget for which we are grateful,” he said.

The final agenda item of the committee involved the issue of how the conference pastoral staff can be most effectively involved with pastoral services within the vast RMC territory. Discussions are ongoing involving Regional Pastoral leaders and RMC Administration, said Ed Barnett. It was important that church administrators received input from the members of the Executive Committee, Barnett said.

The discussion continued with “how to be most effective and efficient as pastors minister in their areas, some of whom have up to five churches to serve” Barnett said. “Part of the discussion revolved around how to most efficiently serve the small churches in our conference,” he added.

The Conference presented plans to make live streaming of sermons available to small and remote churches so that they retain a connectedness with the larger churches in their districts. This will facilitate them hearing their pastor via live streaming on a weekly basis and will be funded by the Conference.

Other elements of the discussion revolved around pastors dedicating their time to those churches that are most able to grow, while still maintaining some contact with the churches that are smaller and remote.

Some committee members said that “whatever the outcome of the ongoing discussion, the arrangement would need to include helping those smaller churches to take a personal responsibility toward growth, as well.”

Several comments pointed to utilizing new technologies in providing solutions to assist in problem solving. “At this point, it is a proposal that needs further review and input,” commented Eric Nelson, RMC VP for administration.

—RMCNews; photo by Rajmund Dabrowski