NewsNuggets Page 2

04 Jul

GENERAL CONFERENCE PRESIDENT TED WILSON ISSUES CORRECTIVE STATEMENT ON IMMUNIZATION REMARKS

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Lauren Davis – St. Louis, Missouri … General Conference president Ted Wilson issued a corrective statement on Thursday, July 4, 2025, clarifying remarks he made to delegates the day before, when he read from a 2015 General Conference Administrative Committee (ADCOM) statement about immunization.

Following Wilson’s speech on July 3, church officers were made aware that the immunization statement posted on the official Seventh-day Adventist Church website for the past 10 years was not the version actually voted in 2015.

In his speech on July 3, Wilson had read directly from the 2015 immunization statement voted by ADCOM, following a motion to add a review of the statement to the 2025 GC Session agenda.

Here is the wording of the correct, voted statement shown to delegates and updated on the church’s website:

“The Seventh-day Adventist Church places strong emphasis on health and well-being. The Adventist health emphasis is based on the Bible, the inspired writings of church co-founder Ellen G. White, and is informed by peer-reviewed scientific health literature. As such, we encourage responsible immunization/vaccination, and have no religious or faith-based reason not to encourage our adherents to responsibly participate in protective and preventive immunization programs. We value the health and safety of the population, which includes the maintenance of what is known as “herd immunity.”

“We are not the conscience of the individual church member, and we recognize individual choices. These choices are exercised by the individual. Refusal of immunization is not and should not be seen as a teaching nor a doctrine of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”

“I hope no one anywhere around this globe will bring up again that the Seventh-day Adventist Church does not place the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy as the highest level of authority,” Wilson said.

Watch the 2025 GC Session live on ANN’s YouTube channel and follow ANN on X for live updates. Join the ANN WhatsApp Channel for the latest Adventist news.

—Lauren Davis writes for Adventist News Network (ANN). Republished with permission from ANN GC Session July 4, 2025, article. Photo by Nikolay Stoykov.

03 Jul

DELEGATES VOTE AGAINST AMENDMENT TO DISCUSS 2015 STATEMENT ON IMMUNIZATION

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Lauren Davis – St. Louis, Missouri … During the afternoon business session on July 3, 2025, at the 2025 General Conference (GC) Session in St. Louis, Missouri, a delegate made a motion to add to the agenda a review and discussion relating to the GC’s 2015 statement on immunization. The delegates voted against the motion.

The motion, brought by delegate Yuliyan Filipov from the North American Division’s Ohio Conference, read:

“To add to the agenda a review and discussion of the 2015 General Conference Administrative Committee statement on immunization, specifically its claim about peer-reviewed scientific literature in addition to the Bible and writings of Ellen G. White.”

Filipov shared his concern that the church was pivoting toward human tradition over biblical doctrine.

Business meeting chair and general vice president Artur Stele clarified that Filipov’s motion was suggesting an amendment to the original motion on the floor to adopt the session agenda as originally presented.

GC delegate-at-large Amireh Al-Haddad, the director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the North American Division’s Southern Union, drew from her years of experience working in the immunization field, noting that a vaccine accommodation has never been refused, regardless of the church’s statements on immunization.

“We have not turned our backs on any sincere religious objection. We continue to help people we disagree with because religious liberty gives you the right to hold a different personal belief,” Al-Haddad said.

Another delegate expressed a different concern that considering the amendment would require more research and preparation.

“I speak against accepting the amendment because the issue would need to be studied very thoroughly before placing it on the agenda,” said Niklas Rantanen from the Trans-European Division’s Finland Union of Churches Conference.

In April 2015, the GC Administrative Committee voted a statement affirming the responsible use of vaccines as a public health measure. This position was reinforced on October 25, 2021, amid the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. While the statement encourages vaccination, it emphasizes that the final decision rests with the individual.

Before voting began, GC president Ted Wilson addressed delegates, cautioning against misinformation within the church.

“My brothers and sisters, I would urge you not to get involved in conspiracy approaches,” Wilson said. “Suggesting that the GC and the world church is receiving instructions and is under the thumb of the United Nations is a complete fallacy.”

This amendment was voted down 310 to 1,662.

The document, dated October 25, 2021, was written collaboratively by the GC administration, the Biblical Research Institute, Adventist Health Ministries, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty department, GC Office of General Counsel, and Loma Linda University Health.

For more information about the 2025 General Conference session, visit http://www.gcsession.org. Join the ANN WhatsApp Channel for the latest Adventist news.

—Lauren Davis writes for Adventist News Network (ANN). Republished with permission from ANN GC Session July 3, 2025, article. Photo by Jim Botha.

01 Jul

HOW YOUR VOICE IS REPRESENTED AT THE GENERAL CONFERENCE SESSION

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Hugh Davis – Lincoln, Nebraska … Every five years, Seventh-day Adventists from all over the world gather for a special event called the General Conference Session. It’s a time for worship, fellowship, and decision-making. The choices made at this meeting help shape the direction of the church for years to come. Naturally, many members want to know how they can be involved.

In the Mid-America Union, we often receive letters asking who the delegates are or how to add something to the agenda. These are good questions! This article will help you understand how delegates are chosen, how the agenda is set, and how church members can be part of the process in an effective way.

WHAT IS THE GC SESSION? 

The General Conference Session is the highest decision-making meeting in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Delegates from around the world gather to elect church leaders, vote on changes to the Church Manual and constitution, discuss fundamental beliefs, and hear reports on the work of the church.

Usually held every five years, the most recent GC Session was delayed due to COVID-19. It was scheduled for 2020 but took place in June 2022 instead. The next session will be in July 3-12, 2025, in St. Louis, Missouri.

WHO SERVES AS DELEGATES?

Each world division is given a certain number of delegates to send to the General Conference Session. That number is based on membership size, so larger divisions and unions are given more spots to fill. The goal is to ensure fair and balanced representation across the global church.

The Mid-America Union Conference receives its number of delegates based on how many church members are in our territory. For the 2025 Session, we have been assigned 16 delegate spots.

Delegates must include both church employees (like pastors and administrators) and laypeople (church members who are not employed by the church). The North American Division ensures diversity by providing each Union with specific criteria designed to obtain the desired diversity.

To fill these spots, the Mid-America Union does not select the delegates independently. Instead, we work closely with our local conferences, who supply names of individuals they recommend. From these names, a balanced group is formed and then submitted to the General Conference for final approval.

The delegates from the Mid-America Union who will be serving in 2025 will be:

  • 3 Union Officers
  • 6 Conference Presidents
  • 4 Lay Members
  • 1 Pastor
  • 1 Educator
  • 1 Departmental Director

The agenda for the GC Session was voted by the delegates to the fall council back in October of 2024.

HOW TO SHARE IDEAS FOR FUTURE GC SESSIONS 

If you have a suggestion or concern you believe should be considered by the global church, here’s how the process works:

  1. Start at the local level. Talk to your pastor or church board. If they agree with your proposal, they can pass it along to your local conference.
  2. The conference reviews the idea and can forward it to the union’s executive committee.
  3. The union may send it to the North American Division or the General Conference for consideration during Annual Council.

This step-by-step system ensures that every idea is fairly reviewed and supported before being added to a future GC Session agenda.

LET’S SUPPORT THE PROCESS TOGETHER

While it may be too late to influence the 2025 agenda, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has a representative system designed to include the voice of members at all levels. You can still make a difference by being active in your local church, staying informed, and using the correct channels to share your ideas.

BE ENCOURAGED—YOUR VOICE MATTERS

If you have questions about the GC Session or how to share ideas, feel free to contact the Mid-America Union Conference office. We’re here to help—and we want your voice to be heard through the established channels.

Please pray for our delegates from the Mid-America Union as they prepare to represent us in St. Louis. They carry a big responsibility, and your support makes a difference.

To learn more about the General Conference Session, please visit their website.

You can watch the GC Session live from their website or on YouTube through the Adventist News Network.

—Hugh Davis is the Mid-America Union Conference Communication director. Republished with permission from OUTLOOK Adventist News June 30, 2025, article. Photo by Pieter Damsteegt, North American Division.

30 Jun

OPINION: IS THE GC SESSION WE HOLD EVERY FIVE YEARS WORTH THE TIME AND MONEY?

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By Gary Thurber

I get asked that question quite often, especially in the weeks before the session is scheduled to begin. People start to calculate in their heads the cost of so many making their way from around the world to St. Louis for the 10-day event. Then they begin to add up all the costs of the exhibitors, the facility costs, production costs … and the number gets big. Some begin to think, “There has got to be a better way to use those funds!”

First, let me tell you the church spends an average of about a dime per member per year on General Conference (GC) Session costs. That’s 50 cents per member every five years for us to come together. Of course, when you have over 20 million members, that too is a big number. So, what happens at the GC Session that makes all the costs and work that goes into it worth it?

There are many reasons one could list, but I will only share my top five.

  1. The GC Session is the only venue in which the church can make decisions as to who will serve as our president, along with all the other elected positions. Delegates from around the world have the final decision on who they feel the Lord would want to lead our movement. This is so important because the delegate group is made up of 50 percent lay people, and the others are front line workers and administrators from around the globe. These important decisions are not left up to a handful of administrators, but rather for the nearly 3,000 delegates to decide.
  2. The GC Session is where we can make decisions together about our policies and our Church Manual. Both are crucial to the mission and ministry of our church. These policies and guidelines define how we work together to fulfill our mission. If good care is not given to this process, we can hinder our ability to spread the everlasting gospel.
  3. The renewal of friendships—and the ability to make new friends—from around the world is priceless. I will never forget the pastors I have met from the other side of the world and hearing their stories of how God is working in their fields. It is absolutely awe inspiring. The GC Session gives us the opportunity to stretch our minds with how expansive our church has become around the globe. These are people I would never meet if we didn’t come together as a world church.
  4. Through the exhibit hall, we are all exposed to the latest ways in which we can reach out to our dying world with our great message of hope—whether it is a new way to use technology, the printed page, the radio wave, the internet, or our health message to touch people’s lives. You truly come home inspired to be more engaged with this end-time movement.
  5. Finally, the GC Session offers a unique opportunity to worship together our Savior and King, Jesus Christ. In a world that is more divided and torn apart than ever, to see people from nearly every country on the planet come together in peace and worship is nothing short of a miracle and proof positive that, in Christ, we are one. Not only are the messages inspiring, but the music is simply amazing. Instrumentalists, vocalists, and choirs from around the world thrill us beyond words with the incredible talents the Lord has given them. Simply worshiping together as a world church would be enough reason for me to hold the GC Session.

What are your plans for attending the GC Session? This is the last time it will be held in Mid-America for quite a while. I urge you to come and experience it. If you are not able to come and listen in on the business sessions during the week, come at least for Sabbath to worship. The auditorium holds 70,000 people, and event planners hope it will be full.

There is nothing else like it! I hope to see you there!

—Gary is the president of the Mid-America Union. Republished with permission from the July/August OUTLOOK magazine opinion article. Photo from GCSession.org/History.

30 Jun

THE GENERAL CONFERENCE SESSION: WHY? HOW? WHEN? WHERE?

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Thomas L. Lemon – Silver Spring, Maryland … When Rachel Preston remonstrated with Frederick Wheeler over his apparent rejection of the 10 Commandments in March of 1844, neither of them knew what would result from their exchange. Preston, a Sabbath-keeping Baptist, and Pastor Wheeler, a faithful proponent of traditional Sunday observance as well as a new believer in the imminent return of Jesus, were the instruments God used as the first Sabbath-keeping Adventists in the United States.

Not long after the disappointment of Oct. 22, 1844, the conversation Preston and Wheeler began gained the attention of Joseph Bates, and then James White, Ellen Harmon, and some others. And from those conversations, the roots of what we know today as the Seventh-day Adventist Church took on new life.

GLOBAL KEY FACTORS FOR ENDURANCE

Currently, church records globally show our movement with over 23 million members. Those members are scattered throughout nearly all the inhabited world. Even as recently as late last year, the church re-established its presence in Greenland.

How does a church that social scientists describe as the one of the most diverse Christian denominations manage to stay together, stay healthy, and keep growing—over 180 years later?

Without a doubt, the blessing of God has been at work in powerful ways.  Yet built on that foundation, there are several other factors: 1) a unique but biblically powerful prophetic message; 2) an organizational structure of interdependent entities enabling fast and effective communication streams available to all members; 3) a K-graduate school system that continually educates the next generation in the message and lifestyle of the church and lifts the cultural conditions of the regions in which they operate; 4) a system of health entities that inform the lifestyle and gain the attention of the general public globally. And more.

HOW DOES THE STRUCTURE WORK?

The structure of the church works like this: a person joins a local church and becomes a member; groups of local churches band together in local conferences; local conferences join themselves in groups into what we call union conferences, or sometimes union missions. The unions are the building blocks of the General Conference (GC) itself.

Each unit or level of the church is tied to the other levels through shared beliefs, shared policies, and a shared mission. Except for the individual member and the local church, the other entities (conferences and unions) are constituency based, with delegates and leaders selected to represent the membership when those groups meet periodically in harmony with their organizing documents.

The General Conference constituents are members and local leaders selected by the union conferences around the world. Care is taken to make sure the delegates are representative of those areas of the world from which they are chosen. Those delegates will number nearly 3,000 when they gather this year in St Louis, Missouri, July 3-12.

The General Conference has divided itself into 13 divisions around the world. Joining those divisions are four attached fields, not included in the unions and divisions because of geo-political conditions. Unions are the foundations of the General Conference, but the GC itself is the foundation of the divisions and the attached fields.

When it comes to the GC Session, which meets every five years in a quinquennial session, the structure of the church is on full display. (Covid-19 delayed the 2020 session until 2022.) Each union’s delegation is built on a proportion of the whole, by a formula. Larger unions, membership-wise, have more delegates.

What Happens During Sessions?

At the session, several things will happen. A large committee made up of select delegates from all the unions (approximately 250) will serve as the group that nominates leaders to fill various positions. No elected GC leaders are on that committee. A president is recommended first for the delegates to approve, or not. Only one presidential name at a time is brought to the delegates for a Yes or No vote. Once that is done, the president then meets with the committee to serve as an advisor. However, he doesn’t have a vote, and the committee is not required to take his suggestions.

In addition to the election of leaders of the GC, divisions, and attached fields, delegates will be asked to vote on suggested changes to the Church Manual, the Constitution, and By-laws, and changes to the Fundamental Beliefs statement that codifies the doctrinal understandings of the church. This year there are no recommendations being made to adjust the 28 Fundamental Beliefs. Changes to the Constitution and Fundamental Beliefs require a two-thirds majority vote.

The GC Session days will begin with devotional preaching and the evenings will be filled with mission reports from the divisions. Interspersed throughout the business sessions will be a plethora of Adventist music from around the world. Several hundred church entities and other ministries will portray their missional endeavors and share their resources in a nearby giant hall of activities. The exhibit hall is a favorite feature of the GC Session for many attendees.

Every GC Session is planned to be an event of highly spiritual engagement. For those who are familiar with what we call camp meeting, the meeting in St. Louis will be, in a real sense, a global camp meeting. On Sabbaths, the crowd is expected to number upward of 30,000, largely filling the convention center arena in downtown St. Louis.

The General Conference in Session is something special to behold. Plans are being finalized now, and you may expect this to be a spiritual feast. The fellowship with like-minded believers is designed to encourage every attendee.

—Thomas L. Lemon is a vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and a former president of the Mid-America Union Conference. Republished with permission from the July/August OUTLOOK magazine feature article. Photo supplied and by iStock.

30 Jun

ADVENTHEALTH ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION SENDS FIRST CLINICAL TEAM TO NEW PARTNER HOSPITAL IN LESOTHO

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AdventHealth – Denver, Colorado … Global Health Initiatives (GHI), the Rocky Mountain Region branch of AdventHealth Global Missions, recently launched a new partnership with Maluti Adventist Hospital in Lesotho, a small mountainous country in southern Africa. This past March, the GHI team led its first clinical mission trip to Lesotho, focusing on collaborative projects with the hospital and outreach efforts in the surrounding communities.

“The first AdventHealth Rocky Mountain Region team to serve at Maluti Adventist Hospital in Lesotho was very successful,” shared Greg Hodgson, director of GHI. “The partnership with the hospital was outstanding with full support of Maluti staff and logistics.”

The team from AdventHealth was made up of several specialized groups, including community health, Helping Mothers and Babies Survive (HMBS), a hospital-based team, and a clean water team. During the mission week, the community health team served 1,164 patients, providing screenings for HIV, tuberculosis, and cervical cancer. They also offered well-being consultations to support overall patient health.

The HMBS team led a weeklong master class for nursing leaders from Maluti Adventist Hospital and the affiliated College of Nursing at Maluti Adventist College. During the training, AdventHealth’s team identified local champions from both the hospital and nursing school to help lead future training for local nurses and midwives across the region.

The hospital-based team collaborated closely with local medical staff to address a variety of needs. Their work ranged from assisting in two surgeries to leading suturing workshops for hospital and nursing school personnel. The team focused on meeting the Maluti Adventist Hospital team where they are while also encouraging a shared vision for advancing the quality of care moving forward.

The clean water team, led by GHI partner Rob Miller with Global Access 2030—a Colorado-based nonprofit organization and longtime partner of GHI— distributed nearly 400 clean water filtration systems across four villages. To help ensure the long-term sustainability and effective use of the filters, a representative from Maluti Adventist Hospital was designated to provide ongoing support and follow-up within the communities, mirroring the sustainability model used in the HMBS program.

These initial steps mark the beginning of a meaningful and lasting journey with our new partners at Maluti Adventist Hospital.

“As in any first project, some areas for improvement were acknowledged, yet everyone was impressed with the overall success of the partnership,” expressed Hodgson. “As we prepare for the next visit in October, we will continue to build on the foundation laid during this important visit.”

To learn more about this and other AdventHealth Rocky Mountain Region Global Mission sites, please reach out to Courtney Haas, a development officer at AdventHealth Rocky Mountain Region, at [email protected]

—AdventHealth. Republished with permission from the OUTLOOK magazine News website, June 9, 2025, article. Photo supplied.

30 Jun

COMMENTARY: RESURRECTION POWER

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By Godfrey Miranda

My aim is to know Him, to experience the power of His resurrection …
– Philippians 3:10, NET

Do you know the power of Jesus’ resurrection?

Just a couple weeks ago, I had a chance to study with a group of young people about the hope of Jesus’ second coming and the power of the resurrection. As I looked across the circle at one of the participants, I saw tears welling up in her eyes, tears of humble gratitude over what Jesus offers to us.

A little more recently, I was able to enjoy some time with a more “seasoned” friend who has been coming to grips with his increasing age. As he reflected on this awareness, his voice trailed off for a bit, and after a long pause he shared with a twinkle in his eye that the hope of the resurrection has been taking on new significance for him.

Do you know the power of Jesus’ resurrection? Like my friends, we can view the fact that Jesus rose from the dead as our guarantee that those who sleep in Jesus will someday soon be raised from the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:14) and that death itself will be swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54) when Jesus returns. What a blessed hope we have to look forward to! But is it possible that we can “experience the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10) not only someday in the future but also in the present?

A New Life Today

Absolutely. Listen to the apostle Paul describing what Jesus’ resurrection means today for the believer who has been baptized into Christ:

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4, NIV).

When we say YES to Jesus and identify our story with His, two miracles happen: 1) our old self is put to death just like Jesus was put to death, and 2) we can now live a new life just as Jesus was raised to new life! That’s not only a future hope; that’s a present reality! Experiencing Jesus’ resurrection today means living a transformed life today—one that is no longer enslaved to sin (v. 6) but instead has been freed from sin (v. 7).

Friends, this is good news, and, maybe for some, it’s familiar news. But as we’ve been thinking on Paul’s message in Philippians through our recent sermon series, I’m discovering something new about this new life.

A New Look at Our New Life

In Philippians 3, Paul shares a bit of his personal testimony. He describes his former life of placing confidence in the flesh (vv. 4-6) in stark contrast to the things he now values (vv. 7-11) and the one thing he prioritizes above all:

… But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I PRESS ON toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14, NIV).

Interestingly, the term translated here as “press on” (also in v. 12) is actually the very same Greek word Paul uses to describe his former life of “persecuting the church” (v. 6). The verbal idea is that of chasing, hunting, pursuing with great fervor. Apparently, the old Paul was fixated on the feverish pursuit of Christ-followers, but the Paul who has experienced the power of Jesus’ resurrection feverishly pursues something else … or rather Someone else. Instead of chasing down all that’s wrong in others, his eye is single toward chasing relationship with the Righteous One and being found in Him.

And here’s the beauty of this testimony: God transforms our old self not just by replacing it, but by redeeming it.

I tend to think of walking in newness of life (Romans 6:4, NKJV) as a miracle that can only be accomplished when the old life has been removed entirely out of the way, but Paul’s experience seems to indicate that our old identity isn’t something God obliterates but instead resuscitates.

Consider this: When we read about Jesus appearing to His disciples after His resurrection, it’s evident that He was recognized by His friends, whether through physical features or customary habits that were familiar (cf. John 21:7; Luke 24:35). All this indicates that our hope of physical, bodily resurrection in the future still allows for some recognition of our former selves in our glorified state.

Paul’s testimony in Philippians points to the reality that the same can be true when we experience spiritual resurrection in the present.

Even in the new life we live, there may be some familiar vibes that hark back to our old selves—unique qualities and traits from our former lives that have been sanctified and even restored into the image of God.

Just ask the former fishermen on the Sea of Galilee whom Jesus turned into fishers of men. Just track the transformation of the sons of thunder (James and John) whose former strength of personality and even violent defense of Jesus were converted into a martyr’s loyalty and model of agape love. Or even follow the story of John Mark, whose penchant to abandon ministry and return to the comforts of home (Acts 13:13) was eventually transformed into a useful availability that Paul could lean on when others had forsaken him (2 Timothy 4:9-11). All this underscores a beautiful truth about God: He loves us for who we uniquely are and does all in His power to recreate us into who He has uniquely called us to be.

Again, do you know the power of Jesus’ resurrection? As you take time to reflect on your own story of grace, let God show you traits of your former life that He has transformed (and still is transforming!) in your new life. Let God bring awareness to former pursuits that He wants to convert with new and holy focus. Be real with those former weaknesses—and even boast in them (2 Corinthians 12:9)—so that God can reclaim them and make His strength perfect through them.

—Godfrey Miranda is lead pastor at the Littleton Seventh-day Adventist Church. Republished with permission from Littleton Adventist Church Pastor’s Blog. Photo by Aziz Acharki from Unsplash.

23 Jun

LITERATURE EVANGELISTS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

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Rich Klebba – Trinidad, Colorado … A group of literature evangelists (LE’s) came to Trinidad for a few weeks in July of 2021. At one residence during their canvasing, they spoke with a woman who was dog sitting while the resident was out of town.

On the questionnaire the LE’s fill out for each contact, she had told them that she would be interested in Bible studies, so, several months later, two members from our church called on the home to make a follow up visit. The dog sitter was no longer there, but the resident was.

“The resident introduced himself as Greg and invited us in,” reflected one the Trinidad Church member visitors. “During the course of our conversation, Greg mentioned that he had been studying his Bible quite a bit recently and was excited to tell us he had discovered that Christians were attending church on the wrong day—the true Sabbath is really Saturday.”

He had asked several pastors of the local churches he had recently attended why they worshipped on Sunday when Saturday was the true Sabbath. They couldn’t give him a satisfactory answer other than “It’s tradition” or “We worship on Sunday to honor our Lord’s resurrection.”

One of the Trinidad Church member visitors asked him if he would like to attend a church that worshiped on Saturday: “He seemed surprised to hear that there may be a church in Trinidad that actually worshiped on the true Sabbath. We told him that we were from the Trinidad Seventh-day Adventist Church and worshiped on Sabbath, Saturday, and invited him to attend our church.” He Attended the Trinidad Church the following Saturday.

But Gerg still had a lot of questions, and he wasn’t sure about getting involved with this religion he’d never even heard of before. “So, he prayed, asking the Lord if attending this church was really what He wanted Greg to do. The Lord replied to his spirit saying, ‘I sent you my two messengers, didn’t I?’” remarked Rich Klebba, head deacon at the Trinidad Church.

Greg was baptized into the Trinidad Seventh-day Adventist Church in 2023. “We know that God was leading during the entire process of helping Greg discover the true Sabbath on his own and arranging for us to meet him because of an LE contact several months earlier,” continued Klebba. “Greg continues to study his Bible and is actively involved in our church and in telling others about Jesus and His soon return. Praise the Lord for the work the LE’s did in Trinidad and that they continue to go wherever the Lord leads them.”

—Rich Klebba is the head deacon, clerk, and treasurer for the Trinidad Seventh-day Adventist Church. Photos supplied.

23 Jun

BALCONY BIBLE STUDY: HOW A SIMPLE INVITATION GREW INTO GLOBAL DISCIPLESHIP

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Jose Briones – Denver, Colorado … Faith isn’t bound by geography. At Denver South Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church in Denver, Colorado, members don’t just preach the Word, they live it. Gilberto Ruedas, elder at Denver South Hispanic Church, has seen firsthand how small acts of generosity can ripple across borders, connecting believers in ways that only God could orchestrate.

For years, Ruedas and his friend and fellow church member, Carlos, have made it their mission to create a welcoming space for newcomers. Carlos, in particular, has a gift for conversation—always inviting visitors to talk, ask questions, and grow in faith. That openness led to something unexpected when he met Patty while driving for Uber. A simple conversation turned into a connection, and soon, Patty expressed interest in Bible study.

When they arrived at her apartment for the first meeting, she wasn’t there. But instead of leaving, they waited. Eventually, she welcomed them up to her balcony, where they dove into an impromptu Bible study—no formal structure, just genuine discussion about faith. Then, Patty took it a step further. As they talked, she suggested bringing in others—neighbors, strangers passing by—because, in her words, “I want them to get to know Jesus.”

But the mission didn’t stop there. Her daughter, living in Cuernavaca, Mexico, wanted to join too. With the help of technology, the small group study stretched across borders—Denver and Mexico, together in faith. And in a remarkable turn, Patty’s daughter happened to live just five minutes away from a local pastor. Within days, she was attending church in Mexico, surrounded by a new community that welcomed her with open arms.

For Ruedas, moments like this are more than coincidence. They are evidence that God is building His team worldwide. “When we share the Word of God, we revive ourselves and encourage others,” he said.

The story of Patty, her daughter, and a simple Uber ride reminds us: God doesn’t work within borders, buildings, or limitations. He connects hearts across the world. And when we choose to step into His plan, we become part of His global team. Watch Gilberto’s story below.

—Jose Briones is the RMC Stewardship Promotion and Content creator. Photo capture from RMC’s “Always Faithful” video series.

23 Jun

DELTA CHURCH CELEBRATES A CENTENARIAN’S BIRTHDAY

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Rajmund Dabrowski – Delta, Colorado … When members of the Delta Seventh-day Adventist Church in Delta, Colorado, opened their Sabbath’s bulletin, they could not miss a triple title welcoming them to their worship service. There it was: Happy Sabbath, Happy Father’s Day, and Happy Birthday, Thelma!

Thelma Hufman was to become the Delta’s Adventist centenarian on June 15. The church joined several members of her 44-member family in a special lunch in her honor.

When asked how she got to be 100, Thelma’s daughter Murleen Goodrich shared her straight answer: “One day at a time.”

Surrounded by several of her children, she reflected on her special day, wondering, “how is it possible. I never dreamed that. I love my family.”

Thelma maintains a sense of humor. Looking at a group of her family members, she said, “Look at what I am responsible for.”

She was born in a two-room cabin in Del Norte, Colorado, to an Adventist family and lived together with her six siblings. Today she is the oldest of 44-member Adventist family, with a great great grand-son, being the youngest.

After her wedding, she became a farm wife. Reminiscing about her young life, Murleen commented, “we always had work to do on the farm.”

“We had to listen to mom,” she added.

Dale Goodrich, elder of the Delta Adventist congregation and married to Thelma’s daughter Murleen, said plainly, “She is my mother-in-law. It’s been a long, hard journey for both of us. But she’s been a really good mother-in-law.”

“I really appreciated her. She is a Seventh-day Adventist forever,” he added.

Answering simply to a question what’s it like to have a 100-year-old grandmother, Jerry Goodrich, Thelma’s grandson, said, “She keeps me in line.”

—Rajmund Dabrowski is a member of Seventh-day Adventist Church in Delta, Colorado. Photos supplied and by Rajmund Dabrowski.

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