NN July 2024 – Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

30 Jul

COMMENTARY: MY ANOINTED YOUTH SUMMER CAMP EXPERIENCE

By Lucas Lujan

What is Jesus doing today in 2024? I would like to approach this idea with the understanding that He is constantly up to something and is always active in His connections with all His friends. However, I have one story out of the millions of His encounters that I would like to share. This was a special work with His young friends outside of Ward, Colorado, at a Christian resort called Glacier View Ranch (GVR), and I think it’s worth reading!

It was the 2024 summer camp put on by the Youth Ministries Department of the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC), that had a special theme, “Anointed.” To assist in expressing this theme, I was invited to assist the GVR/Youth Ministries team to direct the campers, ages 13-18, to the experiences that King David had while he was anointed by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 16).

Now, I had never experienced any type of summer camp at all in my life, let alone a Christian camp. I am a Seventh-day Adventist convert who was raised Catholic with a heavy influence of secularism in my youth. At this summer camp, the action of love was made evident among the young adult camp leaders in their interactions with each other as well as with their coaches and leaders. I saw the intentional proactivity of a team who loves the young teenage friends of Jesus so much that they went out of their way to travel from all over the United States to coach and mentor the teens of our Conference in a way to cultivate a long-lasting relationship with Jesus, their best friend.

The time they spent was countless and meaningful. With such enthusiastic energy, this group welcomed my family and I to join them in guiding the teens to the anointing that God has for them. The goal was to show them that, even though God anoints us, we may still experience rough roads on the journey. Although we are not exempt from hardships in our anointing, God is still the same Promise Keeper today as He was for King David in biblical times. The young people learned that God will never leave us and that He will always fight for us (Matthew 28:18; Exodus 14:14).

While I mingled among the teens and young adult leaders, I began to see that every one of these young people are just starting life off. They are at a place in life where they are trying to figure out who they are. Many of the teenage campers that attended the GVR Summer Youth Camp are not Seventh-day Adventists and belong to other Christian denominations, while others simply do not profess to be followers of Jesus at all.

Like myself, there were a lot of teens that are being raised in secularism and look at God as aloof or distant. While there were many walks of life here, all were poured into with hope, acceptance, and love. This is showing them that God’s anointing is huge in revealing their identity in Christ and what they mean to God.

One thing about the next generation is they ask good questions because they want to know the “why” behind the idea. They crave “realness.” Young people can tell when something is not genuinely real. They desire real relationships because Jesus created them that way.

At GVR, this summer, I was able to witness Jesus presented in real ways. The young people saw Jesus not only in sermons and devotions but, more importantly, in everyday actions of love for each other. I even heard one teen say that she never understood much about who or what God is, but now she is closer to saying that Jesus is Him because of what she witnessed at the summer camp.

This camp was awesome in the sense that all the teens were introduced to the living God as being real and as existing to draw all humanity to Himself. This was executed by showing the young people that He has a plan and a purpose for them.

My wife and I even noticed our introverted sons come out of their shells and make connections with others. It brought a huge blessing to our hearts to see how the teens and young adults lived out the love of Jesus by bringing our boys into fellowship with them. Connections were made that can last a lifetime! It was in these interactions that we saw the anointing of God manifesting organically. Could it be that the teens may know more than we adults give them credit for?

I began asking two questions in my own mind that I would like to share with you: (1) Can Jesus’s work in the Heavenly Sanctuary today include not merely a pleading for His people, but also a pleading to His people? (2) Who exactly are His people? The Bible says that He is not willing that any perish (2 Peter 3:9). In my reading of this text, I can easily conclude that the word “any” in the text does in fact include the young people of today’s generation.

Every one of those young people are the aim of Jesus’s motive. They each matter to Him as if they were the only ones that existed. It is in their hearts that Jesus is appealing and pleading to them to trust Him for a meaningful relationship. He is reaching out from His Sanctuary in Heaven drawing the young hearts of teenage people in RMC like He is with teens around the whole world.

The young people we encountered at this year’s summer camp are the future of the Church and, to be real with you, they are the Church in action. Jesus called the RMCs Youth Ministries team to rally around them and pour into their lives the love and anointing that God has for them.

However, the call doesn’t stop there. Every one of our Churches should invest in the lives of our young people that God has entrusted us to disciple. It is now, while they are awaiting next year’s summer camp at GVR, that we should invest into them the anointing God. We can do this at our local churches by being supportive of youth ministries any way possible.

Many teens expressed desires for follow up Bible studies as well as a desire to be baptized. In fact, one teen and one young adult leader was baptized at GVR on the last day. Almost all the young people answered the appeal to allow Jesus to work in their hearts and in their families at home. It’s good for us to not assume that they don’t want anything to do with God. It is important to pour into those who are doing the work of getting the Gospel out to the world today, but it is just as important for us to pour into the ones who will be getting the Gospel out to the world tomorrow.

To summarize my paradigm shift of summer camp, I would say that you just have to be there to know what goes on and the hard work that is happening behind the scenes. Food was always provided for those who attended, meeting the physical needs, while love was magnified in action and word, meeting the spiritual needs.

RMC churches are very privileged to have Brandon Westgate, RMC Youth director, Jade Teal, RMC Youth assistant director, and the whole RMC Youth Ministries team to share the vision of Jesus’s love for young people. As we go to church next Sabbath to worship Jesus, let’s remember that He has young friends that may be in our congregations. We should be sure to encourage them that God has an anointing on their life.

And to answer the question of “what is Jesus doing today in 2024?”, He is showing the young people everywhere His anointing on their lives and appearing to them in their hearts that they may know the grace of God that brings salvation to all mankind (Titus 2:11). Will you join Jesus in this work that will strengthen the future of His church and pave the way for Him to return? After all, it may very well be their generation that finishes the work of spreading the Gospel so that the Alpha and Omega, Jesus, our best friend, will finally come to take us with Him!

—Lucas Lujan is head pastor at Colorado Springs South and Woodland Park Seventh-day Adventist Church. Photos supplied.

29 Jul

FEATURE: FROM COMMUNISM TO CAMPOREE COSTUMES – DENVER SEAMSTRESS BRINGS NIGHT PROGRAM TO LIFE

By Vanya Kovacheva

Growing up in a Communist country caused my hunger for God. The silence about God was deafening. I was about five years old when I lifted my head toward the sky on the kindergarten playground and I knew there is God.

My grandmother and mother never told me anything about God. They were afraid that the Communists would extradite our family from our home or send us to work camp to die. Extradition had already happened to my grandmother before as my grandfather was a successful private businessman.

My great-grandmother told me once about “The Gospel.” I asked her “what is that?” and she said it was a book about God. I knew nothing about God. The world seemed dark and scary. I told myself, “When I grow up and learn to read, I will read that book.” Finally, I knew where to find information about the One who exists and who I cannot see.

Fast forward to when I was 12 years old, my mother started to go to a Bible study in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. After a year, she learned so much from the Bible that she started to talk to me about it and invited me to church. I loved every single moment of every sermon. I could finally learn about the invisible God I believed in. I studied the Bible every day. I read every book the church printing press printed.

Immediate after my baptism, the leaders invited me to be an adult Sabbath School teacher. I have been teaching Sabbath School lessons for many years for different age groups.

Later, I graduated with a master’s degree in textile engineering. My then-boyfriend became a pastor and we married, serving in Bulgaria for nine years. He wanted to study more, so we came to Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, for our second master’s degrees.

While I was doing my master’s degree in Youth Ministry at Andrews University, I helped Betty Whitehead, costume coordinator at Andrews University and Bible Story producer for the International Pathfinder Camporee organization, make some costumes for the “Passion Play”—a youth ministry event that brings to life the final events of Jesus’s life. A few months later, Betty asked me to make some kilts for the drama production on the “Story of Joseph.” We were able to dress all the boys in the cast for 3 months with a few bolts of off-white fabric.

I had no clue what I was getting into.

Visiting the International Camporee in Oshkosh for the first time was an impressive sight. They had built a real size pyramid behind the stage to make Egypt look real. There were about 15,000 children watching the play. I was sold. Building a stage to tell a story, capturing the imagination of those youth for God, showing how God is present in human history and how He intervenes in human affairs, because he cares, is a cause worth working for.

It has now been 20 years during which we produced the stories of Esther, Daniel, David, and Moses, in which I am currently the costume designer and lead seamstress for 2024 Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming. I love designing every servant, slave, prophet, king, and pharaoh costume. God is the creator of our Earth and the God of all people. Being made in His image, we have creative abilities. I feel close to God when I create.

Often, when I come to a certain character that needs to be dressed, I pray, and, in the evening when my brain calms down, I see his costume in my head. Only if I see it, can I make it. My husband, Evgeni Kovachev, member of the Denver South Seventh-day Adventist Church in Denver, Colorado, asked me, “How can you make so many different costumes?” I don’t know. I just draw creativity from the Creator of all.

In preparation for this upcoming Camporee, I spent three weeks at Andrews University for rehearsals and to do costume fittings with the actors. We invited people to help us sew the costumes. Sometimes we had five ladies at a time helping us. Marilyn Oliver, an invited seamstress, has been with us the longest time. Marge Schwartz, also a seamstress, joined us during last Camporee in 2019 and has been doing an excellent job. Thank you, ladies, for all your help! We can’t accomplish the vision without you!

God loves all people, and every child deserves to hear God’s voice and see His presence. God sacrificed Himself to prove His love and convince all children of their great worth. That is what the Bible drama hopes to accomplish by seeing, hearing, and feeling God’s presence at the upcoming event in Wyoming.

—Vanya Kovacheva is the costume designer and lead seamstress for the International Pathfinder Camporee and member of the Denver South Seventh-day Adventist Church. Photos supplied.

camporee-actors — 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee actors and lead costume designer, Vanya Kovacheva (standing, far left) with the truck of costumes loaded for Gillette, Wyoming.

25 Jul

SOME THINGS WE SHOULD NEVER OUTGROW: PART 5

While I genuinely loved when Jana’s and my children were small, I couldn’t help but say to myself “man, I’m glad those times are in the past” as I sat in a restaurant recently and saw a young mother skillfully handle her three children of different ages and help them navigate through their meal. I admit to getting a little tired just watching it all!

Of course, I miss knowing my children as little ones, when I could get hugs and share giggles with them every day. But they would eventually outgrow that, and Jana and I as parents were grateful to see our kids grow up to be wonderful adults.

I’ve buried the headline for this installment just a bit because I was concerned that if some might skip over this article completely if you knew what it was about right off the bat, and I was worried that still others would say, “I’m glad those days are behind me” without really listening to what I want to say. And what I want to say is very important.

What I desperately hope we never outgrow is our commitment to Christian education in the Rocky Mountain Conference.

I have heard people say, “I did my part for Adventist Education while my kids were in school. They’ve all graduated now, and it’s someone else’s turn now.”

If tuition alone is intended to cover the true costs of running a school, then very few of us would ever be able to have our own children in our own schools. The fact is that, in general, tuition only covers roughly half of the costs of running a school. Were it not for Conference appropriations in the form of a percentage of tithe, tuition assistance, and direct contributions from our churches, most of our schools would disappear rather quickly.

Humanly, it’s hard to feel the urgency to continue financially supporting our schools when your children no longer attend. I get it. You paid a lot in tuition, often putting aside other family needs or wishes to do so. And I confess to feeling that at times in my life when I was not well informed about the need for an unshakable commitment from the wider body of believers to help sustain our schools.

It wasn’t until I began to sit on our school boards and hear firsthand of the genuine needs and the surprising costs, did I begin to have a true appreciation for all those who came before who were willing to help even when their own children were no longer students. They became heroes to me because I saw that my own children benefited from their earlier determined sacrifice.

Some still wonder about the value of our efforts in our educational system. And I know there are lots of stories out there of our children who went through our schools and still didn’t choose to live a Christian life once they graduated. But as often as you hear those stories, they are still very much in the minority. Researched statistics show that 90.7% of students who spent 11 or more years in Adventist education are still regularly attending church. And Adventist academy graduates are two times more likely to stay in the church. Other than the family itself, Adventist education is the strongest factor for a person’s developing a strong religious faith. (For more detailed information about the impact of Seventh-day Adventist education, see the Role of Adventist Education)

I for one am very grateful for the teachers who teach with an evangelistic heart, who take seriously that they are evangelizing your children for some 180 days a school year while they teach them to read and write. I want to thank and salute them for their efforts.

I also want to thank and acknowledge our RMC Education Department leaders, Diane Harris, director, Paul Negrete, associate director, and Sandy Hodgson, assistant director, for their tireless efforts to continually equip and grow our teachers and schools.

So, let me be very direct with you. Our schools need your help. And while not one of us can meet all the needs in all our schools, I’m convinced that a lot of us doing what we can, will make a world of difference. Here are just a few ideas you might consider to support our schools:

Ask to speak to your church board about becoming a constituent member of the school closest to you. These associations are voluntary, and you can help your church take the needed steps to volunteer to do it. Be the amount you can pledge annually to the school large or small, it will matter—a lot—to the school. Don’t wait to be asked. Take the initiative. Help be the voice in your church that will make this critical connection and contribution.
If you are not near a school or have no children in your church who could attend, start a budget account to which members can donate. When you have saved up enough to be a nice gift, send it to the nearest school. I promise you they will be very grateful.
Speak encouragingly to families and students who are not yet students in our schools. Let them know that you think they would make a great addition to the student family of your school. There’s still time to enroll for the 2024-2025 school year!
Take the time to get to know the teacher or teachers in your school, if you have one connected with your church. You can do a lot to lift their spirits and their load by:
- Asking them out to lunch or home to a Sabbath meal sometime just to say “thank you” for their work and to encourage them. Our teachers are a dedicated bunch whose greatest joy comes in seeing their students flourish. But an occasional “thank you” from out of the blue will do wonders for a teacher’s sense of value and can provide an oft-needed pick-me-up as they work hard for our children.
- Take time to visit the classroom (make an appointment first!). Take notice of what the class or school has or doesn’t have, and then surprise the teacher or the principal with a special gift of supplies, equipment, or money to spend on such things that are just not otherwise in the budget.
- Make it a point to come to school programs. Your presence speaks volumes about your support, and it will thrill the students to see you there.
- Pray, pray, pray for our teachers, parents, and especially the students!
- Consider yourself a partner with the 59 teachers in the 19 RMC schools who look to be teaching hundreds of our children conference-wide in our schools this next year. We are what we are as a church today largely because of the symbiotic placement and growth of our schools.

It will take resolve and sacrifice to see our schools remain viable and accessible. We can’t all just depend on someone else to do it. If it’s to be done, it will be us together who will make it happen. By God’s grace, let us all commit to keeping our schools strong so that the love of Jesus will be instilled in all of our students. Let’s commit to never outgrow our support for God’s schools!

—Mic Thurber is RMC president.

25 Jul

STRING ART DESIGN TO FEATURE RMC ENTRANCE GATE AT CAMPOREE

RMCNews with Sue Nelson – Gillette, Wyoming … The International Pathfinder Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming, is only ten days away. Pathfinders from the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) and around the world are on the move! That’s right! Pathfinders are already leaving their homes to make the trip to the RMC to participate in the Gillette mega-event, August 5-11.

“Churches and schools, be ready to be contacted about places for the Pathfinders to stay overnight on their way to the Camporee, if you have not already been contacted. Several have been,” says Sue Nelson, executive coordinator of RMC Club Ministries.

Nelson adds, “we are so excited to have this Camporee finally happen!”

Much is happening behind the scenes in preparation, and the Rocky Mountain Conference has 36 clubs attending. According to information from the Camporee organizers on entry ticket sales, over 900 RMC Pathfinders, staff, and guests plan to attend. They will be a part of 60,000 Camporee participants. On Friday, August 9, a baptism service will include 23 participants from RMC Pathfinder Clubs.

Visitors to the Camporee will not be able to miss the presence of participants from the host region—the Rocky Mountain Conference. There will be patches and trading pins representing individual clubs, but the main entrance gate will offer itself for souvenir photographs. Eli Gonzales, an architect from Littleton, Colorado, who also serves as co-executive coordinator of the RMC Club Ministries, designed the entrance gate.

Based on the Camporee theme, “Believe the Promise,” Gonzales was motivated by the ministry of young people. “For me, they are the ministers of today and tomorrow. And my string art design included a theme of mountain peaks for which we are recognized in our part of the world,” he explained.

He shared that the design needed 2,800 pounds of iron elements, 600 feet of chain, and five miles of rope. Six emblems from Pathfinder and youth ministries are displayed as part of the artistic vision of the design. After the event, the designed sculpture will be moved to its permanent home at Glacier View Ranch in Ward, Colorado.

Several RMC clubs are hosting international clubs. Dr. David Smith, from the Grand Junction Seventh-day Adventist Church in Grand Junction, Colorado, is hosting about 100 Pathfinders from the German and Netherlands Unions. The Denver South Trailblazers Pathfinders Club is hosting some 20 Pathfinders from the London, U.K., area—the Brixton Jays.

“Please keep all our Pathfinders in your prayers. May they have a safe journey and that this experience will be ‘Making it easy to know God,’” comments Nelson.

—RMCNews with Sue Nelson, RMC Club Ministries executive coordinator. Photos supplied.

24 Jul

ROMAN ARMOR AND HORSES AT WYOMING CAMP MEETING

RMCNews – Casper, Wyoming … Mills Spring Ranch (MSR) in Casper, Wyoming, offers the ideal setting for the annual Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) Wyoming Camp Meeting recently held, July 16-20. The ruggedness of the surrounding Rocky Mountain landscape was complimented with this year’s camp theme “Armor of God,” in which featured-speaker Dr. Dick Stenbakken showcased decades of knowledge and procurement of first-century Roman artifacts and relayed its Biblical significance.

Dr. Stenbakken served as a pastor for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wyoming as was an active-duty chaplain for the U.S. Army for 23 years before working for the General Conference (GC) of Seventh-day Adventists. He provided a five-part series at the camp meeting referencing the whole armor of God discussed in Ephesians 6:10-20 with purchased or hand-made examples of each element.

Dr. Stenbakken urged attendees, “You need to put on all of God’s pieces of armor. They are no good when not used. Every piece of the armor reminds me of who He is. And a good soldier is not ready last month, last week, but ready today.”

“Any time Dick Stenbakken is doing a presentation, it just helps bring alive so many things that happen in the Bible that, when you go back and read over those passages again, you see them in a way that you never did before. I’m so grateful he came to camp meeting this year,” remarked Doug Inglish, RMC vice president for administration.

Ardis Stenbakken, former GC Women’s Ministries director, joined her husband Dr. Stenbakken as a featured speaker and presented on the Book of Ruth for two of her afternoon programs. “Ruth, generally, is looked at as a love story, but you have to wonder why put a love story in Scripture?” she commented about her program. “But when you look at the Book of Ruth literarily, and [it as] a chiasm, you begin to see the importance of it. [It] has all kinds of levels and blessings that, in casual reading, you just don’t get.”

Ardis also led a program on how to study the Bible covering sections and authors, types and supplements, and literary aspects of the Bible. “My background was a major in English, and I taught English. And, so, I look at the Bible as literature as well as the spiritual and divine Word of God. When you look at it literarily, it’s beautiful. It’s artistic. The God of creation has made his word beautiful.”

Wyoming pastor Steve Nelson, pastor at the Cody, Worland, Powell, and Ten Sleep Seventh-day Adventist Churches in their respective cities, also presented on the United States in the Biblical prophecies of the book of Revelation. He explored the darker history and current affairs of our nation: “We aren’t against our nation; we are just against the direction it may head if we don’t keep it in check … How are we going to win people to Christ if we align our religion with our political views.”

Mic Thurber, RMC president, Doug Inglish, and Mickey Mallory, RMC Ministerial director, provided morning devotionals at the camp meeting. “I am going to take the stance that prayer is part of the armor. If you have a good prayer life, you are unstoppable,” remarked Thurber.

The Wyoming Camp Meeting also scheduled in plenty of free time amidst the busy programming schedule for attendees to relax in nature and connect as a community. Rhonda McDonald, Community Service staff and social and recreational assistant for Casper Seventh-day Adventist Church in Casper, Wyoming, has been coming to the Wyoming Camp Meeting since 1992.

When asked what brings her back every year, she commented, “It’s a long story and it’s a testimony, but it’s the first camp meeting I ever came to after I got baptized. My husband and I, Pat McDonald, were camp rangers for five years. We live in Casper, so we come back every year. I have to say [that] I appreciate all the speakers, but I really appreciate the friendships that I’ve made over the years.”

“The music has always been top notch, and it’s just good to spend time with the folks in Wyoming and connect with the people that we see when we go around to the different churches,” remarked Inglish on his experience at the camp meeting. “And there’s kind of an excitement this year with the International Camporee happening [in Wyoming] later in the summer. So, there’s a lot of buzz about that.”

Another bit of excitement at this year’s camp meeting was the convergence with the RMC Youth Summer Camp. The youth summer camp began July 21 at MSR, so the youth summer camp leaders and staff, and camp horses, came a few days early in preparation. The summer camp staff took the children attending the camp meeting out on horseback rides and evening rock climbing.

The next RMC Camp Meeting will be held in Montrose, Colorado, August 21-25. Keep watching for updated information at rmcsda.org

—RMCNews. Photos by Liz Kirkland.

24 Jul

ADVENTHEALTH LITTLETON INVESTS IN SAFER CARE ENVIRONMENT FOR PATIENTS AND TEAM MEMBERS

AdventHealth – Littleton, Colorado … For team members in the cardiac catheterization lab at AdventHealth Littleton, wearing a lead apron is second nature. The garments must be worn as protection from radiation. However, the traditional aprons don’t provide whole-body coverage, and the extra weight from the lead can cause other problems like back issues over time.

It’s a problem Cinthia Bateman, M.D., and Anthony Cedrone, M.D., know all too well. When Dr. Bateman presented the problem to board members of the AdventHealth Littleton Foundation, they knew they had to help.

“Dr. Bateman was passionate about the toll these heavy vests took on their bodies, in some cases, even shortening their careers,” said Rick Ellis, president of the AdventHealth Littleton Foundation. “It was an honor for the foundation board to support the purchase of a new product called Rampart, which takes away the stress of the heavy vest.”

Rampart is a new radiation shielding system that provides proven, full-bodied radiation protection. It means the cath lab team can now perform procedures without having to wear the lead aprons, and they receive less radiation to their entire bodies. AdventHealth Littleton is the first hospital in Colorado to use the new technology.

Rampart was made possible thanks to the generosity of the AdventHealth Littleton Foundation, which purchased the new equipment as its first major investment from funds raised through the All Hearts Campaign. It is part of AdventHealth’s commitment to provide patients and team members with the safest care environments possible.

—AdventHealth. Republished with permission from the AdventHealth Littleton The Newsroom website. Photo supplied.

22 Jul

EMPOWERING 250 INDONESIAN YOUTH AT NATIONAL CONVENTION IN LOVELAND

Xander Assa – Loveland, Colorado … The first-ever Adventist Indonesian Youth & Young Adult Ministries Convention, or AIYMCON, was held at Campion Academy in Loveland, Colorado, July 10-14.

AIYMCON was started by a group of Indonesian youth leaders, pastors, and young adults from different regions of the country, which also include several Campion Academy and Mile High Academy alumni. It was started because a few Indonesian youth and young adults were devoted to reach, unite, and support the Adventist Indonesian community and empower its next generation.

One participant remarked, “I experienced a unity that I’ve never experienced before in the Indo community. Nobody knew what to expect but everyone left feeling blessed someway somehow. I knew a handful of people who felt revived and were brought to tears because they didn’t think the Indo community was right for them anymore.”

“My goal is to tear down that wall for those who feel that way now and, hopefully, to prevent it for future generations to come. The Holy Spirit was in every detail,” they continued.

The convention boasted 250 registrants and 800 people present for the program’s Saturday morning Sabbath service. The attendees included Indonesian youth and young adults from Colorado, California, Washington, New Jersey, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. It held seminars on mental health and marriage, youth-led worship services, sermons from pastors of the Indonesian community, small group activities, a career fair, and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

“AIYMCON was a statement of unity for the Adventist Indonesian community,” remarked Xander Assa, pastor and co-creator of the convention. “As a result, three souls made decisions for baptism and two made decisions to enter into pastoral ministry.”

“Many friendships were made between attendees from different states,” he continued, “and a spiritual revival was experienced amongst the youth and young adults. AIYMCON marks a groundbreaking shift towards unity in the Adventist Indonesian community.”

“It was great seeing all of the Indonesian youth and young adults praising Jesus,” commented Mickey Mallory, Rocky Mountain Conference Ministerial director. “Kudos to Pastor Xander and his team for making this happen. The huge turnout showed how much youth and young adults are hungering for these kinds of opportunities to come together in worship and fellowship.”

—Xander Assa is co-creator of AIYMCON and a pastor and Master of Divinity student at Andrews University. Photos supplied.

_DSC9566 — Executive committee from left to right: Derwin Suyatno, Logisitcs Lead (MHA 18), Steve Suinda, Secretary (MHA 10), Xander Assa, President (CA 16).

_DSC9952 — Baptism by Pastor Xander Assa.

_DSC9773-(1) — Sabbath service group photo.

17 Jul

COMMENTARY: WE HAVE THIS HOPE

By Godfrey Miranda

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
– 1 Corinthians 15:58, NKJV

In their work as pediatric specialists in immunology and respiratory medicine, it’s not hard to imagine that doctors Patricia and David Mrazek dealt with many suffering children. Over the years, however, they were struck by the fact that some kids bounced back from their physical trauma to live happy, healthy lives while others were crushed by it.

In an effort to pinpoint what made the difference, the Mrazeks conducted an extensive survey and found that one overriding trait rose to the top in those children who went on to build healthy lives: hope. Do you know the power of hope?

THE IMPACT OF HOPE

The Thessalonian believers knew the power of hope, and Paul was quick to highlight it right from the onset of his first epistle to them:

We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:3, NIV).

When Paul remembered his friends, it wasn’t just their occasional work of faith or labor of love that was so noteworthy. He saw in them a steadfast perseverance to keep working and keep laboring and that endurance grew out of hope. Hope inspired them to overcome the odds and keep pressing on toward a productive discipleship journey even in the midst of violent opposition. This is the practical impact of hope that we ought not take for granted. After all, as the Mrazeks discovered, it can make the difference between a flourishing life or a floundering one.

BEATEN BUT BUOYANT

Maybe you’ve noticed that seasons of trial in our Christian experience tend to temper our zeal, or even make us question whether to continue in the way or work of the Lord. It’s an entirely natural response, and it happens to the best of us. But when I read the New Testament, that wasn’t Paul’s response. This is the apostle who was beaten, stoned, and even left for dead for the sake of the gospel … then got up and went right back into the town whose citizens had just tried to kill him (cf. Acts 14:19-20). Where did that kind of buoyancy come from? Hope!

AND MORE SPECIFICALLY, IT WAS HIS HOPE IN THE RETURN OF JESUS.

Notice how Paul connects the dots between hope in the promise of eternal life and his unflinching steadfastness in God’s work.

Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory … (2 Corinthians 4:16-17, NKJV).

Even when buffeted by hardship, Paul didn’t lose heart. Instead, he felt constantly renewed! His hope-filled perspective allowed him to see his affliction as light and momentary when compared to the “eternal weight of glory.” The hope of being with and seeing Jesus in glory truly does outweigh all other cares and concerns.

A BOLD APPEAL

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul waxes eloquent about the promise of the resurrection at the return of Jesus. With hymn-like enthusiasm, Paul describes the time when the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible (v. 52). It’s the time when this mortal must put on immortality (v. 53) and Death itself will be swallowed up in victory (v. 54).

What a blessed hope! And then, to cap it all off, Paul extends a very specific appeal—not just to keep believing this to be true, but to keep working until it all comes true.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58, NKJV).

So, when we have this hope that burns within our hearts, we can abound in the work of the Lord no matter our past or present trauma. Like the Thessalonians and like the apostle Paul, we can steadily give our all in the way and work of God. It’s my prayer that each of us will personally experience the power of the blessed hope. Though the heavens fall, may our labor for the Lord be constantly fueled by our hope in the coming of the Lord.

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

17 Jul

TESTIMONY MOVES SIX TO VOLUNTEER FOR PRISON MINISTRIES IN OLATHE

RMCNews and Ted Williams – Olathe, Colorado … What started as a request for a prison ministry presentation for the Olathe Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church in Olathe, Colorado, grew into the expansion of a ministry to some our community’s most underserved: prison inmates.

Ted Williams, lead pastor at the Arkansas Valley, Lamar, and Trinidad Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Swink, Lamar, and Trinidad, Colorado, respectively, held a prison ministry event at the Olathe Hispanic Church, June 21-22. Williams brought with him a formerly jailed gentleman, Tom, to give testimony at the event.

Williams became acquainted with Tom while he was incarcerated and picked him up upon his release from jail. He collected Tom, drove him to a hotel, and connected him to a church member that gave him some clothing. Tom gave testimony at the Arkansas Valley Church’s Sabbath service the very next day. Williams also facilitated finding him employment and integrating him into the church family.

Williams noted that, while incarcerated, Tom had established multiple Bible study groups. Tom’s first words upon leaving jail were, “I’m not ready to leave yet,” referring to Tom feeling that he had not completed his ministry to his fellow inmates.

At the first evening of the prison ministries event at the Olathe Hispanic Church, Williams spoke on freedom. “I want them to understand that we are all in prison. And once you have been set free, you have been set free to choose.”

Tom gave his powerful and emotional testimony at the Sabbath service the next day, and Williams concluded the event with an informational training session on the processes and how to effectively provide prison ministry.

From this event, Williams received six applications from individuals that want to volunteer to participate in this outreach ministry. He promptly drove the applications to the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He remarked that the CDOC greatly appreciates these volunteers and is eager to receive more to assign to facilities that do not have ministry volunteers.

“Folks that attended [the event] were deeply moved by this whole experience,” commented Williams. “It was a wonderful, spirit-filled weekend.”

Williams has been involved in this outreach ministry for almost two decades and is the RMC Prison Ministries director. The RMC Prison Ministries exists to train and support volunteers who are willing to visit, correspond with, and pray with prison inmates. To learn about volunteering in prison ministries, please contact Ted Williams at tedw@rmcsda.org or at (303) 887-9197.

—Ted Williams is lead pastor at the Arkansas Valley, Lamar, and Trinidad Seventh-day Adventist Churches. Photo by Ted Williams.

17 Jul

UNIQUE BAPTISM STORY AT GREELEY CHURCH

Will Reed – Greeley, Colorado … Ryan Hough received a free copy of Ellen G. White’s book The Great Controversy in his mailbox three years ago through a mass mailing initiative. He donated it to a thrift store. This would begin a unique chain of events that would end up in him finding Jesus, and on June 29, around three years later, he was baptized into membership at the Greeley Seventh-day Adventist Church in Greeley, Colorado.

Coming from a non-church-going background, Hough began his faith journey as a result of his interest in history. In the midst of perusing the internet and looking into various aspects of history, he came across an Adventist speaker’s YouTube series which contained elements of history that interested him, so he began to watch.

Around the same time, Hough randomly received another copy of the book The Great Controversy in the mail at his home in Idaho, where he lived at the time. After first taking a picture of the book and sending it to his parents, asking them if they had sent it to him, Hough decided to donate it as well to a local thrift store, uninterested in reading it.

However, while continuing to watch the Adventist YouTube series, Ryan was surprised to hear the speaker talk about a book called The Great Controversy, a book which Hough had seen before. After realizing that this was the book that was sent to him through the mail that he had sent to the thrift store, Hough visited this thrift store, bought the book back for $1, and began to read it.

Through reading The Great Controversy, continuing to watch the series, and getting connected with a local Adventist church in Idaho, Hough began to fall in love with Jesus. He and his family moved to Colorado in the last two years, and Hough began attending Greeley Church. It was during this time that Hough decided he wanted to officially give his life to Jesus and be baptized. This occurred in the presence of his family, friends, and new church family.

Hough says that it is the community aspect of church that has been most impactful for him. “A big part of my experience and journey has been the church family. Everyone I’ve interacted with has solidified the path that I’m following, and the choices I’m making are inspired and fulfilling,” he commented.

Michael Shannon, lead pastor of the Greeley Church, spoke of Hough’s journey to the Adventist faith as orchestrated by God. “It’s interesting how the Holy Spirit works … nobody brought [Ryan] to church. The Lord brought him to church,” he remarked.

—Will Reed is principal and sixth through eighth grades teacher at Adventist Christian School. Photo by Jim Johnson.