Revival and Reformation Stories

Unied Prayer, United Blessings

Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:28:00 -0500

Doris Johnson of the Ephesus Adventist Church in Richmond, Virgina, started a ministry to assist the men and women of the church who had lost a spouse. She wanted to engage them in activities to assist in healing after their loss. She called the group the Widowed Person’s Ministry, and one of the objectives of the group was to participate in the 2014 Ten Days of Prayer. The group set up a call line, and every day at 6:00 a.m., approximately 35 people called in. Participants had a burning desire to get closer to God by way of the prayer line. As they lifted God up through songs, praises, confessions, intercessory prayers, and prayers of thanksgiving, their hearts were united. Prayers went up for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and, as a result, the Holy Spirit certainly showed up! Believers praised God for peace of mind, goodness, mercy, waking up to see another day, healing, church family, having the ability to retire and still be mobile, and they expressed gratitude for so many other blessings.

“This opportunity was reassuring to say the least,” says Edie Allen. “The Holy Spirit still moves. Like God’s love, prayers are still the most powerful thing on Earth and are still being answered. God still pours out blessings upon His people.”

Alice Fuell, assistant leader of the ministry, stated, “I was blessed beyond words each morning because of the testimonies and answered prayers. God is awesome and He is worthy to be praised.” The prayer line was such a huge success and so truly blessed by God that it is still ongoing today. Fuell says, "Participate in this amazing experience and rest assured that God will continue to honor the praises of His people."

New Chinese Work Opens in Thailand

Tue, 18 Nov 2014 14:45:00 -0500

Chinese students Cheng Yin and Liu Meng wanted to serve as missionaries. After high school graduation, they decided to go to the 1000 Missionary Movement in the Philippines to better learn how to share their faith. After three months, they were sent to Thailand, where they settled in the northern town of Mae Salong, in the Chiangrai Province. There, they were to open up new work among the Chinese people. The Thailand Mission rented a place that would serve as a center of influence and introduced them to the community leaders. Every day from 4 am until 6 am, the two ladies spent time in prayer. Then they began their day of walking door to door, visiting people in the community, and meeting their needs.

They started a class at their center where they would invite children to come to study Chinese through the Bible and learn Christian songs. The first year they led 20 people to Christ. The second year they continued praying, visiting in the community, meeting needs, and inviting people to their classes. Twenty-two more people were baptized when Chinese Evangelist Terry Tsui came to conduct meetings in the area. God blessed their efforts and rewarded their faith with souls for the Kingdom. Currently, 70 students are coming to the center for Chinese studies through the Bible.

The center soon became so crowded that the Thailand Mission leaders decided to rent another place for the missionaries to use. They rented a dormitory, where 12 students could live with the two Chinese missionaries and learn how to witness to their parents, friends, and relatives.

Before long, the Thailand Mission leaders requested the Beijing Church to send three more Chinese missionaries to work with the two Chinese missionaries. One joined the two missionaries working in Maesalong, and two more were sent to work in the new Chinese community in Chiangmai. They also spend much time in prayer, visiting the whole community, giving Bible studies, and inviting people to study Chinese through the Bible. Those missionaries have brought 24 more people to the church and established a second congregation that meets in a new rented facility. They are looking for a building to purchase for the Chinese Church.

By God’s grace, and the power of prayer, the Chinese work continues to grow in Thailand. Cheng Yin is now studying at the Asia Pacific International University, in Muak Lek Saraburi, and Liu Meng returned to China because her family had health problems. She hopes to return to Thailand after she finishes her studies. Together, Yin and Meng plan to go back to Thailand and reach the wealthy Chinese business owners for Christ.

Beauty Out of Bitterness

Tue, 18 Nov 2014 14:41:00 -0500

Many revival stories begin with one or more setbacks. This story is no different. A church had requested that the conference give them a specific pastor, but the conference did not grant their request, and many members became bitter. So church leaders invited Dr. S. Joseph Kidder, author of The Big Four, and teacher of spiritual growth, church growth, evangelism, and leadership at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, for a weekend presentation, and the Holy Spirit did a marvelous work through him. The church was facing the possibility of closing their school when it dropped down to 15 students after graduation. After Kidder's weekend presentation, members felt impressed to conduct a 24-hour fast with intense prayer, asking God to send more students. This was the first time this church had been willing to fast. They prayed that God would send them more students--30 specifically. God sent them 31! It was so obvious to everyone that God had indeed performed a miracle on their behalf. After that experience, the church witnessed a significant turnaround among its members.

Prayer Tents, Balloons, and Tea Parties

Wed, 09 Jul 2014 16:12:00 -0400

Prayer Tents, Balloons, and Tea Parties

The Central Brazil Union Conference held a conference-wide Ten Days of Prayer and Fasting, February 13-22, 2014. Area churches were creative in their methods to involve members and non-members alike in prayer. Read some of their experiences below:

In Juquiers ublic areas and handed out free copies of the book, The Great Hope. They offered to pray with people passing by, and even offered home visitations for those interested. Forty people requested prayer and registered to have someone visit them in their home. One lady was baptized as a result of the prayer tent in the town of Praça Eliene Vieira Santo.

The Mangueiras Church, in Tatuí, São Paulo, along with many other churches, opened their doors at 5:00 a.m. for an hour of meditation and prayer, and had a 6:00 a.m. prayer meeting. Higor Soares Diniz, a 13-year-old boy, walked 20 minutes every day to the church. “It was great to participate in the 10 Days of Prayer,” he says. “I had wandered away from God and today I trust in Him and read my Bible every day. When I wake up, I have my prayer and praise the Lord." Nearly 120 people participated in the 6:00 a.m. morning prayer and worship every day, and fasted for 10 hours on Sabbath.

Ida Maria Putti Zillig reports that she was a woman of much prayer but, after her husband died, she didn’t see any purpose in living, and lost the desire to pray. After participating in the morning prayer and Bible study, peace and hope changed her story. "It was tremendous to be here in the church early in the morning. I learned to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, which moved my heart to the things that need to be changed in my life. God revived what was dead within me," says Putti Zillig.

One church chose to have members place their prayer requests inside balloons. The balloons were then inflated and exchanged among the members to pray for each other’s requests. A number of churches decorated a prayer room where members could come and go at will.

Youth groups visited and prayed with households in the neighborhood near the Church. Women's groups visited nursing homes and orphanages offering prayer and encouraging them. Many churches at the beginning of the 10 Days of Prayer had a “secret friend," whom they prayed for during the 10 days, and then revealed the friend on the last day of prayer. Several churches opened their doors to the community during the 10 Days of Prayer. Some churches also held health fairs. After the 10 Days of Prayer, some held a Sunday tea, as part of their outreach program. On the last day of the Ten Days of Prayer, some churches held a spiritual retreat.

On February 22, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South São Paulo launched a 30-day intercessory prayer program, where members were encouraged to pray for 30 days for three people who were not part of the congregation. During that time, pastors and leaders trained members on visitation, winning people to Christ, how to give Bible studies, and how to help new members remain in the church, thus empowering them for ministry.

Church members praying with passers-by in
the prayer tent set up at a health fair.

When Flood Waters Rose

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 16:24:00 -0400

Church Planter Thearith Sim came up to Chenda at church one day and asked, “Will you pray about becoming a literacy teacher in your village?” Chenda was stunned by his question. “Why me?” she wondered. She had barely said a word in church because she was so shy. She always sat way in the back, minding her own business. “How could I ever stand in front of children and teach?” She was flooded with questions and fears, but she confessed her fears to the Lord and also her weak faith. Through His Word, God assured her that His strength is made perfect in weakness. After praying, the Lord clearly showed her, “Yes,” it was His plan for her to work as a literacy teacher.

Chenda started out teaching five children on the porch of her parent’s home. The number quickly grew as children told their friends that school is fun and that their teacher loved them. The children enjoyed hearing the Bible stories and loved to sing. She taught them Bible songs with the motions. Stories like David and Goliath amazed the children and taught them that even though they are small, God can win battles through them. All they need to do is trust in Him. The students brought their My Bible First lessons home and read them to their parents. They sang Christian songs as they did their chores.

Unfortunately, Satan started attacking Chenda’s literacy school. One by one, Chenda’s students stopped coming to class until she was down to only two. She was discouraged and went to Tearith to resign. She heard the mothers and fathers were forbidding their children to come because they did not want them to learn about Jesus.

When Chenda went to Tearith, she had her list in hand with all the reasons why she wanted to resign.He listened quietly and patiently, paused, and then said, “No, I do not give you permission to resign.Remember the promise in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” They knelt down and prayed, asking God to turn things around. Chenda left there encouraged! God answered their prayers and the students that left started coming back to class. Many new students also came. They started praying daily for a bigger, more suitable place for the students to study. God touched people’s hearts in America to donate money so they could build a literacy center.

This village is surrounded by a large lake and many of the villagers make a living building and selling boats. They were not prepared for the flooding that happened shortly after the literacy center was built, though. As the rain poured down, the Holy Spirit also poured down His blessings on this little village. The waters kept rising and simultaneously, the prayers kept ascending from that new little school.

The flood waters rose so high it damaged many of the homes in the village. Students did not want to miss school so they came in boats, or whatever they could find. The school was packed with villagers who sought refuge in the literacy center because it was built on higher stilts than most of their homes. Two babies were even born in this literacy center during the floods! The people felt like Noah and his family probably did. They wondered, “Would the torrents never cease and the water ever recede?” The rain finally stopped, right before it reached the floor boards. Everyone inside remained safe and dry. This was the result of God answering the united prayers of His people.

God brought good out of the storm. Donors generously gave funds so the missionaries could bring rice and necessary supplies in by boat to the people. This opened the hearts of the parents and even more families sent their children to the school. It grew to 208 students, two teachers, and four assistants. Almost all the children come to church each Sabbath.

Satan gets angry when people unite to pray. R. A. Torrey writes, “When the devil sees a man or woman who really believes in prayer, who knows how to pray, and who really does pray, and above all, when he sees a whole church on its face before God in prayer, he trembles as much as he ever did, for he knows that his day in that church or community is at an end.”

When Satan saw young lives coming to Christ, he attacked in a new arena. Chenda became engaged to a Buddhist man. An unequally yoked arrangement would certainly weaken the work. She got wise counsel from caring Christians and she listened. Though it is almost unheard of to break an engagement in Cambodia, she made the difficult decision to end the relationship. The little school with the big stilts carries on to this day.

Julia O’Carey, Director
ASAP Ministries

Used with permission by ASAP Ministries

God's Open Ears and Ready Replies

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 16:09:00 -0400

Terad Banjam (of the Hmong people) has planted four churches in the Vientiane province of Laos with 107 members already, and still growing. On his way home from a training, which focused on united prayer and the Holy Spirit, his heart was burdened. He thought, “I’m working hard for God to bring people to Him yet I still have many relatives of mine who do not worship God!” He knelt down right there in the pathway and cried, “God, if you are willing, please save my many relatives who do not know You yet. As you know, many of them are controlled by Satan and they need to believe in You. Please convict their hearts through the work of Your Holy Spirit.” This simple prayer was followed by many more persistent pleas.

Pastor Banjam had been teaching his church members on prayer and praying unitedly—they were quick to learn. He told them that he did not have the answers to all their problems because they were too big for him to solve, but that their problems were not too big for God. They could bring them to God in prayer. Every morning from 5:00 to 6:00 and every evening from 6:00 to 7:00, believers came to the church to pray.

They praised God and confessed their sins. They asked Him and they thanked Him, day after day. What happened? God came down and worked on their behalf. One by one, members went to those they had offended and apologized. Forgiveness happened and a sweet unity resulted. Members started asking Pastor Banjam, “We want to learn how to witness!” As the church members are growing in their relationship with Christ, they are also learning how to give Bible studies and share their faith. Not long after prayer became an integral part of Pastor Banjam’s life, he saw God begin to answer his prayers for his family. One late afternoon as he walked home from the rice fields with two of his brothers-in-law, he left a strong impression to ask, “Would you like to know more about the God who made the heavens and the earth?”

They looked at him and said, “yes, we would like to know about your God.” This made Pastor Banjam’s heart leap with joy. He shared a little more right then and set up time to begin Bible studies with them. Finally, they started attending church and continue to come each week.

Pastor Banjam had another opportunity to share God with his family after he was miraculously healed from a cancerous tumor in his neck. His family saw the tumor growing and fear grew in their hearts as Banjam steadily lost weight and strength. It looked like Satan had the upper hand and was winning the battle for his health. This experience tested his faith but he kept praying. Finally, Pastor Banjam totally surrendered his health over to God. At that moment, God took over and he started down the road to recovery. Through prayer, natural remedies, and a change in his life style, the tumor completely disappeared. This not only impressed the doctors who planned to operate, but it touched the hearts of his family members and opened their minds to consider a healthy, plant-based diet and Banjam’s “healer God.”

Word spread beyond Pastor Banjam’s village of his powerful God. On the other side of the mountain, the parents of a 15 year-old demon-possessed boy got ahold of Pastor Banjam’s phone number. When the father called, Pastor Banjam heard the desperation in his voice. “We brought Sxengveu to the shaman, to doctors, the temple, and fortune tellers to heal him, but they could not help him. Can you?” Pastor Banjam pitied them because they had spent $10,000 with no cure. A young believer from his church accompanied him and they set off on a day-long, 100-kilometer trek to the village in the middle of rainy season.

Before they arrived at the village, they knelt down and prayed. This village was anti-Christian and quite hostile. The village chief allowed them to visit the boy but instructed them that they could not stay long or he would call the police (Laos is still a communist country where proselytizing is forbidden). Banjam came to the home and saw an emaciated boy. He prayed for Sxengveu, offered a few words of encouragement to the family, and headed back home.

After two months, Pastor Banjam went back to visit this little village a second time. Sxengveu’s father shared the exciting news that every day after his visit his son grew stronger and now was healed. These
animists saw God at work with their very own eyes. Banjam told him that it was God, not him, that fought off the devil. Because of this special healing, many families have invited Banjam to their homes, wanting to hear about his powerful God that heals.

The village chief now tells his people to decide for themselves who they will believe in and apologized for his hostility. He told Banjam, “If you see anything good that should be done for the people, do not hesitate to do it.” Twenty three in the village decided to get baptized and worship together each Sabbath.

Pastor Terad Banjam*
ASAP Ministries
*A pseudonym.

Radio Program Prepares Listeners for Baptism

Wed, 04 Jun 2014 14:38:00 -0400

A few months ago we reported that at the conclusion of the Ten Days of Prayer in January, eighty-five people were baptized in Monrovia, Liberia. They had been listening to “The Berean Hour,” a live call-in radio program on Radio Advent FM, and had responded to the invitation by producers to go to a Seventh-day Adventist Church on Sabbath morning if they wanted to be baptized. On Sabbath, April 19, 2014, thirty-two more people showed up in area churches and requested baptism, after listening and participating in the radio Bible studies.

“This is a regular occurrence,” says Dowell Chow, President of Adventist World Radio. The Holy Spirit is working on hearts and breaking down barriers in response to the many prayers to reach people in that part of northern Africa in the 10/40 window.

The Invercargill Church Story

Tue, 03 Jun 2014 17:25:00 -0400

Recognizing that the church was in decline, the Invercargill Seventh-day Adventist Church embarked on a journey some years ago to work through some tough issues. "First, we began to take the spirituality of the members seriously. Next, with a continuing focus on discipleship, we initiated a number of on-going community projects to connect the church with the community. As a result, we were able to move closer to our desired vision of being ‘that caring church where you and your family are empowered to have an abundant life through a transforming relationship with Jesus,’ and for the purpose of ‘leading people in the city of Invercargill and surrounding area into a transforming relationship with Jesus.’ The road has not been easy, but the church lived with anticipation of a brighter and rewarding future. It was at this point that Pastor Jean Noel Adeline arrived to run an evangelistic campaign, Discover Hope.

“We needed–as a church and as individuals–to get right with God,” Pastor Adeline said. Toward this goal, each time we had a gospel presentation for the community, we also held an early morning, hour-long prayer meeting. The meeting was divided into two parts: 20 minutes meditating upon the Word, and 40 minutes interceding for ourselves, families, church and community. During those meetings, we were fed in an amazing way and were challenged to the core about our own walk with God. It was like being a New Testament church–we lived in each other’s pockets and thrived. We were able to be open about our past deficiencies and how we needed to change, and yet we felt safe in these admissions. Our church became a loving and warm sanctuary where we could meet together to pray, learn, and spend time together. We were truly prepared to meet and befriend new people! God’s Spirit moved at those prayer meetings in a powerful way and we all were uplifted spiritually.

"From the first night of the Discover Hope series, more than 40 members of our community heard completely Christ-centered messages, presented in the power of God by Pastor Jean Noel. Our church members, alongside new friends from the community, heard for the first time in their lives the doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church clothed in pure gospel. The people who were attending fell in love with Jesus, including a practicing Hindu lady and also a Russian man, who was a life-long atheist. This lady has become very strong in her new faith and her knowledge of the Bible, and so has the Russian brother.
For the final 1.5 weeks, Jean Noel concentrated in more depth on the beliefs of our church and the need to make a decision now. He spoke to the mind and the heart of those attending. When he made an appeal asking people to come forward to express their commitment to Jesus, half of the people in the auditorium went forward, stepping out confidently, rejoicing! They were drawn to make a full commitment because they were drawn to Jesus, who was vividly presented in every topic. Our church members were totally blown away, and humbled, seeing the joy of people committing their lives to Jesus. We had a baptism on the final Sabbath with 14 baptisms and 1 joining by profession of faith. These people understood the Bible and wanted to follow Jesus all the way. It was a day when we rejoiced in the goodness of God and the faith of these new people! No one minded that we had a three-hour worship service, as well as seminars.

"The new followers of Christ are making some tremendous changes in their lives. One gentleman quit smoking on the spot as we lead him through the 5-minute plan. Another gentleman came home after one of the Discover Hope sessions and poured all of his alcohol into the sink to his wife’s utter amazement. A number of people went to their bosses to inform them that they would no longer work on Saturdays, as they are now Seventh-day Adventists. They have been blessed as God has answered their prayers for solutions.

"After the conclusion of the major series, Pastor Jean Noel has maintained his connection with us, presenting further follow-up sessions over several weekends, resulting in even more baptisms. Since last August, we have had more than 40 people join our Invercargill church by baptism or profession of faith. This would have been unheard of in past decades, in a church used to just 5 baptisms a year!

"We are still praying as a church, doing studies with our new members and giving them tools to reach others, as well as following up with those who have Bible questions. We fully expect more amazing things to happen as we encourage the spiritual journey of the new members and friends of our church. The church continues to have at least one baptism every other month. In April the church had 4 more people keen to make their stand. We are so grateful that Pastor Jean Noel has shown us a new way of “growing church” through revival and reformation. We are excited about winning new people for Jesus and don’t want to stop–ever."

By Pastor Victor Kulakov, the Senior Pastor of the Invercargill Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Zealand.

Evangelical Pastor Rediscovers Truth

Tue, 27 May 2014 17:07:00 -0400

José Tavares first learned about the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Osasco, Sao Paulo, Brazil and was baptized in 1977. Two years later, and in need of money, Tavares was invited to work as a pastor-teacher for an evangelical church. It was a prestigious and lucrative calling. He received $1,000 for every sermon he delivered or for every 40-minute lesson he prepared. Soon he became head pastor of the Osasco region in Sao Paulo, and even founded a church in a new region of Brazil. He trained more than 200 evangelical pastors and missionaries in the 32 years he taught.

One day a theology student asked Tavares to explain the 10 commandments. When Tavares explained the law of God, and the Sabbath commandment, in particular, he was forced to rethink his beliefs. He was convicted that Saturday was the Sabbath. When others heard about his teaching on the Sabbath, it caused a big stir in the community. Professors were outraged, and told Tavares that he could no longer teach theology or pastor in the church. His car was vandalized and he received death threats. Many students, curious to know more about God's law, dropped out of the course, and studied with Tavares privately in his home. Professors and pastors drove him out of Osasco, where he had become well known.

About that same time his wife discovered Novo Tempo, an Adventist channel on TV, and Tavares started watching some of the programs. When he saw the outreach program called, “Arena of the Future,” God spoke to him in a special way. The speaker read 1 John 2:4, which says, “Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.” Tavares, not wanting to be a liar, got back in touch with the Adventist Church. He attended an evangelistic series by Pastor Luis Goncalves, and was re-baptized on Friday, May 16, 2014. Tavares’ wife is now preparing for baptism.

"I regret the errors I've taught over the years," he says. “Now I want to be God’s mouthpiece for truth."

Tavares is serving as a Bible worker in the city where he now lives, and is studying with as many people as possible, including former students. He experienced a revival for the truth and is passionately sharing that with countless others.

Paradise Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church Ministry to Refugees

Mon, 05 May 2014 15:52:00 -0400

A Visit to San Diego from NAD Adventist on Vimeo.

This story was provided by the Ministerial Association of the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.

Building Bridges

Mon, 28 Apr 2014 13:58:00 -0400

God has been doing big things this year in San Francisco! A team of 17 "cross" trainers are currently working with 13 of the 14 churches in the San Francisco area, to disciple church members in outreach and ministry. And in April about 600 Adventist volunteers participated in Bridges to Health, an outreach event that brought free medical and dental services to almost 3,000 people in San Francisco and Oakland over a three-day period. This medical outreach was organized and sponsored by the Pacific Union chapter of Adventist-laymen’s Services & Industries (ASI). The Pacific Union, the Central California Conference and the Northern California Conference served as co-sponsors. Many organizations within the Adventist church, including Adventist Health, were involved in the event, including a number of lay people and church leaders who had been praying for nearly two years in preparation for this event.

Bridges To Health from Central California Conference on Vimeo.

About half of the volunteers were medical and dental professionals. Other volunteers served in a variety of supportive capacities to help as many people as possible. “We were working together for one goal — sharing Christ with those who are most in need,” said event organizer Lela Lewis, a physician from Ridgecrest, who serves as ASI Pacific Union president.

Many people mentioned that they could feel the presence of God throughout the three days. “The Holy Spirit energized and focused the health professionals, pastors and volunteers as they did the work Jesus asked us to do — helping other people,” said Ricardo Graham, president of the Pacific Union. The idea for Bridges to Health began almost exactly a year before at the 2013 Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) Pacific Union convention. Don Mackintosh, HEALTH director and campus chaplain for Weimar Institute, challenged the ASI members to plan a project for their next convention that would be in accordance with ASI’s motto: “Sharing Christ in the Marketplace.”
“The Holy Spirit very much inspired the board and me: this is definitely what God wants us to do,” said Lewis. She and the board decided to host a large medical outreach event in either Los Angeles or San Francisco. They sent out proposals to the mayors’ offices in both cities and prayed that the Lord would direct them. The San Francisco mayor’s office gave an enthusiastic response. “They called, basically begging us to come,” said Lewis. “We took it as a sign that God wanted us to go to San Francisco.” Later she discovered that the Central and Northern California conferences were planning joint evangelism work in the Bay Area through a project called Bridges: Bay Area for Jesus. The medical event fit well into the conferences’ goals, and the organizations joined forces. It was decided to add a day of medical outreach in Oakland in order to offer help to both sides of the Bay.

Originally, Lewis and her team had planned to recruit about 20 medical providers to work with volunteers from other non-Adventist organizations. However, as time went on, enough Adventists signed up so that 98 percent of the volunteers were church members. They came from all over the United States and other parts of the world, including a woman from Saudi Arabia. “God orchestrated the whole thing, moving the plans in multiple directions to make it entirely a Seventh-day Adventist event, and getting us the support of the mayors and their health offices,” said Lewis. “In both cities, we saw multiple, blatant miracles of God.” Read more.

The Garden City Fellowship Journey

Mon, 14 Apr 2014 16:05:00 -0400

The Garden City Fellowship, a young church plant in Christchurch, New Zealand, has experienced a number of miracles in the five years it has been together. It started with a handful of leaders meeting together a few times a week to pray for their church members and their team. “Then we turned the prayer times into prayer walks through the Christchurch botanical gardens,” says Pastor Benjamin Rea. “We would meet two or three times a week and pray as we walked through the gardens for about half an hour or so.”

Then in October of 2011, Garden City Fellowship discovered fasting, an “overlooked spiritual discipline,” Rea adds. “When we had our first corporate fast as a church,” explains Rea, “we saw an amazing miracle--a family member of a church member was brought back from the brink of death. This non-believer has since attended our church to thank the church for the miracle that saved his life. We prayed with him and he glorified God for what happened. Since then, we have done corporate fasting and prayer time to start each year.

“We have had several additional church-wide fasts as well, and we teach fasting as a part of Christian life. We have seen God's leading and blessing as a result of these times of humbling ourselves and seeking Him.”

But the story doesn’t end there. In addition to prayer and fasting, the congregation has also experienced numerous miracles through giving. When the church was just forming, and struggling just to pay rent, they set a goal to raise $60,000 for evangelism and to support two Bible workers. They had only 60 members at the time, and many people thought this was impossible. After praying about it and claiming God’s promises in 2 Cor. 9:6-9, that “he who sows bountifully, reaps bountifully,” and that “God is able to make all grace abound, having all sufficiency in all things for every good work,” Rea and his wife felt convicted to lead the church in giving. They dipped into their personal house savings and gave the first $10,000 toward their goal.

“That was the most liberating and life-changing feeling,” says Rea. “We felt more secure and more confident than ever, knowing that we were in God’s care.”

Other members stepped out in faith and gave gifts of $10,000, $5,000, $250, and $1,000, until they reached their goal by the end of the year. Rea tells of one family who had been saving their money to buy carpet for their home. After feeling convicted by the Holy Spirit, they, instead, chose to give that amount ($5,000) to the church. Afterward the carpet store where they had been looking, called to inform them that the family had a store credit of $5,000, and to come in and buy carpet! Another family testified that their assets have doubled in the past few years as a result of their faithful giving, and claiming Ps. 37:4, “Delight thyself in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

What started as a need to support evangelism, has grown into a faith venture with God. “Giving with God is the best thing we can do,” says Rea. The church, which now has a membership of around 100 people (and is financially sound, by the way), has since planted another satellite congregation, and has plans to grow to 1000 members by 2020. “I don’t know how that will happen,” says Rea, “but God does.”

Benjamin Rea, Pastor,

Garden City Fellowship

Christchurch, New Zealand

Club Sehat - Jakarta

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 15:35:00 -0500

Vision One Mission

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 15:07:00 -0500

More than 15,000 members in the South Colombia Union, of the Inter-American Division, are actively involved in recruiting, training, deploying, and motivating one million members to live in readiness for Christ’s return, and be active witnesses, reports Dr. Balvin Braham, Assistant to the Division President, Inter-American Division. Participants of Vision One Mission are involved in Revived by His Word (the daily Bible reading plan), daily prayer initiatives, (prayer groups over the telephone, face to face, and through social media at 7:00 am and 7:00 pm), small groups, and personal evangelism. During the first half of the 2013 alone, more than 10,000 souls were baptized as a result of this initiative. More than 2,000 evangelistic campaigns were held, leading up to the Vision One Mission Celebration on Sabbath, May 4, when 3,580 of them were baptized. Vision One Million, is an initiative that first began in 2011 and will continue until 2015, but members have already pledged to make this a way of life. Their lives have been changed and are motivated to make Bible reading and prayer a part of their daily lives.

NY13 Stories

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 14:58:00 -0500

"When the cities are worked as God would have them, the result will be the setting in operation of a mighty movement such as we have not yet witnessed.” Medical Ministry p. 304

There is evidence that this promise is being fulfilled. As members are engaging in comprehensive ministries and hundreds of evangelistic meetings, God is blessing this effort. The number of baptisms in the New York City area this year is up nearly 50 percent from that of last year, which was their highest year. Members and leaders are working together, lives are being changed, miracles are happening, and, because of a very aggressive follow up, more members are being assimilated and trained for service, increasing attendance in the local churches. Leaders say that there is more interest and compassion for the people in New York City than they have seen in years past.

A Second Chance At Baptism

Hilander Torres woke up one Sabbath morning and felt deeply impressed that God was directing him to go to the nearest Seventh-day Adventist Church and be baptized. Nearly seven weeks earlier, Torres had attended all of Revelation of Hope meetings held in the Manhattan Seventh-day Adventist Church, where Elder Ted Wilson, President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, had conducted meetings. At the time he had felt convicted by the message, believed it was the truth, and knew he should have been baptized, but for some reason he didn’t do it. For weeks he had been struggling with his decision, and prayed about it, asking God for direction.

Now, as he opened the Yellow Pages to look for the nearest Seventh-day Adventist church, he found the address for the Hanson Place Seventh-day Adventist Church, and went there. As he walked in, he realized that they were just finishing up the same Revelation of Hope series that he had attended weeks earlier! And by divine appointment, they were having a big baptism that day!

After the service, when Dr. Delbert Baker, the speaker for the series and General Vice President for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, made an appeal, Torres eagerly came forward, requesting to be baptized that day. The Bible Worker, surprised at his determination, talked with him and suggested that he may want to study with someone before making this decision. Torres then explained that he had already studied, and had attended all the meetings, and believed it was the truth, and wanted to be baptized. So he took the baptismal vows and was baptized. Hilander praises God for giving him another chance to take his stand for Him. The Hanson Place members are rejoicing that their meetings ended up with 37 baptisms so far.

Importunate Prayers Answered

A Haitian couple lived in the greater New York City area, in a community without a Seventh-day Adventist Church. The wife came in contact with a Seventh-day Adventist lady, and wanted to go to church with her, but the lady’s church was 45 minutes away, making it difficult to attend on a regular basis. So the Haitian lady took her concern to God, and started praying for a Haitian church to come to her community.

In another part of the city, conference leaders targeted several areas around the city where they would plant new churches as a result of NY13. This lady’s community was chosen as one of the targeted areas! And better yet, it was to be a Haitian church, just as she had prayed! Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear (Isa. 65:24, NIV).This dedicated lady was baptized June 29, 2013, along with her three daughters. She was the first member on the register of names for that newly organized Haitian Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Couple Rediscovers Church

A young Chinese architect from the University of Indiana married a woman who had an Adventist background. He went to Notre Dame to get his Master’s degree, and while there, the two periodically attended the Pioneer Memorial Church in Berrien Springs, Michigan. After he graduated from Notre Dame, the couple moved to New York City, but couldn’t find a church that interested both of them. So they began listening to Adventist pastors on the radio. After listening to the radio for some time, the Lord convicted them to return to church. About that same time, they received a flyer in the mail for the Revelation of Hope meetings being conducted in the Manhattan Seventh-day Adventist Church. The couple attended the meetings, and from the beginning, decided to be baptized. Elder Tony Romeo, the local church pastor, had the privilege of baptizing them and welcoming them into the faith.

Med Student Changes Priorities

Moses is a medical student attending the University of Massachusetts. Although he had some Adventist background, he was not baptized. He had a rotation of shadowing a physician at Columbia University, in New York City, during the month of January. While he was there, he attended the weekend Convocation held at Hunter College, where Elder Ted Wilson, Seventh-day Adventist World Church President and other church leaders spoke. Knowing that Elder Wilson would be conducting a series of meetings in New York City in June, he arranged to have his academic schedule changed, so he could be back in New York City to attend the meetings. He faithfully attended and was baptized June 29, 2013 in the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York.

Chained to Sinful Habits

John was a middle-aged man living in Greenwich Village who was brought up Catholic. When his mother received the handbill in the mail for the Revelation of Hope meetings, she gave it to John. John, along with his brother, decided to check out the meetings that were held in the Manhattan Seventh-day Adventist Church. John was touched as he listened to God’s Word, and felt convicted by the Holy Spirit. He wanted to be baptized, but felt chained to several habits he had acquired while living in the world. John pled with God to free him from those controlling habits, and surrendered his life to Christ. God delivered him and gave him victory over his sins. John was baptized June 29, 2013, and became a new person in Christ. His brother also wanted to be baptized, and is currently studying with the local pastor.

Manhattan Life Hope Center

June was the debut month for Life Hope Center at Bryant Park, a Center of Influence that is in Manhattan's Midtown area. The center will offer services such as seminars, presentations, health screening, Bible studies, fitness classes, counseling, vegetarian and plant-based cooking classes, and seminars, in order to connect with the community and reach out to people at their felt needs.

As lunch seminars, happy hour lectures, and other events are being promoted on a monthly basis, a new church is also being planted on the premises. Called The Upper Room at Bryant Park, it meets every Saturday at 5:30 pm. A week-night Bible study meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00 pm, with Thursday being a follow-up study to evangelistic series conducted by Elder Ted Wilson, Seventh-day Adventist Church President.

Tokyo 13

Thu, 10 Oct 2013 12:24:00 -0400

The population of Metropolitan Tokyo (including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba) today is 37 million--the world’s most populated metropolitan city. Currently there are just 3500 Adventist members with only 20 small churches, making a ratio-to-population of 1: 10,000. Many of the church members are older than 65 years of age, and the total amount of tithe has decreased in recent years. People living in Tokyo area are like sheep that have lost their shepherd, and most of them have waivered in their value system.

In 2012, when the NSD president, Elder Lee picked up Tokyo as the target city in “Mission to the Cities,” our JUC leaders discussed the possibilities. Is it realistic for our churches that are getting weak and old to set about doing such big project? Wouldn’t we let down the GC’s expectation with no harvest? In spite of

great fear in our hearts, the JUC finally decided to set about the project of “Mission to the City, Tokyo.” Unless we stand up now, unless we take this great opportunity now, our church might have to just stand and watch Japanese people perish doing nothing. Read more

It was in the end of May, 2012, the JUC and the NSD leaders got together for the first time on this project. After that, on June 11, the JUC leaders had the meeting with local church pastors in Metropolitan Tokyo, and the next day, the NSD leaders came to Japan again. We discussed and prayed together, and started the project.

To tell you the truth, not all the pastors here in Tokyo accepted the project with faith and believed its success. Some had a great fear, and some thought they were forced to do this. Anyway, we just started the project.

Team Ministry System

We organized “A Big City Evangelism Committee” in the JUC, and under it, the same named committee in the East Japan conference, then under them, 8 small committees--- (1) West Tokyo team, (2) Harajuku team, (3) Tama-Saitama team, (4) Nishisugamo team, (5) Yokohama 13 team, (6) English and Spanish team, (7) Korean team, (8) Chinese team (Tagalog team, and Youth team were added later). Since the center of evangelism is the churches at the front line, these teams made the ways for them.

For instance, one of the teams invited a retired pastor to study about ministry so that the pastors can do better prepared. Another group started a joint prayer meeting among local churches just to make their relationship stronger.

What the JUC and the East Japan Conference focused on first was revival by prayer and the scripture. The JUC invited Pastor KwangEui Hong, the revivalist of NSD. He came to Japan several times, and he had revival meetings visiting church to church. We also invited Elder Ki Yong Kwon who shared his wonderful testimony on the pioneering evangelistic works.

Also, another team had the big camp-meeting to make church members feel Tokyo 13 as their own project. Others also had the pre-meetings and the joint worships with other churches, then the mission spirit grew.

Relationship Ministry

The basic concept of Tokyo 13 is “Relationship Ministry.” Ellen White in her Ministry of Healing, p.143, wrote, “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The savior (1) mingled with men, (2) as one who desired their good. (3) He showed His sympathy for them, (4) ministered to their needs, and won their confidence, then told them “Follow me.” There is need of coming close to the people by personal effort.???Accompanied by the power of persuasion, power of prayer, the power of the love of God, this work will not, cannot, be without fruit.” So we decided to make His “Relationship Ministry” our method for the project.

To do that, we tried to re-discover our networks that we had. For example, Hiroshima Saniku Academy (grade 7-12) has sent out 4000 graduates in last 35 years. But unfortunately most of them don’t attend the church anymore. The fact is that their graduation is also a graduation from the church. And about 1000 out of 4000 are said to be in Tokyo area. Of course, they once have heard Gospel of the Bible. We wanted to reach them again, so in August, 2013, at Tokyo, with the Academy presidents, principals, and deans of dormitories, we had the biggest alumni in our history. 450 attended the meeting!

Also, there is a special group called “Ekklesia” whose purpose is to save young people from “the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity” whose headquarter is in Korea, and to take care of their families. An earnest effort by this group for last 40 years had resulted 200 baptisms at the SDA Church. On the other hand, there are many who left the Association, but have attended no church. There are more than 1500 such people. They also have heard Gospel once. In order to reach them, a special issue of newsletter was printed, and the group had a retreat especially for them.

In the past, there was a youth activity called “Beehive Ministry.” Through this, many church workers were born and raised. On the other hand, there are many who once were active in the Ministry, but don’t attend the church today. Many are married and have children. In order to reach them once again, Koganei SDA Church has begun “Tokyo Worship” with a contemporary style, once in a while.

The department of Colporteur Ministry in the JUC and the Japan Publishing House together had a special meeting at one of the hotels in Tokyo, trying to reach the “Signs of the Times” subscribers. About 100 people attended that meeting

In addition to such efforts, each local church did their best to reach long absent church members, those who have attended evangelistic meetings, the VBS, and the PFC in the past.

These activities brought about a big change in many church members, for now they saw themselves as an evangelist, and began working towards their loved ones and the neighbors.

Support

We are grateful for much support from foreign counties financially and manpower too. The GC offered us a big amount of money, and showed a deep interest in the project.. We had a TV conference with the GC leaders including Ted Wilson, the president. G.T.Ng, the executive secretary, and Michael L.Ryan, the general vice president have visited Japan twice to have meetings not only with the JUC leaders, but also with local church pastors. Also other leaders from Adventist Mission came to have seminars here in Japan.

We also greatly appreciate the support from Korea and Germany. The Golden Angels from the NSD made Japan tour in May, 2013, and during the evangelistic meetings in this summer to autumn, they have sung at almost all the meetings for Tokyo 13. Their music has done something pastors cannot do by his spoken words only.

Much appreciation also goes to missionaries of “One Year in Mission.” One missionary was sent to Tokyo Central SDA Church starting from August, 2013, and from September, 2013, four other young missionaries have begun their works mainly at Tokyo Central Church and Tokyo Korean Church. They will stay here in Tokyo until the end of this year, December, 2013. There may be a language barrier, but they are trying to give disciple-making training especially for young people.

Report on Meetings

The special evangelistic meetings’ period for Tokyo 13 Hope for the Cities - city wide evangelism haven been held from September to October, 2013. At 8 different locations in Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan and there have been 42 meetings held during these two months.

<Tama-Saitama Team>

For three days, September 14-16, at Tachikawa SDA Church, Pastor Shimada, the JUC president conducted the meetings with the main title, “The Decision to the Eternal Life.” On the second and third days, the Tokyo area was hit by a typhoon and the public transportation such as trains were much reduced, but we had 167 for the first day, 117 for the second day, and 82 for the third day. Especially on the second day, two new believers were baptized.

Yokohama 13 Team

The same date as Tachikawa Church, September 14-16, at Kamenokoyama SDA Church located just under the JUC headquarters in Yokohama. Pastor Dwight Nelson from Andrews University Church conducted the meetings with the main title, “The Hope of the Rising Sun.” He picked up the Adventist messages, and spoke well, so that even the Japanese people could understand. With the less influence by the typhoon than to Tachikawa, the number of tattendance was 204, 210, and 203 each day. The Golden Angels was involved in the both locations of the meetings.

Harajuku Team

Right after the meetings in Yokohama, Pastor Nelson moved to Harajuku, Tokyo, and he conducted the meetings at Tokyo Central SDA Church for five days. The number of attendance was 180, 164, 168, 175, and 410 for the Sabbath worship!!

West Tokyo Team

Starting from the weekend of September 14-15, 8 meetings are planned in four weekends, by four pastors from west area of Tokyo (including the president of the East Japan Conference), with the title, “Salvation Is to Be Found through Him Alone.” More than 200 have attended the meeting each night.

Tokyo Chinese Church

The four day meeting in Chinese language was held, starting from September 18 at Tachikawa SDA Church. Pastor Daniel Jiao, the executive secretary of the China Mission came to Japan as a speaker. As a result, four new souls were baptized, and other three souls have already decided to be baptize

Tokyo Korean Church

Pastor JohngHaeng Kwon conducted the meetings, September 20-28, with the title, “You Have a Hope Still.” A medical ministry group with 26 members came from Korea and Germany. By their efforts, at least 35 are interested in the church.

Tokyo 13 by Youth & for Youth

The meetings especially for the youth were held on September 7 and 22. There were more than 100 young people at each meeting. On September 7, young members themselves spoke. Their feelings of witnessing Christ were shared, and gave strong impact to those who came that day. On September 22, Pastor Wilson gave the youth wonderful message. The meeting was opened to internet live, so it reached not only those who were there, but also those wherever they were.

In addition to these meetings listed above, there will be more special meetings in Tagalog, one of the major languages in Filippines. The meetings will be conducted by Pastor Joe Abe Jr.

In November, 2013, there will be “The International Revival Retreat” in Saitama Prefecture. It will be a kind of the follow up meetings after Tokyo 13.

Speaking in general, most of baptisms are not done during the meetings, but sometime later in the near future at each local church. Some reported that Sunday-keeping Christians attended the meetings, and were interest in SDA church. It is also great that those who have not attended the SDA churches for a long time have come back to the church. The meetings of Tokyo 13 seem to be good opportunities for the families of the believers too.

Many of those who attended the meetings have given their address, e-mail address, and phone numbers. Such personal information will help the local churches to reach out for souls after the Tokyo 13 meetings. We would like to ask you to pray for the harvest of Tokyo 13. Thank you very much for your support!

As reported by the Northern Asia Pacific Division

Luanda For Christ

Thu, 12 Sep 2013 15:59:00 -0400

After 25 years of civil strife, the country of Angola is now
ripe for a harvest. As a follow-up to Dr Paul Ratsara’s call to intentional urban evangelism earlier this year, “Luanda for Christ” was launched in the presence of more than 20 000 Adventists. More than 4510 series of evangelistic meetings were conducted in the city of Luanda, Angola since February 2013 by local Pastors, visiting Evangelists from Brazil and dedicated lay-people. As a result, a combined baptism of 17 000 precious souls was realized. “Angola Para Christo” is an initiative of the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division (SID) to reach every major city with the life-changing truth about God’s grace through Jesus Christ.

At the orientation meeting of the 4th group of preachers in Luanda (12 September 2013), Dr Gilberto Araujo, Vice President and Chairman of the SID Urban Evangelism committee, in his devotional message, spoke of God’s assurance of a successful mission. Araujo issued a passionate call to more than 50 preachers to unreservedly trust the Lord because He is the one who secures the success of our mission because it is His mission… . Further, He reiterated the reasons why the church in the Southern Africa Indian Ocean region chose to impact Luanda with the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many were amazed to learn that their presence in Luanda was in fact in response to an invitation of the Governor of Luanda. During the visit of Elder Ted Wilson (President, World SDA Church) to Angola in April, 2011, he was moved by the appeal of the Governor (Jose Maria dos Santos) of Luanda to “help the big city of Luanda.” And what better way to help than to bring Jesus into the city, so that everyone can experience the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ. During 40 years of independence and civil war, after 400 years of slavery, the church was isolated but still grew inspite of very little organizational intervention. Since 2003, Angola has been considered one of the young nations of the world, as a free nation. “We have chosen Angola as a way to tell the church in Angola, ‘you are important and we love you and what we could not do in 40 years … we are here to do now.’”

The meeting was characterized by intense prayer (Epaphras moments), led by Pastor Paminus Machamire (Vice-president, SID). In an exciting turn of events two Soccer teams – Atletico Sport Aviacao (ASA) e Futebol Clube (Bravos do Maquis), who were scheduled to play their soccer match on 21 September 2013 have agreed to change a scheduled soccer match, from Sabbath to Friday so that the gospel can be preached on Sabbath in the Stadium. Pastor Passmore Mulambo, Personal Ministries Director, SID, was asked why is this series of evangelistic meetings called a “reaping campaign”. He responded: “alot of sowing has already been done. More than 50 000 small groups, conducted by laymembers, have been meeting since February 2013, in preparation for this reaping campaign.”

The Ministry Partners of Angola para Christo (ASI North America, Lightbearers International, MARANATHA, South American Division [Novo Tempo, Unions and Conferences], Remnant Publications, et al) have contributed more than US$ 2-3 million in resources and other materials for this initiative. The blessings of Luanda for Christ has presented another challenge and need to build more and bigger churches to accommodate the new members. The Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division is grateful to its Partners . MARANATHA, for the first time, is building eight 1000 seater churches in Angola to accommodate the newly baptized members besides building [on average] 5 churches per week to facilitate the explosive church growth in Angola.

The city of Luanda, with a population of more than 5 million people, hosts 148 SDA churches. “As a people we greatly need to humble our hearts before God, pleading His forgiveness for our neglect to fulfill the gospel commission. We have made large centers in a few places, leaving unworked many important cities. Let us now take up the work appointed us, and proclaim the message that is to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger. If every Seventh-day Adventist had done the work laid upon him, the number of believers would now be much larger than it is” Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 25.

Leaders estimate that
52,000 small groups are meeting throughout the country, with 10,000 evangelistic
campaigns planned for the year. So far 17,000 people have been baptized, with
many more baptisms expected after the next round of revival meetings.

Lay people have been working with pastors using various outreach methods including health-related
activities, handing out leaflets (with youth involvement), establishing a
school of evangelism, conducting revival weeks of prayer, grading Voice of
Prophecy Discover Bible Lessons, conducting small group campaigns, and establishing
home-based small groups. Many lay-driven ministries, including Light Bearers,
Remnant Publications, and Maranatha Voluneers, along with the General
Conference have provided funding.

“Though many factors are involved in this growth, we consider the use of small groups
as one of the most effective,” says Dr. Gilberto Araujo, Vice President and
Chairman of the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division (SID) Urban Evangelism
Committee.

The SID remains committed to reaching out into all cultures and territories with the
good news of salvation found in Jesus Christ.
All members are encouraged to recognize the calling of God in their
lives, wherever they are, to share the Gospel.

Dr. Paul Charles is the Communication Director for the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division.

Revival Wave Beginning in Fiji

Thu, 12 Sep 2013 11:53:00 -0400

“Words cannot describe the revival that took place in Fiji, June 14-28, 2013! The
mission president invited me to go to 18 locations throughout the country to
preach on revival and reformation. Everyone from the leadership to the lay
people embraced the message on prayer and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

“Every night the pastors took me to a different district where two or more churches came
together to hear the message. After the presentation, we broke up into small
groups to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit
to be seen in our lives. People apologized and reconciled with each other over past
grievances. They forgave each other, and cried tears of joy. (This was the same
response in all 18 districts throughout Fiji!)

“This revival was to prepare for the evangelistic meetings that were conducted by Justin
Lawman, the Northern New South Wales Conference president. At the end of the
meetings, 500 people were baptized.

“They have now moved to the next phase of their revival by launching a number of small
groups using 10 Days by Dennis Smith as
their study guide. The small groups will meet once a week for 10 weeks, to pray
for revival and reformation in their own lives. They will also be praying for five
additional people whom they can each invite to their small groups, and with
whom they can share God’s Word.

“I believe the revival happening in Fiji will cause a wave of true revival to move to the rest of the Pacific Islands. This
revival beginning in Fiji and many places in the world will continue to grow in
preparation for the great harvest and the soon return of our Lord Jesus.”

Colin Hone, lay evangelist

Wamberal, NSW, Australia

Youth Pray Through the Night

Thu, 12 Sep 2013 11:45:00 -0400

Recently 500 young people from all over the Mizo Conference
in India came together for Ten Days of Prayer, August 1-10, 2013. They alternately met together and prayed throughout
the day and into the night.

During the last three days, many young people gave their testimonies. With tears in their
eyes, they shared from their hearts what changes they had experiences, and what
God had done in their lives. For three nights, the majority of them stayed up all
night, singing, praying, and giving testimonies. The Lord sustained them from
getting tired as they attended the meeting the next day.

Many young people gave their hearts to Jesus. Some decided they wanted to work for
the Lord in unentered areas of the world. One young man who had been invited to
go to the local church school, chose not to go. But after this experience he decided
to go wherever the Lord led him.

One evening when the meeting was about to close, the speaker asked if anyone wanted
to offer a special prayer. Participants came forward and lined up one by one to
pray, and continued praying until 11:00 at night! This event was so well
received, that youth leaders plan to organize other prayer conferences similar
to this in other parts of the conference.

Lalchansanga Colney

Aizawl, Mizoram, India

Spanish Church Plants an English Church in South Bronx, New York

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 12:48:00 -0400

The Fusion SDA Church was organized as a company on January
5, 2013, by the Mott Haven Spanish Church. Young people, between the ages of
13-28, took the initiative and went out to serve their community, and today
more than 40 people meet there every Sabbath. The young people are the leaders and
elders of the church. Several of them are professionals. There are very few
older adults. They were organized as a church in September, 2013.

True miracles have been taking place every week. These young
people have been working in 22 community centers, and they currently have eight
walk-by Prayer Stations, and conduct 130 Bible studies every week.

The first convert was a homosexual. God changed his life and
he is now a living testimony of the power of God. Today he is a faithful member
of the church and active in witnessing.

The leader of a local gang that was a scourge to the community
was invited to the meetings. His life changed, too, and he was baptized along
with his wife. Today he is one of the leaders of the group, completely
transformed by the Gospel. He is a blessing to his community.

When a girl who was a marijuana addict, saw this ex-gang
leader dressed in a suit and praying with people on the street, his face
radiating love, she was shocked. In fact, she was so amazed, that she stopped
in front of the table where they were distributing pamphlets and materials and
praying with people. Trembling, she came forward and asked this ex-gang leader
if he was the same man. She couldn’t believe it when he confirmed that he was.
She was so impressed by the change in him that she started studying the Bible
and is now preparing for baptism.

Bishop Dr. Randall Giles, ex-Pentecostal Archbishop of New
York, who for many years has known of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, saw the
work these young people were doing on the street, and was inspired to attend
the meetings. He said, “I’m staying right here in this place.” He is now
helping with the witnessing work, and wants to become a Seventh-day Adventist
preacher. His Pentecostal church disbanded, and he is now working to bring them
all into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Several people already attend every
Sabbath.

A young boy, who liked the church service, invited his
mother for a special Mother’s Day gift. The gift was a special program at the
church. As a result, the whole family is studying the Bible.

This summer, the group plans to be on the streets every day
after work or school. They plan to buy a lot of bottled water and set up prayer
stations on the street from where they’ll give away the free water to people as
they pass. These bottles will be wrapped in Bible messages and invitations to
study the Bible. The group is committed to handing out not just water, but the
Water of Life.

These young people have been transformed into true
disciples. They are not afraid, nor are they shy. They have no problem
approaching people and helping them, offering Bible studies and inviting them
to church.

Having worked with young people throughout most of my
ministry, I am convinced, more than ever, that we have to give them the tools,
training and support, then let them loose, trusting that they’ll use their
talents and creativity for Jesus in amazing ways.

By Robert Costa, Evangelism Coordinator for the General Conference

of Seventh-day Adventists.