It has been a very rewarding and busy summer thus far in the Carolinas. The blessings of campmeeting at Lake Junaluska seem to grow greater each year. We had a wonderful attendance and the speakers and presenters did a tremendous job as thousands were blessed.
It has also been a blessing to have hundreds of young people and children benefiting from our summer camp programs at Nosoca Pines Ranch. We appreciate the leadership of the staff as they daily lead young hearts closer to Jesus.
Speaking of young people it is hard to imagine that in a few short weeks school will once again be starting. I hope every family strongly considers placing their student in Adventist education. The difference that takes place in the life of a student is truly a difference that lasts throughout eternity. Please don't hesitate to contact your pastor or local church school for more information or if they are high school age contact Mt. Pisgah Academy.
Mt. Pisgah Academy has had a service team working all summer in different churches throughout the Carolinas. They are always a very positive influence on the members of those different congregations. We appreciate the work they do. If you would like to have a service team in your church next summer contact Beth Grissom at Mt. Pisgah Academy for more details.
This past Sabbath it was my privilege to be in the Greenville, NC Spanish congregation. They are a vibrant and growing church. As my wife and I were visiting during the fellowship dinner one of the folks commented they are already looking forward to Eastern Carolina campmeeting coming once again to Greenville, NC. Again, hard to imagine that time will soon be here. We are delighted that Elder Dick O'fill will be the guest speaker.
I would like to make you aware of a special men's ministry program that is being aired on the Hope Channel that is being hosted by Elder Minner Labrador, Charlotte Sharon pastor and Carolina Men's Ministry director. It is entitled, "Old Man-New Man". It is a very well done program that will be a blessing to your family. You can also find it online at oldmannewman.com
We are happy to report that Carolina continues with its strong growth. During the past five years God has blessed us with our greatest growth of any five year period. That growth is both net growth and the number of new baptisms and Professions of Faith. We are simply humbled that God would continue to pour out His blessings upon our Conference.
I know many of you either have or will be taking vacations this summer. Enjoy your time with family and friends. Please know that our Conference family is daily in my prayers for God's blessing and protection. May God bless.
Your friend,
Jim
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
It has been a long while since I published my last post. There are simply so many things taking place it is hard to know where to begin. First, some things we are praising the Lord for. As we have looked over the records and statistics of the last five years we see that God has given the Carolina Conference unprecedented growth. He has blessed our churches with more baptisms and accessions to the faith than any other period in our history. What a testimony to the dedicated leadership of our pastors, teachers, laypeople, and evangelists for their diligent work and allowing God to bless.
Also, in February the first Young Adult summit was held at Nosoca Pines Ranch. What a blessing as Bonnie and I were able to be with them for the weekend. I just wish all of you could have listened as these 100+ young adults shared what God was doing in their lives and the ministries that they were involved in. We have many dedicated young people who are daily sharing their faith in Jesus.
It has also been a privilege to travel throughout the conference over the past two months and meet in various town hall meetings. What a wonderful spirit I have found as we have simply shared and dialogued together.
A couple of weeks ago the Southern Union Publishing Department sponsored the annual "big week" for Literature Evangelists. The top six in sales from the entire Union all came from the Carolina Conference. I want to give a hearty congratulations to each one and to Lance Morrison, our district LE leader for a job well done.
Currently fifteen of our pastors wives are in Matagalpa, Nicaragua each preaching evangelistic sermons at fifteen different sites each evening. One site that began with only a few in attendance within a couple of nights the attendance was over 400! Remember these ladies in your prayers as they preach the 3 Angels Messages to these people.
We have also launched an every member visitation initiative providing Mark Finley's new book, "Revive us Again." I so appreciate our pastors and elders and others as they have mobilized to reach every members home. We are asking that each of us pray daily for the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit and send a revival into our midst. God has promised that He will send the refreshing water if we simply ask Him.
I just want to also give a reminder about Net 2011 coming this fall. We are praying that we will have hundreds of downlink sites across the Carolinas. Not primarily in churches but in our homes inviting neighbors and friends to join us. If you do not currently receive the Hope Channel we, as a Conference, are willing to partner with you in the cost of a satellite dish. Contact your pastor for details.
It is hard to imagine that in a few weeks campmeeting begins at Lake Junaluska. We are thankful that the Carolina campmeeting is becoming known as the premiere campmeeting in the North American Division. If you have not already made plans to attend please consider being with us for the powerful spiritually uplifting week. Each evening Elder Lonnie Melashenko, former speaker and director of the Voice of Prophecy radio broadcast, will be presenting the message. On the weekend Elder Dwight Nelson, pastor of the Pioneer Memorial Church in Berrien Springs Michigan will be preaching God's Word. Throughout the day there will be seminars and main auditorium speakers as well. Also, there is children's programming for all ages. Please pray that God will send an outpouring of His Spirit as never before.
We also need to pray for the many affected families in the Carolinas and elsewhere who have been tragically impacted by the recent tornadoes and storms. To my knowledge none of our church members experienced injury or death but at least one experienced damage to their home. Our church buildings and schools were not damaged.
Again, I hope to see many of you at campmeeting. Until then may God richly bless.
Your friend,
Jim
Also, in February the first Young Adult summit was held at Nosoca Pines Ranch. What a blessing as Bonnie and I were able to be with them for the weekend. I just wish all of you could have listened as these 100+ young adults shared what God was doing in their lives and the ministries that they were involved in. We have many dedicated young people who are daily sharing their faith in Jesus.
It has also been a privilege to travel throughout the conference over the past two months and meet in various town hall meetings. What a wonderful spirit I have found as we have simply shared and dialogued together.
A couple of weeks ago the Southern Union Publishing Department sponsored the annual "big week" for Literature Evangelists. The top six in sales from the entire Union all came from the Carolina Conference. I want to give a hearty congratulations to each one and to Lance Morrison, our district LE leader for a job well done.
Currently fifteen of our pastors wives are in Matagalpa, Nicaragua each preaching evangelistic sermons at fifteen different sites each evening. One site that began with only a few in attendance within a couple of nights the attendance was over 400! Remember these ladies in your prayers as they preach the 3 Angels Messages to these people.
We have also launched an every member visitation initiative providing Mark Finley's new book, "Revive us Again." I so appreciate our pastors and elders and others as they have mobilized to reach every members home. We are asking that each of us pray daily for the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit and send a revival into our midst. God has promised that He will send the refreshing water if we simply ask Him.
I just want to also give a reminder about Net 2011 coming this fall. We are praying that we will have hundreds of downlink sites across the Carolinas. Not primarily in churches but in our homes inviting neighbors and friends to join us. If you do not currently receive the Hope Channel we, as a Conference, are willing to partner with you in the cost of a satellite dish. Contact your pastor for details.
It is hard to imagine that in a few weeks campmeeting begins at Lake Junaluska. We are thankful that the Carolina campmeeting is becoming known as the premiere campmeeting in the North American Division. If you have not already made plans to attend please consider being with us for the powerful spiritually uplifting week. Each evening Elder Lonnie Melashenko, former speaker and director of the Voice of Prophecy radio broadcast, will be presenting the message. On the weekend Elder Dwight Nelson, pastor of the Pioneer Memorial Church in Berrien Springs Michigan will be preaching God's Word. Throughout the day there will be seminars and main auditorium speakers as well. Also, there is children's programming for all ages. Please pray that God will send an outpouring of His Spirit as never before.
We also need to pray for the many affected families in the Carolinas and elsewhere who have been tragically impacted by the recent tornadoes and storms. To my knowledge none of our church members experienced injury or death but at least one experienced damage to their home. Our church buildings and schools were not damaged.
Again, I hope to see many of you at campmeeting. Until then may God richly bless.
Your friend,
Jim
Sunday, January 23, 2011
As we enter the year 2011 there are several areas of ministry that we are emphasizing. First, I trust that many of you are aware of the focus the General Conference is placing on the need for denomination wide revival. I do not believe there is anything to which we could direct our attention that is more vital. In Carolina we are joining in solidarity with this desire to see us both individually and corporately as Seventh-day Adventists coming into a closer and more meaningful walk with Jesus.
At our just completed January Minister's meeting at Nosoca Pines Ranch I spoke with our pastors about the need for each of us to allow a revival to begin in our hearts and lives. Every pastor publicly rededicated his life to entering into an ever more intimate relationship with Christ. We also committed to prayerfully encouraging and helping our congregations to experience revival. Last week each of our office staff in Charlotte made the same commitment.
This coming weekend the Lay Advisory will be meeting at NPR. Here too we will be spending considerable time discussing how we can become conduits for the Holy Spirit to work revival among our ranks. Dr. David Smith, President of Union College, a much sought after speaker will be presenting messages on the work and power of the Holy Spirit. In March at our annual Elders retreat we will also be emphasizing this as well as asking our elders to partner with us in reaching every household in our conference with this urgent message of revival. We will be providing a special book for each home that I believe can be a true inspiration and catalyst for what Ellen White calls, "the greatest and most urgent of all our needs."
Prayer is an indispensable aspect of revival. Again the Spirit of Prophecy tells us, "a revival need be expected only in answer to prayer." At this weekends Lay Advisory we will be speaking to the delegates and asking them to help us create strategies and provide ways in which our churches can become centers of prayer. I would like to ask for each of you to make this a matter of special prayer that God's Spirit would be poured our across the Carolinas. I would encourage you to enter in to what the General Conference is calling 7-7-7. Praying 7 days a week at either 7 am or 7 pm. for a revival within our church. By so doing you will be joining untold numbers of your fellow SDA's in beseeching God to pour out His Spirit upon us.
Another focus in the coming months is the upcoming Net 2011 evangelistic series. We are going to partner with each of our churches in encouraging multiple downlink sites in the homes of our church members. This series will be downlinked on the Hope Channel. We are going to partner with the individual churches by providing half the cost of a satellite dish for every 50 members of the congregation. This dish would be installed at the home of a family who has committed to become a downlink site and invite neighbors, friends, etc. to join them each evening during Net 2011. This series will begin the last of September. Between now and then we will be conducting several webinar training events for our host families. If you are interested in being a host family please contact your pastor. How wonderful it would be if there were hundreds of sites across our conference where God's end time message was being presented. Please remember this in your prayers that God will bless this effort.
I just received the 2010 tithe report. The conference experienced an increase of .33%. While this represents basically a flat tithe gain it is slightly ahead of the Southern Union as a whole which experienced a slight decrease. While the increase is small we rejoice that in these difficult economic times God's people have remained faithful and His work has continued to progress. Because of careful budgeting for 2010 we have remained within our budget and have no debt for the conference. In all of this we are thankful for God's blessings.
As we enter into a new year and a new decade it is with confidence that God is going to continue to bless and lead. While we know that challenges will continue to increase until He returns it is with assurance that we know that He is in control of all things and that His church remains the apple of His eye. May God continue to bless each one of you as you continue to serve Him.
Your friend,
Jim
At our just completed January Minister's meeting at Nosoca Pines Ranch I spoke with our pastors about the need for each of us to allow a revival to begin in our hearts and lives. Every pastor publicly rededicated his life to entering into an ever more intimate relationship with Christ. We also committed to prayerfully encouraging and helping our congregations to experience revival. Last week each of our office staff in Charlotte made the same commitment.
This coming weekend the Lay Advisory will be meeting at NPR. Here too we will be spending considerable time discussing how we can become conduits for the Holy Spirit to work revival among our ranks. Dr. David Smith, President of Union College, a much sought after speaker will be presenting messages on the work and power of the Holy Spirit. In March at our annual Elders retreat we will also be emphasizing this as well as asking our elders to partner with us in reaching every household in our conference with this urgent message of revival. We will be providing a special book for each home that I believe can be a true inspiration and catalyst for what Ellen White calls, "the greatest and most urgent of all our needs."
Prayer is an indispensable aspect of revival. Again the Spirit of Prophecy tells us, "a revival need be expected only in answer to prayer." At this weekends Lay Advisory we will be speaking to the delegates and asking them to help us create strategies and provide ways in which our churches can become centers of prayer. I would like to ask for each of you to make this a matter of special prayer that God's Spirit would be poured our across the Carolinas. I would encourage you to enter in to what the General Conference is calling 7-7-7. Praying 7 days a week at either 7 am or 7 pm. for a revival within our church. By so doing you will be joining untold numbers of your fellow SDA's in beseeching God to pour out His Spirit upon us.
Another focus in the coming months is the upcoming Net 2011 evangelistic series. We are going to partner with each of our churches in encouraging multiple downlink sites in the homes of our church members. This series will be downlinked on the Hope Channel. We are going to partner with the individual churches by providing half the cost of a satellite dish for every 50 members of the congregation. This dish would be installed at the home of a family who has committed to become a downlink site and invite neighbors, friends, etc. to join them each evening during Net 2011. This series will begin the last of September. Between now and then we will be conducting several webinar training events for our host families. If you are interested in being a host family please contact your pastor. How wonderful it would be if there were hundreds of sites across our conference where God's end time message was being presented. Please remember this in your prayers that God will bless this effort.
I just received the 2010 tithe report. The conference experienced an increase of .33%. While this represents basically a flat tithe gain it is slightly ahead of the Southern Union as a whole which experienced a slight decrease. While the increase is small we rejoice that in these difficult economic times God's people have remained faithful and His work has continued to progress. Because of careful budgeting for 2010 we have remained within our budget and have no debt for the conference. In all of this we are thankful for God's blessings.
As we enter into a new year and a new decade it is with confidence that God is going to continue to bless and lead. While we know that challenges will continue to increase until He returns it is with assurance that we know that He is in control of all things and that His church remains the apple of His eye. May God continue to bless each one of you as you continue to serve Him.
Your friend,
Jim
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
How busy this time of year seems to be for us all. With Thanksgiving past it seems as though Christmas is upon us almost immediately. I know for many of our churches the Christmas season is a very busy time. A number of our churches are doing walks through Bethlehem or live nativity scenes. Also, special musical programs are taking place in a number of churches throughout the Conference. I think it is very appropriate that we use this time of year to remind our communities what the Christmas season is truly about.
I think of the words of Ellen White who said:
"As the twenty-fifth of December is observed to commemorate the birth of Christ, as the children have been instructed by precept and example that this was indeed a day of gladness and rejoicing, you will find it a difficult matter to pass over this period without giving it some attention. It can be made to serve a very good purpose." Adventist Home p. 478 What a good thing it is when the church has this global opportunity to remind the world that Jesus was born, lived and died that we might have redemption from our sins.
As I travel throughout North and South Carolina I never cease to be amazed as I pass by a shopping center the number of cars and snarls of traffic that I encounter this time of year. It is a special time when we are able to give gifts to our family. Sometimes I have been asked if I thought it appropriate for us to give gifts to one another at this time of year. Again, I think of the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy:
"The holiday season is fast approaching with its interchange of gifts, and old and young are intently studying what they can bestow upon their friends as a token of affectionate remembrance. It is pleasant to receive a gift, however, small, from those we love. It is an assurance that we are not forgotten, and seems to bind us to them a little closer...It is right to bestow upon one another tokens of love and remembrance if we do not in this forget God, our best friend. We should make our gifts such as will prove a real benefit to the receiver. I would recommend such books as will be an aid in understanding the word of God or that will increase our love for its precepts. Provide something to be read during these long winter evenings." Adventist Home p. 479.
As we enjoy the Christmas season I hope we each will remember in our own hearts what Jesus has done for us and what He means to us personally. Also, I hope that as we make out our gift list we will put Him at the top of our list for a special gift at this time of the year.
I know many of you will be traveling during the coming weeks. Please know that all of you are in my prayers for safety and God's blessing. What a beautiful thing it is to be part of God's church and to realize that we serve a God who was willing to leave the splendors of heaven to come and be born in a simple manger. As I reflect upon this I can only say, 'what manner of love is this..? May God bless you every one.
Your friend,
Jim
I think of the words of Ellen White who said:
"As the twenty-fifth of December is observed to commemorate the birth of Christ, as the children have been instructed by precept and example that this was indeed a day of gladness and rejoicing, you will find it a difficult matter to pass over this period without giving it some attention. It can be made to serve a very good purpose." Adventist Home p. 478 What a good thing it is when the church has this global opportunity to remind the world that Jesus was born, lived and died that we might have redemption from our sins.
As I travel throughout North and South Carolina I never cease to be amazed as I pass by a shopping center the number of cars and snarls of traffic that I encounter this time of year. It is a special time when we are able to give gifts to our family. Sometimes I have been asked if I thought it appropriate for us to give gifts to one another at this time of year. Again, I think of the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy:
"The holiday season is fast approaching with its interchange of gifts, and old and young are intently studying what they can bestow upon their friends as a token of affectionate remembrance. It is pleasant to receive a gift, however, small, from those we love. It is an assurance that we are not forgotten, and seems to bind us to them a little closer...It is right to bestow upon one another tokens of love and remembrance if we do not in this forget God, our best friend. We should make our gifts such as will prove a real benefit to the receiver. I would recommend such books as will be an aid in understanding the word of God or that will increase our love for its precepts. Provide something to be read during these long winter evenings." Adventist Home p. 479.
As we enjoy the Christmas season I hope we each will remember in our own hearts what Jesus has done for us and what He means to us personally. Also, I hope that as we make out our gift list we will put Him at the top of our list for a special gift at this time of the year.
I know many of you will be traveling during the coming weeks. Please know that all of you are in my prayers for safety and God's blessing. What a beautiful thing it is to be part of God's church and to realize that we serve a God who was willing to leave the splendors of heaven to come and be born in a simple manger. As I reflect upon this I can only say, 'what manner of love is this..? May God bless you every one.
Your friend,
Jim
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
What an incredibly busy and blessed time the last few weeks have been! For two Sabbaths in October I was blessed to be part of Eastern Carolina Camp meeting. This year because of a change in policy at Oak Island, our venue for the last 25 years, we were forced to approach eastern Carolina camp meeting differently. Let me tell you how God blessed that change.
Our first site was at Greenville, NC on Sabbath, October 16. The day dawned sunny and beautiful. The church family at Greenville had worked tirelessly to serve as our hosts for the day. Our speaker was Ty Gibson, well-known Adventist speaker and author. In planning for the event we simply didn't know how to plan since we had never done camp meeting in this way. Since the most we had ever had in 25 years at Oak island was 500 we decided to plan on 300 for Greenville since we were doing the same program the next week for southern eastern Carolina in Summerville, SC. By church time in Greenville there were 650 people present! What a joy to worship together. At lunch time God multiplied the loaves and fishes and no one went away hungry. In the afternoon the blessing trio presented a musical concert, the apostle Matthew presented the Sermon on the Mount, and Ty Gibson concluded with a final message.
The next Sabbath the same identical program was held in Summerville, SC. Again, what a beautiful job the Summerville church family did as they served as host for this convocation. They even provided shuttle bus service to an offsite parking lot for overflow parking. Here over 350 people were in attendance! Thus for the first time there were nearly 1,000 people in attendance at Eastern Carolina Camp meeting. What a beautiful spirit God provided as we enjoyed these two Sabbaths together. Many people at both sites expressed a desire that we continue to have camp meeting in this way which the camp meeting committee is already making plans to do.
When the Oak Island facility told us of their changes in policy which made it prohibitive to continue we were concerned about what we should do. But God was guiding all along (as He always does) and blessed beyond measure. Certainly God is good!
On the final weekend of October the ChurchWorks team of the North American Division devoted the entire weekend to our Carolina family. Dr. Ron Clouzet, director of the North American Division Evangelism Institute, Dr. Ed Schmidt, Professor at Andrews University, and Dr. Rod and Donna Willey, laypersons from the Illinois conference, presented the ChurchWorks Again program in five different locations across the Conference. They did follow-up presentations of what was begun in Black Mountain, NC back in March of this year. At that time each church was challenged to develop their own strategy for reaching each person within their ministry area with the Three Angels messages. As we traveled to these five locations throughout the Conference I can't tell you how exciting it was to hear what some of our churches individual members are doing in an effort to reach the people God has put in their areas. Churches have begun new outreaches in the area of health ministry, internet ministry, prison ministry, personal evangelism, and a host of other outreaches. As I traveled with the ChurchWorks team throughout the weekend they couldn't stop marveling at all the ministries that are taking place across the Carolinas. I would ask that we each simply pray for our churches as so many of them are taking new and bold steps to reach their communities for Jesus.
Immediately following this weekend I attended the North American Division Year-End meeting at General Conference headquarters. This annual meeting of the NAD Executive Committee is to care for the business of the Division. In addition to the business of the church recently elected president of the NAD Elder Dan Jackson set a tone for desiring excellence in God's church. Certainly an aspiration which I know we all share. Among the business items voted on was providing a cost of living increase for the employees across the NAD. After some discussion this proposal was not passed due to the economy of the nation and the stress this is placing on the church across the North American Division. As they reviewed the tithe across the division it was noted that it is basically flat from a year ago. In Carolina we are experiencing the same thing as our tithe through September is basically the same as a year ago. Certainly we are living in difficult times. But as I reflect on this I can't help but believe that time is exceedingly short. We are living in those perilous days which the apostle Paul said would come just before the return of Jesus. So, this is not a time of despair but a time that we lift up our heads for our redemption draws nigh. Praise God!
This coming weekend will be a Community Services retreat at Nosoca Pines Ranch. I look forward to being there with our CS director Bob Self and the Community Services leaders from across our conference.
As always let's continue to lift each other up in our prayers and never lose sight that truly JESUS IS COMING SOON!
Your friend,
Jim
Our first site was at Greenville, NC on Sabbath, October 16. The day dawned sunny and beautiful. The church family at Greenville had worked tirelessly to serve as our hosts for the day. Our speaker was Ty Gibson, well-known Adventist speaker and author. In planning for the event we simply didn't know how to plan since we had never done camp meeting in this way. Since the most we had ever had in 25 years at Oak island was 500 we decided to plan on 300 for Greenville since we were doing the same program the next week for southern eastern Carolina in Summerville, SC. By church time in Greenville there were 650 people present! What a joy to worship together. At lunch time God multiplied the loaves and fishes and no one went away hungry. In the afternoon the blessing trio presented a musical concert, the apostle Matthew presented the Sermon on the Mount, and Ty Gibson concluded with a final message.
The next Sabbath the same identical program was held in Summerville, SC. Again, what a beautiful job the Summerville church family did as they served as host for this convocation. They even provided shuttle bus service to an offsite parking lot for overflow parking. Here over 350 people were in attendance! Thus for the first time there were nearly 1,000 people in attendance at Eastern Carolina Camp meeting. What a beautiful spirit God provided as we enjoyed these two Sabbaths together. Many people at both sites expressed a desire that we continue to have camp meeting in this way which the camp meeting committee is already making plans to do.
When the Oak Island facility told us of their changes in policy which made it prohibitive to continue we were concerned about what we should do. But God was guiding all along (as He always does) and blessed beyond measure. Certainly God is good!
On the final weekend of October the ChurchWorks team of the North American Division devoted the entire weekend to our Carolina family. Dr. Ron Clouzet, director of the North American Division Evangelism Institute, Dr. Ed Schmidt, Professor at Andrews University, and Dr. Rod and Donna Willey, laypersons from the Illinois conference, presented the ChurchWorks Again program in five different locations across the Conference. They did follow-up presentations of what was begun in Black Mountain, NC back in March of this year. At that time each church was challenged to develop their own strategy for reaching each person within their ministry area with the Three Angels messages. As we traveled to these five locations throughout the Conference I can't tell you how exciting it was to hear what some of our churches individual members are doing in an effort to reach the people God has put in their areas. Churches have begun new outreaches in the area of health ministry, internet ministry, prison ministry, personal evangelism, and a host of other outreaches. As I traveled with the ChurchWorks team throughout the weekend they couldn't stop marveling at all the ministries that are taking place across the Carolinas. I would ask that we each simply pray for our churches as so many of them are taking new and bold steps to reach their communities for Jesus.
Immediately following this weekend I attended the North American Division Year-End meeting at General Conference headquarters. This annual meeting of the NAD Executive Committee is to care for the business of the Division. In addition to the business of the church recently elected president of the NAD Elder Dan Jackson set a tone for desiring excellence in God's church. Certainly an aspiration which I know we all share. Among the business items voted on was providing a cost of living increase for the employees across the NAD. After some discussion this proposal was not passed due to the economy of the nation and the stress this is placing on the church across the North American Division. As they reviewed the tithe across the division it was noted that it is basically flat from a year ago. In Carolina we are experiencing the same thing as our tithe through September is basically the same as a year ago. Certainly we are living in difficult times. But as I reflect on this I can't help but believe that time is exceedingly short. We are living in those perilous days which the apostle Paul said would come just before the return of Jesus. So, this is not a time of despair but a time that we lift up our heads for our redemption draws nigh. Praise God!
This coming weekend will be a Community Services retreat at Nosoca Pines Ranch. I look forward to being there with our CS director Bob Self and the Community Services leaders from across our conference.
As always let's continue to lift each other up in our prayers and never lose sight that truly JESUS IS COMING SOON!
Your friend,
Jim
Friday, October 15, 2010
God is blessing in some amazing ways. Let me share just one of them with you. For a number of years, in some cases decades, there have been churches in the Carolina Conference which have struggled to remain viable. Attendance was decreasing and membership was dwindling. Some even considered closing their doors. However, in the last few years a number of them have been experiencing a rebirth. Here are the brief stories of just three.
About thirteen years ago the church in Rockingham, NC was closed due to declining attendance and membership. For a number of years there was no work in this growing community. Then a Spanish speaking church was established and it began to grow and flourish. But there was a concern among some of them Hispanic members that there was no outreach to the English speaking population of Rockingham. After consultation with the Conference church planting committee it was decided for a core group of bi-lingual members to work towards the goal of planting an English speaking church and restarting the work in this city. For the past couple of years these dedicated laypeople have diligently worked to spread the three angels message to this population. This summer Dale Pollett, our conference evangelist, held an evangelistic meeting with good results. Today, the work of God is solidly moving forward once again to both the English and Spanish speaking residents of Rockingham.
Union, SC is a small town which has been devastated by the economy. My latest information indicates that unemployment is averaging 25%. However, before the economy began its latest downturn our church there was on the verge of dying. Attendance was down and it seemed that if trends continued the demise of the church was inevitable. However, a few years ago a rebirth began in the Union SDA church. Pastor Bill Strong began reaching out to the community. Also, some mission minded members of the Spartanburg church joined with the folks at Union to see the work of God revitalized. Today, there is an average attendance of around 60 people and the church is continuing to grow.
Mocksville, NC. For nearly 30 years this church has seen little to no growth. The membership while dedicated is aging. In fact, earlier this year I met with the small group still attending and they were contemplating closing the doors. After meeting with them a couple of times it was decided to continue and to increase the efforts to reach out to the community of Mocksville. Elder Haskell Williams, Ministerial Director, taught a class on how to give Bible Studies. Pastor Mike Hill determinedly encouraged the folks to witness. This fall he held a full evangelistic series. Opening night saw a good attendance with a number of visitors. This past Sabbath I was privileged to be present as the Pastor baptized three new members into Jesus and into fellowship with the Mocksville SDA church. According to Pastor Hill this was the first time in over a decade that there had been water in the baptistery of the Mocksville church.
It is a challenge to revitalize a dying church. But with God's divine providence and dedicated pastors and members new life can spring forth in these churches and God's message can go forth in an ever stronger way.
There are other similar examples I could share. But we praise God for what He is doing across the Carolinas to keep the light burning brightly.
This Sabbath and next will be eastern Carolina campmeeting. This year, because of a change in policies at Oak Island, our usual venue, we are conducting campmeeting in two separate locations. This Sabbath we will be in Greenville, NC. Next Sabbath in Summerville, SC. Both Sabbaths are identical programs. What a powerful day they promise to be! Elder Ty Gibson, well known author and speaker will speak three times each Sabbath. Also, there will be an inspiring rendition of the apostle Matthew sharing the Sermon on the Mount. There will be inspiring music, children's programming, and after Sabbath the Adventist Christian Book Center will be available. I invite all of our church family to choose one of these venues and come and be blessed by this special day together. Lunch will be provided as well as a light sack supper. I hope to see many of you there!
Your friend,
Jim
About thirteen years ago the church in Rockingham, NC was closed due to declining attendance and membership. For a number of years there was no work in this growing community. Then a Spanish speaking church was established and it began to grow and flourish. But there was a concern among some of them Hispanic members that there was no outreach to the English speaking population of Rockingham. After consultation with the Conference church planting committee it was decided for a core group of bi-lingual members to work towards the goal of planting an English speaking church and restarting the work in this city. For the past couple of years these dedicated laypeople have diligently worked to spread the three angels message to this population. This summer Dale Pollett, our conference evangelist, held an evangelistic meeting with good results. Today, the work of God is solidly moving forward once again to both the English and Spanish speaking residents of Rockingham.
Union, SC is a small town which has been devastated by the economy. My latest information indicates that unemployment is averaging 25%. However, before the economy began its latest downturn our church there was on the verge of dying. Attendance was down and it seemed that if trends continued the demise of the church was inevitable. However, a few years ago a rebirth began in the Union SDA church. Pastor Bill Strong began reaching out to the community. Also, some mission minded members of the Spartanburg church joined with the folks at Union to see the work of God revitalized. Today, there is an average attendance of around 60 people and the church is continuing to grow.
Mocksville, NC. For nearly 30 years this church has seen little to no growth. The membership while dedicated is aging. In fact, earlier this year I met with the small group still attending and they were contemplating closing the doors. After meeting with them a couple of times it was decided to continue and to increase the efforts to reach out to the community of Mocksville. Elder Haskell Williams, Ministerial Director, taught a class on how to give Bible Studies. Pastor Mike Hill determinedly encouraged the folks to witness. This fall he held a full evangelistic series. Opening night saw a good attendance with a number of visitors. This past Sabbath I was privileged to be present as the Pastor baptized three new members into Jesus and into fellowship with the Mocksville SDA church. According to Pastor Hill this was the first time in over a decade that there had been water in the baptistery of the Mocksville church.
It is a challenge to revitalize a dying church. But with God's divine providence and dedicated pastors and members new life can spring forth in these churches and God's message can go forth in an ever stronger way.
There are other similar examples I could share. But we praise God for what He is doing across the Carolinas to keep the light burning brightly.
This Sabbath and next will be eastern Carolina campmeeting. This year, because of a change in policies at Oak Island, our usual venue, we are conducting campmeeting in two separate locations. This Sabbath we will be in Greenville, NC. Next Sabbath in Summerville, SC. Both Sabbaths are identical programs. What a powerful day they promise to be! Elder Ty Gibson, well known author and speaker will speak three times each Sabbath. Also, there will be an inspiring rendition of the apostle Matthew sharing the Sermon on the Mount. There will be inspiring music, children's programming, and after Sabbath the Adventist Christian Book Center will be available. I invite all of our church family to choose one of these venues and come and be blessed by this special day together. Lunch will be provided as well as a light sack supper. I hope to see many of you there!
Your friend,
Jim
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Since my last posting my wife, Bonnie and I, and shared some vacation time together. It was a refreshing time of being outdoors in nature and enjoying hiking and other similar activities. But let me update you on some happenings since my return.
Of course school is now well underway. We are grateful that Mount Pisgah Academy has begun the year with 136 precious young people. The girls dorm renovation has been completed with new heat and air conditioning installed. This is the first time the girls dorm has had air conditioning. It will make a much more comfortable place for the girls to live and hopefully reduce energy costs as well.
We are also grateful that our elementary school enrollment experienced an increase in students over last year. What a difference an Adventist education makes in a young persons life.
Southern Adventist University opened the school year with over 3,000 students for the first time.
Last week I attended meetings of Adventist Health System. One of the things they shared was that the 40 hospitals within the system contributed over 700 million dollars in community benefit to the communities in which they are located. This is a tremendous blessing to God's work. We are thankful that Park Ridge Health located in Fletcher, NC is located within our conference and is part of the Adventist Health System.
This past Sabbath I had the privilege to be in Westminster, SC. The church is excited about an upcoming evangelistic meeting beginning October 1. Elder Dave Dobias will be the presenter. Also, they are planning for a groundbreaking service next Tuesday for their new multi-purpose facility and gymnasium. This will make a real impact for their church and school.
This weekend the Women's Retreat will be held at Nosoca Pines Ranch. This is something that hundreds of our women enjoy and are blessed by each year.
Please continue to remember in your prayers those in our Conference who are looking for employment. Many of our church family continue to struggle in this area.
May God richly bless each one of you.
Your friend,
Jim
Of course school is now well underway. We are grateful that Mount Pisgah Academy has begun the year with 136 precious young people. The girls dorm renovation has been completed with new heat and air conditioning installed. This is the first time the girls dorm has had air conditioning. It will make a much more comfortable place for the girls to live and hopefully reduce energy costs as well.
We are also grateful that our elementary school enrollment experienced an increase in students over last year. What a difference an Adventist education makes in a young persons life.
Southern Adventist University opened the school year with over 3,000 students for the first time.
Last week I attended meetings of Adventist Health System. One of the things they shared was that the 40 hospitals within the system contributed over 700 million dollars in community benefit to the communities in which they are located. This is a tremendous blessing to God's work. We are thankful that Park Ridge Health located in Fletcher, NC is located within our conference and is part of the Adventist Health System.
This past Sabbath I had the privilege to be in Westminster, SC. The church is excited about an upcoming evangelistic meeting beginning October 1. Elder Dave Dobias will be the presenter. Also, they are planning for a groundbreaking service next Tuesday for their new multi-purpose facility and gymnasium. This will make a real impact for their church and school.
This weekend the Women's Retreat will be held at Nosoca Pines Ranch. This is something that hundreds of our women enjoy and are blessed by each year.
Please continue to remember in your prayers those in our Conference who are looking for employment. Many of our church family continue to struggle in this area.
May God richly bless each one of you.
Your friend,
Jim
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