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
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