C. D. Brooks Remembered as Great Adventist Evangelist of 20th Century
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States—Charles Decatur Brooks, one of the foremost Seventh-day Adventist evangelists of the 20th century, succumbed to pancreatic cancer on June 5, 2016, at the age of 85.
Brooks, better known as C. D. Brooks, led a 60-year ministry that resulted in more than 15,000 baptisms on six continents. He was known for his innovative methods of embracing new media to spread the gospel, including through the Breath of Life television ministry, where Brooks served as founding speaker for 23 years.
Ted N. C. Wilson, president of the Adventist world church, paid tribute to Brooks as “an eminent and much-loved senior statesman in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.” Wilson continued, “He was a highly dedicated and successful evangelist and biblical preacher who loved the Lord, His prophetic church, and the Advent message.”
C. D. Brooks’s own conversion experience came when, as a 17-yearold recent high school graduate, he attended meetings by Adventist evangelist E. E. Cleveland in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“Two Sabbaths before Cleveland closed, I was sitting in his tent by myself on a beautiful sunny day, and an overmastering impression came from the Lord that said to me, ‘This is what I want you to do, and I will help you to make truth clear,’ ” Brooks said.
Brooks led eight-to-ten-week evangelistic meetings for the next dozen years in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio. He then accepted an administrative position as general field secretary of the Columbia Union Conference but continued to lead major evangelistic meetings in big cities. In 1971, Brooks became a general field secretary of the General Conference while continuing to lead evangelistic meetings, eventually traveling to six continents.
In 1974 Brooks was asked to be the founding speaker for Breath of Life, a television ministry being developed for African-American viewers. In that role Brooks led three or four evangelistic campaigns every year, establishing 15 congregations.
Carlton Byrd, the current speaker of Breath of Life, said in an email statement, “Pastor C. D. Brooks kept the light shining. He attended the flame of truth, compassion, and love, and that ministry forever changed the world. He epitomized the words of Jesus, ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16).”
C. D. Brooks is survived by his wife of 63 years, Walterene; two children; and three grandchildren. [Andrew McChesney/Adventist Review]
Hope Channel churns out record 410 shows for South Pacific islanders
Suva, Fiji—Seventh-day Adventist– owned Hope Channel pumped out an unprecedented 410 television programs in May 2016 in Fiji as part of a major effort to provide local programing to the remote islands of the South Pacific. Volunteers from Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands teamed up under the auspices of the church’s Trans-Pacific Union Mission to produce the television episodes for their communities.
A team of technicians from Hope Channel International in the United States and Hope Channel SPD in Australia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea descended on Fiji’s capital, Suva, to train the volunteers in camera operation, lighting, editing, audio recording, and other aspects of production.
“This is a record,” Kandus Thorp, director for international development at Hope Channel International, said of the number of programs. “It was 18 months ago that I first visited Fiji and we began discussions,” Thorp said. “I am so proud of our Hope Channel team in the Trans-Pacific Union Mission.” She especially thanked Wayne Boehm, director of Hope Channel SPD, for his leadership in directing the project.
Boehm described the successful completion of the project as a miracle. He said he arrived in Fiji as the country was being buffeted by a category 3 cyclone and still recovering from a devastating category 5 cyclone last year. While overseeing the television programs, the team experienced earthquakes and tsunami warnings. “Five weeks later, we’re leaving the country with 410 programs on sermons, health, family, music, and relationships,” Boehm said. “God helped us exceed our expectations. It’s nothing short of miraculous.” Boehm paid special tribute to the volunteers, saying it was heart-warming to see people willingly leave their homes and loved ones for the project. He was particularly inspired by the youngest presenter, a six-year-old child from Fiji. “It shows you’re never too young to start being involved in discipling,” he said.
Fiji’s president, Jioji (George) Konousi Konrote, attended a special May 6 ceremony celebrating the conclusion of the project. Konrote, a Seventh-day Adventist believer, thanked the Adventist Church for its leadership in media ministry and presented each volunteer with a commemorative certificate. [ANN Staff]
Members of the deaf, deaf-blind community are celebrated through an international congress in Europe
Seville, Spain—Approximately 230 people sought to affirm members of the often marginalized deaf, deaf-blind community during the International Congress for the Deaf and Deaf-Blind in Seville, Spain from May 13 to 15, 2016.
The “Through My Hands” congress featured musicals, sermons presented by the deaf for the deaf, and audio messages in English for those who were hearing. Attendees also had the opportunity to tour historical and religious sites in Seville and Cordoba.
This congress is but a sample of things to come. It is anticipated that the General Conference will host a world congress for the deaf and deaf-blind in 2019. The venue has yet to be determined. The vision to minister to those with special needs is spreading—not only for the deaf but for the blind and those with physical and mental limitations as well as for the orphans of the world. [Larry Evans/ ANN Staff]
