December

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December 2022 Issue

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Editorial

For members only?

Ramon J. Canals

Your church may not have a sign that reads “For Members Only” but if we are not actively, persistently, and intentionally inviting people to come in, it is like having an invisible sign that prevents people from visiting our churches. I will never forget Gloria’s testimony. “For more than eighteen years, we lived almost in front of this church but were never invited to come in.” I couldn’t believe my ears. It was my first year as a pastor of this beautiful church… Continue reading...

Back to the Altar cover image

Back to the Altar A cause for every pastor

Dwain N. Esmond

According to research by the Christian publisher Lifeway, the average American home contains more than three Bibles. Fifty-two percent of Americans think the Bible is an excellent source of moral teaching, 35 percent say it is life-changing, and 36 percent believe…

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Tears of joy as missionary hails Mongolian milestone cover image

Tears of joy as missionary hails Mongolian milestone

Andrew McChesney

Tears filled Joanne Kim’s eyes as she watched the first three Mongolians get baptized and join the fledgling Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mongolia in 1993. Her eyes again filled with tears as she watched 155 Mongolians get baptized on August 27, 2022, which was…

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Rest and righteousness: Grace a lot or grace alone cover image

Rest and righteousness: Grace a lot or grace alone

Elizabeth Viera Talbot

For a long time, I have observed church members constantly looking at their watches in order to know the exact time of sunset, when the Sabbath would be over, while making joyless, never-ending lists of what they could or could not do on this holy day. Instead of a…

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Pulpits of Hope: cover image

Pulpits of Hope: Fulfilling God’s mission

Robert Costa , Mark Finley

Pulpits of Hope is a simple, flexible, and effective initiative that every preacher may adopt in his or her church. It is part of a comprehensive evangelism plan based on the five universal keys of successful soul winning and evangelism reflected in the book of Acts. The…

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One subject will swallow up all others cover image

One subject will swallow up all others

Ty Gibson

As we commemorate the founding of the Ministerial Association of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1922, here is an extremely productive ministerial question: What is the one thing Adventist ministers can do that will massively increase their effectiveness? Master…

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More from this issue:

Dateline

Religious news from around the world

SPD Ministerial Association secretary Darius Jankiewicz presents “The Story of God’s Grace.” Veterans of the Cross: South Pacific Division initiative focuses on retired ministers COORANBONG, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA Acknowledging retired pastors for their years of dedication to ministry, the South Pacific Division (SPD) Ministerial Association held its first Veterans of the Cross conference on September 26–29, 2022. Retired ministers and their spouses… Continue reading...

Resources

Baptize

Tom Grove

Baptize is written by 20 authors and edited by Ivan Williams, NAD Ministerial Association director, and José Cortes, associate director. This book is the second in the series of books that is “a collective vision of pastors, members, and administrators to multiply the kingdom of God in North America through baptizing, equipping, planting, and revitalizing.” They divided the book into eight sections focusing on different aspects of evangelism, including “Vision… Continue reading...

Practical Pointers

Preaching as an administrator

Dave Livermore

It is Sabbath morning; you have either driven early in the morning or left on Friday evening to spend the night in a hotel. This is common practice for an administrator in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. A new experience has entered our lives; we are now in a different church each week. When we pastored, we did series of sermons on people, places, and events in the Bible. We would preach through books of the Bible. We were illustration conscious from the day… Continue reading...