News Articles
Mid-America Union Hosts Fourth Stop of Young Adult LIFE Tour
The fourth stop of the Young Adult LIFE Tour took place in the Mid-America Union Conference territory at the College View church in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Jan. 26-27, 2024. With more than 150 registrants and 900 in attendance on Sabbath morning, the event reached a large audience with the message of strategically engaging and encouraging all generations to grow together on our faith journeys. The Young Adult LIFE Tour, co-sponsored by the North American Division, unions, conferences and local churches, is an opportunity for family, friends and church members to come together in a dedicated space and place to empower young adults for ministry.
NAD Women’s Ministries Leaders Gain the Keys to Ministry Success at the Inaugural Passionate Leader Summit
What is a passionate leader? The North American Division’s (NAD) inaugural “Passionate Leader Summit” for Women’s Ministries leaders, held at the NAD headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, from February 1-4, 2024, tackled this query through inspiring messages, worships, interactive workshops, and moving testimonials. NAD Women’s Ministries leader DeeAnn Bragaw and her team drew inspiration from Psalm 37:5 (CLV) – “Let the Lord lead you and trust Him to help.”
Walla Walla University President and Other Members of University Community Honored with Weniger Award
John McVay, president of Walla Walla University, was selected as a 2024 recipient of the Charles Elliott Weniger Award for Excellence. The award was presented at the annual award presentation on Feb. 17, 2024, in Loma Linda, California.
Sonscreen Film Festival Team Meets With Award-winning Filmmakers at 20th Annual Windrider Summit and Sundance Film Festival Experience
The Sonscreen Film Festival team met with award-winning filmmakers and engaged in deep discussions on storytelling and spirituality at the 20th annual Windrider Summit and Sundance Film Festival Experience on January 21-26, 2024. Students and professors from La Sierra University, Oakwood University, Southern Adventist University, and Walla Walla University attended the educational event, along with the Sonscreen team and the Loma Linda University Church media team.
Adventist Youth Serve Indigenous Communities in Northern Ontario
The youth and young adults of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada (SDACC) cast a vision for what it would mean to make a difference right at home. Their vision was clear: to work for the betterment of people’s lives in ways that were responsive to their actual needs. From there, a goal sprang up: to assist Indigenous people in a tangible, practical, and non-manipulative way that fostered genuine connection and friendship. Beginning on August 10, 2023, four groups of young Adventist volunteers, accompanied by ADRA Canada leaders, traveled to various Indigenous communities in northern Ontario – Lac Seul First Nation, Pikangikum First Nation, Whitesand First Nation, and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation.
Ephesus, the “Spaghetti Church,” Impacts Lives in South Los Angeles, California
Clients come to the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church Adventist Community Services Center in South Los Angeles, California, on Mondays for free clothes and shoes from The Closet and to receive showers and plates of hot spaghetti. Through the years, the church has been affectionally known as the “spaghetti church” by regulars. The food pantry, open on the fourth Thursday of each month, welcomes guests to choose from fresh produce, canned goods, hygiene products, and more.
La Sierra University Charts Path Toward Growth
Heading into 2024, La Sierra University is charting an upward trajectory based on enrollment targets, with near-term strategic investments in personnel, increased salaries, scholarships, software upgrades, and athletics initiatives. On Jan. 29, 2024, the university’s board of trustees voted on a budget and funding for the remainder of this fiscal year, ending June 30 and continuing two years through 2025-26. The university leadership also drafted a follow-on aspirational plan through 2028-29 for a five-year proposed strategic document focused on La Sierra’s growth. On Jan. 30, the plan was presented by La Sierra University Interim President Richard Osborn during a campus town hall at the Zapara School of Business.
Atlantic Union and Southern Union Joint Tent Evangelism Endeavor Leads to 253 Baptisms
Tent evangelism, often considered an outdated method of evangelism, recently demonstrated its continued effectiveness through a joint evangelism event. The Atlantic Union, with the support and assistance of the Southern Union, recently hosted a 20-day "System for Survival" evangelistic initiative. The endeavor reaped 253 baptisms. The meetings took place in a 270-person tent set up in a vacant lot in Buffalo, New York.
The Blessings of a Delay
James Edson White, the son of Adventist pioneers James and Ellen White, is credited with taking the gospel to African Americans in the southern United States — after having departed from the Adventist faith for approximately 30 years. What may have seemed like a delayed answer to Ellen White’s prayers over the years that Edson was absent from the faith turned out to be God’s perfect timing for the gospel to be shared with former slaves and their children.
In First Meeting of the New Year, University Student Leaders Advisory Provides Opportunity for Dialogue and Feedback
On January 24, 2024, the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (NAD) conducted a university student leaders advisory. The virtual event was cohosted by G. Alexander Bryant, NAD president, Wendy Eberhardt, NAD vice president for ministries (which includes Children’s, Family, Disabilities, and many other ministries), and Tracy Wood, NAD Youth & Young Adult (YYA) Ministries director.