Stories & Commentaries

Adventist Education wasn't sure what to expect when they opened for business in an airplane hanger at the 2019 Chosen International Pathfinder Camporee. Would kids come? If they did, would they stay? Was there anything that really would grab them, engage them, and most importantly, inspire them?

Anna Coridan, the missionary to Nepal and Kansas City, and leader of the NC4Y Pathfinder Club from the Iowa-Missouri Conference can’t get a photo alone — and she doesn’t want to. The youth crush around her, and her committed team members stand with her. They recognize someone answering God’s call and following Him as the doors open, the waters part, and the ball drives over the goal line. They’ve seen God work out the impossible, and they want to be on His team.

He approached the lake in the middle of the night, one of nearly 20 people. The unfamiliar path toward freedom was on the opposite side of a lake, in a country he had never visited—Sudan. As the boat began to leave the shore, Meried recalled a passage from Isaiah 43:2: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee” (KJV).

What if I told you that spending a full five or six days in an open field, surrounded by 50,000 people or more, walking five to 10 miles per day, having to go to porta potties and bathe in shower houses, and sleeping in a tent and trying to keep up with a group of teens and preteens would be the best experience that you could ever have this summer? This is what happens every five years at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) airfields in OshKosh, Wisconsin.

At Emmanuel Seventh-day Adventist Church in Albany, Georgia, we are trying to follow Christ's method of ministry by being involved with our community. Our hope is to win the confidence of our community and position the Adventist church as service and spiritual leaders in the city. Message magazine, with its new tracts and Bible studies, is proving to be a perfect vehicle to realize this vision.

Tens of thousands of Pathfinders are preparing for the Chosen International Camporee that will take place in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on Aug. 13-17, 2019. The camporee, which occurs every five years, is the largest Pathfinder-related event of its kind. As they prepare, there’s one thing the Pathfinders must have in pristine condition — their uniforms. And while the uniforms on their own are eye-catching, Pathfinders will seek something extra special to help them stand out — collectable pins. 

The Great Commission contains this mandate: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:19, 20, NIV). This robust mandate and mission statement given by the Master Himself is our guiding principle for evangelism, and the impetus behind everything we do to share our Adventist message of hope and wholeness.

It is estimated that 750 million people worldwide are illiterate. For nearly two decades the North American Division has sponsored adult literacy initiatives through its Partners in Mission program with sister divisions and mission fields. The partnerships have given more than 180,000 adults the gift of literacy.

What if our Adventist churches across North America began a conspiracy? What if we decided in harmony with all the other churches across Bermuda, Canada, the United States, and the islands of Guam and Micronesia that we are going to love our cities as Jesus did? What would happen if we ventured outside the walls of our churches, asked people about their needs, and did something transformational for individuals and communities?

Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is causing thousands of people to flee to safety across the border into the country of Uganda. ADRA has been engaged in helping the refugees as they make new lives for themselves. One 15-year-old girl shares the story of how she came to Uganda and now attends the "ADRA school."