News Articles

Friday evening vespers at the 2021 North American Division Year-End Meeting, hosted by Jose Cortes Jr., NAD associate ministerial director, and Calvin Watkins, NAD vice president for evangelism, featured missional stories of compassion and multiplication from around the division. From Canada to the Mexico border, from the east coast to the west, members, pastors, and church administrators shared compelling stories of reaching people in a hurting world through vibrant, Christ-centered ministries that are changing lives.

The 2021 North American Division Year-End Meeting, themed “Together in Mission: I Will Go,” based on the NAD’s new strategic focus, opened its business session at 3 p.m. on Thursday, October 28 with 142 executive committee members attending through a virtual platform.

During the year-end meeting divine worship service on October 30, 2021, G. Alexander Bryant, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America (NAD), stated that we are not just called to focus on the final message to the world. “The truth is, God has call this people to proclaim both messages, the message of Christ’s soon return and the message of righteousness by faith, the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what the Three Angels’ Messages teach us,” he said.

“In spite of the challenges we have faced — we've had COVID-19, we've had the Delta variant of COVID-19, we've had racial injustice and inequality, we've had economic fallout, we've had all these things happening — God has continued to bless His church, and the mission of the church has gone forward,” said G. Alexander Bryant, president of the North American Division (NAD), as he opened his report after thanking the NAD staff, church members, pastors, educators, and the leaders of conferences, unions, and the division for their dedication and service.

The Society of Adventist Communicators has consistently provided professionals and students in the NAD and beyond with the opportunity to network and grow in communication skills at their annual convention. From Oct. 17-19, the convention was conducted virtually due to COVID-19, however, this year's presentation line-up more closely resembled the in-person event.

Confusion and questions about Adventism’s place in our world, and our personal lives, have driven younger Adventists, in particular, to struggle with connecting to a religion that at times doesn’t make sense to them and the world they experience. Could it be that we need to understand the past so that we can make sense of today? That’s exactly why the Adventist Learning Community assembled a team to make How the Church Works, a podcast about the inner-workings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and why it’s important to care.

Message magazine announces the newest podcast in its expanding lineup. “The Rest of Your Story” features veteran Allegheny East Conference pastor and Philadelphia drive-time radio host Nick Taliaferro. A gifted speaker, singer, writer, interviewer, and community leader, Taliaferro works hard to bring listeners a sense of rest.

Shari Leader, a member of the Lighthouse Fellowship Company in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, regularly conducts evangelistic series twice a year. She was in the middle of preaching an evangelistic series in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began to take a turn for the worse. Then infection numbers rose again during the 2020 holiday season. “In January, I was concerned about whether we should do it again. I had the money to do it, but I didn’t have money to waste,” said Leader. “I can’t see the future, so I took it to the Lord.”

This past week, the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association (TICUA) announced its 2021 Hall of Fame inductees, including Southern Adventist University alum Terry Shaw.

While assisting with mobile distribution of goods in Maurepas, La., in early October, a contact from the Indian Nation reached out to Arkansas-Louisiana Conference ACS director Lavida Whitson, asking if we might be able to help them. During the recovery effort after Hurricane Katrina, ACS assisted the United Houma Nation for many months and, based on this history, they were now asking if we might be able to assist during Hurricane Ida recovery.