Monday, February 9, 2009

February 9, 2009

This last Sabbath I had the privilege of joining the Pleasant View Church near Halifax, PA.



Recently the volunteer lay pastor, Joe Weigley led out in a series of meetings with materials from evangelist David Asherick.



Here is Joe standing by the recently added prayer tree in the church sanctuary. There are specific names on the leaves on this tree, that represent those individuals the church family are praying for.



Joe told me of plans for 2 evangelistic meetings during this year. Joe has encouraged another lay person to join him for the next meetings and they will alternate with the preaching.

Then I drove down to Carlisle, PA, and joined Juan Lopez and the PA Conference Hispanic Pastors at the weekend long, “Festival of the Laity.” Elder Reuben Ramos of the Columbia Union has led out in developing and presenting a “School of Theological Disciples,” which has been training lay leaders for ministry and mission. This Sabbath approximately 75 members graduated from the 1st course.



Among the graduates was lady whose daughter is a member of the Reading Spanish church, but she herself is not a Seventh-day Adventists. This weekend, this lady graduated from the School of Theological Disciples and will soon be joining the Adventist Church.



Elder Lopez invited me to have the message for the service. I shared the message from Luke 9 and 10, where Jesus sent out His disciples and then Jesus sent out the 70 others. Then I shared from Acts 1 and 2, which was Jesus graduating His disciples from their first school of instruction by being with him physically while He was on earth, to now being the teachers themselves as Jesus through the Holy Spirit worked through them.



Elder Ramos gave a closing appeal and there were some precious individuals who came forward during this service, to give their hearts to Jesus.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

February 3, 2009

LAUREL LAKE CAMP RUMORS
Rumors abound regarding Laurel Lake Camp. Here is what is happening. Rick Bianco has just put out an excellent brochure for 2009 Summer Camp registration. I got one in the mail at my house yesterday. I think this is the earliest I have seen our LLC brochure go out, and I hope that you will encourage the young people you know to attend summer camp this year. To view the 2009 Laurel Lake Camp Brochure, go to the PA Conference website, www.paconference.org and click on “Ministries” then scroll down and click on “Laurel Lake Camp. I encourage you to forward it along to any young people or families that you know.


Someone has said that the Conference is closing the camp and selling the property. This is news to me! I want to know just who is selling the camp and what they are receiving for it.
The truth is, we have asked Vernon Bramble, a long-standing Seventh-day Adventist member, who has an excellent corporate background in finance, who has served as the Treasurer of our HVCA school in Philadelphia, and been a financial consultant for a number of non-profit corporations, including some turn-around situations, to conduct a cost analysis and business plan for Laurel Lake Camp. He is well into a thorough review of camp operations and has already begun to make a number of excellent recommendations.


In December, Vernon gave a general overview of his work to the Conference Executive Committee In the next few weeks he will be conducting a strategic planning session with Gary Moran, Rick Bianco, Mo Pelley and Karen Schneider, and involve others interested in the camp along the way. For us to have a viable camp program at Laurel Lake Camp, we need to establish some short and long term goals, strategies and benchmarks to reach. Vernon Bramble has very knowledgably engaged us in this process.
This does not mean that plans are being made to close camp. But with any endeavor, there is not the availability of indefinite and infinite resources. To recognize that and seek to find a way to have a future is not to say there are plans on the table to close and sell. It is actually to be a good steward of God’s resources, people and mission.
Vernon will be giving a complete presentation with his recommendations to the Executive Committee in February.


As it is within your power, please communicate with those you know the details I have shared here.
If you or anyone else have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

January 4, 2009

What does it mean to become a Mission Intentional Church, and how does a church go about becoming Mission Intentional? On January 4, 2009, in Harrisburg,, 3 Pennsylvania Conference Churches, Reading Kenhorst, Chambersburg and York came represented by their Pastors Church Board members and key leaders to a PA Conference sponsored day to prayerfully examine the issue and opportunities in becoming Mission Intentional.




To open the day, I shared a few key thoughts from the writings of Ellen White that give the principles for why we should be developing Mission Intentional Church and structuring the church specifically to be accountable for mission.
Our guest speaker was Elder Jim Brauer, the President of the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.



Also attending were members of the PA Conference Executive Committee, Elder Frank Bondurant from the Columbia Union, Elder Ray Pichette and Elder Glen Altermatt from the Potomac Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Elder Bill Peterson, Assistant to the President for Mission in the PA Conference and Tami Horst our PA Communication Director organized our day of learning and growth.

I am very affirming of our churches who are willing to take seriously the gospel commission and the Adventist calling, and move their churches forward in mission, and not remain satisfied with status quo.