POCONO GRACE AND LAY PASTORS LEADING THE WAY IN PENNSYLVANIA

One of our interesting and unique churches in the Pennsylvania Conference is the Pocono Grace Church. It was recently organized as a church about a year ago, but its origins as a church plant go back several years to the Stroudsburg Church as Jose Elvir and a small group of Hispanic laypersons had a dream of being used of God in Church Planting. At first the Hispanic group met as a Spanish Speaking Sabbath School.

However, a mission group began to form and the dream of a church plant took root. This church plant, though, decided to be a fully bi-lingual group and church.

Today, Pocono Grace is fulfilling that mission in East Stroudsburg.

Jeanne and I spent Sabbath, March 5, with this fine church family. My Sabbath morning message covered the gospel commission, the beginning of the Christian Church, the gradual apostasy within the Christian Church, the reformation and the unique calling and mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the last day mission before Jesus comes. Working with a wonderful brother who kindly translated my English into Spanish, what would have been a 30 minute sermon ended up taking 60 minutes to share.

Following church, Jeanne and I shared a wonderful fellowship meal. I had the privilege of sitting next to a woman who came as a young person from Belize. She told me that her grandfather had been a lay person, who ended up being a lay pastor and raising up or serving some 13 churches as a lay pastor. I also found out that this sister, who is an X-ray technician in a New York City hospital, and who specializes in mammography, led her next door neighbor to the Adventist faith. This neighbor and her two teenage sons were sitting across the table from us at the meal.

Following the meal, I spent time with the Church Family dialoguing about the role of lay pastors in the Pennsylvania Conference and the prayer we have for church plants and lay pastors – including men, women and young adults – to spread across our Conference as we seek to answer Christ’s gospel commission.

Jose Elvir, his wife (pictured here with me and Jeanne) and the other dedicated men and women, like Jeff Baker (seen in the top photo, speaking up front) and his wife, are committed to letting Jesus lead and serve through them.

Will you join me in praying for revival across the whole state of Pennsylvania. Not just in our churches, but in the hearts and homes of each person in this state. That they will come to see that Jesus is the only answer to the place in their heart and life that cannot be filled by anything else.

Another thing to pray for, is more lay pastors, and more Seventh-day Adventist members who are willing to by faith, put their hand into God's hand, accept His calling and His promise, and start a new "lay-led" work here in Pennsylvania in order to see the work of God multiply and grow. How will we reach the lost for Jesus, without taking the risk of working in new ways and new methods and by each of us becoming the priesthood of all believers as mentioned in Revelation 1?

The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work, and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers.--Gospel Workers, p. 352

It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the work of soulsaving depends alone upon the ministry. The humble, consecrated believer upon whom the Master of the vineyard places a burden for souls, is to be given encouragement by the men upon whom the Lord has laid larger responsibilities. Those who stand as leaders in the church of God are to realize that the Saviour's commission is given to all who believe in His name. God will send forth into His vineyard many who have not been dedicated to the ministry by the laying on of hands.--The Acts of the Apostles, p. 110