Story by Tamyra Horst
Stewart Lozensky recently joined the Pennsylvania Conference to serve as the church regeneration director, a newly created role to help plateaued and declining churches grow again and reach their communities with the gospel. Lozensky (pictured with his wife, Heidi) will partner with pastors and local congregations to develop customized regeneration plans and provide resources to help them achieve their vision.
Story by Edward Marton
More than 300 Ohio Conference Pathfinders across the state recently joined together from their homes for the conference’s first ever virtual camporee.
Presenting on the theme, “Stand True,” Todd Casey, Pennsylvania Conference’s youth director, focused on the life of Barnabas in the early church. Pathfinders learned that part of standing true is encouraging and supporting one another.
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39, NASB).
Story by WAU Staff
College Factual recognized Washington Adventist University’s Psychology Department as one of the nation’s top 10 percent “Most Focused” programs in Psychology in 2019 and 2020.
In 2021, it was ranked #8 Best Bachelor’s in Counseling and #6 Most Affordable Bachelor’s in Counseling by Bachelorsdegreecentral.org.
Story by Tracey Jackson
School started with high hopes and bubbling excitement as students and staff reunited on the campus that has become a second home to so many. It soon became apparent, however, that the anticipated dip in morale would be monumental.
With the stress of a steadily raging pandemic and continued political discourse in the country, the students’ and staff focus was continuously tried.
Story by LaTasha Hewitt
Shelton Justin Stanley, a member of Allegheny East Conference's Edmondson Heights church in Baltimore, was tragically killed at the end of 2020, leaving his family, friends and church members to grieve his death. Church members reflect on the life he lived and the impact he had on so many:
“He was a motivator who ministered with passion to our children. With his many hats, he brought a level of continuity, consistency and dedication to get the job done."—Patrick Graham, Allegheny East Conference Youth and Children’s Ministries Director
Story by Anitha Thavamani / Photos by Renea Smallwood
Last Sabbath, about 30 cars lined the parking lot for a church service at the Ammendale campus of Potomac Conference's Beltsville (Md.) church. This was the first service on the church’s premises since the doors closed last March due to the pandemic.
“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord” (Ps. 27:14, NLT).
I feel like the more I serve God, the more encounters I have in His waiting room. This is where I learn to be courageous and wait on Him even when my circumstances say otherwise. In the process of waiting, I have realized that, without faith, it is impossible to wait patiently for the Lord, especially when it seems He is tied up with someone else’s emergency.
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16–17, NKJV).
As a 4-year-old, I didn’t understand the concept of death and that my father would never come home again. For weeks, I stayed up at night waiting for him. By the age of 8, though, I understood that he was not returning and this new unfavorable home where I lived was my only home. I longed for the daddy that I couldn’t even remember because I longed for a daddy who cared, provided, listened, held and loved me.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20, NKJV).
I was 17 and the youngest child of a big family growing up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania when this verse became special to me. That summer, I worked alone on the farm, as all my siblings had moved away. This provided me with a lot of time to think, and I examined the purpose of life and what I should do with mine. I contemplated a number of avenues, such as joining the U.S. Marines and volunteering for service in Vietnam, as one of my older brothers had done.