Pennsylvania Conference

João Marques, alongside Blue Mountain Academy Pastor Adam Bially, celebrate his baptism together.

Story by Tamyra Horst

João Gabriel Ramos Marques’ mother prayed for her son. She knew his friends were a bad influence on him and saw the poor choices he was making. She believed that God would change her son and the direction of his life.

“My mother never gave up on me, despite my rebellious actions,” shares Marques. “She sent me to Faculdade Adventista da Amazonia, an Adventist school in Brazil, in hopes that I could find truth and Jesus.”

Picjumbo_com/Pixabay

Story by Leona Bange

Today, students face many challenges, pressures and temptations. Seventh-day Adventist education, however, offers young people and their parents a foundation of Christian values and academic excellence.

Academic Achievement. Students in Adventist schools, on average, place half a grade higher nationally in all subjects than other students. More than 85 percent of graduates from an Adventist school go on to college. In Adventist schools, the goal of academic achievement is always paired with the aim of developing a relationship with the Creator—an unbeatable combination!

Scott Kabel (right) plays weekly board games with church and community members. Photo by David Butterfield

Story by Elizabeth Anderson

Scott Kabel, who currently resides in Hawaii, has ties to Pennsylvania Conference’s Blue Mountain Academy where he taught a class—and played tabletop games with his students—while doing dissertation work for his education doctorate.

These days, playing games with the community in Hawaii is his passion. Kabel owns a trove of tabletop games and started hosting a weekly game night at the Hawaii Conference office in August of 2022 “with mostly church friends,” Kabel says. “But then I started playing in more areas around town. Now maybe [only] a third of the group is Adventist. Sometimes fewer.”

Two students share God’s love in Pennsylvania by canvassing a neighborhood.

Story by Johnathan Ryan

Last summer, 12 students in the Pennsylvania Conference spent eight weeks knocking on more than 80,000 doors connecting with more than 30,000 people. As a result of their ministry, 6,800-plus books are now in the hands of people in those local communities. These students also raised significant funds toward their Seventh-day Adventist education. Young adults interested in learning more and serving God this summer can learn more at impact-pa.com.