News

Students at Atholton Adventist Academy help spread the Gospel.

Story by Ruth Nino

Schools across the union were a vital part of the evangelistic vision of Pentecost 2025, using funds for special evangelism events to reach their students and communities. In the 70-plus participating Columbia Union schools, students of all ages—elementary through university level—experienced the joy of allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them. 

Interview with Ty Gibson by Ben Riggs

In early 2025, Kettering Health (KH) revisited its Seventh-day Adventist heritage to emerge with a new mission statement.

They brought author, pastor, and speaker Ty Gibson onto their team to lead an assessment and inform the process of ensuring all KH employees could connect to and adopt this new mission statement as their own.

Mission and Identity

Question: You’ve helped guide KH through a significant shift in its mission. What does “Live God’s love by promoting and restoring health” mean to you—and how do you see it shaping the organization’s future?

Historia de Debra C. Anderson / Traducción por Domitila Rosette

En enero, el Comité Ejecutivo de la Potomac Conference votó a favor de nombrar a Amilcar “AJ” Gröschel, Jr., como vicepresidente de Administración.

Pastor ordenado, profesor, abogado y administrador, Gröschel cuenta con más de 25 años de experiencia en liderazgo en entornos educativos, legales y eclesiásticos tanto en Brasil como en Estados Unidos. Desde el 2019, ha servido en la Potomac Conference como pastor, más recientemente en la iglesia de Waynesboro (Virginia), a la vez que enseña filosofía, teología y derecho en la Washington Adventist University en Takoma Park, Maryland.

Zac Gudakov/Unsplash

Editorial by Chad Stuart

In 2017, when my family moved into our neighborhood in Maryland, our boys were 9, 7 and 5. Our street felt like a small-town movie: more than a dozen kids the same age, bikes on the roads, doorbells ringing— “Can your boys play?” Each afternoon, the children stitched families together with shared driveways and impromptu games of soccer or tag in front yards.

Family Life Ministry Leaders Complete Certification, Allegheny East Conference, David Defoe, MarcellusT. Robinson

Story by LaTasha Hewitt

The Relationship Ministries Department recently hosted a Family Life Certification training at Allegheny East Conference’s Headquarters in Pine Forge, Pa. Local church family life leaders from New Jersey to Virginia participated in a 10-module, train-the- trainer weekend. The training was designed to equip leaders to implement “trauma-informed, Bible-based, relevant and restorative programs” for families, couples and parents in the local church.

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center’s Post-Anesthesia Care Unit team showcased an initiative to improve quality through enhanced documentation for neuromuscular and neurovascular assessments of joint replacement patients at the International Conference of PeriAnesthesia Nurses in Dublin, Ireland.

WGTS listeners brought 8,100 pounds of food to the truck at four locations in the region to help provide food for families affected by the government shutdown and the decrease in food benefits.

Thanks to generous gifts from listeners who caught the vision, WGTS 91.9 has welcomed a new member to their team, a ministry box truck that will allow WGTS to reach more people with the love of Jesus.

Starting in the last quarter of 2025, WGTS staff used this vehicle to bring hope to the region through Hands and Heart projects and Sticker Stops, Christian concerts, along with special events at schools and churches.

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Editorial by Charles A. Tapp

Many years ago, while a college student, a good friend gave me a book that would change my life forever. The book is titled “Living God’s Love” by the author Douglas Cooper. For me, the most profound aspect of this book was Cooper's definition of love.

His definition resonated with me so strongly that I memorized it and have used it countless times since. On page 126, here’s how Douglas Cooper defines love. He says, “Loving is using one’s God-given power of choice, to do or say, that which is in the best good or interest of another, regardless of feelings.” 

BMA Boys’ Dean Scott Haakenson (left) enjoys spending time with dorm residents like Marcello Leal.

Think of one of your most favorite places in the world. A place where God’s purpose for your life merges with a sense of belonging and enjoyment. A place that just feels like home. For Scott Haakenson, Blue Mountain Academy (BMA) is that special place. As the new boys’ dean, this marks his fourth time living or serving on the campus in Hamburg, Pa.

Kojo Twumasi baptizes a member at the Toledo church.

Story by Francis Tuffour

With a passion for sharing the gospel and strengthening local church outreach, Kojo Twumasi has been appointed to serve as Ohio Conference’s new director for the Evangelism Department. In this role, he will lead initiatives that inspire, equip and support congregations in fulfilling their evangelistic mission across the conference territory.