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7 Steps to Starting a Refugee Ministry

Story by Edwin Manuel Garcia

1. Prayerfully study the Great Commission and the inspired counsels on reaching out to “the stranger in our midst.”

2. Get acquainted with refugees and immigrants near your church—in apartment complexes or grocery stores that specialize  in ethnic foods.

3. Contact refugee resettlement agencies that help identify and place refugees in local communities.

4. Identify church members who can teach English as a Second Language classes, provide transportation, assist with tutoring school children or know about the availability of meaningful jobs or employment agencies.

5. Appoint a coordinator who will be sensitive to the refugees’ needs and fears.

Is Education “Golden” or Gone?

photo by andeecollard on Flickr

Editorial by Hamlet Canosa / Photo by andeecollard on Flickr

Not too long ago, I listened intently to a long-time supporter of Seventh-day Adventist education say to me, “Adventist education is not what it used to be. Its ‘golden age’ is behind us and will never return.”

His prognostication was difficult to refute. Measured by enrollment trends only, one cannot deny that Adventist education in the ’50s and ’60s was formidable. Accessibility, affordability, work-study programs, strong church demographics and other factors optimized Adventist education’s growth and impact on the church as a whole in North America.

Staying Relevant Through STEM

Story by Daniel Granderson / Image by Mars P on Flickr

The four pillars of STEM—science, technology, engineering and mathematics—already shape nearly every aspect of our lives, and Adventist educational leaders, if interested in staying relevant in a business-minded world, must embrace its effects. It’s becoming clear that American business leaders of tomorrow are the STEM students of today.

Building Better Schools Together

Story by Daniel Granderson / Images by iStock

Jesus came not just to preach, but also to teach. Is it any wonder then that He was referred to by His followers as rabbi (teacher)? He held class on the mount and in fishing boats. Wherever there were ears to hear, He saw opportunities to educate.

Today there are more than 1.8 million pairs of ears still receiving the teachings of Christ through the schools, colleges and universities the Seventh-day Adventist Church operates worldwide. These modern teachers develop not only the intellect, but also the spirit, allowing the ministry to live on beyond the pulpit. In these schools, there is no ministry without education. The two are twin branches growing together on the same gospel tree.

Underscore: How can Adventist Churches Minister to Refugees in Their Neighborhoods?

Story by Edwin Manuel Garcia

The worldwide refugee crisis is prompting the United States to open its immigration doors to a larger number of people from regions in turmoil. According to the United States Department of State, nearly 70,000 refugees came to the U.S. last year—the world’s top resettlement location—yet recent political instability in Asia, Central America, the Middle East and Africa will boost admissions to 85,000 this year and 100,000 in 2017.

This dramatic increase will undoubtedly enhance the chances that families fleeing persecution may move into our communities in the near future. How should Seventh-day Adventists respond when refugees from Syria, Burma, Iraq, Honduras, Guatemala and other nations become our neighbors?

WGTS 91.9 Listeners Sponsor More Than 860 Children

Last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning WGTS 91.9 listeners stepped up to impact the lives of children around the world with a Compassion drive. By the end of morning show on Friday, listeners had sponsored a station record of more than 860 children, primarily in Haiti and South America.

Jerry Woods, WGTS 91.9 Morning Show host; Kevin Krueger, general manager; Becky Alignay, Midday host; ShareMedia’s Bill Scott; Blanca Vega, Morning show-co-host, and ShareMedia’s Dave Kirby celebrate a successful Compassion drive.“When I think of my kids, I can’t imagine putting them to bed crying because their tummies hurt from hunger. When I think about all our listeners did through Compassion the last couple days I think about the parents who now have the assurance that their child won’t go to bed hungry tonight,” says Kevin Krueger, general manager.

For more than 60 years Compassion has been working to release children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty. They work in 26 countries to empower today’s children to be tomorrow’s responsible and fulfilled adults.

December Feature: Giving Cheer All Year

We found nine amazing ACS volunteers—including a trio of motorcycle “ministers”—who go the extra mile year-round to help those in need in their mid-Atlantic neighborhoods.

Story by Mark Tyler

Eight women gathered for a prayer group in Battle Creek, Mich., more than 140 years ago with a central idea: the church should provide food and clothing to needy families, minister to the sick and care for the fatherless and widows. Born from that 1874 meeting came the Dorcas Society, an association of female members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church that grew to assist countless people in need throughout North America and beyond.

“Those volunteers did such amazing work that almost anywhere in the world, even today, people remember the selfless women of the Dorcas Society,” explains Minnie McNeil, Adventist Community Services (ACS) coordinator for the Columbia Union Conference and director for the Allegheny East Conference.

Today the work of those service-minded ladies continues through ACS, and has expanded to include men, teens and whole families who volunteer together to extend God’s love to others. The Columbia Union is currently home to 14 official ACS centers run by Adventist members who dedicate their time to spread Jesus’ love in ways the early Dorcas ladies may have only imagined.

Underscore: Is There a Place for Non-nutritive Sweeteners in a Healthy Diet?

Story by Elena Cornwell / Cover Image by iStock Photography

It’s a debate that seems to continue to crescendo since the first accidental discovery of saccharin by Constantine Fahlberg in 1879. Since then most would agree that the fascination and need for sweet foods has become a national problem.

And, although it appears that the addictive and health-related issues induced by sugar has only recently received more national attention, Ellen G. White counseled on that very topic before many even knew it was a problem. In Counsels on Diets and Foods, White admonished, “Sugar clogs the system. It hinders the working of the living machine” (p. 327).

Now her words ring true more than ever, but there is a new player in the sweets aisle—non-nutritive sweeteners—that requires some attention. The American Heart Association describes non-nutritive sweeteners as sweeteners that offer no nutritional benefits, like vitamins and minerals. They also contain low amounts or no calories at all. They are often used to replace sugar because of their low caloric levels.

Three professionals in fields of health across the Columbia Union weigh in on different types of non-nutritive sweeteners and compare them to natural sugar. Understanding how non-nutritive sweeteners affect the body is important to properly manage your diet, they say: