News

Reginald Alexander, publishing associate for AEC

Story by LaTasha Hewitt

Reginald Alexander, publishing associate at the Allegheny East Conference and a member of the Pine Forge (Pa.) church, has had cardiac sarcoidosis— a heart condition—since he was young. After two pacemakers, complete heart blockage and having limited cardiac output, his doctor declared that he needed a heart transplant. Alexander checked into the John Hopkins Hospital (Md.) in September 2018 to await a transplant.

Southeast Church of Cleveland

Story by Bryant Smith

The youth of the Southeast church in Cleveland recently had the opportunity to make a difference. Members Angel and Ed Howard discovered that many times police officers cannot take a formal lunch because of their duties. Wanting to help, Angel came up with the idea to deliver snacks to the officers. She mentioned it to fellow member Tonyia Williams who agreed the youth could participate.

In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey promoted a principle to be considered by every leader and organization. It was called “First Things First.” Through this idea, he advocated for leaders to focus on what would advance the mission of an organization. “Putting first things first means organizing and executing around your most important priorities,” Covey wrote. “It is living and being driven by the principles you value most, not by the agendas and forces surrounding you.”

Mountain View Pastors pray during Transformational Evangelism. Photo by Brian Tagalog

Story by V. Michelle Bernard / Photos by Brian Tagalog

Are Revelation Seminars outdated? Do we need to totally change our worship styles? Should we be working with churches of other denominations? What does it really mean to be a disciple? Some 200 pastors from around the Columbia Union Conference discussed these questions and more this past week at the union’s Transformational Evangelism conference at the Sheraton Hotel in Columbia, Md.

Ryan Comeau, associate pastor at Hagerstown, accepts an award for the Christ Con project. Photo by Brian Tagalog

Story by V. Michelle Bernard / Photos by Brian Tagalog

One of the highlights of Transformation Evangelism, Columbia Union Conference’s recent event for pastors in Columbia, Md., included the awarding of $20,500 to young adult evangelism projects planned and run by local young adults.

A committee comprised of young adults chose the three finalists prior to the event. Conference attendees voted on Monday evening, determing the prize amounts for each project.

By Christina Keresoma

Kettering Adventist HealthCare, based in Dayton, Ohio, recently celebrated the opening of its new operations command center, powered by TeleTracking software, which helps coordinate patient flow throughout the system.

“The network operations command center’s mission is to care for the over 20,000 patient admissions and transfers every month by maximizing the efficiency of patient movement to get them quick access to the care that they need,” explains Nancy Pook, M.D., medical director of the command center. “This will allow our physicians, nurses and care teams to focus on patients while the center works to facilitate the movement of patients to the right place, the right bed, the right time—the first time.”

APPLE/IPHONE photo taken by James Mitchell found on Flickr

Editorial by Gary Gibbs

With the invention of the iPhone, Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, revolutionized the way the world communicates. Yet, days before he died, Jobs wept as he confessed to his adult daughter, Lisa, “I didn’t spend enough time with you when you were little.”

This weekend several hundred pastors are gathering at the Columbia Union "Transformational Evangelism" Conference in Columbia, Md. In addition to listening to inspiring speakers and innovative ways pastors are ministering, they will vote on which innovative young adult projects they will help fund.

Weigh in on the project you think will best help evangelize the community. (And that other churches could use too!) Vote by “liking” or “loving” your favorite video on facebook.com/columbiaunionvisitor.