As the Master Guide graduation candidates from the New Jersey Conference prepared for their final review, Reina Zapata, Master Guide state coordinator, realized that one was not a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Virgilio Osorio, his wife and their children accepted the Lord after volunteering in the Pathfinder program at the Lake Nelson church in Piscataway.
Story by LaTasha Hewitt
Church leaders recently recognized Ashley Judge, 18, as “Pathfinder of the Year” at Shiloh church in Petersburg, Va. Judge serves as a Pathfinder junior counselor, an usher and junior deaconess at the church. She also volunteers at Chippenham Hospital in Richmond, Va., and a local food bank.
“Being Pathfinder of the Year is the greatest accomplishment that I have ever received. … Hearing your name being called as Pathfinder of the Year symbolizes your love for the lord and your love of being a Pathfinder,” says Judge.
In addition to her volunteer week, Judge (pictured above with her parents, Sharon and Hilton Judge) also maintains a 3.5 GPA, is a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and an honor band participant at Virginia Tech University. She will attend Norfolk State University (Va.) this fall, and plans to become an elementary school teacher.
Story by LaTasha Hewitt
During the fourth annual “Handy Hall and Friends Weekend” at Pine Forge Academy (PFA), the boys dormitory staff and dean debuted their new Ambassador Awards program.
The program at the Pine Forge, Pa., based high school is designed to promote leadership, creativity and character development in African-American young men.
“We want our young men to understand that it’s not just about having exposure to godly principles, but that they should learn to embody and showcase them to guarantee success,” says Jaymie Pottinger, head dean of the boys dorm.
Read the 2016 May Visitor feature articles and the entire PDF here.
Story by Kimberly Luste Maran
Want to make your church a comfort care center to help community members in extreme weather conditions?
Required Criteria
• Heating and cooling systems maintaining minimum temperature of 68°F during fall and winter and 72°F during spring and summer months
• NOT enrolled in the "voluntary black out" program offered by electric utility providers
• Accessible to people with disabilities/ADA-compliant
• Ample seating appropriate to your community
Borges has many years of experience as an educator and administrator. He transferred from California, where he has been serving as principal at Armona Union Academy since 2007. He has also interacted with students in the classroom and through athletics programs.
Story by Tim Allston
According to “American Congregations at the Beginning of the 21st Century,” a Duke University 2006-2007 National Congregations Study, the percent of regular adult participants younger than age 35 in the average congregation dropped from 25 to to 20 percent.
In his July 2008 Ministry magazine article, “Reaching Out: Making a Difference With Young Adults," A. Allan Martin, the teaching pastor of a young adult ministry at the Arlington church in Texas, cites Paul Richardson of the Center for Creative Ministry, with headquarters in College Place, Wash. Richardson reported that the median age for the Seventh-day Adventist community in North America, "including the un-baptized children in church families, is 58 … Among native-born white and black members, the median age is even higher."
The frightening implications of this figure are seen when that median age, 58, is compared to the median ages of the United States and Canada, respectively, which are 36 and 37!
Story by Kimberly Luste Maran and Beth Michaels
In the United States on a single night in January 2014, 578,424 people experienced homelessness—they were sleeping outside, or in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.1 In 2014, 46.7 million people lived in poverty.2
The numbers are striking, but when the impact of extreme weather conditions on these particular populations are factored in, the number of people needing assistance can be staggering. Add to this people who are economically secure but have experienced an extreme weather event and are temporarily yet suddenly thrust out of their safe, stable environment.
Here are ways Seventh-day Adventist churches and members can, and are, helping:
Crafting a Cold Weather Refuge