Story by V. Michelle Bernard
Hao Ya Jie never imagined she would grow up to help establish a strong Adventist presence in her native mainland China, much less lead a 7,000-member church district.
Hao Ya Jie thought her mother was ridiculous because, whenever she met someone new, she would start preaching and sharing the gospel with them. But after reading several of Ellen White’s books herself, she became convinced her mother was doing the right thing.
This fall New Jersey Conference’s Lake Nelson School in Piscataway re-opened it’s doors with a new name, Lake Nelson Adventist Academy, and an expanded offering of grades through high school, but not until after overcoming many obstacles.
By Debra McKinney Banks
Visit a Seventh-day Adventist church these days, and it is no longer guaranteed that the service will start at 11 a.m. No one really knows the history of when or where the 11 o’clock Sabbath worship time began. Plausible theories from pastors and historians posit that during more agrarian times, farming families needed to tend to the livestock and finish the chores before attending church. Whatever the reason, most people don’t maintain that farming lifestyle anymore. Today some pastors have discovered that holding Sabbath services at non-traditional times—either before or after 11—are becoming more of a necessity to meet the missional needs of their flocks.
Editorial by Celeste Ryan Blyden
You aren’t alone. A recent survey of executive committee members across the Columbia Union Conference identified lack of community among church members as an issue. “The greatest challenge is lack of social connectivity between the families and members within the churches,” noted one participant. “The large majority of members limit their relationship with one another to only Sabbath School, worship service and fellowship meal time—basically once a week.”
While Sabbath potluck remains high on the list of member favorites (Who would want to miss haystacks?), for many, the fellowship ends as soon as the last piece of dessert has been claimed.
Story by Anna Bartlett
Collective is a student-led Friday evening worship service and fellowship meal held in homes where students and faculty of Kettering College in Dayton, Ohio, can share their stories and worship together.
As Kettering is not a residential campus, many of the students live in a very segmented world, says Steve Carlson (pictured), campus chaplain. They drive in for class and then go home, often only interacting with others within their own program.