By Tompaul Wheeler and Ricardo Bacchus
The beauty and mystery of prayer has captivated believers for thousands of years. People find meaning, solace and the miraculous in prayer, yet many still struggle with the Divine-human connection.
Is God more likely to respond to certain kinds of prayers? Is there a secret to connecting with God? Are some prayers simply more “powerful” than others?
'People Struggle With Prayer'
Story by ADRA Staff
When Miranda Christina Jobe, a 9-year-old from Potomac Conference’s Piney Forest church in Danville, Va., found the ADRA International booth at Potomac’s camp meeting, she immediately wanted to know what ADRA did to help people and if she could volunteer at the booth.
Kim-Roux James, who was working at the ADRA booth, welcomed her eagerness to assist. “When she came to our table and asked to help, how could I say no to her enthusiasm and jubilant attitude?”
Jobe did whatever she could to help, including arranging the books on the table. Through James’ guidance, Jobe eventually built up enough courage to talk to booth visitors about ADRA and the work they do to help others around the world.
The 2025 Columbia Union Conference calendar emphasizes prayer, using inspiring Bible verses and quotes from Ellen White.
“We hope the pages of the calendar will serve as a handbook—providing prompts and inspiration that will aid and guide through this collective commission to pray,” says Kelly Butler Coe, calendar and Visitor editor.
Each month, the calendar will include a Columbia Union and Pentecost 2025 “Prayer Focus” in which members are invited to include in their prayer time.
Order Extra 2025 Calendars
By K'dee Crews
According to official Seventh-day Adventist statistics, since 1965, four out of every 10 members have left the church. How can we, as a church body, reach those who have walked away?
1. Show them respect. They didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to leave. They have reasons. Respect their opinion. You can disagree and still be respectful.
2. Listen to them. Maybe you’ve had a pleasant church experience, but they haven’t. It’s not your place to judge. When you take the time to listen to someone’s story, you can better understand them. You can’t know how to approach something and someone without knowing what the problem is.
By Becky St. Clair
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the subjects and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of the Columbia Union Conference or Visitor staff.
According to official Seventh-day Adventist statistics, since 1965, four out of every 10 members have left the church.
Choosing God ... and Adventism