Mountain View Conference | Seventh-day Adventist Church

‘And Forbid Them Not’

Daniel Venegas (far right), pastor of the Buckhannon church, introduces the newest members to the congregation, (left to right) Hanna Welch, Sheri-Lyn Sapp, Alan Wingfield, Benny Shifflett and Vann Parker, following their baptisms.

Story by Liz Bailey

Daniel Venegas, district pastor of Mountain View Conference's Buckhannon, Braxton, and Glenville churches, planned to baptize four people at the Buckhannon church late last year.

One by one, the candidates entered the water, ranging from young to old—the oldest being 91-yearold Benny. As Venegas finished the baptisms, he asked if there was anyone else who wanted to commit their lives to Jesus. A little hand shot up. It was Vann Parker, a first grader who had been raised in the church. Venegas smiled and acknowledged him, stating, “That’s great, we will talk.”

‘A Little Child Shall Lead Them’

Lauri and Joe Nichols came to know Christ as a result of Rachel Velez (center), a 14-year-old who couldn't hide her love for Jesus.

Story by Liz Bailey

Fourteen-year-old Rachel Velez became friends with her public school teacher Lauri Nichols during their private tutoring sessions. As they met each week, Velez could not hide her love for Jesus, often talking to her teacher about God. One day, Velez invited Nichols and her husband, Joe, to church to hear her sing special music.

Video: Supernatural Help

The demons Drake Johnson faced as a kid weren’t psychological but spiritual.

In our video interview, Johnson, now an active member of Mountain View Conference’s Charleston Boulevard church in West Virginia, shares his story of how God saved him.

Read articles from the March/April 2023 Visitor:

70 Attend Mountain View Conference's New Believer's Retreat

Matthew Haire, pastor of the Morgantown (W.Va.) church, baptizes Alan Ayala at the New Believer’s retreat.

Story by Liz Bailey

“A New Believer’s retreat! That was a new and revolutionary idea to me,” says Walter Cardenas, assistant to the Mountain View Conference (MVC) president. “I had never heard of this before, but when newly elected President Tim Bailey shared this idea with me, the more I thought about it, the more excited I became. We began to dream about the potential this event would have and the blessing that it was going to be for new believers.”

Rainelle Church Members Witness Divine Connections

Proudly displaying their baptismal certificates, the Nonnemacher family members Tyler, Layne, Carsyn and Sharyce flank Eddie Reyes, pastor of the Rainelle church.

Story by Liz Bailey

In the small town of Rainelle, W.Va., sits the foundation of a church-to-be. In 2016, a tragic flood destroyed the tiny Seventh-day Adventist Church. For the past five years, members have been worshipping in a rental building while working hard to rebuild a new church. Literally moving a mountain, the members cleared a spot on higher ground and poured a new foundation.