Prayer Conference Participants Explore the Bible

Has anyone heard of a prayer youth conference? You have to know one that was held, October 22-25, in Tawangmangu, Solo, on the island of Central Java, Indonesia. Being the first conference to be held on this island, Tawangmangu got a distinction for making history for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Indonesia.

Pastor K R Sagala, youth director for the Adventist Church in west Indonesia (WIUM), gave the message for the children. He was followed by a guest, an officer from the Central Java government. A traditional dance to the tune of “How big the love of the mother is to her son,” welcomed the guests and participants.

The convention was highlighted with presentations on Group Prayer, Never-Ending Prayer, Personal Prayer, Reading the Bible, and reading of the book, Acts of the Apostles.”

The speakers during the conference were Pastor Jobbie Yabut, youth director for the Adventist church in the southern Asia-pacific region (SSD); Pastor Gee Sung Bee, director of the 1000 Missionary Movement in Indonesia; Pastor Johnny Lubis, president for the church in west Indonesia (WIUM); Dr Marolop Sagala, WIUM Sabbath School and Personal Ministries director; Dr. E T Panjaitain, WIUM Ministerial Association director; and Pastor Sagala.

“The participants’ daily reading of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy books gave the participants the best treat in their life,” said the organizers. “It was here that they learned the value of spending time reading God’s word.”

At the culmination of the event, the youths were able to read 7,545 chapters of the Bible and 750 prayer articles. [Jobbie Yabut]

Two Leaders Come to the Region’s Church Headquarters

Turnovers are inevitable. They reflect a church on the move and a church that responds to needs within and outside of the region.

Recent departures of leaders from the headquarters of the Adventist Church in the southern Asia-Pacific region (SSD) and responding to calls outside of the region took in equally competent and dedicated leaders to occupy the vacated positions.

Joshua W. Mok

Joshua Wone Mok and wife, Christina, came to SSD in August to become the executive secretary, replacing Dr Hendrik Sumendap, who accepted a call to become pastor of a church in New Jersey, United States of America.

Pastor Mok started his denominational work as a church pastor in the West Malaysia-Singapore Mission in 1972 and became a department director in 1978.

In 1981 he served as president of the same mission. He was called as executive secretary for South China Island Union Mission in October, 1985.

In 1988 to 1994 the Greater Sydney Conference, in Australia, called him to become a church pastor. The last 14 years prior to his acceptance of the position at SSD, he was the executive secretary for the Southeast Asia Union Mission, with headquarters in Singapore.

His wife, Christina, used to work as branch manager for Home Health Education Service in Singapore. She too had been a teacher and nurse. At present she works with the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS).

The Moks have two sons. Gerald, the elder, is a businessman in Sydney, Australia and married to Elza; Gabriel, the younger, is a legal counsel of an investment bank in Hong Kong.

Kevin K.Costello

Kevin Costello and his family joined the SSD team in September, replacing Myron Iseminger, who earlier returned to his home conference office in the United States. Kevin is no stranger to the territories of SSD since he served in the islands of Micronesia as a student missionary for three years and later as an interdivision employee.

His work experiences started in 1987 when he was staff and trust auditor for the General Conference Auditing Service. In 1989 he became Treasurer and Pathfinder Director for Texico Conference in the United States.

In 1991, Guam-Miconesia Mission called him to work at Ebeye SDA School, in the Marshall Islands, serving as Vice Principal, Treasurer and Teacher. And in July 1992, he served as Chief Accountant, Youth and Pathfinder Director and later as Treasurer in Guam-Micronesia Mission.

Oklahoma Conference called him to be Treasurer in December 1994. Nine years later, he became Vice President for Finance and Treasurer for the Georgia-Cumberland Conference and served there until his call to the SSD.

As a Commissioned Minister, Kevin enjoys working with young people. In addition, cycling, ham radio, reading, and missions help him live his life to the fullest.

Although Kevin has earned denominational Trust Certification, a Certified Public Accountant’s license and a Master’s in Business Administration degree, his favorite titles are Husband and Daddy. He is married to Teresa Costello. They have one daughter, Kiona. Kiona is a native word that responds to the context of Psalms 121:1- if there’s darkness all around I will look up to the heavens from where my help comes. [AND Staff]

Church Launches Gideon 300

Remember Gideon and his 300 men that fought the battle of the Lord against the Medianites? Gideon was asked by God to choose men to compose his army. He did what God asked of him. According to God’s instruction, a process was followed that finally set aside 300 that carried out God’s plan.

Such a process teaches a lesson: God’s choosing is not based on numbers but on the attitude of faith signified by actions.

Thus were the message given by Pastor Albert Regoso, administrative consultant to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Central Luzon (CLC), during the launching of Gideon 300, September 27.

In line with the world church’s proclamation of 2009 as the Year of Evangelism, Pastor Carmelito Galang, Jr, CLC president, called for lay leaders’ participation in spearheading this initiative.

While underscoring the progress of God’s work during the first 100 days of his leadership at CLC, Pastor Galang stressed the need to organize the Gideon 300 as a missionary arm mapping out and implementing the plan to bring the message of salvation to the elite of Metro Manila and its suburbs. [Israel Bacdayan]

Pastors welcome CommunicateWell Initiative

Imagine a pastor delivering a message and finding preaching a challenging episode in his life? This is because of inadequate skill of communicating the message, which often leaves him feeling the guilt of shortchanging members in his church.

These and a few other considerations have prompted the communication department of the church in Central Luzon (CLC), to coordinate with the ministerial department, to organize the CommunicateWell initiative in an effort to improve the pastors’ ability to communicate God’s message clearly.

Launched October 16, this program had 40 pastors from all of CLC territory taking advantage of this continuing education program.

“CommunicateWell envisions pastors who can teach, preach and communicate well in English,” said Pastor Ron Genebago, CLC communication director. He also outlined the project’s goals as follows: (1) To create a friendly environment for pastors to practice their English without fear and hesitation, (2) To assist them to attain fluency in the use of the English with the help of English instructors who care about their professional growth and language improvement; (3) To create a pool of pastors who don’t shirk at preaching wherever they are called to serve—locally or abroad; (4) To expose them to CLC English churches.

Included in the curriculum were components on basic and advanced grammar, diction, accepted American accent, public speaking, personality development and other related subjects.

“Let’s hit the mark with accuracy! We shall endeavor to learn to talk, to write better English, and not just to produce a potpourri or a diarrhea of words,” said Pastor Rodolfo Nepumoceno, head elder of the Church at Manila Adventist Medical Center (MAMC)and former editor of HealthLink, as he keynoted the seminar. “This seminar will help us to learn how to be terse… stating in a sentence what we used to say in a paragraph,” Pastor Nepumoceno added.

“This statement, ‘God helps those who help themselves,’ sounds good but unbiblical,” said Pastor Carmelito Galang, CLC president. “In the truest sense, God helps those who are helpless.”

Helpless the Pastors may be, God is ready to help them in their quest for better facility to communicate God’s message of hope. Pastor Galang officially declared CommunicateWell project opened, to the applause of the participants.

“In my early years, I was not communicating effectively. But when I started preparing for the ministry, I seriously disciplined myself to enhance my communication skills,” Pastor Ardison Bernardo, one of the resource persons, testified. “Think, read, listen, watch, study, write, speak, and pray in English,” he counseled.

Ms Olive Tolentino, associate professor of English at the Adventist University of the Philippines, shared how one can communicate more clearly. She asked the participants to deliver impromptu sermons and had the class evaluate them.

To keep the momentum alive, officers were elected for the CommunicateWell series: Pastor Regelio Undan, president; Pastor Geronimo Viernes, vice president; Pastor Laudimer Gatus, secretary; Pastor Bonifacio Itcoy, treasurer; and Pastor Albert Soltero, communication director. These officers will assist in the implementation of the program.

“We are happy for this opportunity to equip ourselves with skills to communicate the gospel better. We appreciate the leadership for envisioning this program,” said Ernie Marin and Jason Lejano, pre-interns for the ministry at CLC. [Geronimo Viernes]

NOC holds Pathfinder Camporee

Fostering closer ties among their kind in the spirit of Christian brotherhood, 500 junior Pathfinders gathered at the convention center of the Adventist Church in Negros Occidental (NOC), October 27-30, for a camporee.

After the keynote address of Jessie D Peñaflorida, education director for central Philippines (CPUC), the young people participated in the activities lined up for the event.

The Pathfinders, who looked smart in their uniforms, conducted Pass in Review, Semaphore signaling and Fancy Drills. They took part in songs and yells, cultural presentations, and enjoyed a Black Theater show performed by contingents from Dominador Gensolin Memorial SDA School and Hinigaran SDA Elementary School. Folk dances, declamation, choral rendition and some skits, were also highlights of the event.

Considered most beneficial by the campers were the classes held to earn Adventist Youth (AY) honors like the following: Amphibians, Birds, Cats, Christian Grooming, Drilling and Marching, Knot Tying, Mammals and Seeds. Ten MGs, 80 counselors, and 55 teachers served as instructors. The MGs who led the Pathfinders to earn honors were Ludovico Miranda, Norma Quijote, Cesar Vicente Calooy, Mila Billones, Esther Guerra, Liza Facon, Citadel Malala, Jennifer Palacios, Susan Baad and Galilee Aloro.

“It was fun to watch the vibrant juniors participating in all activities,” said observers and parents, and when asked how they felt about the gathering, campers exclaimed, “It was a good time to meet new friends and get more acquainted with them.”

“Not left out in the event were the morning and evening worships as well as the morning calisthenics that the campers participated in. And also the evenings with cheerful and exciting songs and yells will be long remembered,” the instructors were heard saying. [Punay C. Bermeo]

ADRA and ACS respond to flood victims

Some 320 families in Gapan City, Central Luzon, who were displaced by typhoon “Pablo” received aid from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and the Adventist Community Services (ACS) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in central Luzon (CLC).

The urgency of the need made Pastor Carmelito Galang, Jr, president of CLC, and his staff, to take off from their pressing duties to work for the quick relief of the flood victims. ADRA immediately responded to the call for help.

After a careful identification of the beneficiaries by the personnel of the government’s social welfare and development (DSWD), barangay officials, and ACS volunteers, the goods were distributed.

A short program before the distribution of relief goods was held. DSWD municipal officer Khristine S Lazaro and the head of the Barangay recognized and appreciated the assistance the church offered for their constituencies. At this event, ADRA-Philippines was represented by Elijah Zuňiga, disaster coordinator; and Allan Deblois, chief accountant.

The inspirational message emphasized at the program was God’s care for His children no matter what the circumstances are. [Jose Zabat, Jr]

Academy Celebrates Ruby Anniversary

Forty years of fruitful existence! Forty years of service to the youth of the church! This was Negros Mission Academy (NMA) as it celebrated its Ruby Anniversary, October 14-18, with its alumni experiencing a grand homecoming!

Its theme, “Reminiscing the past for a grand future,” added glitter to the events with tributes said by the alumni of 1968 to 2008.

The opening celebration was participated in by the Academian Chorale, with their concert. After a maskara parade the following day, a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the newly constructed buildings on the campus was held. On Thursday evening a banquet was held in honor of the alumni.

A free clinic was held in morning of Friday sponsored by the NMA Alumni Doctors’ Association at the Negros Occidental Convention Center. It catered to patients coming from the community and distant places. Beneficiaries of this community service appreciated of the benevolence of the NMA alumni.

The weekend big-time events included commitment service during vespers, fellowship lunch following the Sabbath worship service, and the Saturday night grand social. [Stephanie Loriezo]

Youth Alive! Stirs Youth to Live for Jesus

When given the opportunity to work for the Lord in various ways, the youth will not hesitate to get involved with it. They want to become missionaries to enable them to learn more of Him.

The theme, “Transformed!” could have motivated 20 young people to learn more of Jesus through Bible study, five to get baptized soon, nine to become student missionaries for one year, while 40 want to serve their churches in any way possible. These young people were among the 120 participants to the Youth Alive! meetings held at the Shah Alam National Park, in Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur on October 12-17.

Consisting of a spiritual talk on the Ten Commandments; health topics on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, How to Enjoy Long and Quality Life, My Body as God’s Temple, You are What You Eat, and Integrity; and varied relevant activities, the weeklong event became memorable and beneficial to the participants.

Two facilitators: Marvin Marcelino, a guidance counselor from Bangkok Adventist International School; and Joe Rey Dayahan, a professor of nursing from the Manila Adventist Medical Center—College and Youth Alive program expert, guided the young people into different family group sessions.

Another highlight of the event was a drama presentation directed by Rose Solano, from El Salvador, entitled “The Passion of Christ,” where it left the young audience teary-eyed, touched by the love of Christ as depicted in the play.

This event was organized by the Klang Valley Youth Alive committee of eight young people and two young pastors from Kuala Lumpur.

Adventist world church leader redefines Stewardship

“Stewardship is all of me in response to all of God,” said Dr Erika Puni, Adventist world church stewardship director, during a seminar he conducted at Pasay Adventist Church, October 8-9.

A total of 144 pastors from the churches within northern Philippines (NPUM) and central Luzon (CLC) attended this seminar, where they were updated on the theology of stewardship.

Pastor Wendell Mandolang, stewardship director for the southern Asia-Pacific region (SSD); Pastor Carmelito Galang, Jr, CLC president; and Pastor Modesto Adap, NPUM stewardship director, warmly welcomed the participants.

“Stewardship is not about program, it is our lifestyle seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Stewardship is part of the DNA of the Seventh-day Adventist. Stewardship is who we are as a church,” explained Puni.

He also emphasized that stewardship covers one’s personal influence with his wife, children, church and the world. “It is more than the four T’s—Time, Talent, Treasure, and Temple—that we often hear. It is more than tithes and offerings. It is a lifestyle,” Puni added.

Other topics discussed were Biblical Stewardship, Stewardship Principles and Kingdom Values and Adventist Theology of Tithes and Adventist Theology of Offerings. [Ron Genebago]

Writers’ Goal: Build Trust

The job of church reporters is to build trust in people. Done through sharing accurate information including the challenges and successes that go along with it, trust is established.

Every church communicator needs to know this principle, internalize it, and when he attempts to tell a story, nothing is withheld in order not to leave his readers or hearers wonder.

Thus said Ansel Oliver, assistant communication director for Adventist News Network (ANN), the official news information service of the Seventh-day Adventist world church (GC), during an 8-hour advanced writing seminar held in Central Luzon Conference (CLC), October 10.

The seminar was sponsored by the Communication Department of CLC. Being the seminar resource person, Oliver helped enhanced the skills of editors and writers at CLC.

“I am not here to teach you newswriting. I am here to show you how to continue teaching yourself,” said Oliver to the 65 writers and editors from local churches and institutions.

The participants represented the following publications: Manila Star, a national newspaper based in Muntinlupa City; Vision, newsletter of Baesa Church; Central Light, CLC official publication; Healthlink, official newsletter of Manila Adventist Medical Center and Colleges Inc.; Southern Adventist Review, newsletter for Area 9 in metro Manila; Life at the Center,official newsletter of Manila Center Church; and Daystar Chronicle.

Oliver pointed out important considerations in writing: six questions every news story should answer; first things readers are likely to read on a page; a good formula for the basics of photojournalism; why picture captions are important and how they can serve readers; how to identify news in the first place; two writing formulas for grabbing readers’ attention; tips for interviewing you can use immediately; and how to keep learning journalism without an instructor.

“I enjoyed learning from Ansel,” said Pastor Ricky, one of the participants. “I like the learning process: Each lecture is followed by a practicum.”

At the culmination of the 8-hour session, certificates of attendance were handed to the participants by Oliver; Pastor Carmelito Galang Jr, CLC president; Ms Oliveth Tolentino, associate English professor at the Adventist University of the Philippines; and Pastor Ron Genebago, CLC communication director. [Joey De Ocampo]