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#NADEvangelism #NADMinisterial #NADPastors #compassion10m #dayofhope #plant1000
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Compassion and the Christmas Season
by Jose Cortes Jr.
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Pastor Jose Cortes Jr
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Yes I know, it is clear that Jesus was not born on December 25, and that does not mean Adventists cannot practice Compassion during the Christmas Season. Compassion must be a lifestyle that permeates every waking hour, every day of the year, including this Holiday Season. Compassion was a priority of Jesus daily, even during holidays. He was not known for staying away from the festivities of His day, He was famous for doing good during these special occasions and always (read john 5:1-15).
One of our beloved Adventist Pioneers, also one of the founders of the Adventist Movement, right here in the North American Division territory, had some interesting things to say about Christmas. Ellen White wrote:
"...If we would indulge less in feasting and merriment upon these occasions, and instead make them the means of benefiting humanity, we should better meet the mind of God..." {RH, December 11, 1879, par. 6}
This is what she did during a cold Christmas in Denison, Texas, in 1878: Read More...
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A Movement Must Have Momentum
by Tom Evans with Jose Cortes Jr.
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My wife and I have hosted two boys from an orphanage in Latvia over the past Christmas and summer. We discovered that these boys enjoy bowling. The younger boy (age 5 the first time he came) has some trouble getting the ball down the lane to hit any of the pins. The challenge is not with the start. In fact, in the beginning the ball often is rolling nicely down the lane. But it soon swerves off course and ends up in the gutter. He gets frustrated, but doesn't give up. The results are the same every time. The problem is the ball's lack of momentum.
There is an obvious parallel between the bowling experience of our five year old and the church. We have sound doctrine. This gets the ball headed straight down the lane. However, if we lack sufficient momentum, there is a danger that the ball could end up in the gutter, rather than producing a strike. When distracted by issues inside the church, the ball can swerve either to the left or the right and end up in the gutter as well. The momentum of the church is evangelism. This involves gaining new territory for Christ through church planting. Peter Wagner states, "Without exception, the growing denominations have been those that stress church planting" (Wagner, C. P. (1990). Planting Churches for a Greater Harvest. Ventura, CA: Regal, p. 20). What is the momentum of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the North American Division?
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Missional Initiatives for North America
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Compassion 10 Million - #compassion10m
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Compassion 10 Million is an opportunity for each Adventist member in North America to be involved in mission by becoming the Eyes, Heart, Hands, and Feet of Jesus inside and outside the walls of our homes and churches. It calls for Adventists across North America to collectively invest 10 million hours blessing our communities with intentional, repetitive, and relevant acts of love and service. This initiative provides the opportunity for everyone to be involved somehow. Preaching and teaching are also acts of compassion, yet not all of us may be able to preach or teach, but we can all reach.
Compassion Weekend (second weekend of every month): To create momentum, establish unity, and produce a greater effect, we are encouraging each church to set aside the second weekend of every month, making it a special time for intentional community outreach, attending to the needs of people in our neighborhoods. These weekends will serve as reminders of our mission and as an opportunity for all the Ministries of the Church to collaborate together under the umbrella of Transformational Evangelism. Just imagine 6,277 churches, taking time every second Sabbath, after the church service, and every second Sunday to go out into the community to show the love of God and the compassion of Jesus in practical ways.
Compassion Weekend Dates for 2016: January 9-10; February 13-14: March 12-13; April 9-10; May 14-15; June 11-12; July 9-10; August 13-14; September 10-11; October 8-9; November 12-13; December 10-11.
Funding for a Compassion Model Church in each Conference: $15,000.00 has been set aside in collaboration with the Unions and Conferences to support a Compassion Model Church per Conference (NAD $10,000.00 / Union $2,500.00 / Conference $2,500.00) - Application and Guidelines will be available shortly - Each Conference will select its Compassion Model Church.
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Day of Hope & Compassion (April 16-17, 2016)
#dayofhope #compassion10m
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The Day of Hope & Compassion will serve as a very festive two-day Division-wide commemoration of our hope. Our President, Pastor Dan Jackson, envisions all Adventist Congregations, K-12 Schools, Colleges, Universities, and Hospital in North America celebrating our hope through acts of compassion, a social media blitz, joyful worship services, and distribution of inspiring Adventist literature that is practical to the daily lives and needs of our communities. This celebration will provide an opportunity for grand collaboration among church members, church ministries, and institutions. Please, mark your calendars, we need total involvement to make it a reality.
Resources: the North American Division will develop resources and create a media promotional campaign to assist congregations, schools, and hospitals for this extraordinary celebration.
Modeling Hope & Compassion: the North American Division Leadership Team will celebrate the Day of Hope & Compassion by partnering with the local churches, Conferences, and Union in the City of Columbia, Maryland, the home to the future new Headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America. Pastor Dan Jackson and our North American Division Leadership Team would love to see all Union and Conferences Leadership Teams do the same in their geographical areas.
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Plant1000 is a bold and unprecedented vision of collaboration in church planting. The North American Division, General Conference, Conferences, and Unions will partner with our local churches and invest to help fund 1000 community churches from 2016 to 2020. Envision 200 Community Church Plants, each year, for the next five years. There are many neighborhoods, towns, and counties in North America that still don't have access to the good news of Jesus. There are peoples groups in our Division which are still mostly unreached. These new community church plants will put the gospel within their reach.
Support and Funding for Conferences: we are praying and have set aside funding to support all of our Conferences with more than 15,000 members to take a step of faith and plant 4 churches every year for the next five years. We are also praying and have set aside funding to support all of our Conferences with less than 15,000 members to plant 3 churches every year for the next five years.
The funds set aside to support 200 Community Church Plants per year are $10,000.00 per Church Plant, in collaboration with the General Conference, Unions, and Conferences (NAD/GC $5,000.00 / Union $2,500.00 / Conference $2,500.00) - Application will be available shortly - Each Conference will select its church plants to be funded
Church Planters BootCamp (April 28 - May 1, 2016) in Camp Kulaqua, Florida: a top of the line equipping opportunity for those leading the Community Church Plants funded. It will include cutting edge training, assessment, coaching, and networking with other Church Planters in North America and the world. No Registration Cost to Church Planter (only cost to church planter is transportation to BootCamp).
Deadline: after May 1, 2016 - unrequested funds may become available on first come, first served basis for Conferences wanting to plant some extra churches.
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| The Evangelism Huddle - February 7-10, 2016 #ehuddle |
The Evangelism Huddle, "the ehuddle", (NAD Evangelism Visioning & Leadership Team) will be meeting in February 7 - 10, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. The objective is to help to create a shared and collaborative vision for Evangelism and Church Growth in the North American Division. For more information please Click Here...
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North America Needs your Articles, Photos, & Videos
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In the months to come we would like to publish, celebrate, pray for, and spread what God is doing through you. North America would love to see your evangelism and outreach stories, photos, and videos.
Send us articles, photos, and videos of your Best Practices in Evangelism & Outreach (traditional & innovative):
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| Baptism in Palau, Guam-Micronesia Mission
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| | Baptism in Orlando, Florida |
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| | Compassion Christmas in West New York, New Jersey |
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Let's connect and interact on Twitter. This tool can be helpful to your ministry when sharing Jesus. It will also help to influence your community, and the world. Please tag us @NADEvangelism or @ReachNAmerica when posting your Best Practices photos. Remember to use the following hashtag
#nadevangelism #nadministerial #compassion among others you may have chosen to highlight your local church or ministry
Read More...
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Through Instagram we get to highlight our Evangelism, Outreach, and Church Growth Best Practices through photo and very short videos. Please tag us @NADEvangelism when posting your Best Practices photos. Remember to use the following hashtags #nadevangelism #nadministerial #compassion among others you may have chosen to highlight your local church or ministry.
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2014 © North American Division Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists. v(301) 680-6418
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