Adventist Heritage Center

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1 Adventist Heritage Center From: Sent: To: Subject: Adventist Review on behalf of Adventist Review Monday, May 22, :41 AM Adventist Heritage Center Monday Trending Lessons from the Edge George Barna Tells Adventist Delegates, We are in a Crisis 1

2 First Adventist Church Building Inaugurated in Nauru Juggling Between Ideals and Reality In Australia, Adventist School Thrives on Team Jesus Animal Encounters II - Costa Rica Trailer Watch Now Copyright 2017 Adventist Review, All rights reserved. You are receiving this because you opted in at our website. Our mailing address is: Adventist Review Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD Add us to your address book 2

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4 Search Subscribe Menu MAY 22, 2017 After many years praying and waiting, members now have a place of worship auru is an island country in Micronesia, in the Central Pacific. It lies northwest of Tuvalu, north of the Solomon Islands, east-northeast of Papua New Guinea, southeast of the Federated States of Micronesia and south of the Marshall Islands. With 10,084 residents in an 8.1-square-mile (21-square-kilometre) area, it is the smallest state in the South Pacific and the third smallest state by area in the world. Local members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, however, are now celebrating that after years of praying and waiting, they finally have a church building in which to worship. The new church was officially opened on April 9 by Maveni Kaufononga, president of the Trans-Pacific Union Mission (TPUM) church region, based in Fiji, and Nauru Government Minister Shadlog Bernicke. Reagan Aliklik, the elder and landowner who donated the land for the church, shared a brief history of Adventism in the small nation. He said that in 1975, a small group of Adventists made up of Kiribatians and Solomon Islanders who came to work in the phosphate mines, started worshipping together. an symposium tackles difficult ggests a way forward Serbian Adventist yo up their church enga rs worshipping in the new church. [Photo: Maveni Kaufononga, president of the Trans-Pacific Union Missio Government Minister Shadlog Bernicke open the new church. [P Later, Nauruans who went to study in Adventist schools in Fiji (Navesau High School, Vatuvonu College, and Suva Adventist High School), Kiribati (Kaume High School), and

5 Papua New Guinea (Pacific Adventist University) returned and joined the group. Eventually, church ministers were sent to nurture and grow the small group. Today, total membership has grown to more than 50. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, there was joyful celebration and thanksgiving expressed by the members. After so many years of waiting, we now have a proper place to worship and have communion with God, they said. During the worship service, Kaufononga reminded the members that the church should be a light in the darkness. The church is a lighthouse for the lost and wounded souls, and you are here to serve them, he said. Following the service, members served the guests a feast of food, with plenty of networking and fellowship taking place around the table. The resident pastor was also excited as he no longer has to live in rented houses and temporary shelters because a new three-bedroom house was built under the church. We wish to thank the world church for their kind gesture and financial assistance that allowed us to build this new church, said Ronald Stone, Ministerial Association secretary and Global Mission coordinator in the TPUM. We are also grateful and thankful for the two teams of builders from Fiji, he said. [We appreciate] their sacrifice and determination to complete the project despite the many challenges they faced. As the oldest publishing platform of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Adventist Review (est. 1849) provides inspiration and information to the global church through a variety of media, including print, websites, apps, and audio and video platforms.content appearing on any of the Adventist Review platforms has been selected because it is deemed useful to the purposes and mission of the journal to inform, educate, and inspire the denomination it serves.unless identified as created by Adventist Review or a designated member of the Adventist Review staff, content is assumed to express the viewpoints of the author or creator of the content. Current Adventist News Download The Adventist World Week of Prayer Edition Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events What Concerns You about the Church? Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Kit Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Advertising Questions Copyright 2017, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

6 Search Subscribe Menu MAY 20, 2017 Serbian Adventist youth challenged to step up their church engagement, service ć ć hat would you prefer to do? Play hopscotch or play on your mobile phone? Sit bored in church or be involved in active mission? Two hundred youth from across southern Serbia faced those questions as they learned that they are an important part of the church and God s family and that the Lord has a mission for them. The April youth weekend at a hotel near Kragujevac, in southern Serbia, focused on the topic between ideals and reality. Miodrag Jovanović, a pastor from Munich, Germany, focused on sharing content that deals directly with the issues they face in everyday life. Young people need to feel they are a significant part of the Church, and that their role in the work of the Church is very important, he said. His spontaneity instantly engaged the youth, who nicknamed him Miki. North American symposium tackles difficult questions, suggests a way forward After many years praying and wa members now have a place of w Our discussion is based on the fact that our youth often hear about ideals that are quite different from tomorrow's reality, said Zoran Sudarević, Youth Ministries director in the South Conference church region in Serbia. We rarely speak in church about how to achieve your best in everyday life. A baptism taking place during the Serbian youth gathering. [Photo: South-East European Union] Attendees engage in humanitarian work, including finding a home for pets. [Photo: South-East European Union] The weekend gathering was a mixture of quality Bible study and discussion, music, social and sports opportunities, as well as time to take part in humanitarian activities. Those humanitarian activities of practical Christianity took place Saturday afternoon.

7 Visiting Kragujevac, a city with a population of 150,000, the youth divided into groups. Some maintained a stand promoting health and the fight against violence, while others played with children from local shelters, found homes for abandoned animals, played instruments in the street, or, most intriguingly, took part in a project that invited people to put their mobile phone down to play hopscotch. Despite the rain, the youth enjoyed serving others and establishing new contacts. At the end of the day, they got together to share their experiences. Vocal-instrumental ensemble Vesnik made the weekend even more memorable, as they also offered a charity Easter concert at Kragujevac Children s Theater. Somewhat to their surprise, they raised a significant amount of money for the children of a local shelter. Youth Engagement in the Church How can youth become more engaged with the church? A very practical aspect of the weekend was to give youth the opportunity to express their own ideas about the church, what they wished was different, as well as the things they are thankful for. By the end of the weekend, a document was published to be delivered to every pastor and officer of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South-East European Union. Among the things the youth said they were grateful for, they mentioned having the opportunity of participating in church services, having brothers and sisters in Christ no matter where they go, and having a church where we can develop our talents and gifts. What would young people change about the church? The youth mentioned they would like to put an end to constant gossiping, enjoy more mission-oriented opportunities, and be able to enjoy more vivid experiences with God. Above all, they said, we want our church to organize more meetings like this one. The weekend included not only a baptism but a special appeal to those who had not yet decided to get baptized. As a result, a sizable group of young people came forward to be prayed for and commit to the Lord. Sudarević emphasized the importance of gatherings like these for boosting the Christian experience of the Serbian Adventist youth. We believe that this meeting has been significant for the spiritual life of every young person who attended, he said. As the oldest publishing platform of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Adventist Review (est. 1849) provides inspiration and information to the global church through a variety of media, including print, websites, apps, and audio and video platforms.content appearing on any of the Adventist Review platforms has been selected because it is deemed useful to the purposes and mission of the journal to inform, educate, and inspire the denomination it serves.unless identified as created by Adventist Review or a designated member of the Adventist Review staff, content is assumed to express the viewpoints of the author or creator of the content. Current Adventist News Download The Adventist World Week of Prayer Edition Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events What Concerns You about the Church? Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Kit Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Advertising Questions Copyright 2017, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

8 Search Subscribe Menu MAY 20, 2017 Principal credits success to prayer, hard work, and Jesus as the center anberra Christian School is one of the three Adventist schools in the South New South Wales Conference church region in Australia, and the only Adventist school in the greater Canberra region. For such a small territory, Canberra has a smattering of religious schools and colleges, making competition fierce. So how is Canberra Christian School, which looked set for closure only a few years ago, continuing to raise its enrollments numbers? Many Australians read a recent news article featured in thecanberra Timesabout this story. In a fairy tale twist, a school food stand retailer became principal, and effectively transformed a struggling school into a thriving school community. North American symposium tackles difficult questions, suggests a way forward While that is accurate, there s a few other things Canberra Christian School principal Bree Hills wants to make clear. And one of them is how none of this would have possible without prayer. Canberra Christian School principal Bree Hills. [Photo: Adventist Record] Some of the students from Canberra Christian School. [Photo: Adventist Record] It s true that the school was in a tough spot, but lots of people prayed and worked hard for a long time, said Hills. That first year when I came in as principal was fundamental in deciding what we were going to change and how we were going to move forward. After many years praying and wa members now have a place of w

9 Hills became principal of the school in 2014, but her placement was more reminiscent of a biblical tale than a fairy tale. After working for a few years as a teacher at Prescott Primary Northern, in Adelaide, Hills and her husband moved to Canberra. That same year, she was offered the role of teacher/principal at Canberra Christian School, but turned it down something she refers to as her Jonah moment. Although I felt God telling me it was the right thing to do, I wanted to do my own thing, said Hills. I was working in a private sector job, and I wanted to stay there. That was ten years ago. But God didn t give up. After taking maternity leave, Hills started volunteering in the Canberra Christian School food retailer with a few other moms whose children also attended the school. The school, at that stage, was starting to dip in enrollment numbers, and things weren t looking good. So, for the second time, the school made an offer would Hills be willing to take on the role of teacher/principal at Canberra Christian School? This time, there was no doubt in my mind that this was where God wanted me, said Hills. I d already had my Jonah moment I d couldn t say no twice! Hills took the position, gathered a team of staff who understood the new vision of the school, and things haven t been the same since. When Hills became principal, there were only about 20 students on the roll and three teachers. Now, just three years later, the school has more than 100 students enrolled and a staff of over 20. What we tried to do was put ourselves out there, and engage the students in a positive manner, Hills said. But one of the biggest things we did is reinforce that Jesus is a part of everything we do, from the classroom to how we interact with others. The school s theme for this year is Team Jesus, and staff members are ready to implement this concept daily. Every Monday, teachers dress up in a Team Jesus baseball outfit to reinforce the theme. The Week of Spiritual Emphasis is always a highlight, and throughout the year, students can earn Team Jesus tokens for positive behavior. And it s working. We don t have a lot of behavioral management problems, Hills said. Our students are learning how they can be a strength and a positive influence on each other. In addition to these positive outcomes, the school has faced and is still facing challenges. Space is an ongoing issue as enrollment grows, but the school is hoping to build four new classrooms next year to add to the two currently under construction. Hills said despite the challenges, the school has been tremendously blessed. The support of the church and the support of the parents has been fantastic, she said. Hills explained that even though they have had some big challenges over the years, they have also had moments where they felt it could not be anything other than answered prayer. Through it all, we remain convinced that God is leading this, she said. As the oldest publishing platform of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Adventist Review (est. 1849) provides inspiration and information to the global church through a variety of media, including print, websites, apps, and audio and video platforms.content appearing on any of the Adventist Review platforms has been selected because it is deemed useful to the purposes and mission of the journal to inform, educate, and inspire the denomination it serves.unless identified as created by Adventist Review or a designated member of the Adventist Review staff, content is assumed to express the viewpoints of the author or creator of the content. Current Adventist News Download The Adventist World Week of Prayer Edition Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events What Concerns You about the Church? Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Kit Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Advertising Questions Copyright 2017, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.