In the Salem, Oregon, area, members of East Salem Adventist Church have been hard at work serving their community. “We’ve already completed 57 projects so far this year,” shared Derrick Teague, one of the founding members of the ACTS group. ACTS, which is an acronym standing for Affirming Community Through Service, takes inspiration from the [...]
Walla Walla University is offering a new class this winter designed to prepare theology students to better serve and engage with their communities. Titled Community Engagement–Churches, the class draws on the relationships, experiences and lessons in best practice collected from the operation of the Center for Humanitarian Engagement over the last five years. David Lopez, [...]
What happens when you bring together more than 140 enthusiastic seventh- and eighth-graders, 30 dedicated sponsors, uplifting music and thought-provoking worship experiences in a unique setting? You get 7UP — a spiritual retreat weekend designed for seventh- and eighth-graders, hosted by the Upper Columbia Conference office of education. The creation of the 7UP retreat stemmed [...]
There's new hope for church and school ministries in our region, thanks to an innovative investment in theology and education majors who choose to attend Walla Walla University. That's the message the North Pacific Union executive committee heard on Nov. 8, 2023 during its regular meeting on the WWU campus. The NextGen Difference Two years [...]
Tualatin Valley Academy is rejoicing after receiving senior academy candidacy accreditation from North American Division. While TVA is approved to expand their Pre-K–10 program up to 12th grade as of the 2024–2025 school year, the school has opted to gradually work toward a full secondary program, adding 11th grade in fall 2024 and then 12th [...]
“Our success will be in proportion to their belief in our belief in, and appreciation of, them.”1 If our primary objective is to make other Adventist believers, we will spend all of our energy making people conform to our theological opinions. However, if we believe that every human we encounter is worthy of receiving the [...]
After spending weeks planning and preparing, Danya Nicketa-Kiljoha, Brianna Lawrence and Teresa Jensen led a Vacation Bible School program for 30 kids ages 5–13 in Togiak, Alaska, on Sept. 28–30, 2023. The weekend consisted of four VBS sessions, a church service and a community potluck. From the onset, the group faced challenges. Even though things didn’t [...]
Around Christmas 2022, my family and I were in Georgia visiting my brother-in-law, Jeff Sutton, who runs a mission training school in Belize called MOVE. We discussed ways to inspire young people to service while equipping them with skills to prepare them for wherever God would lead them. We also talked about our mutual desire [...]
What happens when a church leans into its members' talents? It creates programs with tremendous potential. In Seattle, many young adults don’t know the love of Jesus. Refuge Adventist Church designed its ministry outreach for young adults who didn’t grow up in a Christian environment. The church invests in the quality of the worship experience. [...]
Follow the daily reading plan and you will read the entire Bible in a year. December 1: Acts 18:19–28; Acts 19 December 3: 1 Corinthians 1–4 December 4: 1 Corinthians 5–8 December 5: 1 Corinthians 9–11 December 6: 1 Corinthians 12–14 December 7: 1 Corinthians 15–16 December 8: 2 Corinthians 1–13 December 10: Acts 20:1–3; [...]
