Last Monday evening I rang the doorbells of twenty of my closest neighbors.

Was I nervous? Yes, even though I’ve done things like this hundreds of times before.

So why did I do it? Three main reasons.

1. I really believe Jesus is coming soon and I want my neighbors to have the best chance possible to be ready for that universe-shattering event.
2. During a recent Week of Prayer here at the NPUC office I updated my special prayer list. I asked God to impress me with who I should invite to accept Him as Savior and Lord, embrace all Bible truths and unite with a vibrant Adventist group. The Lord impressed me to list the names of many of my neighbors, some by name and others by description (“big boat neighbors”, “loud neighbors”, “new neighbors”, “borrowed ladder from neighbors”, etc.). As I have prayed for the people on the list, God has put a growing urgency in my heart to somehow connect with them.
3. I have recently been reading Christian Service and came across statements like this–
   • “If there is one work more important than another, it is

The Bible says that there is a feast in heaven when a sinner repents. This year we will be celebrating a great feast from the 23rd -31st of October; a feast I like to refer to as a party for God. It’s a great celebration which will include music, prayers, gifts, exposure to God’s word but above all, we will witness the birth of hundreds of people who will give their lives to God. I invite you to begin to pray for 3 people who you wish to see in the kingdom of heaven. I ask that you not only pray, but also invite these people to study the Bible, to join a small group, and to participate in this special festival where you will see God working miracles through His word.

The 2009 Net  meetings began on Friday evening, October 23. Free medical consultations will also be available each day. On hand are Dentists, Phychologists, Chiropractors, and more. They are offering general medical help, diabetes exams, cholesterol screening, and other free classes.

Please keep these meetings in your prayers.

Last year several people in our congregation accepted the challenge put forth by the Folkenberg’s to reach out and “ShareHim”. There were about 10 of us who attended a ShareHim Rally in Walla Walla, WA. Later a young couple, Dan and Stacey Brown, went to the Boot Camp. When Dan shared that he wanted to be a part of preaching a series of meetings in our home church, I was thrilled.

We tentatively set the date for the fall of 2008. However it became clear that our church as a whole was not ready for that. We prayed about what God would have us to do. At a pastors retreat in the summer of 2008, Elder Lee Venden announced that he and and his wife Marji had been called to be the revivalists for the Upper Columbia Conference and he was now ready to accept invitations. The Lord impressed me to ask Lee to come to Sandpoint. I thought that probably dozens of other pastors had already asked him but it turned out that was not the case. He was happy to tell me that the Sandpoint Adventist Church would be his first revival series!

I sensed God was blessing in this since I felt our church needed more spiritual preparation to engage in an evangelistic series. As Lee and Marji lifted up Jesus Christ in a real and refreshing way I saw transformations take place in many of our members, especially our young adults. Several small groups were revived or began after the Venden’s series. A real desire to know Jesus as a close and personal friend grew in the hearts of many members, and I sensed that now we could move forward with plans for evangelism in the spring of 2009.

One Sabbath, when I had preached, a man came up to me after church and wanted to talk with me. He was visiting that week because his daughter was in a music group that performed that day. He told me that he works at the state penitentiary and confessed that he had been questioning his ministry with the prisoners there. He said that he had been wondering if what he was doing had any point, and he sounded as though he had been discouraged in his profession, possibly seeking to do something else.

But what he said next showed that the Holy Spirit had been hard at work that morning. When I first began working on my sermon that I titled “Fishers of Men” I had no idea how direct of an impact it would make. He told me that something in the sermon had hit him hard. When I had talked about Luke 4:18-19 and how we should follow Jesus’ example he had taken it to heart, realizing a new purpose and renewing his passion for working with the prisoners. He said that he had never thought about Jesus’ statement that God had sent him “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners” in the way he had that morning. I was excited that he was going to go forth and proclaim a spiritual freedom to the incarcerated.

Later, I ran into the man’s wife, and she told me that he was continually talking about the sermon, and all the depths and intricacies that had so surprised him coming from a young student preacher. I know that the Holy Spirit was working because there is no way that by the power of my own words anything such as this could have taken place. This experience validated his career, and it further cemented my decision to be a pastor. God showed me once again that nothing, but ministry will fulfill my cravings and longings for more than this world has to offer.

Landon Paul Schnabel

Bicycle donation to the Cambodian Mission workers

When you hear the word BMW, you immediately may think of fancy cars. But I would like to introduce you to a different BMW: Bicycle Mission to the World. This pioneering mission group within Korean Church Association in the States has been actively at work abroad several times thus far, already having gone 18 times.

I began participating in this mission activity since 2007, this year, I have been to Cambodia and Vietnam.

In Cambodia, there is an orphanage run by an Adventist lay elder, Mr. Choi. There the missionary members established the base camp and gave medical treatment(including oriental medicine) and conducted evangelistic meetings morning and evening. Read More

On Sabbath October 17, 2009 I had the privilege of meeting with one of our newer church plants in the Washington Conference, the Southcenter Adventist Company.

Here are a few of my observations from that wonderful experience–

• Multi-cultural Group- “Since heaven will be multicultural we decided we ought to prepare for it here” one of the church leaders said with a smile. “Although many of us came from the Korean church we now represent many cultures and countries.” The pastor is Filipino, the elder if Chinese and the deacon is Korean. A number of other Asian, African and American groups are represented, all bringing something unique to the congregation. During the World Missions time in Sabbath School several members were able to tell direct personal stories of recent visits to relatives in China, etc.
• Youthful, Family-focused Church- The congregation has a feeling of life and energy as infants, toddlers and adolescents participate in their children’s Sabbath School classes, the worship service and, of course, potluck. I had been asked specifically to preach about how to strengthen the home and family through family worship and other activities.
• Warm and friendly- I was greeted by several young men at the door as I entered the church. The three Sabbath School adult groups all reached out to those who came a little late, inviting them to join their group. One young man who was in his fifth day off drugs

Pastor Alvaro Sauza of the Missoula, Montana Seventh-day Adventist Church District looks for every way possible to reach his community with the Adventist message.

Two key ingredients of everything he does are–

1. Young people- Last year Alvaro was impressed that many of the teenagers in his district should go on the 2009 Dominican Republic Mission Trip and preach a series of Bible meetings. Although it looked impossible financially he challenged the young people, their families and the church family to see if it could happen. As a result many young people and parents participated in the mission experience. (Read one teenager’s testimony).

When the local church school was forced to close because of financial challenges Alvaro appealed for only a temporary closure. As a result the school board continues to meet and the church continues to provide subsidy in anticipation of the school re-opening next year. And the school grounds are being used this fall for a giant maze, raising awareness of Seventh-day Adventists and their school in the community as well as money for three non-profits from the proceeds. Over a thousand are expected to participate in the maze.

2. Non-stop soul winning- The young people who went on the Domincan Republic Mission Trip this spring have just completed a ShareHim evangelistic series this fall, resulting in a number of good interests. A few weeks later Alvaro began another series of meetings for the interests so they would not lose their interest! This December there will be Bible instructor training for the members and in February and March 2010 the Missoula church will host the Momentum Reaping Meetings with Brian McMahon.

“God will save every human that truly wants to be saved. But as far as we’re concerned, we need to operate under the assumption that every person is lost until he hears the gospel. And we can hasten the 2nd Coming, but there comes a point beyond which we cannot delay it.”

                                       — Mark Finley, Vice President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Mark Finley has preached over 150 evangelistics series in more than 80 countries in addition to preaching satellite NET series. For many years he also preached each week as the Director/Speaker for It Is Written TV Ministries. He has truly acted on his belief that everybody needs to hear the gospel. He Know What He’s Talking About (H.K.W.H.T.A).

In 1903 Seventh-day Adventists were given this counsel.

“Some of the most popular amusements, such as football and boxing, have become schools of brutality. They are developing the same characteristics as did the games of ancient Rome. The love of domination, the pride in mere brute force, the reckless disregard of life, are exerting upon the youth a power to demoralize that is appalling.” {Education p. 210.3 from the chapter “Recreation“}

Now, over 100 years later, professional sports are huge business, dominating the thinking and media outlets of America and the world. Colleges and High Schools groom their students to try to make it into the big leagues. Even elementary students have become a part of a system that rarely anyone questions. This segment on 60 Minutes newsmagazine October 11, 2009, “A Blow the the Brain“,  is one of the few that asks if the system is good for kids.

• News- Aging well starts in womb, as mom’s choices affect whole life USA Today 6/30/2009
• Inspired Insight (1910)- The reform should begin with the mother before the birth of her children; and if God’s instructions were faithfully obeyed, intemperance would not exist. It should be the constant effort of every mother to conform her habits to God’s will, that she may work in harmony with Him to preserve her children from the health and life destroying vices of the present day. Let mothers place themselves without delay in right relations to their Creator, that they may by His assisting grace build around their children a bulwark against dissipation and intemperance. If mothers would but follow such a course, they might see their children, like the youthful Daniel, reach a high standard in moral and intellectual attainments, becoming a blessing to society and an honor to their Creator. {Counsels on Diet and Foods p. 225-226}

 

• News- 12 Reasons to Really Quit Smoking  US News & World Report November 14, 2008

“This is the best, most spiritual book on dealing with church conflict I have ever read,” said John Freedman, Washington Conference President a couple weeks ago to all of his pastors. “That’s why we’re giving a free copy to each pastor in the conference.”

The book Making Peace: A Guide to Overcoming Church Conflict is published by Moody Press and is available on Amazon.com.

Here is a review, by Pastor Tom James of the Centralia Seventh-day Adventist Church District, that was read to the pastors.

“Making Peace is more about Spiritual Growth than about conflict. Van Yperen is a skillful writer who argues that conflict in the church is controlled by God to bring about Spiritual Growth and Renewal. Rather than viewing conflict as the problem, Van Yperen shows that conflict is

He was a pastor. She was a Christian therapist. They looked happily married but they were really…

Desperate to find healing for their family. When both marriage and ministry came to a breaking point, Richie walked away from financial security in order to pursue the answers to three questions: Could he find a power filled walk with God? Could God heal his marriage?

Was it possible to have a Godly family? Since that time, they have seen miracle after miracle as God has done for their family what no one else could do. 

As Richie and Timi Brower share the stories of how God is restoring their family, audiences find themselves relating to the transparent narrative of their struggles with anger, intimacy, priorities and trust. You will find hope as they share the practical steps to connecting with God and others that can transform your life.

• Website- www.elijahnow.com
• Information & Contact Sheet
• Local Church Recommendation Letter
• Local Conference Recommendation Letter

Robert L. Sweezey- to Sleeping in Jesus, from President, Adventist Risk Management (ARM).

Here is the press release and an announcement about the Memorial Service from ARM

Unless your church has some other major soul winning scheduled this fall, why not schedule a Week of Reaping the last full week of October? Just put it on the calendar and start asking God to show you and your church family (-ies) who is ripe to make decisions for Jesus and His church.

Here are some simple steps to make this Week of Reaping a reality and productive–

1. Calendar. By faith, put the Week of Reaping on your own calenar and the church calendar. It can be held in the church sanctuary or fellowship hall, in a neutral hall or location or even in the home of a member or an interest.
2. Top Ten Interests Lists. Make a list of your top ten interests. If you are a pastor or elder, at your next church board meeting ask each person to do the same. Then compare lists and pray for all interests, especially those who show up on more than one list. If you are a lay member then do this with a group of friends.

God is showing dreams to Lutherans, people from the Assemblies of God are asking for Bible studies on prophecy, lots of reaping meetings large and small have begun or are beginning soon, and a major field school of evangelism is taking place where half the population is Mormon. (Read more)