If you have been a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the last 50 years or even the last 10 years, you may have heard the cry, “We are losing members!” In 2022, I wrote an article for the Outlook, our Union magazine citing statistics that, “65% of our churches in Mid America Union Conference are declining.” The church at the General Conference headquarters reported recently that the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 50-years (1965-2014) lost 13,026,925 members. The global church is having conversations about what to do. Roger McNamee coined the phrase “New Normal” in the early 2000s, referring to the economic climate after the dotcom bubble. He characterized this era as one marked by slower growth, more volatility, and greater influence for individuals. The truth is we are living in changing times, the old normal, what we did fifty years or even ten years ago won’t produce the same results today. I have been looking at our local church’s statistics and discovered that we recorded 257 people as missing in a decade (2013-2023), a 54.27 percent loss, clearly the older normal is not working. The pastoral team (elders and the pastor) discussed strategies for soul care, membership retention, and church growth. We had to restructure the worship service to be generational inclusive. As a pastoral team we challenged ourselves to serve in our spiritual giftedness. We agreed on a strategy that includes, a fellowship meal every sabbath, a church prayer group dedicated to praying for all prayer requests submitted each sabbath, we have Wednesday prayer meeting, we have literature distribution, community laundry project, a discover bible school, we divided the church in zones by zip code for pastoral team visits in the church community, physically or virtually, we encouraged small groups to position ourselves to offer encouragement for spiritual counsel, and congregational nurture. In studying the church, we uncovered some data that you may not see if you just walk into a church sabbath morning, this data is based on two surveys done in our church. The survey results are substantively important. In the survey we asked several questions, and here is evidence of church health. Question 12, “I connect with God in a meaningful way during the worship service,” 25 points increase, Question 15, “I feel that the worship service has a positive influence on me,” an increase of 22 points. Question number 56, “I’m often bored during worship service,” 20 points improvement, Question number 89, “I prepare myself to participate in worship service,”16 points improvement. There is still a lot of work to be done. I called a church member, I hadn’t seen in church for two weeks, she said, “I do not like the praise music, this contemporary Christian music you are bringing in church. This adoration/rock like concert in the sanctuary can bring attendees yes – what I want is a straight devotional service that will draw and attract people’s attention to Christianity.” I asked if she wanted to lead out in song service. “No, I don’t sing,” was the answer. One elder said, “The problem in this church has been the overall culture of this church, the culture of this church has been one of inflexibility, conservatism,” Looking at the survey report, there is evidence of a general increase presenting a radical shift in the culture of the church from 2023, our pastoral team, are beginning to see the centripetal power of the gospel, evidence of people being attracted to the church, and wanting their families and friends to be included in the fellowship of the church, so that they can grow into mature Christians. One church member sent this text after attending Wednesday prayer meeting, “Pastor, I was so delighted to be at prayer meeting. Just love the excitement about our Awesome God! Looking forward to Sabbath and Wednesday prayer meeting!” Our pastoral team are also praying and hoping that as a church community, our relationship with Jesus will have a centrifugal force on us to direct us outward to invite other people to join because the church has added value to our lives. For example, a lecturer in our church came to me and said, “pastor one of my students is here, he is wondering if he can be baptized?” One attending non-Adventist sent me this text, “Sir, per your sermon today, we as a family are indeed happy to be part of the RCSDA family.” The results of the surveys show that there is steady growth in our church, compared to recent years. There is evidence of increased positive impact, the church climate is changing, one of the elders put it this way, “we were noticing some of the difficulties within the church. . .. The issues that we ran into were really causing us a lot of difficulty in maintaining our enthusiasm for coming to church, there was a lot of feuds between church members, there was a lot of issues in regard to differences on worship style.” Today the testimony is different, there are signs of openness, the same elder remarked, “well, our diversity, so we have a lot of diverse, people groups, diversity of thought, like I said, um, racial diversity in the church for a fairly monochromatic community, . . . we are a very diverse church, and I think that is one of the greatest strengths.” I can tell you that if you walk into the Rapid City Seventh-Day Adventist Church today, you will see a picture of a multi-ethnic and multi-generational Church that is transforming alongside the cultural landscape of the city itself. We are not there yet, but as the pastor, what I am seeing is what I call exciting stuff. The church growth is 6.49 percent from 2023 to 2025. The church has made a significant improvement in membership retention. This kind of news is what the devil hates, but for now, we will praise the Lord. A few weeks ago, we started our church visioning for 2026-2027, after the first Read more…

The West County Church’s Adventurer Club participated in Operation Christmas Child last year, organized by Samaritan’s Purse. Their club leader, Amber Shaus, reported that the donations made by the Adventurers’ families and local church members were enough to fill 50 shoeboxes for those in other countries who are living in poverty. As the children filled the boxes with such things as school supplies, toiletries, outdoor clothing items, books and toys, they prayed over them and discussed the needs of others. What a wonderful opportunity for these young people to serve and think of others!  Dar Moore attends the West County Church in Missouri.

Elizabeth Anderson, a member of the Allon Chapel Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, is preparing for what she calls a “dream of a lifetime”—singing at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall in New York City. Anderson, whose church is part of the Central States Conference, has been invited to perform with the community-based Unity Choir during a music festival at Carnegie Hall scheduled for June 13–17. To take part in the event, she has launched a fundraising campaign to help cover festival fees, transportation, airfare, food and lodging. “This would be a dream of a lifetime,” Anderson said. “To stand on the same stage where so many great performers have stood before me is incredible.” The Unity Choir, directed by Dr. Tom Trenney, was formed three years ago and welcomes community members who enjoy singing a variety of musical styles and sharing fellowship through music. Trenney serves as Minister of Music at First-Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln and is also Assistant Professor of Music and Conductor of Choirs at Nebraska Wesleyan University. His choirs have performed at state, regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and have received honors in the American Prize for choral ensembles. The Unity Choir typically participates in two major concerts each year—Nebraska Wesleyan University’s “Big Sing” in the spring and “Christmas With Wesleyan” in December. The invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall came through National Concerts, giving the choir an opportunity to sing in one of the most respected concert halls in the world. For Elizabeth, the moment carries special meaning. The stage at Carnegie Hall has hosted many legendary performers, including Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Luciano Pavarotti and Marian Anderson, whose performances helped break racial barriers in classical music.   “Who knows?” she said with a smile. “I could even be related to Marian Anderson.” Beyond the musical opportunity, Elizabeth believes the trip marks the beginning of a new chapter in her life. She says God has called her to begin a public ministry called Fearless, Faith-filled, and Free. The message of the ministry focuses on three key ideas she believes are essential to living a fulfilled life: knowing God, knowing one’s identity in God and understanding one’s God-given purpose. “I envision a world where every person knows God, knows their identity in God and knows their God-given purpose,” Elizabeth said. The ministry is designed especially to support adult Christian women who are survivors of childhood abuse. Through speaking and outreach, Elizabeth hopes to help them discover how to live what she describes as “fearless, faith-filled and free.” Elizabeth’s connection to music began early in life. When her parents became Seventh-day Adventists, the family moved from Omaha to Lincoln and joined Allon Chapel. Her parents quickly became involved in ministry, and her mother joined the church choir. “My mom had a beautiful soprano voice,” Elizabeth said. As a child, she often stood beside her mother in the choir. Before she could read music, she simply followed her mother’s voice. “When my mom’s voice went up, I went up,” she recalled. “When her voice went down, I followed.” She sang in the chil dren’s choir and participated in annual Christmas programs with the Bethesda Seventh-day Adventist Church in Omaha. The combined choirs often performed cantat as by John W. Peterson such as Joy to the World, Born a King and The Wonder of Christmas. Elizabeth remembers rehearsing for hours and loving every moment of presenting the music. As she entered her preteen years, she joined a small singing group at Allon Chapel called The Treblaires, directed by music leader Barbara Harriott. The group sometimes sang in church every week at the request of the music director. Elizabeth also sang with the Lincoln Community Gospel Choir, directed by Oscar Harriott. The choir included singers from different denominations and performed music ranging from traditional hymns and spirituals to contemporary gospel. Despite her love for singing, Elizabeth says she struggled with deep shyness and fear of performing alone. One turning point came while she was a freshman at College View Academy during a camping trip to Glacier View Ranch in Colorado. While singing in the shower, her music teacher and camp counselor, Lisette Perez (now Deemer-Parks), heard her voice and insisted that she sing a solo during vespers that evening. With trembling nerves, Elizabeth sang the song “Day by Day.” Although she believed she sounded terrible, several students and teachers later told her how beautiful the performance was. Even with those encouraging comments, she continued to struggle with self-doubt and often avoided singing solo opportunities. Over the years Elizabeth continued singing in different groups, including a group called Images, directed by Deah Harriott. The group performed at several venues, including the Gospel Music Workshop of America, where they shared the stage with artists such as Shirley Caesar, Kurt Carr, the Clark Sisters, John P. Kee, Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Richard Smallwood. Later in life Elizabeth experienced a period when illness prevented her from singing, which she describes as one of the lowest seasons of her life. When she began to feel better, she searched for opportunities to reconnect with music. That search led her to audition for Abendchor, a choir at First-Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln. The audition required prepared pieces and sight-reading, which caused her great anxiety. After praying for courage, she completed the audition and was invited to join the choir by Trenney. When Abendchor finished its run, Elizabeth joined the Unity Choir, a community ensemble open to anyone who loves to sing. Looking back, she believes those early experiences in church and community choirs helped prepare her for the opportunity she now has to sing at Carnegie Hall. “This time, I won’t let fear stop me,” Elizabeth said. “I’m going to lead with faith and use the gift God gave me.” Those who would like to support Elizabeth’s journey can donate through her fundraising page: https://gofund.me/1cf0200e5 She also shares updates about her ministry through social media under the name Fearless, Faith-filled, and Read more…

Sue Carlson, longtime leader for Women’s Ministries, Children’s Ministries and Family Ministries in the Kansas-Nebraska Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, received the North American Division Lifetime Achievement Award during the North American Division Adventist Ministries Convention in January. The honor recognized her decades of service supporting women, children and families across the conference. Sue retired in June 2023 after 30 years of church work. Her ministry included 13 years as an elementary school teacher followed by 17 years serving the conference in leadership roles for Women’s, Children’s and Family Ministries. She also supported ministerial spouses during that time. An educator at heart, Sue taught several grade levels and served as a teaching principal while earning her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. Her love for teaching continues today as she volunteers as a music teacher at her local Adventist school. Much of Sue’s ministry involved working closely with churches and families throughout the conference. Over the years, she and her husband, Ron Carlson, served together in numerous churches across the Mid-America region. Today, while retired, Sue still travels with him on many Sabbaths as he continues his work as president of the conference, often sharing music in local congregations. During her years of conference leadership, Sue organized retreats, training events and ministry initiatives designed to strengthen families and build community. One of those initiatives was the God in Shoes Ministries, connecting local churches in felt-needs ministries to their local communities. She also worked with other conferences to bring awareness to the issue of human trafficking and led women in Project Shield, a ministry that teaches participants how to sew reusable feminine hygiene products for people in need. Her ministry often included simple and personal ways of connecting with others. Whether through online Bible studies, a bread-making ministry or quiet acts of encouragement, Sue helped create spaces where people felt supported and valued. Music has also been a central part of her service. Over the years she coordinated and provided music for camp meetings and other conference events, and she continues to minister through music in churches across the conference. Leaders who have worked with Sue say her influence has reached far beyond the Kansas-Nebraska Conference. “It has been my privilege to learn from Sue, serve alongside her, and be mentored by her,” said DeeAnn Bragaw, director of Women’s Ministries for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. “One of my favorite things about Sue has been watching her prayerfully ask God for new ways to better serve women, children, and families—especially those who are hurting. From retreats to community outreach and everything in between, she has always been willing to try new things and then share those God-inspired ideas with other leaders.” DeeAnn added that Sue understood the importance of creating gatherings that included biblical inspiration, practical training, laughter and opportunities to serve others. “Honoring Sue with the Lifetime Achievement Award is such an honor, as her influence and service reaches far beyond KS–NE. We deeply thank you, Sue, for your faithful ministry,” she said. Conference leaders say her work has also had a lasting impact within the conference. “Sue has blessed so many across our Conference over the years and I know she will be missed,” said Mel Santos, vice president for administration of the Kansas-Nebraska Conference, when Sue retired in 2023. Ron Carlson, president of the Kansas-Nebraska Conference, also reflected on her ministry. “A huge thank you to Sue for her incredible service to the women of our Conference! Between her caring heart and impactful retreats, she’s created a vital space for connection and spiritual growth. We were so blessed by her leadership and wisdom.” Sue shares that she has been deeply blessed through the opportunities she has had to serve alongside many dedicated and caring people in meaningful initiatives. Serving has been both a joy and a privilege for her. Above all, she says her greatest joy has been her family—being married to Ron, sharing ministry together, and being blessed with four wonderful children and seven beautiful grandchildren. She expresses heartfelt gratitude to God for these many blessings.