Adventist News
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The Baptism That Brought 40 Family Members Together
– October 27, 2026I met Jordi in a hospital bed while pastoring the Hispanic church in Topeka. He was my youngest son’s age. Born with severe health challenges, he never said “Mom” or “Dad.” He spent his life in bed, dependent on medical equipment. His family’s request was always the same: “Pastor, please pray for a miracle!” During Easter week, I visited their home to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins gathered. Jordi’s suffering brought us together, and hope in Jesus comforted us. The healing we prayed for did not come. Jordi fell asleep in the Lord. His family found peace in the promise of the resurrection and continued attending church. Later, Jordi’s aunt, Aracely Morales, gave her life to Christ during “Jesus Is Our Hope,” an evangelistic series sharing the hope found in Jesus. Wanting her baptism to be a celebration, she invited her family. Forty relatives attended. Today, those relatives are interested in learning more and joining the Topeka church family. I had prayed to see Jordi healed, growing and enjoying life. His loss remains painful. Yet amid that sorrow, grace has drawn an entire family closer to Jesus through Aracely’s decision. God is still working miracles. Every heart that opens to His love reminds us of that truth. By Pastor Roberto Correa, Multilingual, Disabilities Director and Hispanic Ministries Coordinator for the Mid-America Union Conference.
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With OneVoice Sharing the Hope of All Things New NAD-wide local church social media campaign
– October 17, 2026Local churches are invited to join a North America-wide social media campaign to share Jesus throughout 2027. What could happen if thousands of Seventh-day Adventist churches across North America used their social media platforms to share one message about Jesus? That’s the idea behind OneVoice27 and All Things New, a movement calling Adventists to come together and share the hope found in Jesus. Now, local churches have an opportunity to take part. The North American Division (NAD) is inviting churches to register for the All Things New social media campaign, a yearlong effort in 2027 to reach people with messages about Jesus. Participating churches will receive free, ready-to-share social media content created by the NAD and churches across North America. Content will be provided on a set schedule, allowing churches of all sizes to take part in a united effort. OneVoice27 reminds us that we have a shared mission. All Things New gives us a message to share. And this campaign gives every church a way to use its voice. Churches can register now at: https://nadadventist.typeform.com/allthingsnew How the Campaign Works Throughout 2027, participating churches will receive social media content, including graphics, carousels (posts with several slides), short videos called reels, and stories. The NAD plans to provide more than 200 pieces of content throughout the year. Churches can share these materials on their own social media pages without having to create everything themselves. Participating churches and organizations will be invited to share the same basic content on the same day, at a specific time in their local time zones. Materials will be available in English, Spanish, and French. The goal is to help churches share a clear, welcoming message about Jesus with people in their communities, including those who may not attend church. Your Role Different unions across the North American Division will help develop content in coordination with local churches during assigned months. September 2027 is Mid-America Union’s month. Churches within the Mid-America Union territory—Central States, Dakota, Iowa-Missouri, Kansas-Nebraska, Minnesota, and Rocky Mountain—will have an opportunity to help create content that can be shared across North America. The Mid-America territory is scheduled to provide 14 pieces of content: four static posts, three carousels, four reels, and three stories. September’s theme is Jesus’ Baptism and Commitment. We also hope to identify local church members who enjoy photography, writing, video, graphic design, or social media and invite them to use their talents in this effort. Training and Support for Churches Churches do not need a professional communication team to participate. The NAD is planning online training to help church members improve their social media skills. Topics include using Facebook and Instagram, creating content, planning posts, responding to messages, and boosting posts to reach more people. These skills can help churches strengthen their communication long after the campaign ends. For Mid-America, this also supports a larger goal: building a stronger network of local church communicators who can share stories of faith and ministry in their communities. More Than a Social Media Campaign All Things New is about more than posting graphics and videos. It is an invitation to pray like Jesus, serve like Jesus, share Jesus, and help others follow Jesus. Social media gives churches another way to reach people who may never walk through their doors. A simple post could encourage someone, start a conversation, or help a person connect with a local church. One voice. Many churches. One mission: Jesus. Through OneVoice27, we have an opportunity to work together. Through All Things New, we can share the hope Jesus brings to our lives and communities. Whether your church has an active social media team or is just getting started, there is a place for you in this effort. Learn more about All Things New: https://allthingsnew2027.com/ Register your church for the 2027 social media campaign: https://nadadventist.typeform.com/allthingsnew?typeform-source=allthingsnew2027.com Together, let’s use our voices to share Jesus.
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Montrose Maranatha Hispanic Church Dedicates New Chapel
– October 6, 2026The Maranatha Hispanic Church in Montrose, Colorado, celebrated the official dedication of its new chapel in July with a special worship service centered on gratitude, worship and renewed commitment to God’s mission. Hugo Guillén, pastor and Rocky Mountain Conference ministerial associate director and lead for multicultural ministries, preached the dedication sermon and led a meaningful service of consecration alongside Daniele Fantoni, Maranatha Church’s lead pastor, and the church elders. The celebration marked the culmination of a journey that began in January 2013, when a small Hispanic group first met in a borrowed classroom at the Montrose Adventist Church under the leadership of church member Abimael Chávez and with the support of RMC pastor Michael Shannon. The congregation was officially organized as a church in June 2021. “In October 2022, God opened an unexpected door when the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church voted unanimously to donate its former school property to the Hispanic congregation,” remarked Fantoni. “After years of renovation, volunteer labor, generous support, and God’s faithful provision, the church joyfully dedicated its new chapel.” He continued, “Throughout its history, God has blessed the congregation with more than 30 baptisms, evangelistic meetings, youth ministries, and steady spiritual growth. One of the church’s defining passions has been its commitment to young people, expressed in its motto: None of our young people will be lost to the world; all for Christ.” The dedication service celebrated not only God’s faithfulness in the past but also the church’s commitment for the future. Those gathered dedicated themselves anew to worship God, grow as disciples, and proclaim the gospel until Christ returns—the very words now engraved on the church’s dedication plaque as a lasting reminder of its mission. Daniele Fantoni is associate pastor for the Grand Junction District in Colorado.
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Called Together Arnetts Begin Ministry in Fargo and Wahpeton
– October 6, 2026Pastor Payton and Albany Arnett found a love for theology—and for each other—while attending Union Adventist University. Today, Pastor Payton serves the Fargo/Wahpeton church district, while Albany serves as the Fargo area Bible worker. Together, they are beginning their first ministry assignment in North Dakota. Payton grew up in Bonney Lake, Washington, and attended Auburn Adventist Academy, where the chaplains provided opportunities for him to serve in ministry. “This experience first made me realize the gifts God had given me,” he said. “I’m in love with apologetics and the truth of the gospel. Reflecting on God’s leading, Payton shared, “God clearly led us to the Dakotas. I see more and more how good the fit is here. I’m continually surprised by God’s grace and leading in my life. North Dakota was not initially on my radar, but I’m glad God had other plans.” Albany was born in Venezuela and grew up in various parts of the United States while her father served as a pastor. “I first felt the calling to ministry as I grew in my personal relationship with God and discovered a love for studying the Bible,” she said. As she became more involved in church ministries, Albany was given the opportunity to preach while in high school. “I discovered my love for preaching. All of this drew me to fall in love not only with the Lord but with ministry. In Union Adventist University’s theology program, where Payton and I met, this passion solidified into a confidence that God has called me to ministry. Payton and I are in the Dakotas because of God’s leading, serving in a place where we can minister together for His kingdom.” The Dakota Conference is grateful God has led Payton and Albany to serve in the Dakotas. We look forward to seeing how He will continue to bless their ministry and the churches they serve. Information compiled by Elder Darrel Lindensmith, Dakota Conference ministerial director and Adventist Campus Ministries director.
Blogs
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The Thing I Could Not Explain Glass Children — Part 10
– October 29, 2026I went to college to become a physical therapist. All of my life I had been doing it. All of my life people had told me I should go into it as a career. Now I would be trained for it, and paid for it, and do it for strangers. It seemed obvious. It seemed like the thing I was for. The rage Toward the end of my freshman year, and into the summer, I began to notice something in myself that frightened me. Every time I saw a person in a wheelchair, or using a walker, I felt rage. A low quiet rage. Not pity. Not discomfort. Rage — sudden and complete and entirely unreasonable, at a stranger who had done nothing but cross a parking lot in front of me. There was nothing wrong with those people. The feeling was not a judgment about them and it was not anything I believed. It simply arrived, over and over, and I could not stop it and I could not explain it. What it actually was I know now. I had spent eighteen years in a house where a wheelchair was not a piece of equipment. It was the reason. It was the shape of everything that had been decided about my life before I was old enough to weigh it. My body had learned what those objects meant in my house, and it went on answering that meaning no matter who was sitting in the chair. That is displaced anger. Many people can have it for a wide variety of reasons. And it says nothing whatsoever about the person, situation, or object which may set it off. But I was twenty, and nobody had ever told me any of that. And I had no one to talk to about it. What I concluded instead A person who feels this cannot be a physical therapist. That was the whole of my reasoning, and I could not see a flaw in it. I could not spend a career standing beside people I felt rage toward — that would not be good for them or me. So I gave up the only plan I had ever had. Eventually, I switched to social work because I had friends in that program. That is the entire reason. A twenty-year-old in trouble goes where she knows somebody. The sentence nobody said I have thought about that girl for a long time. The feeling had a name. It had a name the whole time, and there were people in the world who could have explained it to her in two sentences — what it was, where it came from, and why it had nothing to do with anyone in a parking lot. She did not have those two sentences. So she made one of the largest decisions of her life around a feeling nobody could name for her. I do not regret the life that followed. But I wish I had been given the words at the time, which is why I write them down. There is someone else who needs these words. God was leading even though I was confused. Choosing social work as a major gave me exposure to the information I needed to explain the rage. Lord, You are not frightened by what rises in us unbidden. Where shame has kept us silent, send someone who can name the thing out loud — and let us be that person for somebody else. Amen. Next time: five more words I found.
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A Tale of Two Epistles ApostlePaul@RomanPrison
– October 28, 2026“Brother, I have a problem, I need help before this afternoon,” the message read. A pastor from India whom I had worked with for some time outlined his problem and asked for an urgent reply. It had something to do with baptism, scheduled to take place within two or three hours. I dashed off a brief answer and hit send. It took all of five minutes. Twenty years earlier, I had been assigned an article on baptism for an outreach magazine with a circulation of 250,000. The editor gave me a deadline of several weeks, and I used all that time. I cared no less about my brother in India than about those 250,000 readers. He just needed his answer faster. The apostles knew both kinds of deadline. We read the New Testament epistles the way we read a textbook. Chapter and verse, doctrine by doctrine, as if Paul sat down one quiet morning and decided to write some theology. He didn’t. Most of the epistles are first-century email. Something went wrong in a church somewhere. Someone carried the news, sometimes hundreds of miles. And Paul — or Peter, or James, or John — answered. Not with a thesis. With a response to a fire. Realizing that changes our understanding of how they were written. Listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians: “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius.” Then he remembers. “I did baptize also the household of Stephanas.” Then he isn’t sure. “Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.” That isn’t a man polishing a manuscript. That’s a man talking while a scribe writes it down. Writing is idealized speech. Dictation is not. So when someone argues that a letter “isn’t in Paul’s style,” I want to ask: which Paul? Lay my five-minute reply beside that magazine article and you might conclude two different men wrote them. Each letter shows you what kind it is. A letter answers a question we don’t always hear. We have Paul’s half of the conversation. The other half — the report, the crisis, the people involved — we have to reconstruct from clues in the letter itself. Paul’s counsel addresses a particular situation. Until we know the situation, we can’t be sure which part is the principle and which part is the application. That sounds like an obstacle—but it’s a doorway. Once you ask what happened that made him write this? the letters stop being lists of rules. They become stories. People in trouble. A friend who cares enough to answer. They contain counsel concerning specific circumstances, not necessarily universal truths. Names you skimmed past turn out to be people standing in the room, or fighting the fire in another city. Take two letters. Philemon, Paul’s shortest, fits on a single page, and almost nobody reads it. Colossians runs four chapters, and almost everybody quotes it. The canon puts five other letters between them, and we file the two in different places in our heads. One is a personal note about a slave. The other is high theology about the cosmic Christ. But they went out together, because Paul had two problems from the same place. The two letters traveled the same road, and they would be read in the same house. Two questions. One answer.
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Types of Christ Part 2--Places
– October 27, 2026As I mentioned in my last article about types of Christ https://outlookmag.org/types-of-christ/ everything we find in the Bible points to the Son of God. It wasn’t just prophets who represented Him, but even places, events, numbers, and objects were symbolic in nature, showing us how we can be saved. Here’s one of those types to consider. Places God evidently “placed” a lot of significance in places. His followers were often told to mark places where God particularly blessed them in some way. You may have noticed that a simple altar, consisting of a pile of rocks, were often encouraged as a reminder of a blessing or event that had happened there. All the way back to Cain and Abel, we find the practice of having a place to worship as meaningful to our relationship with God. The Israelites had lost so much knowledge of God during their years of enslavement in Egypt, that God found it necessary to build a tangible dwelling place for Himself, as they traveled back to Canaan. Every part of that sanctuary served as a teaching tool to further instruct them about the way of salvation. This was recognized in Psalm 77:13, where it says, “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary.” Each room there, the courtyard, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place, taught them, and us, about our justification, sanctification, and glorification, as we get closer and closer to that place called heaven, the most longed-for-place of all. I find it interesting that our modern churches still have similar places in them as the sanctuary, and later the temple. We have our foyer, where people are greeted (like in the courtyard), the Sabbath school classrooms, where people learn about who God is (like the Holy Place), and the sanctuary, where reverence is particularly important, (as it was in the Most Holy Place). Speaking of the Most Holy Place. There are some interesting things to consider about that part of God’s dwelling place. It was the only room in the sanctuary that was foursquare. In other words, equal in length, width, and height (like a large cube). New Jerusalem, when it comes down from heaven, is also said to be foursquare. What a glorious honor to be that close to His throne! But for now, there are other places to consider. The wilderness was a place that the Bible often mentions too. The Israelites wandering in the desert wilderness, Elijah and John the Baptist spent time there, and even Jesus went to quiet, solitary places in the wilderness to talk to God. As we know, Satan used that same wilderness as a place to tempt the Lord, just as He uses our earth as a place to tempt us now. Jesus proved that it is possible to get close to God in our “wilderness” experience here, and it’s even possible to say no to Satan when he tempts us in this sinful place we find ourselves. Yes, let’s remember that somewhere in these wilderness spaces were mountains, many of them important places where God’s presence was felt in a miraculous way. There was Mt. Ararat, where the ark came to rest after the Flood–Mt. Sinai, where the Ten Commandments were given–Mt. Carmel, where the prophets of Baal were challenged–and many others! Of course, they all were pointing forward to the all-important-place where Jesus died for our sins, a place called Golgotha, or Mt. Calvary. As a matter of fact, those rocky high places (mountains) were, no doubt, the larger version of the pile of rocks (altars) where sacrifices were offered. Interesting that they both consist of rocks, because Jesus IS the Rock, we are told plainly in 1 Corinthians 10:4. He’s the chief cornerstone of those rocks (Ephesians 2:20 and Isaiah 28:16). No matter what place you are in during your wilderness journey on this earth, I hope you will remember that God can be with you there. He has promised to be with us always in Matthew 28:20. Both in our mountaintop spiritual experiences, and in our deep valleys of sorrow and death, as the familiar 23rd Psalm reminds us. We have only to call on Him, and He will answer (Psalm 91:15). God’s hand is not too short to reach us in our deep, darkest places (Isaiah 59:1). Praise the Lord!
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Healthy Lifestyle Do This A Must Do To Live Healthy
– October 26, 2026https://youtube.com/shorts/gQPqX-3Njdw?si=iVgZ1rRxMogC_TFG
Featured Stories
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Pastors and Teachers Reunite in Branson
– October 8, 2026About 250 Kansas-Nebraska Conference pastors, teachers and family members gathered last August at Westgate Branson Woods Resort in Branson, Missouri, for their first joint retreat since 2019. Held under the theme Building God’s Kingdom Together, the event brought two groups with different daily roles together around a shared mission. That sense of togetherness began on the very first evening. When the piano failed on opening night, guest musician Gale Jones Murphy led worship a cappella. Her personality, energy and connection with the room quickly drew people into singing. Once a keyboard was available for the remaining meetings, Murphy continued using creative icebreaker songs to invite participation before moving into worship. Many conference pastors serve districts that include an Adventist school. The retreat gave pastors and teachers time to see how their work connects. Education may be a different field, but it remains another arm of pastoral ministry. Their roles are different, while their purpose of helping people know Christ is the same. Morning worships were led by Greg King, dean of the School of Religion at Southern Adventist University. In the evenings, Lola Moore Johnston preached from the book of Nehemiah. In one message, she focused on Nehemiah’s response when he learned that Jerusalem remained in ruins. Although the destruction did not threaten his own livelihood, the news left him distressed. Johnston challenged listeners to care about needs even when the problem does not affect them personally. Pastors and teachers also met separately for professional development. Alicia Patterson, a grief coach and educator, led the pastoral sessions on grief, listening and resilience. Jeff Bovee, Kansas-Nebraska Conference education superintendent, worked with teachers through review, discussion and group activities. The teacher breakouts focused on assessing learning in the standards-based classroom. Educators met in professional learning communities organized by grade bands and secondary subject areas to explore how classroom assessments can more effectively guide instruction. Schools also had time to work through their individual pre-session agendas in preparation for the new academic year. “The education breakout was a relaxed professional development time where teachers had an opportunity to meet in person with their professional learning communities and delve deeper into learning how to most effectively use classroom assessments to drive instruction in their classrooms,” said Bovee. “We ended our last breakout of the retreat with a challenge for the new school year to ensure that all students know they are loved and valued and God has a plan for their lives.” Afternoons gave families and friends time to enjoy Branson together. Participants visited local attractions, shared meals and spent time with people they may not often see during the year. By the final evening, Murphy’s opening song had become a family affair. She invited children to the front to lead “I’m In Right, Out Right, Up Right, Down Right,” drawing the room into the motions. The moment captured what the retreat had been designed to do: bring pastors, teachers and their families into the same room as one ministry team.
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Hope Beyond the Diagnosis Christian Record Services is helping people facing vision loss discover they are not alone—and God still has a purpose for their lives.
– October 8, 2026Imagine sitting in an eye doctor’s office and hearing words that change your life forever. “You have an irreversible eye disease.” “You’re losing your sight.” “There’s nothing more we can do.” For many people, that moment marks the beginning of fear, isolation and uncertainty. Questions about work, independence and the future quickly replace confidence with anxiety. But Dr. Dexter Thomas, president of Christian Record Services, also sees it as the moment when the church has an opportunity to share something medicine cannot provide—hope. “Faith gives people a new story,” Thomas said during a recent conversation with OUTLOOK. “God isn’t finished with me. He still has work for me. I am still His child.” That conviction is at the heart of Christian Record Services, a ministry that has served people who are blind or experiencing vision loss since 1899. Through free Braille, large-print and audio Christian resources, summer camps, and a nationwide ministry known as PhoneFaith, the organization helps individuals remain connected to Scripture, community and the hope found in Jesus Christ. For Thomas, the ministry’s mission is deeply personal. Growing up legally blind, he remembers what it was like to long for access to God’s Word. Christian Record Services provided him with the Bible in Braille and on audio recordings—resources that ultimately helped shape his calling to ministry. “I believe it led to me becoming a pastor,” he said. Today, Thomas serves as the first blind president in 100 years, a role that allows him to encourage others facing many of the same fears he once experienced. One of the ministry’s newest initiatives addresses what Thomas calls the “Quiet Crisis.” More than eight million Americans are living with irreversible eye diseases. Too often, after receiving a diagnosis, patients leave their doctor’s office with little more than medical information. Christian Record Services is working to change that by placing ministry resources directly into eye care clinics across North America. The goal is simple: become the first voice people hear after receiving life-changing news. Instead of hearing only what they have lost, individuals discover there is still hope, purpose and a community ready to walk beside them. That hope extends far beyond printed resources. Christian Record Services hosts camps where children and adults who are blind or have low vision experience activities many never imagined possible—from horseback riding and canoeing to forming lifelong friendships. PhoneFaith connects participants across the country through Bible studies, prayer groups, health programs and fellowship—helping combat the loneliness that often accompanies vision loss. New opportunities Technology has also opened remarkable new doors. Thomas carries hundreds of Braille books on a single digital device, using wearable technology like Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses with the Be My Eyes app to navigate airports independently, and participating in ministry through tools that were unimaginable just a few years ago. “Technology has really blown the door open,” he said. “It’s made life so much easier.” While accessibility is important, Thomas believes belonging is even more important. Too often, churches unintentionally see people with disabilities as recipients of ministry rather than participants in it. He challenges congregations to recognize that every believer has spiritual gifts to share. “Everybody is a contributor, designed and destined to do great things,” he said. He recalled introducing a blind church member to opportunities for ministry. That individual eventually became an elder, reminding the congregation that blindness was never a barrier to serving Christ. To watch the complete conversation with Dexter Thomas of Christian Record Services and Amanda Colgan of Three Angels Deaf Ministries, visit the OUTLOOK YouTube channel and watch From Disabilities to Possibilities | Stories of Faith, Access & Belonging. The discussion explores how churches can remove barriers, create belonging and ensure that every person has an opportunity to experience the love of Christ. To learn more about Christian Record Services or support its ministry, visit christianrecord.org.
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Hawkeye Church Hosts Popular Fair Outreach
– October 6, 2026As fairgoers filled the grounds at the Fayette County Fair in Iowa last July, one stop continued a cherished tradition of community connection and practical ministry. The Hawkeye Church welcomed families to their annual photo booth, offering a warm space to create lasting memories and experience Christian fellowship. What began as a simple creative outreach has blossomed into an eagerly anticipated highlight of the fair. Designed to reflect the area’s rich agricultural roots, the booth features a rustic wooden barn adorned with stuffed farm animals. Children and parents alike enjoy climbing atop hay bales, ride-on toy tractors and horses for picture-perfect moments. The photo booth has become such a staple that many local families now make a point to visit annually, capturing milestone photos to track their children’s growth year after year. “Our photo booth is more than just taking pictures—it’s a simple, joyful way to show our community that we care,” said church members involved in organizing the event. While the photo booth provides families with a fun and tangible fair keepsake, the heart of the outreach is personal connection. Church volunteers use the opportunity to build friendships, offer free Christian literature, and share the love of Jesus with neighbors in a relaxed, welcoming environment. Adding to the excitement each year, the church partners with local radio station KRJE – “Radio for Jesus” on one day during the fair by blowing up and handing out punch balloons to children. The bright, cheerful balloons proved to be a massive draw, bringing smiles to young fairgoers as well as advertising the radio station throughout the fairgrounds. Through warm conversations, shared laughter, and simple acts of service, members of the Hawkeye Church continue to demonstrate their commitment to stepping outside church walls and serving as a positive, loving presence in Fayette County. Eileen Birth is communication leader for the Hawkeye Church in Iowa.
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Creative Ministries Lead to Joyful Connections in Minnesota
– October 6, 2026Minnesota Adventists are committed to making disciples who make more disciples. Since discipleship begins with relationships, church members around the state are working to form long-lasting connections with neighbors, visitors and young people. Teaching the youth to teach others Nobody is just an onlooker in Jose Luis Bello’s youth class and Pathfinder group. Along with other leaders at Northeast Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church (NESDA), he identifies talents and encourages teens to lead the younger children. His goal is to build a Christian community where all ages can experience camporees, outdoor challenges, and meaningful Bible study together. “So many youth now are lonely. They just stay home in their rooms without seeing each other,” Jose explains. “I refuse to accept that.” One way to build lasting faith is by equipping youth to witness. Recently Jose and a group of young men wore Bible costumes and acted out stories about Jesus during a children’s evangelistic weekend. And one youth member, Rachel, has accepted the task of teaching younger girls as they complete Pathfinder requirements. “Leaders need to do more than just talk, talk, talk,” she says. “If we just make rules, the girls will think no one cares about them. I need to be their friend.” Hosting the best party of the year It wouldn’t be Christmas in Hinckley, Minnesota, without the Community Christmas Program at the local Adventist church. More than 20 years ago the whole town was curious about the new church being built by member Terry Haavisto along I-35. “Can we see the inside?” people asked. Terry’s wife, Lori, and sister, Jodie, started by inviting community guests to a Christmas music program so everyone could view the new sanctuary. The first event was so successful that it’s become an anticipated annual tradition. The program is a true community effort. Neighbors and church groups are invited to perform, and no one is turned away, no matter how musically skilled. Members serve a free meal of spaghetti and Christmas cookies, and a free-will offering is collected for a worthy cause. As for advertising, they rely on word of mouth, plus posters in local businesses and ads on the church radio station. None of this could happen without the hard work of every church member, including the communication crew, parking crew, kitchen crew, set-up crew, and cleanup crew. Hinckley member Pamela Rodacker-Waye adds, “Most importantly, Jesus, as He’s the reason for everything we do here.” Last year a guest turned to a church member and commented, “I could see myself being part of a church like this.” That’s exactly why the program is still going 21 years later. Turning visitors into friends Two years ago Deborah Timasi first visited Kenyan Community Church, wondering what she was getting herself into. “Right away someone met me and showed me around and made me feel welcome,” she remembers. “It was the first five minutes that got me. If it wasn’t for that person, I wouldn’t have come back.” Now Deborah is a baptized church member and head of the Hospitality Committee that first welcomed her. Her team visits people in homes and hospitals, takes gifts to new mothers, and helps guests feel at home during potluck. She compares her ministry to that of the Good Samaritan. She says that people who find friends in church are more likely to stay and become followers of Jesus for a lifetime. Lighting up the dark with music More than 15 years ago, Mankato church member Jeff Buege faced a personal heartache and prayed for God to remove his sadness. Sensing a need to look outward, Jeff asked the Lord how he could serve others. Looking back, Jeff recalls, “Within three days, God provided the time, the resources, and the locations [for a new ministry]. What began in a moment of utter brokenness immediately became an inward healing for me.” As God opened unexpected doors, Jeff began singing and sharing the gospel at nursing homes throughout the Midwest. He encountered a deep thirst for the gospel and found that thousands in the closing chapters of their lives needed to be reminded how much Jesus loves them. “I truly didn’t know even mildly the direction God would lead me,” Jeff says. “Yet very quickly I understood His will and surrendered to His path.” Within two years he was doing 200 programs annually; by the tenth year it was over 800 programs. Jeff says the feedback has been “beyond words.” It’s not about fame but witnessing the love of Jesus reflected in the lives of grateful listeners. Always he relies on the strength of Jesus, who says, “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5). Passing on real-world skills Southview Pathfinder leader Lynnette Nyabuto noticed a pattern—some older teens were drifting away from the church when they outgrew Pathfinders. She wanted to keep them connected to their church family, while also creating space for teens who had never joined Pathfinders. Her plan: earlier this year she surveyed church members about what practical skills they could pass on to the next generation. Now all ages look forward to baking, painting, and fixing cars together. Lynnette says, “Once connections are established, the teens may be more open to other activities, including Bible studies—which is the ultimate goal.”