On January 18, 2026, the Central States Conference of Seventh-day Adventists administration hosted a virtual ministry leaders training via Zoom,
bringing together more than 200 participants from across the conference.
Trevor Barnes, conference communication director and pastor of the Northside Church in St. Louis, coordinated and managed the Zoom platform for the event, helping ensure the day ran smoothly.
Elder Cryston Josiah, president of the conference, opened the day with a morning devotional. Participants then divided into breakout rooms for their first round of session classes, followed by a second round of workshops later that morning.
Workshops included training sessions for elders, deacons, deaconesses, youth ministries, treasurers, Adventist Community Services, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, personal ministries, women’s ministries, family life ministries, stewardship, children’s ministries, Bible workers, clerks, the finance committee, and communication leaders.
Communication director Hugh Davis led a workshop titled Everyone Has a Story: Why Communication Matters in the Church—sharing faith, strengthening community, and pointing people to Jesus. His presentation emphasized that communication is not simply about writing or marketing, but about ministry.
He encouraged attendees to recognize that if God is working in their lives, their stories already matter and can help strengthen the church and reach others.
To encourage participation, those attending the communication workshop were entered into a raffle for a $25 gift card. Congratulations to the winner, lucksonemmanuel1@, for being selected.
To learn more about the presentation and access related resources, visit the Mid-America Union communication website.
