Faith Action Advance in the Texas Conference SEE PAGE 2
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Adventist Review RecorSOUTHWESTERN UNIOd Faith Action Advance in the Texas Conference SEE PAGE 2 RECORD REVIEW, April 23, 1980.- 12A gaining a new awareness of their role in finishing God's work. Focus Already in some congregations laymen are giving more Bible studies, making more evangelistic visits, and fulfilling more spiritual gifts ministries than at any time in the history of their on the Cover church. The result is new families attending church with the prospect of many more new members added, not only to the Faith Action Advance in Texas church but to God's kingdom through FAITH ACTION ADVANCE. The Lord is blessing His work in Texas. We have raised up 33 Cyril Miller, President, Texas Conference. new churches in the past 35 months. More than 1,600 attend these new churches each Sabbath. Their tithe for the last year was $435,000.00. We are anticipating that new church tithe and attendance will be Spotlight 50% higher by the end of 1980 and doubled by 1981. This is FAITH ACTION on Soul Winning ADVANCE! Our Spanish churches aim to double their membership in two years. This is a IN ARKANSAS-LOUISIANA super goal but they are on fire and with God's blessings they can do it. Literature Evangelist Wins Texas experienced its highest soul Six New Members winning year in history in 1979 with 917 Cyril Miler baptisms and received an increase of When Elder Juan Chavez and his wife Magda came to us $837,757.00 in tithe which was 16.6% over the previous year. from the New Jersey Conference in November to pastor the New Again, FAITH ACTION ADVANCE! Orleans Spanish church, we were very happy. But as the days The North American Division convened a summit meeting have passed, we are even more thankful to on evangelism at the Colorado Conference's Glacier View God for sending this consecrated Chris- Ranch in April, 1979. From this summit came a plan for finishing tian family to our field. For months I had God's work. This plan is outlined in a document called FAITH been praying for God to send a good Span- ACTION ADVANCE. ish literature evangelist to our field, and The Texas Conference has discovered that a careful imple- God answered that prayer by sending mentation of the FAITH ACTION ADVANCE document pro- Magda Chavez who was already a creden- duces concrete results in lay participation in evangelism and tialed literature evangelist in New Jersey. church growth. Magda believes that while the literature One of the most important parts of FAITH ACTION evangelist is to sell books, that is not his only work. The main purpose in selling ADVANCE is the training of laymen in the use of their spiritual Magda Chavez gifts for every-member participation in the church's evangelis- books is to meet people who are searching tic outreach to the community. The administrative philosophy for truth and win them for our Saviour, Jesus Christ. She loves of FAITH ACTION ADVANCE is based on the concept of to give Bible studies and follows up her selling with studies management by objectives: setting goals with objectives for wherever possible. In the five months that Magda has been achieving them and developing a method for evaluating the working in New Orleans, six people have been baptized. results. After buying a set of The Bible Story and Bible Readings As a first step, the conference executive committee adopted from Magda, Mercedes Triana accepted her invitation to take a statement of mission. This statement of mission will guide the Bible studies and attend evangelistic meetings with the result church growth efforts of the conference through 1980. Specific that Mercedes is now a baptized member of the New Orleans FAITH ACTION ADVANCE quarterly objectives have been Spanish church. set for the year. Joselito Antunes attended the same evangelistic meetings, During the fall of 1979 the conference administration trained but dropped out early in the crusade. Magda called on him and its departmental leaders in the concepts of church growth so they in turn could train pastors and church leaders throughout the conference. From early spring until the camps begin approximately 100 Christian Record Braille Foundation field representatives across North America To encourage FAITH ACTION ADVANCE, the Texas Con- will be busy contacting sign companies to erect the signs and contacting ference has divided its territory into 10 units called "parishes." blind children to participate in 38 camps planned for 1980. Anyone know- Each parish included 10 to 12 churches. The pastors of these ing of blind children and young adults who would enjoy a week at camp may write the Christian Record Braille Foundation, 4444 South 52nd parishes meet once a month to discuss church growth in their Street, Lincoln, NB 68506, or call 1-800/228-4189 (toll free), or 402/488- part of the conference. The departmental directors of the 0981. conference act as parish coordinators. Their special role is to assist the pastors in the application of church growth principles in their churches toward FAITH ACTION ADVANCE objectives. During January and February the Texas Conference con- ducted a FAITH ACTION ADVANCE rally on Sabbath after- noon in each of the 10 parishes. The Friday night before each NATIONAL Camps rally a member of the conference staff met with each church board in the parish, showed the multimedia program on church /or kid CHILDREN growth and spiritual gifts, and explained the concepts of man- A FREE SERVICE agement by objectives. CALL 402-488-0981 Church members throughout the Texas Conference are TOLL FREE 800-228- 4189 128 — REVIEW, AprIl 23 1980 OPERATED by CHRISTIAN RECORD BRAILLE FOUNDATION — LINCOLN, NEBRASKA sold him the 16-volume Christian Home Library set and started giving him Bible studies. Another baptism! A Report Anna Canizales had heard the Adventist message before but had never accepted it. When Magda heard about her, she didn't delay in following up the interest. Results? Not only Anna to the People is now a baptized member, but her three children as well — by your Union Conference Secretary ... Bill May Anna, Mario, and Maritza. A total of six new members in as many months because a faithful literature evangelist believes that it is her duty, not only ADMINISTRATORS SUGGEST GUIDELINES FOR "BLACK" WORK. On April 2, the officers of the eight black conferences in the North to sell books, but to win souls. American Division and the officers of the six union conferences which Jerry Fletcher, Publishing Secretary, have black conferences in their territories met in Washington, D.C., in a Arkansas-Louisiana Conference. meeting chaired by Elder C. E. Bradford, and structured the following guidelines to help strengthen the black work in the division: 1. Establish a division-wide coordinating council for the black work. 2. Executive Committee made up of all Region presidents, Oakwood General News College president, all Region treasurers, five secretaries, two departmental directors, two pastors, two lay persons, E. E. Cleveland, two union secretaries, two union presidents and one treasurer — to meet twice yearly. 3. Establish two territorial councils for the black conferences to meet From the Least of These . annually — to be made up of Regional officers plus four pastors, four lay persons, four institutional workers, four departmental directors, We were riding in the back of a jeep on some of the roughest one union secretary, one union president, and one union treasurer. roads I had ever seen. We were in the northwestern part of Each council to serve four regional (black) conferences. Haiti and we were going to meet with village leaders, in this 4. The Region Voice to become the recognized paper for the black work remote part of Haiti, who were. — to be subsidized by the General Conference. 5. Two general meetings yearly of black local conference officers and anxious for SAWS to see some black union officers. of their recent community 6. Two black conference presidents and two black union officers to development projects. With us meet with the union presidents at their meetings. in the jeep was one of our Hai- The spirit at the meeting was outstanding. The recommendations, tian pastors. He was discussing which were endorsed by unanimous vote, will go to the 1980 Annual Council for approval. the tremendous challenges facing his people. An indication of the tremendous poverty of the people in this part of the world can be seen in the year- ly tithe receipts which come to something around two dollars per member! The pastor was C. E. eredlord Psarl loll Leroy Fisher has Toews saying, "Our people are faith- BIG NEWS IN FEW WORDS. ful in their tithes and offerings, • The Southwestern Union is the first union to have a conference the problem is they have al- Board of Education operating in all conferences. most no income. They are ask- • I was personally saddened to hear that Mrs. 0. J. (Pearl) Bell died ing us to teach them how to Friday, March 28, in Columbia, Missouri. Sister Bell was a Bible worker farm, how to irrigate their crops, and how to increase crop for the Fort Worth First church when I pastored there a few years ago. yields so that they can have something to She was a superb soul winner, a wonderful friend to member and non- give to the Lord." member alike, a warm, delightful Christian, a charming lady — regal in These words impressed me as being highly significant. It every way. Few Adventists were loved more and had more friends than occurs to one that as we impress the people in third world Pearl Bell.