February 2009 SOUTHERN 0 IICINGS Each One Reach One SOUTHERN UNION Vantage Point A Legacy of Good News My grandfather homesteaded on some land in North Dakota and built a house for his family of nine children, early in the 1900's. He attended a Seventh-day Adventist camp meeting one year and obtained a book on education by Ellen White. It was one of the first of her books translated into German. He read in the book that "parents should realize that it is no longer safe to send [their children] to the public school, and should endeavor to send them to schools where they will obtain an education based on a scriptural foundation" Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students, p. 205. The two oldest children were already attending a local public school, but my grandfather took Ellen White's counsel to heart and determined that his children would be educated in a Christian school. That presented a problem, because the land he had homesteaded and where he had built his home was nine miles from the church, and that was too far to travel in the North Dakota snow to go to school. He and my grandmother, determined to have a Christian education for their children, hitched up a wagon and looked for property closer to the church. They found no homesteading opportunities close to the church, but they found some land and pur- chased it, just one mile from the church. Next, they had to figure out how to move their new house to that land. My grandfather obtained two large steam engines that were used for harvesting, and, with help, he jacked up the house, put it on skids, and dragged it to the new piece of property. There, the nine Bietz children had access to a Christian education. My grandfather often said, "If none of the other members send their children to church school, mine will be there. We'll always have a school, even if I have to board the teacher and pay the salary." And one year he did just that. Because of my grandfather's commitment to Christian education, all of his nine Gordon Bietz, Ph.D. children went to a Seventh-day Adventist school, and many of them ended up work- Southern Adventist ing for the Church. The story of my family is a story of the legacy of a Christian University President education. My grandparents didn't end up with the largest farm in North Dakota, nor did Guest Editorial they accumulate much in the way of this world's material things, but their sacrifice paid rich dividends in the lives of their children as they advanced God's kingdom. Is Christian education too expensive? Is it worth the cost to move the house close to the school? We are not faced with moving the house close to the school today, but we are faced, in difficult economic times, with moving our children into a school where Christ is uplifted, their faith is strengthened, and the Kingdom of God is ad- vanced. Let us, as families, churches, conferences, and union, determine that a Seventh- day Adventist Christian education is as important to us today as it was to my grand- father, who moved the house to the school and transformed the lives of his children, and who, in turn, brought the good news of the Gospel to thousands. 2 TIDINGS • February 2009 TIDINGSSOUTHERN Contents Volume 103, No. 2, February 2009 FEATUR FS The Southern Tidings is the Official Publication of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Gearing Up for SOUTHERN UNION CONFERENCE 3978 Memorial Drive • Mail Address P.O. Box 849, Decatur, Georgia 30031 Year of Evangelism Telephone (404) 299-1832 4 www.southemunion.com Staff It's Harvest Time Editor It. STEVEN NORMAN III Editorial Assistant IRISENF: DOUCE 7 Circulation BOBBIE MILLBURN Advertising NATHAN ZINNER Where Our Abilities End Production COLLEGE PRESS Layout BRIAN WIEHN and Christ's Begin 8 Contributing Editors Adventist Health System JULIE ZAIBACK Carolina RON QUICK A Matchmaker for Christ Florida MARTIN BUTLER Florida Hospital College DAWN McLENDON 10 Georgia-Cumberland TAMARA WOLCOTT FISHER Gulf States BECKY GRICE Miracle at Messiah's Kentucky-Tennessee MARVIN LOWMAN Oakwood University MICHELE SOLOMON Mansion South Atlantic JAMES LAMB 26 South Central MICHAEL HARPE Southeastern ROBERT HENLEY Learning to Serve, Southern Adventist University LORI FUTCHER Conference/Institution Directory Rooted in Christ 27 CAROLINA (700 596-3200 P.O. Box 560339, Charlotte, NC 28256-0339 FLORIDA (407) 644-5000 Help for Adventist P.O. Box 2626, Winter Park, FL 32790-2626 GEORGIA-CUMBERLAND (706) 629-7951 Communicators 28 P.O. Box 12000, Calhoun, GA 30703-7001 GULF STATES (334) 272-7493 P.O. 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POSTMASTER: send changes of address to South- ern Tidings, P.O. Box 849, Decatur, GA 30031 36 Classified Advertising 39 Calendar February 2009 • TIDINGS 3 GEARING UP FOR YEAR OF EVANGELISM BY DENNIS ROSS AND ALEI HEA SKINNER The pastors and local churches I recently talked with three dation on which everything the have taken on an exciting chal- pastors about their views concern- Church [does] builds, whether lenge — baptizing 25,000 in 2009. ing this challenge to reach 25,000 it's outreach programs, in-reach That's a 10 percent membership souls in 2009. These pastors are programs, whether it's a Church increase for the Dan Hall, pastor school, everything we do is built Union. This chal- at Atlanta North on that evangelism foundation. lenges each church Church; Nathan- So, the Church is here and its com- in the Union to in- iel Hollis, pastor mission is to do evangelism. ... crease its member- at Atlanta Boule- Whatever we're doing within the ship by 10 percent. vard Church; and Church or outside the Church, it Can we do it? Jorge Quintiana, all funnels down to one thing, and Are we up to the pastor of the that's doing evangelism to pre- challenge? Only Chamblee His- pare a people for Jesus to come." through God's panic district. Nathaniel Hollis heartily agreed: power, but with Is public "I would say emphatically yes, God all things are evangelism still because Jesus ordained the Church possible. In the a relevant way to go into all the world and carry Southern Union we of reaching the Gospel, make disciples of are blessed with people? people." Jorge Quintiana declared, Spirit-filled pas- Dan Hall "... Evangelism has never lost its tors and members responded, "I power! It is still the most powerful who are excited firmly believe plan we can present to the Church about evangelism. that. I believe today." They are passionate evangelism is When it comes to making about it! Dan Hall, Atlanta North Church pastor really the foun- evangelism relevant today, what 4 TIDINGS • Februa6r 2009 would you say to people who What methods do you use to shared the experiences of offer- would like to know if we are prepare the field for your evan- ing the services of their youth to doing anything different, or are gelistic meetings? help clean neighborhood roads, we updating our approach to Pastor Hall went directly to the and maintaining "open dialog with evangelism? heart of the matter. "You have to the civil authorities," participating Pastor Hollis assured me, "... look for opportunities, that's the in a food bank and a blood drive. our message is the same, but we biggest thing! I want my mem- "When the community had the try to make it relevant by look- bers involved." At Atlanta North, blood drive," he says, "we called ing at a current event that might there is Bible study training — a all the members of the church to happen in our community, and try `boot camp' — three consecutive donate in that drive." Pastor Hollis to use that event by tying it to the weekends. However, Pastor Hall said, "I try to employ the auxil- Bible. Sometimes we can take the quickly added that, "training has to iaries of the church ... to break title from a song, or some lyrics be a part, vision has to be a part, down walls of uncertainty" through from a song as an introduction to a and demonstrating/modeling what activities such as the AYS depart- sermon, to make our message rel- evangelism is. [It is also] ...help- ment holding a massive school evant to the person who is listen- ing people to see that evangelism supplies distribution event prior ing to that kind of music." is not an event. ...It's a lifestyle. to school opening, feeding the Since these pastors have been ...when people can catch that ..