New Vision Becomes Reality at Romney Church

When Heroes Sical, pastor of the Romney (W.Va.) church, stepped inside the church seven years ago, the first thing he noticed was there was no baptistry, and many other things needed repairs. “It’s like McDonald’s advertising hamburgers and fries, but when you go inside, they have no burgers,” he says. “Likewise, we say we are here to save souls, but we have no way to baptize [people].” He opted to perform baptisms in a river or a sister church at the time.

Romney members became motivated to donate money and fundraise, raising enough money to start remodeling the unhealthy basement, then classrooms and an office. Late last year, they were finally ready to renovate the sanctuary.

As they were working on church repairs, including installing a baptistry, the Holy Spirit was working on people’s hearts. Jeane Holliday, a local school bus driver, happened to drive by the church one day and felt the desire to visit. The following Sabbath, she was warmly greeted by the members and quickly learned about upcoming evangelistic meetings. She and her husband, John, began to attend every Sabbath, and Dan Beavers, the church’s lay pastor, started giving them Bible studies. Around the same time, Robert Saldana, Jr., who had been searching for a home church, reached out to Romney members, asking for a ride to church. He, too, began taking Bible studies.

Earlier this year, as the sanctuary neared completion, members planned a celebration. The church was packed with members, new baptismal candidates, their families and friends, and Mountain View Conference administration, as they all came together to celebrate God’s blessings. For the first time in Romney’s history, members witnessed baptisms in their own church sanctuary, welcoming the Hollidays and Saldana into the family. Afterward, four more people came forward to commit their lives to God.

“It is a transitional point in our church,” states Sical. “We have a renovated sanctuary, a new building, new people, new Bible studies, and the Lord is really blessing us.”

Baptismal candidates John and Jeane Holliday and Robert Saldana, Jr., repeat the baptismal vows after Heroes Sical, pastor of the Romney church, alongside Walter Cardenas, conference assistant to the president.

Arise and Shine!

In the Bible, we find the story of the Israelites who were chosen by God to be His people. God’s people were supposed to be the light to the neighboring nations and to bring salvation to others, but they refused to fulfill God’s mission. They rejected God’s messengers, and they later rejected the Messiah. God also called us to be His people, and He wants us to fulfill the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18–20: “Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”

The problem is that God’s church is asleep. He wants the opposite from our dead state: “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you” (Isa. 60:1, NKJV).

The Lord commands us to arise from the spiritual slumber and lukewarmness and to shine the light in our church community, neighborhoods and families.

We, as bearers of the light, have a huge responsibility. It is time for us to allow the Holy Spirit to use us. In fact, the angels of the Lord are waiting for us to finish the mission the Lord has given to us. Ellen White writes, “Time is precious. The destiny of souls is in the balance. God is holding back His judgments, waiting for the message to be sounded to all. There are many who have not yet heard the testing message of truth for this time. The last call of mercy is to be proclaimed throughout the earth. Heavenly angels have long been waiting for human agents ... to cooperate with them in the great work to be done. They are waiting for you. So vast is the field, so comprehensive the design, that every sanctified heart will be pressed into service as an agent of divine power”

(The Review and Herald, Nov. 23, 1905).

If you are tired of sleeping, awake, arise and shine for the Lord! I challenge you to go to Him in prayer, and tell Him to awaken you from your dead spiritual condition. Tell Him you want to shine for Him in your workplace, family, church and neighborhood.

May our Lord help us to be the light He wants to be. “I Will Go, Making Disciples!”

Carlos Portanova Treasurer

Seven Pathfinder Clubs Place First at Conference PBE

New Jersey Conference’s Youth Department celebrates the seven Pathfinder clubs that recently received first place at the conference-level Pathfinder Bible Experience (PBE), held at Meadow View Junior Academy in Chesterfield:

• Bridgeton Spanish Heaven’s Army BS2

• Lake Nelson Piscataway Eagles

• New Brunswick English Joshua 2

• Passaic II Centurions of Truth (A)

• Paterson Eastside Spanish Zion 1

• Princeton English Warriors

• Vineland Messengers Team 2

These clubs went on to the Columbia Union-level event, held at Blue Mountain Academy in Hamburg, Pa.

Paterson Eastside Launches Good Samaritan Department

Jeffrey Prado, a church member from the Paterson Eastside church, felt the need to do more for the surrounding community. As a result of several conversations, Paterson Eastside created a new department—the Good Samaritan Department—which will specialize in community service. The church board nominated Prado to lead this brand-new department.

Prado states, “It was as though God was saying, ‘You’ve been talking about this, so I’m giving you this department to do something about it.’”

The department’s mission—comprised of caring church members—is to demonstrate the love of God to those in the community. Recently, they collaborated with the city of Paterson to hold a drive and collect items and monetary donations for those affected by the earthquake in the Türkiye/ Syria regions.

“The next plan for the Good Samaritan Department is to have a clothing and household item drive to help the less fortunate in the Paterson community,” says Prado. “We will also have an outdoor Sabbath. Since [there are some who] don’t come to the church, we will bring the church to them.”

Conference mascot, Buzz (center), and Paterson Eastside church friends Aaron Aragones, Gerson Espinal, Fiordaliza Polanco and Khenoh Samuels, package items for Türkiye and Syria earthquake survivors.

Single Young Adults Attend ‘The Ultimate Relationship’

Recently, 47 excited, casually dressed, smiling young men and women traveled to Lawrenceville from six different conferences to participate in “The Ultimate Relationship” singles’ retreat.

Facilitator and leader Yvette Weir, CEO of the Wild at Heart ministry, and her team from Maryland led this group in dynamic presentations, interactive activities and a wildly successful scavenger hunt social. The New Jersey United Worship Band provided inspiring music throughout the day. During the retreat, there were mini-surprises, heartfelt testimonials, new friendships formed and a variety of food and snacks—from a gourmet brunch to a sweet taste of ice cream in the evening.

Weir states, “We thank the Lord for opening the doors of the New Jersey Conference, as well as the hearts of the young people who came out of their comfort zone to learn, connect and grow their awareness and knowledge of relationships in a Seventh-day Adventist environment. It is my belief that we filled a void that has oftentimes been missed.”

Buzz makes another sighting, this time with participants and facilitators at “The Ultimate Relationship ” singles’ retreat.

The Conference as the Storehouse?

A few months ago, I sat through an excellent Sabbath School discussion where we tackled the tricky question of “the conference as the storehouse.” You can imagine how my role as conference president and guest speaker for the day adds spice to any discussion in which the conference can be seen as the beneficiary.

The study presented the usual questions: “Where is the storehouse? Why is it there? Is that biblical?” As I listened to the discussion, a question arose in my mind that seemed to inform the discussion in a way that I found helpful. Rather than being a question of geography (Where is it?), our position on this question is informed by our identity (Who are we?).

If our identity does not include the understanding that our local church is a part of a larger sisterhood of churches, it feels funny to send our tithe to a “storehouse” that is outside of our local church. In fact, storing what God has entrusted to us in someone else’s storehouse calls our stewardship into question. If our identity as a local church ends at the local church, it makes sense that the church’s money stays local. As such, it would be natural for an independent congregation to build its own storehouse to serve the community in which that congregation primarily functions and ministers.

But if we are a part of a larger community, it would be natural to store our tithe in the larger community’s storehouse. This is because we see the mission field of the local church broader than the footprint of the local church. This idea of a mission field larger than my local community has always informed the identity of Adventism.

With such an identity in place, we can contribute to the larger community’s storehouse with joy rather than resentment. Our new identity as a part of the larger community opens us to the reality that we are stronger together and can accomplish far more in terms of mission that we ever could as a single congregation.

It occurs to me that this question of identity explains the emotion that often accompanies the storehouse discussion. When we clarify our identity as a part of a larger sisterhood of churches, we elevate the discussion of the storehouse to a dialogue that now focuses on mission as a larger entity.

When I chair committees, I often say, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” This is simply a way of sharing that a team can usually accomplish more than one lone hero. This same principle is true in church finances. By pooling funds as a sisterhood of churches, we can accomplish mission in a more impactful way than we ever could as independent, autonomous local churches. That’s the church that I want to be part of and the church I want my returning tithe to help fund.

Calendar Of Events

May 21: Adventurer Fun Day, Eastwood Church

May 28: Spring Valley Academy Graduation

June 4: Ohio Conference Constituency Meeting, Worthington Church

June 11: Summer Camp Season Starts, Camp Mohaven