MULT I C ULT URA L MI N IS TRIES
Mission is Central By Carmelo Mercado
Just prior to His ascension our Lord gave a clear command to His church: Go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19). The intent of this statement was to place mission as central to the church’s purpose. Jesus did not create a church and then give it mission as just one of its tasks. The very essence of the church is mission. If the church ceases to be missiondriven, it would not fulfill our Lord’s command but instead, at its best, simply become a religiously oriented social organization. Mission is central to the identity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Lake Union Multicultural Ministries Department considers mission as our central purpose; our involvement in a variety of events testifies to our commitment. Here are some examples of what we have done during this past quinquennium. Latino Youth Outreach and Nurture The Latino youth event known as Conectate had its origin in 2010 with the purpose of reaching bilingual youth throughout our Union. During this
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E Carmelo Mercado
E Carmen Avila
quinquennium, hundreds of our youth came to this unique youth congress, held every other year on the campus of Andrews University, with the purpose of not only helping them to grow in Christ through guest speakers and a variety of seminars but also inspire them to be mission-minded through practical acts of service. In 2016, the theme for Conectate was “Love Live Lead Like Jesus”; in 2018, the theme was “Strength in Numbers”; and in 2021, in our first virtual convocation had as its theme, “Bridge the Gap.”
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