UPPER COLUMBIA CONFERENCE // NEWS
ADVENTIST CHURCH LAUNCHES INITIATIVE TO BRING HOPE AND WHOLENESS TO SPOKANE ference hopeful and excited,” says Marsh. “I sensed God was working in a very special way for Spokane.” God was indeed at work. John Torquato, an Adventist physician working with Total Health Spokane, wanted to discover how the Adventist Church could better serve the largest population center in Upper Columbia Conference. He and a few others began talking with civic leaders, including the mayor. “During the meeting, the mayor placed his hand over the map in several areas and said, ‘We have services here,’” Torquato explains. “Then he put his hand over another neighborhood and said, ‘We have great need in the Mead area. Anything you can do here would be great.’” The mayor’s invitation launched a search in the Mead
ooking at the Spokane River and the snowcapped mountains in the distance, one might think Spokane, Washington, idyllic. Look a little deeper and the picture changes rapidly. Washington’s second largest city isn’t even close to paradise. For its size, Spokane is home to one of the highest crime rates in America. Spokane County has significantly more drug felonies than any other county in the state. Add in the high rates of violent crime, drug addiction and suicide, and the darkness and deep need are very evident. “This city is our largest mission field,” says Minner Labrador, Upper Columbia Conference (UCC) president. “We’ve served in Spokane for more than 100 years, but, now more than ever, we are needed.”
weep over Spokane and what can faith-based organizations do to help Spokane? Patty Marsh, Upper Columbia Conference Adventist Community Services director, attended the meeting with 21 other Adventists, by far the largest representation from any organization. “I left that con-
AN INVITATION AND OPEN DOORS Several years ago civic leaders reached out to faithbased organizations in an effort to better serve Spokane’s growing needs. City leaders invited religious leaders to attend an all-day conference at Whitworth College. The conference met to answer two questions: What makes God
area for opportunities to provide health services. The search revealed a 125-unit trailer park with huge needs. “When we first began health outreach in the trailer park, there were at least 23 crack houses,” says Torquato. “Many kids in that community had nothing to eat because their parents were strung out on drugs.” MOMENTUM GATHERS The Seventh-day Adventist Church launched the “Mission to the Cities” initiative in New York City in 2013. This global initiative seeks to impact the cities of
“Mission to the Cities: Spokane is about reaching one more for Jesus.” 30
march/april 2020
