Connecting Columbia Union Seventh-day Adventists

Perspectives

The intense focus of Olympians reminds me how important it is to stay focused on our relationship with God. The power and blessing of WGTS 91.9 FM, Washington Adventist University’s radio ministry—our “Gateway to Service”—is that it provides a 24-hour spiritual presence, pointing people in the nation’s capital and beyond to Jesus.

by Kevin Krueger

Despite the fact that they didn’t quite reach their goal of packing 300 boxes for Operation Christmas Child last year (they packed 286), the students of Huntingdon Valley Christian Academy (HVCA) set an even higher goal this year. The 145 students of the Pennsylvania Conference school located in Huntingdon Valley didn’t want a small goal. They decided to pack 500 boxes for 2013.

Harriet Langley, a member of Allegheny East Conference’s Pisgah church in Bryans Road, Md., could never forget the Jefferson family. As a long-serving member of the church’s Adventist Community Services (ACS) team, she had helped many, many people, but this family was different. “The father had gotten hurt on the job and couldn’t work,” she recalls. “When they couldn’t pay the bills, he and his family were put out of the trailer they were living in.”

Where does our church stand on some of today’s most talked about issues?

Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders have advocated for religious freedom for well over 100 years, but what about other important societal issues, like the sanctity of marriage, capital punishment or conscience protections for physicians in the recent healthcare debate? Certainly, the church is in a unique position to offer sound and ethical advice to policymakers, but should we follow the example of early church leaders who intensely engaged policymakers over prohibition and dietary health reform?
 

If you’re not actively engaged in telling others about God’s love and sharing His Word, then you really can’t call yourself a Seventh-day Adventist,” warns Lillian Torres, the Pennsylvania Conference and Columbia Union Bible worker who has dedicated her life to drawing people to Christ and training others to do the same. “Our goal as Christians should be to tell every person we interact with each day about God’s love.” She further explains, “If I’m not intentionally engaged in personal evangelism, I can’t claim to be an Adventist because we believe in the second coming of Christ and proclaiming it. And, being a Christian means to believe in Christ’s teachings and gospel, and showing it in character and practice. If I’m neither, then what am I?”