Mountain View Couple Elected Family Ministries Directors

Story by Valerie Morikone

After their baptism into the Seventh-day Adventist Church in May of 1999, Jim and Elaine Buchanan quickly began sharing the Word of God in their community. They enjoyed it so much that, two years later, they attended the Mission College of Evangelism (S.D.) for further Bible instructor training. After graduation, they became Bible workers in Florida, and, several years later, moved to Oregon to work as church trainers and outreach coordinators for the Mission College of Evangelism. It wasn’t until 2007 that they received a call to minister in the Mountain View Conference (MVC).

“Our first district was two small membership churches, Richwood and Webster Springs, and, the following year, the Summersville and Braxton churches were added, all in West Virginia,” says Elaine. Their next district was Logan and Williamson (W.Va.), where they spent three years before moving to a two-church district in Western Maryland— Cumberland and Frostburg—where they now serve.

At the July Executive Committee Meeting, Jim and Elaine were also elected to serve as MVC Family Ministries directors. The Buchanans already had an interest in counseling and working with people to overcome family issues, and they’ve seen families reunited and lives changed as a result of their influence.

“We want to be able to help people who are struggling with issues in their daily lives and would like to see more seminars brought to MVC,” shares Jim. “Seminars on how to build strong families and marriages, since that is one thing the devil is attacking at this time of earth’s history.”