Chesapeake Conference

To me, this verse is one of the most personal, heartfelt invitations in the Bible. He doesn’t abandon me to the detours of life, or leave me to drown in my negative thoughts and emotions.

Recently, the Williamsport (Md.) church held Sabbath School Alive, a one-day training seminar to equip Sabbath School leaders to create more engaging experiences for class attendees by focusing on prayer, Bible study, fellowship and mission. 

In March 2020, Highland View Academy (HVA) faced a dilemma—how to keep their campus family of faculty and students connected as they faced an uncertain future with a pandemic quickly taking over school and personal life.

We have finally arrived at the closing days of 2020. For so many unanticipated reasons, it has proven to be a watershed year. We know nearly everything in our lives has run into some measure of turbulence, and we don’t know when things will settle down or how different they will be in the years to come.

These are five life-saving words. When each day seems to bring a heavy weight of chaos, conflict and uncertainty, these simple words of Jesus have a great impact: “I will give you rest.” He prefaces these words with an open invitation: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden” (Matt. 11:28, NKJV). 

“It seems as if one morning, we all woke up, and everything was different,” says David Klinedinst, Evangelism and Church Growth director for the Chesapeake Conference. “While we were unable to hold in-person seminar meetings here in the Chesapeake Conference region under coronavirus-related mandated restrictions, we still felt a commitment to advancing our evangelistic mission.” 

In mid-March, teachers and students across the conference were unable to meet in their respective school buildings due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. To adapt to this new reality, educators in all 11 Chesapeake Conference schools began offering comprehensive distance learning experiences for their students. 

Earlier this year, Orlando Rosales, the Chesapeake Conference’s Multilingual Ministries director, and Rubén Ramos, the vice president of Multilingual Ministries for the Columbia Union Conference, traveled throughout the Chesapeake territory for Caravan 2020, themed “El Dia es Hoy” (Today Is the Day).

Earlier this year, 20 Highland View Academy (HVA) juniors and seniors joined more than 100 academy students from across the Chesapeake Conference to participate in the second annual Capital Model United Nations (Model UN), held at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Md.