Inter-America: Church Officials Meet for Annual Meeting

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad…[Libna StevensIAD]

Leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America traveled to the land of the hummingbird and the steel band for Executive Committee’s Year-End meetings in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, October 26-28.

The nearly 100 church leaders in attendance reported on the steady growth of the church and voted programs to be implemented in the 37 countries and islands comprising the division territory.

Pastor Israel Leito, president for the church in Inter-America was glad that the meetings themed “United in Warmth of Fellowship” went smoothly.

“Inter-America remains strong,” he said. “It was wonderful to see the willingness of the leaders to work together to move in one direction, in joint efforts, pulling together…that’s the basis of our strength,” Pastor Leito adds.

Leito says Inter-America continues to be strong financially even though it was affected by significant currency devaluations and by the devastation of three recent major hurricanes.

Committee members approved to adopt the following items, among others:

Elijah Project.

The “Elijah Project” is a collaborative effort by youth and personal ministries directors to train, equip and form 4,000 evangelistic teams made up of young people and laypersons.

The plan, financed by the Center for Global Evangelism, World Youth Department, Personal Ministries and Sabbath School, as well as the Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries, is providing the latest technology tools for youth who will lead in nearly 250,00 youth evangelistic efforts in their communities during the first six months of 2005.

Over 2,700 DVD players and 15,000 DVD sets of evangelistic messages will be provided to the thousands of youth throughout Inter-America who will engage in two-week evangelistic crusades throughout their countries and communities. For more information on the Elijah program, contact IAD’s Youth Department at 305.403.4700.https://recursing-golick.147-182-135-0.plesk.page

IAD Statement on HIV/AIDS

A plan was voted to adopt the IAD Statement on HIV/AIDS throughout the territory in order for the church, at every level in the territory of the division, to participate in the national activities planned for the HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on December 1. The plan is for churches and its relevant entities to celebrate HIV/AIDs awareness during the last weekend in November. The program will include a plan to train pastors and volunteer counselors in raising awareness and promoting specific comprehensive preventive programs in Seventh-day Adventist churches throughout Inter-America’s 18 countries and islands highest in HIV/AIDS incidence, as well as the rest of IAD’s 19 countries.

For the complete IAD Statement on HIV/AIDS, go to ttp://www.interamerica.org/users/index.php?type=document&id=177&language=en

Mass Distribution of Adventist Review Magazine

A new international version of the Adventist Review magazine entitled Adventist World, is tailored to the fast-growing Adventist World Church. The 32-page magazine will be distributed worldwide in order to promote growth, unity and quality of life among Seventh-day Adventists. It was voted to be distributed among the territory of the Inter-American Division in English, French and Spanish.

The Inter-American version of the magazine will include four additional pages, bringing the total to 36 pages, featuring administrative news, a focus on strategic issues and strategies, reports on committee actions and contacts of members.

Launch date of the magazine is schedule for July 2005 at the General Conference Adventist World Session.

Leaders supported the Adventist World Church response statement on Creation, a document submitted by the International Faith and Science Conference held recently this year. In the statement, IAD officials support the endorsement of the document’s “affirmation of our historic, biblical position of the belief in a literal, recent, six-day creation.” The document calls on all leaders, educators and members to disseminate such document in order “to proclaim the churches’ understanding of the Biblical doctrine of Creation.” To view document, go to https://recursing-golick.147-182-135-0.plesk.page/users

IAD Church leaders voted to approve the World Church’s “A Seventh-day Adventist Philosophy of Music” document, in which several principles to guide the Christian are outlined. Guidelines are drawn from the Scriptures and the writings of Ellen G. White.

“We believe that the gospel impacts all areas of life” says the document, ” We therefore hold that, given the vast potential of music for good or ill, we cannot be indifferent to it.”

Read the full document at https://recursing-golick.147-182-135-0.plesk.page/users/

A plan was approved to involve all colleges and universities of the Inter-American Division in networking to contribute in preparing leaders for various ministries to fulfill the mission of the church. The plan is for IAD’s 12 colleges and universities to share successful initiatives, create common programs to promote the interchange of students and establish strategies to offer programs and classes in three languages of the IAD, among other guidelines outlined. For more information, visit https://recursing-golick.147-182-135-0.plesk.page/users/index.php?language=en&type=mainsection&id=5

The Publishing Ministries of the IAD will hold a special retreat at the Valley of Vandenses in Italy for colporteurs with exceptional sales in their respective territories. The retreat is scheduled to take place in 2006. For more information contact the Publishing Ministries at 305.599.0037.

The 2004 satellite series previously scheduled to be broadcast from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad has been postponed until 2006. For later details on the satellite series, visit www.interamerica.org.

IAD’s Year-End Meetings is the second of two annual meetings that the leadership of the division participates in. The next Executive Committee meting is schedule for May 16-19 2005, in Miami, Florida, United States.