March 18, 2008 – Kingston, Jamaica…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
More than 38,000 people joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America as territory-wide baptisms took place during the Pentecost and More event on Saturday, Mar. 15. The total is expected to rise to over 40,000 as five of the church regions have yet to report. The historic three-and-a-half-hour program took place during a satellite broadcast viewed worldwide from the National Arena in Kingston, Jamaica–the hub of the program.
Pentecost and More represented the culmination of joint evangelistic efforts by thousands of church leaders and members throughout Inter-America's 15 major church unions over the last several months. Last year's program of the same name was hosted in the Dominican Republic, drew millions of satellite viewers and accounted for 48,602 baptisms.
The title Pentecost and More was inspired by the biblical pentecost as told in Acts 2. The event featured a dozen satellite feeds from church sites throughout Inter-America as well as an array of musical and spiritual messages aimed at officially welcoming new believers and strengthening them as they join the church. The program was broadcast live through Adventist Television networks, The Hope Channel, 3ABN and Red Advenir.
“By joining the church today…you are joining the likes of Adam, of Abraham, of Paul, or John, of Ellen White, of all the millions [of people] who are waiting for the coming of the Lord,” said Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America as he spoke to the hundreds of people seated at the arena awaiting baptism and thousands more viewing the broadcast.
“We must share the hope with the world, we must share hope with fellow believers, we must deliberately determine to be good and be good to others,” he said. “We have to stick together as fellow believers, we have to stick to our beliefs, we have to stick to our Lord, we have to stick to our hope, we have to stick to our commitment.”
It was that unity of hope and commitment to fulfill the mission of the church that brought the three million Seventh-day Adventists across Inter-America to celebrate together on Saturday.
More than 7,000 people crowded inside National Arena to savor the culmination of the evangelistic efforts which swept through all of Jamaica’s 14 parishes during months of tent revival meetings and community outreach.
“Since January we have started our season of reaping, which will be followed today by the season of nurture and conservation,” said Pastor Patrick Allen, president for the church in the West Indies region, during the event. “We have prayed, we have fasted, and we have witnessed to men and women of the saving love of Jesus in small groups and in our local churches. Entire congregations have been involved. We thank God for the opportunity to rejoice with our brothers and sisters throughout Inter-America as we present our trophies to our God.”
Nearly 600 new believers dressed in their robes arrived from throughout Jamaica in dozens of buses to publicly testify of their commitment to Christ. Dozens of ministers waited to submerge the new believers at the arena’s nearby Olympic size pool as well as one small baptistry set up inside the arena.
“I want the world to know that I am ready, that I’m not turning back,” said Admarie Hunte, a baptismal candidate who traveled with her youngest son Denore Greaves from the St. Mary Parish in northeast Jamaica. She said she is the product of two generations of Adventists, but had never made the decision to get baptised.
“Jesus is my guiding light and I depend on him day and night and every hour,” she added. “He never let me down.”
“I can’t explain how much I’m really happy, it’s the happiest time of my life,” said Wayne Whyte, another baptismal candidate. Whyte, now in his 30s, said although he had been exposed to the truth at an early age, decided in the last few weeks to get baptised while attending a crusade at Padmore Adventist Church.
“I want to witness for Christ,” he said. “I want to be a true disciple.”
Thousands more baptisms were witnessed on the live satellite broadcast screens.
“This event not only dealt with the issue of baptism, it dealt with the issue of bringing the Inter-American Division together,” said Pastor Leito after the program. “People saw each other, they heard each other, and we marched together as one [church].”
It was that message of unity that has been more evident throughout the church in Inter-America during the past two decades as top church administrators have set out to encourage and promote togetherness among its multi-cultural, multi-language countries and islands comprising the Inter-American Division.
Pastor George W. Brown, former president of the church in Inter-America instrumental in laying the groundwork for the promotion of unity in the territory, delivered a special message on the subject.
“This is an ideal time for God’s church in the Inter-American Division, to recapture once again the true spirit of Pentecost, the spirit of unity, oneness and harmony as together we take the gospel of the kingdom to all the world,” Pastor Brown said.
“I like to suggest to you that this is the key to a progressive advancing church in all the world, unity of spirit, unity of message, unity of purpose, unity as we go forward for the culmination of the work of God in all the world,” he added. “We are confronted with the rich and poor, with the upper class, middle class, lower class and the classless, all must be brought tether under one great banner.”
In its second year as an evangelistic initiative, this year's Pentecost and More focused more on showcasing the impact the church has made in the local communities through unique outreach projects. Blood drives, feeding the needy, radio and television programs, Bible distribution, and aggressive health initiatives were just some of the outreach projects featured.
According to Pastor Balvin Braham, associate ministerial director for the church in Inter-America and main organizer of the event. another important objective this year was to refocus the gospel presentation on the consolidation and retention of new believers.
“We want these joint efforts to have lasting evangelistic effects throughout the territory, inspiring members to focus more on the felt needs of the people in their communities,” he said.
Plans have already been drawn for next year’s Pentecost and More program. The idea is to host large events in each of the major 15 regions rather than having one hub for all, according to Braham.
“This will allow for yet more involvement of the membership in finishing the work,” he said.
“We are so grateful that the Lord has been using pastors, administrators, laymen, young people to carry the gospel as we look forward to the finishing of the preaching and the coming God and Savior,” Braham said.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America covers Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and the northern tip of South America, and has more than 3 million members worshiping in 9,592 churches and congregations.
To view a photo gallery of IAD's Pentecost and More event on Mar 15, click here
