March 16, 2010 – Panama City, Panama…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
This year’s “Pentecost and More” territory-wide evangelistic initiative has reaped tens of thousands of souls for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America. Thanks to the aggressive efforts of church leaders, pastors, and laypeople, nearly 63,000 have joined the church, including the thousands who were baptized last weekend during the culmination of the five-year-long initiative. The event, which was broadcast live via satellite, took place at the conclusion of the division-wide Festival of the Laity Congress in Panama City, Panama.
According to church leaders, Pentecost and More was inspired by the Biblical pentecost in Acts chapter 2 and seeks to mobilize pastors and laypeople alike “to strengthen their collaborative capacity for greater effectiveness in future evangelistic mission outreach initiatives. Since the initiative began in 2006, there have been more than one million baptisms in the Inter-American Division (IAD) territory.
“Pentecost and More has created an evangelistic momentum in this division during this quinquennium, enabling us to realize a baptismal target unparalleled in our history, and a decrease in attrition of members from the faith that is very encouraging,” says Pastor Balvin Braham, Ministerial Association associate director and organizer of the event. “We therefore believe it is necessary to affirm the efforts of the pastors and laity across the Division territory and to provide additional motivation and inspiration towards the fulfillment of the mission.”
More than 1,500 church leaders, pastors, lay preachers and lay-Bible instructors crowded the Inter-Continental Playa Bonita Convention Center in Panama City on March 13 to witness the baptismal event. The program also featured satellite feeds from church sites throughout Inter-America, musical presentations and spiritual messages which welcomed the new believers into the church. The program was seen live on the Hope Channel, Esperanza TV, 3ABN, 3ABN Latino, and Red ADvenir.
Rodcliffe Dockery, a layperson and elder of the Glendevon Seventh-day Adventist Church in West Jamaica, was the guest speaker. Dockery focused on “Jesus the only Hope”, which was the main theme of the five-day laity congress. He encouraged and challenged everyone to continue holding the truths of the Bible as members of the remnant church.
“While God honors the work that everyone does in lifting the name of Christ, He has committed to us the truth of this time,” said Dockery. “I declare that the message of the Adventist Church is not a watered down message, it is a powerful message.”
“Even if our days are hard and challenging today, He [Jesus] gives us hope that better days are coming for us,” Dockery continued. “Let us not embrace false hopes…but praise God today my hope is built on nothing else than Jesus blood and righteousness.”
One hundred new believers took their vow of commitment to God at the convention center before they plunged into the ocean waters outside. Thousands more were baptized throughout Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, French Antilles, and the West Indies.
During the live program, church presidents from throughout the 17 regions of Inter-America prayed baptismal declarations on stage.
Union presidents were also honored for their outstanding commitment in expanding the church during the quinquennium. The Mid-Central American Union, composed of Honduras and El Salvador, was the region with the most baptisms during the five-year-initiative with over 169,000.
“This is such an achievement brought through the efforts of the laity,” said Pastor Alfredo Argueta, president of the church in Mid Central America. “We want to first thank God for the work that has inspired our dear laypeople and pastors of the Mid-Central American Union.”
In addition, the top three IAD church administrators were honored with a special medal of recognition for their outstanding leadership and support of the laity and their evangelistic efforts during the quinquennium.
The first division-wide Pentecost and More event took place in 2007 in the Dominican Republic, which accounted for more than 48,500 baptisms in a single day and drew millions of satellite viewers. The event brought the IAD membership total to over three million. The next event took place the following year in Jamaica, when 50,000 more souls were baptized.
However, church leaders say the initiative is more than just numbers.
“Our interest is to ensure that we bring people into the church and prepare them for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” said Pastor Braham. “But to prepare them we must bring them and that’s what Pentecost and More is all about.”
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 3.3 million members worshipping in 10,346 churches and congregations.
To view a photo gallery of Inter-America’s Festival of the Laity and Pentecost and More event, visit www.flickr.com/photos/interamerica
