August 28, 2011 – Arecibo, Puerto Rico…Freddy Sosa/IAD Staff
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Puerto Rico kicked off its “Heeding the Word” spiritual revival initiative this month by gathering more than 600 delegates to become active leaders in promoting the reading of the Scriptures across the island. The initiative follows Inter-America’s second phase of its revival and reformation initiative geared towards motivating church members to foster a prayer life and study of the Bible on a daily basis.
Sabbath school and personal ministries leaders from churches across the island spent a day of being trained on how to encourage members to establish a closer relationship with Christ through spiritual revival as well as diving into the Inter-American Division’s (IAD) Vision One Million initiative of reaching out and discipling new believers during the coming six months.
Pastor Jose A. Rodríguez, president of the church in Puerto Rico, spoke to the delegates on the importance of Heeding the Word and presented the church’s evangelistic program on the island adopted and coined as Vision 10,000. “I challenge you leaders to reach 10,000 of our disciples, our church members to reach 10,000 new members and disciple them for Christ,” Rodríguez said.
IAD leaders Pastor Samuel Telemaque, Sabbath school director, and Pastor Melchor Ferreyra, personal ministries director, led the delegates on the importance of their role as Sabbath school teachers to educate the church, and on becoming effective preachers and Bible instructors in partnering with the division-wide initiative.
Church leaders are planning to hold special activities throughout the following weeks and months to promote the initiatives.
Plans are underway for all Adventist churches in Puerto Rico to carry two special satellite broadcasts in February and March of 2012, with the special visit of Adventist World President Pastor Ted N.C. Wilson and Evangelist Alejandro Bullón to the island.
There are more than 36,000 Seventh-day Adventists worshiping in 302 churches in Puerto Rico. The church on the island operates a university, hospital, clinic, several radio stations as well as dozens of primary and secondary schools.
For information on the church in Puerto Rico, visit http://www.upasd.org/
