Church Leaders in Inter-America Explore Pressing Questions For Effective Service

May 18, 2021 | Miami, Florida, United States | Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News

For the second straight year, Seventh-day Adventist leaders, staff, and their families in the Inter-American Division found themselves gathered online for the church’s annual week of prayer emphasis, held May 10-15, 2021. More than 70 church employed staff took time to pray, worship and fellowship together following 12 months of a lingering world pandemic that has kept borders closed, travels to a bare minimum and work done from a distance.

“We find ourselves still working from home but we want to pledge, here at the office of the Inter-American Division, to put Jesus as the center of our lives and let Him do wonders in us and through us, as we serve God and the church,” said Pastor Elie Henry, president of the church in the Inter-America.  As the church has set in motion with the I Will Go mission strategy plan for the next four years, it is important to take to heart the spiritual lessons learned during the week of prayer, said Pastor Henry.

United amid challenges

“This was a special week of prayer meant to keep us united amid so many trials, family challenges, and after so many friends have rested in the Lord during the pandemic,” said Pastor Josney Rodríguez, ministerial association secretary for the church in Inter-America in charge of the week’s program. Rodríguez said that like in years past, “it was crucial that we took this opportunity to be together to renew this encounter with the Lord in order to be strengthened spiritually doing the work of the Lord.”

Themed “Personal Encounters with Jesus,” spiritual messages presented by Pastor Lowell Cooper, former vice president of the Adventist world church, explored a few of the pressing questions that Jesus asked during His ministry on earth. “What do you want me to do for you? What good will it be to gain the whole world? Do you see this woman? Who do you say that I Am? Do you understand what I have done? and Do you love me? were only six of the 135 different questions that Jesus asked in the four gospels.

“We must look at the importance of Jesus’ questions because He asked questions to make people think, to prompt new ways of seeing things,” said Pastor Cooper. His questions speak to us about a way of living, of being and of going, he said. “The impact of these questions is limited to the immediate circumstances of their occurrences, upon closer examining that they are timeless questions, they touch the very roots of private and social life regardless of where a person lives in the stream of history.”

Exploring questions Jesus asked

The fundamental questions presented during the week were important not only as Christians but as leaders, said Rodríguez. “As we reflected on these questions from the perspective of the Christian and the leader, it leads us to transmit a true and clear message to the church in Inter-America.”

“Love for the Lord is the first requirement and qualification for leadership,” said Pastor Cooper. “We attach ourselves to something. If it’s not God we attach to, it will be something other than God and that affects us.” As that love is anchored in Jesus first, it then provides a constant and reliable reference for living in a confusing world, transforms and energizes the moral and ethical life, and empowers effective work in the advancement of His Kingdom,” Pastor Cooper said.

Personal reflections

For Juan Carlos Niño, information technology director in the IAD’s treasury department, the week of prayer was an oasis in the midst of a year that began with many activities, assignments and commitments. “The messages this week have led me to face certain basic but deep questions that to answer them I need to stop and evaluate where I am going in my Christian experience,” said Niño. Looking at the question posed by Jesus “What good will it be to gain the whole world?” reminded Niño where true priorities are in his life. “This motivated me to be thankful for all that God has done in my life,” he said. “It was important to see how we are all full of prejudices toward others and how prone we are to label persons even without noticing that we do that. This question Jesus asked ‘Do you see this woman’ invited me to see every person as God sees them.

The practical and clear messages each day prompted Keila Trejo, professional assistant in communication, to create tweets and graphics for the IAD’s various social media platforms. “Some days I would jot down a phrase that impacted me and then turn it into a graphic,” said Trejo.  One of those statements that attracted her attention was how Christ-loving people should look at others. “Look at others the same way Jesus sees you,” she said. “Jesus looks at you with love and sees in you the potential that you have, so we must see others with that same love and not with prejudice.” Another graphic she shared read: Jesus at the center. “When we put Jesus in the center of our lire, our family, our ministry, and everything else, everything is different.”

For Jose Romero, infrastructure and cyber security director, the week of prayer was a blessing and tugged at his heart. “Pastor Cooper’s approach of posing a question and addressing it thoroughly from many different angles has really revived what is important in my daily life through the words shared,” said Romero. “It reminded me that God will be to me everything that I will let Him be, giving up what I want so that God can be glorified and His mission fulfilled.”

The week of spiritual emphasis saw leaders, staff and former leaders of the IAD meet online in small groups daily to pray for one another, their families, collective specific requests and the church across the IAD, as well sharing testimonies.

The Inter-American Division oversees the work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 24 major church regions in Mexico, Central America, The Caribbean, The French Antilles, Colombia and Venezuela.

To learn more, visit us at interamerica.org