January 12, 2023 | Miami, Florida, United States | Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News
This year is geared to become a banner year for discipleship and intense evangelism efforts across Seventh-day Adventist Churches in the Inter-American Division (IAD). Coined as The Year of Conservation and Soul Winning, the year aims to engage church leaders from the youngest to the eldest in active involvement in the life of the church and its mission.
“We are so thankful that church members across Inter-America are actively sharing the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ in their communities,” said Pastor Elie Henry, president of the church in Inter-America. Conserving and winning souls has always been the mission of the church year after year but encouraging for more involvement in fulfilling the task of reaching others is essential, he said. “This year will be extraordinarily special in engaging each one of us to reach greater heights for the Lord.”
Reaching greater heights in evangelism will mean territory-wide initiatives and activities to reach large and small urban areas as well as rural communities throughout the 42 islands and countries that make up the 3.7 million members in the IAD.
The plan grew out concerns from IAD union and regional leaders who urged top leaders in 2020 to focus more on discipleship and engaging more members in soul winning, said Pastor Balvin Braham, vice president of the IAD overseeing evangelism.
“The whole process of retention or conservation [of members] is a lifestyle and not something we do and then don’t do,” said Braham. “We want to call attention to the importance of maintaining your faith in Christ and within that context a number of initiatives and activities will be focused more this year.” Sharing your faith is all part of discipleship and remaining active in the church, he added.
The series of initiatives and activities designed by the IAD’s departments and ministries were designed to complement what the local church is already implementing throughout this year, added Braham.
Small group ministries activities to be held each month, evangelism efforts will be led by women, discipleship programs for children and young people, stewardship initiatives, health ministries initiatives, marriage and family strengthening activities, children and adolescent initiatives, community outreach and more will be part of the special year.
Territory-wide distribution of The Great Controversy, a book by Adventist co-founder Ellen G. White, will see church leaders and members distributing 6 million hard copies throughout the IAD territory on Mar. 18, 2023. Forty million digital copies of the book in English, Spanish and French, are expected to be distributed from Mar. 19 to Apr. 15, 2023.
In addition, major urban evangelistic efforts by dozens of evangelists and laypersons are scheduled to take place in Mexico City, in Guadalajara, Mexico, in Bogota, Colombia, and Kingston, Jamaica, from Mar. 26 to Apr. 1, 2023.
“We just want to bring awareness to the general membership that this year is the year in which we are asking every member to seek to deepen their relationship with Christ, grow in the faith and share their faith wherever they are,” Braham said.
To find out more about the Year of Conservation and Soul Winning in Inter-America, visit interamerica.org