In Inter-America, Church leaders review church and financial growth and vote new plans
Pastor Kern Tobias, president of the Caribbean Union speaks to executive committee members during Inter-America’s Mid-Year Committee Meetings in Miami, Florida, United States, on May 9, 2016. More than 150 administrators, directors and lay members gathered for a full day review of evangelism plans and activities to be implemented in the church across Inter-America. Images by Libna Stevens/IAD
May 11, 2016 | Miami, Florida, United States | Libna Stevens/IAD
IAD Executive Secretary Elie Henry chairs a segment of the committee meetings while IAD Vice President Myrna Costa looks on with a smile.
Seventh-day Adventist leaders from across the Inter-American Division (IAD) concluded their business meetings this week to review church growth, financial strength and voting evangelism plans and activities that will motivate the church membership to seek a transformation in Jesus and share the message of the gospel in their communities.
Nearly 150 administrators, departmental directors, and lay members met for a day of meetings in Miami, Florida, on May 9. Leaders already met during a video conference meeting on May 3 to vote on more than half of the agenda items during the church’s Mid-Year Executive Committee Meetings this year.
Secretariat’s Report
This year 40 lay members including rotating youth representatives from the IAD territory were part of the executive committee meetings, stated Pastor Elie Henry, executive secretary of the church in Inter-America, before the membership growth figures were shared. “Almost every one of our 24 unions has a rotating lay representative and some have appointed members for this year’s annual meetings,” said Henry. That means an increase of about 12 lay members from previous years. “Our church keeps growing and we have seen the need to include more of our committed lay members with us during our business meetings.”
The year 2015 showed an audited membership of 3,615,558, 170,978 baptisms and 13,157 churches– an increase of 433 new churches since 2014, reported Pedro Iglesias, IAD associate secretary. The number of churches represents a record for the territory with the greatest number of churches organized in the Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union with 82 new churches, Chiapas Mexican Union with 80, El Salvador with 46, Dominican Republic with 42, and North Colombia Union 44 new churches.
Thanks to the joint evangelism efforts in churches, small groups, Sabbath school classes and the planting of new churches in un-entered areas, the church in Inter-America keeps growing, church leaders said.
IAD President Pastor Israel Leito (right) congratulates Pastor Evaristo Garcia of Nicaragua on May 9, for reaching more than 80 percent of baptismal goal so far this year in the Northwestern Nicaragua Mission where he serves as president.
Pastor Evaristo Garcia was one pastor who was brought in by the IAD for reaching more than 80 percent of the baptismal goal in the Northwestern Nicaragua Mission already this year where he serves as president.
Garcia’s team of 21 pastors overseeing 118 churches, more than 1,000 small groups, and over 2,400 baptisms have already taken place in just five months of the year. It’s the first year since he began serving as president of the mission that such a goal has been reached. “The difference we have seen from other years is in the on-going training for church elders, small group leaders and pastors we have in place,” said Garcia. Pastors meet once a month, small group leaders get trained every three months and church elders receive training every year on classes on theology and church leadership, said Garcia.
“We want to keep our leaders up-to-date with the Division’s initiatives and the Adventist World Church initiatives as well,” added Garcia. Being part of the committee meetings brought Garcia to see and hear how the church initiatives will be implemented in the territory in the coming months and years. “It’s not only important to know all these initiatives and plans but to actually implemented in the field. That’s what’s making the difference too in our region,” Garcia said.
Already he has his territory involved in Inter-America’s “Lord Transform Me” initiative–a comprehensive initiative which seeks to motivate church members to pursue a daily transformation through the Holy Spirit, daily study of the Scriptures and time spent in prayer.”
Treasurer’s Report
The increase in membership has meant a steady giving in tithes and offerings, said Filiberto Verduzco, treasurer of the church in Inter-America during his report. “Our church members are faithful in paying tithes and generously giving offerings,” said Verduzco.
IAD Treasurer Filiberto Verduzco presents the financial report to executive committee members on May 9, 2016.
“They are so exceptionally committed to the mission of the church,” he said as he displayed the giving rates of church members in the IAD during the past 30 years. Top church member givers in mission offerings include Haiti with 62.6 percent, or for every one tithe dollar they give, they give 62 cents; the Dominican Republic gives 52 percent of offerings in relation to tithe; and Panama gives 50 percent of offerings in relation to tithe; followed by East Venezuela with 49.5 percent and Southeast Mexico with 43 percent.
“This is such a wonderful relationship to see between offering and tithe funds, because the same way that tithe behaves in our territory is the same with the missionary offering which is extraordinary,” said Verduzco.
Verduzco’s financial report also indicated that for 2015, the IAD had an operating capital of 192 percent and liquidity of 210 percent. As of the end of April this year, the IAD had an operating capital of 200 percent and a liquidity of 224 percent.
A report on the IAD’s Financial Inspection Overview System indicated that 14 of the 24 unions in Inter-America has trained local auditors and local church treasurers to begin the auditing of these churches and organizations. The Financial Inspection Oversight System was established a year ago to train and oversee 12,000 churches and more than 300 organizations not audited by the General Conference Auditing Services.
New appointments
Committee members voted the appointment of several IAD positions including:
• Max Rene Laurent, as an IAD field secretary. Laurent was the former president of French Antilles Guiana Union.
• Josney Rodriguez, as associate ministerial secretary. Rodriguez had been serving as president of the East Venezuela Union.
• Balvin Braham, as associate director for Public Campus Ministries. Braham also serves as assistant to the IAD president for evangelism.
• Adolfo Ruiz, as director for health food ministries department and associate director of Inter-America’s Health Food Company.
• Jorge Atalido, as new president of the East Venezuela Union Mission. Atalido was functioning as the secretary of the East Venezuela Union.
• Luis Astudillo, as the new secretary of the East Venezuela Union Mission.
• Jose Luis Olmos, as the new treasurer of the Southeast Mexican Union Mission.
Top church leaders voted to mobilize the church in Inter-America to baptize 1,100,000 new members into the church by 2020. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD
Baptismal goal
Committee members also voted to adopt the goal of 1,100,000 baptisms to take place throughout Inter-America for the current five-year period ending in 2020. The goal is based on the cumulative goal submitted by each of the 24 union administrations, stated Pastor Balvin Braham, assistant to the IAD president for evangelism.
Evangelism and consolidation mentorship program
A program was voted to implement the evangelism and consolidation mentoring program for pastors, which is intended to improve satisfaction of pastors in the soul winning and retention program of the church, develop their leadership skills, and teach them new skills, attitudes and competencies. The program will include accrediting mentors in each union, as well as offering guidance and mentorship in evangelistic campaigns, field preparation, retention programs and more.
“Lord Transform Me” Convention
A number of programs were voted under Inter-America’s “Lord Transform Me” initiative—a comprehensive initiative which seeks to motivate church members to pursue a daily transformation through the Holy Spirit, through daily study of the Scriptures and time spent in prayer. The evangelistic activities within the church and the community will lead up to a special convention next year.
The “Lord Transform Me” Convention will take place in the Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union on April 1, 2017, where the church across Inter-America will celebrate the efforts of their evangelistic efforts through a three-hour live satellite program. It is scheduled to be carried by Hope Channel and its Esperanza TV channel, and 3ABN.
2017 Missionary Book of the Year
The missionary book of the year for 2017 will be a booklet from Ellen G. White’s The Redemption Story. Selections from the book were done by the White Estate and will bear the title of Hope Lost and Found across the territory. For Spanish it will be “Esperanza Perdida, Esperanza Recobrada” and in French “Espérance Perdue, Espérance Retrouvée.”
Dates and Events also voted included:
• Week of Prayer for Pastoral Families, January 21-28, 2017.
• “Lord Transform Me” regional summit to be held in Colombia, June 6-7, 2017.
• Year of the Child and Adolescent will be 2018.
Catherine Turcios of Honduras speaks during the committee meetings.
During the day’s business meetings, leaders also voted to upgrade mission to conference status, voted on policy amendments and other evangelism initiatives to take place in the coming months and years.
Catherine Turcios, 24, from Honduras was one of three youth representatives present during the committee meetings. As a member of the Rio Grande Adventist Church in Tegucigalpa, she leads the Adventist Youth Society and teaches Sabbath School for university students. She said she was impressed with how the church at the level of Division executive committee functions.
“Young people have no idea what it takes to manage the church at this level,” said Turcios. She was impressed with how professional the church leadership follows order for every issue, detail, and vote and how the church takes care of its image. Turcios said she is going back to her country to share all the initiatives the young people in her church can join to share the gospel in their communities.
For information on Inter-America’s programs and initiatives, visit us at interamerica.org
To view a photo gallery of the meetings, visit flickr.com/photos/interamerica