In Inter-America, Adventist Church celebrates growth in Mexico during satellite program

Ministers pray for baptismal candidates before submerging under water and joining the Seventh-day Adventist Church while Inter-America’s Lord Transform Me live satellite celebration of evangelistic efforts took place in Minatitlán, Mexico, on April 1, 2017. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

April 3, 2017 | Minatitlán, Veracruz, México | Libna Stevens/IAD

Thousands of Seventh-day Adventists in Veracruz, Mexico, celebrated the culmination of intense evangelistic efforts during a live satellite event from the city of Minatitlán, last weekend.

Thousands packed the Minatitlán Convention Center during the event. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

A crowd of about 8,000 filled the Minatitlán Convention Center on Sabbath, April 1, to worship, witness the transformation of new believers and recommit to nurturing them into the life of the church. Another four sites gathering over 30,000 believers across the Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union held hundreds of baptisms on the same day. More than 6,000 were baptized in the region during the day.

Thousands more throughout the church in Inter-America also welcomed new members into the church and viewed the day’s event through the satellite broadcast on Hope Channel Inter-America’s three channels.

The annual celebration, coined as “Lord Transform Me”, was the climax of a six-month-long evangelism undertaking by pastors and church members across the Inter-American Division (IAD) territory.

Pastor Balvin Braham, assistant to the president for evangelism for the church in Inter-America and main organizer of the event, said Inter-America’s “Lord Transform Me” initiative has aimed to motivate leaders and church members to be totally involved in the mission of the church. “It’s about members being transformed in the way they live, they way they worship and the way they serve and proclaim the gospel, in preparedness for the Second Coming of Jesus.”

Evangelism work in the Inter-Oceanic Mexican region

Gregorio Gómez, his wife Ivette, daughter Jasmine and Giovanny one hour before the baptism ceremony started. Gómez and daughter Jasmine were baptized at Minatitlán Convention Center, Apr. 1, 2017. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

Gregorio Gómez from the nearby city of Coatzacoalcos was among the 450 who were baptized during the day’s program in Minatitlán. He grew up Catholic and said he never read the Bible. “My life was all about going to parties, drinking and doing as I pleased, and there were long periods of time that God never really entered my mind,” said Gómez. Some of his mother’s family are Adventists and started taking his two young children to church every Sabbath. Soon Gomez and his wife joined a small study group.

“It’s been a long year-and-a-half studying the Bible and seeing how God has transformed my life from an angry explosive person to a peaceful one,” said Gómez.  He and his wife Ivette married last week during a large marriage license ceremony of 90 couples held by the city of Coatzacoalcos as part of the church’s evangelistic campaign efforts there.

Gómez said that “Jesus must be our vision to life eternal.” He has already been telling his co-workers about the truths of the Bible, God’s permanent law, and has already taken part in community services at the Manatial Adventist Church near his home. He loves to help those in need and has began visiting a sick member and taking him food and supplies.  His daughter was also baptized during the day and said his wife will be getting baptized soon.

Gómez represents more than 11,000 new believers who joined the church as a result of member-led small groups and local pastors and leaders launching intense evangelistic efforts in October.
Keeping new members like Gómez involved in the mission of the church is key to reaching and preparing more for eternal life, said IAD President Pastor Israel Leito and IAD Executive Secretary Elie Henry during the broadcast.

A group of Global Mission pioneers who were honored for planting new churches throughout the Inter-Oceanic Mexican territory. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

“We want to see every member involved in expanding the work of the gospel,” said Pastor Leito. “As you bring new members in, make sure your church is a friendly church, make sure they build friendships, cater to their spiritual needs and ensure that they are engaged in fulfilling the mission God has given us.”

Since the Adventist world church has pushed for total member involvement, local church leaders have seen extraordinary success.

All church districts, comprising 1,580 churches, teamed up to hold evangelistic campaigns in January and March, said Pastor Moisés Reyna, president of the church in the Inter-Oceanic territory in Mexico.

Small groups success

“Without the continual work of our active church members in the small groups across the territory in the ‘Lord Transform Me’, we would not have been able to reach such high results,” said Reyna.
The church in the Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union averages 15,000 baptisms annually and in a period of seven months should reach 15,000, explained Reyna, who, along with his team of administrators and department directors, visited hundreds of believers since efforts began last fall.

Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

“The enthusiasm of the church members has been increasing as a great spiritual revival has taken place everywhere, not only among our church members, but among our friends and in the media,” said Reyna.

Increased spiritual revival and more total member involvement in small groups is growing the church increasingly fast in the Inter-Oceanic Union with more than 211,000 members. The church cannot build churches fast enough to house so many members each week, explained Reyna.

Just last year, 260 new congregations were organized and nearly 100 churches were built with a financial partnership between the union, each local field and the local church.

“For this year, the challenge seems to be overtaking us already,” said Reyna.

Planting church efforts were also supported by projects funded by the Adventist World Church’s Global Mission program and the Inter-American Division last year. Some 96 Global Mission pioneers were honored during the live program for their efforts in planting 96 new congregations throughout the 11 local fields in the territory.

Local pastors honored

Pastor Robert S. Folkenberg Jr., president of the China Union Mission urged for everyone to make Christ the center of their life. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

During the live event, 39 pastors from the Inter-Oceanic region were recognized for baptizing 100 or more new members during 2016.
Over 450 pastors across the IAD territory have baptized more than 100 members each, reported Braham during the report. That brings a total of more than 70,000 new members won by pastors in 2016, he said.

Pastor Robert S. Folkenberg Jr., president of the China Union Mission, spoke to the new and seasoned church members on the importance of setting the right worldview in their lives.

“Christ  should be the center of our existence,” said Folkenberg. “It is time to follow Jesus 100 percent with all your heart and see the reality of eternal life ahead.” Folkenberg made a call to congregants and viewers abroad to not be distracted by the temporary things the world offers but to focus on growing spiritually in Christ for eternal life.

“Lord Transform Me” Impact

There’s no doubt the “Lord Transform Me” initiative has energized not only the membership in the Inter-Oceanic Mexican region but across the entire territory of the IAD as well.

Approximately 70 pastors and evangelists from across the IAD territory were guest evangelists in the dozens of evangelistic campaigns last week to wrap up the efforts.

Pastor Moises Prieto, youth ministries director for the church in East Venezuela, was assigned to the Jáltipan church district, in Veracruz, where 250 persons gathered from 15 congregations, every evening. He was impressed with how small groups were instrumental in bringing new believers into the church. More than 40 new members joined the church that week.

Pastor Balvin Braham said the church will take part in additional activities to connecting more in their communities. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

Pastor Everett Brown, president of the church in Jamaica, also was the evangelist in an open field in Coatzacoalcos where 400 people gathered every night – including 75 visitors. Brown saw first hand the benefits of the work of small group ministries in evangelism and how it connects new believers and keeps them committed to their decision to follow Christ.

“Ultimately, how you relate to people is a major part in why they come to Christ, so the small group setting is crucial to retaining members and one that we want to emphasize more in Jamaica,” Brown said.

Efforts all across the 24 church regions have seen a greater involvement of church members since the comprehensive initiative launched last year, said Pastor Braham. Figures are not completely in yet but Braham expects the final numbers will reveal that more than 60,000 have joined the church this year so far.

“This year’s evangelism efforts have helped gel the concept of ‘Lord Transform Me’ in the minds of the leadership in the territory and have called the attention of the members to have greater involvement,” said Braham.

The church across the IAD stands to see additional activities and approaches to connecting more in their communities, explained Braham. “We want to share another dimension of how people are connecting socially, and look to a wider cross section of the church as we continue motivating members to be involved in the mission of the church.”

The initiative is not just about baptism, it’s a wholistic approach to ministry, nurturing members, discipleship and a personal commitment to the faith of Christ in readiness for the Second Coming,” Braham said.

Next year’s annual baptismal celebration is scheduled to take place in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

To view a photo gallery of Inter-America’s Lord Transform Me event in Minatitlán, Mexico, click HERE