March 21, 2008 – Santiago, Cuba…[Samuel Saito Roncal/IAD Staff]
For the first time in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cuba, the Polivalento Stadium in Santiago was the venue for an evangelism crusade presented by Mark Finley, reknowned evangelist and vice president of the Adventist World Church. The series, which took place March 7-15, drew more than 2,500 people each night.
In addition, the church was given permission to use the city's olympic size pool to hold a baptismal ceremony at the crusade's conclusion on Sabbath, Mar. 15. The ceremony comprised Cuba's part in the Pentecost and More initiative, a baptismal event conducted over the span of three-and-a-half hours throughout each of the Inter-American Division's 15 major regions.
Facilities such as the stadium and olympic pool are normally used for sports events. This is the first time in recent memory the government in Cuba has allowed these places to be used by a church organization, according to local church leaders.
Administrators, pastors and church leaders took to the communities of Santiago and all across the island as part of the evangelistic efforts which preceded the crusade. Their efforts resulted in a harvest of 565 baptisms during the week of the crusade, and 235 more were baptized on Saturday, Mar. 15 in Santiago. More baptisms are expected in the coming weeks. The tally for the entire territory from this year's Pentecost and More event now stands at over 40,000 baptisms.
“The church in Cuba is working in an extraordinary way, well organized, and is well centered towards the mission of the church” said Pastor Melchor Ferreyra, field secretary for the church in Inter-America, who traveled to Cuba for the event.
During the week of the crusade, church leaders, pastors and laypeople received training on church growth and effective ways to organize public evangelism using small groups.
Established in 1905, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cuba has more than 28,000 members worshiping in 272 churches and congregations throughout the country.
