ChurchApplied

Sabbath Keepers Ministry

A few days ago Jonathan Beitz and I met in Modesto, CA to do a video shoot about the Sabbath Keepers Motorcycle ministry. This Adventist group of riders have found their niche for sharing Jesus Christ through their common interest in motorcycles.

Eventually this video and others like it will be available to Adventist churches throughout the Pacific Union Conference to view on Sabbath mornings. They are part of a video project called "Hands On Ministry" that features a mix of creative and traditional approaches to evangelism outreach.

Sabbath Keepers is a Christian motorcycle ministry committed to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone they come in contact with. They have chapters throughout the west coast and have recently established an international presence. For more information visit Sabbath Keepers online.

By Rich DuBose, Director, Pacific Union Conference Church Support Services

Perspective

The difference between a flat one-dimensional painting and one that pops with life and depth is perspective. Every good artist knows this--as do those who view art in galleries and museums. Perspective is achieved when a vanishing point is created that everything in the picture conforms to.

Horizontal Grid Perspective - Dan Collier

Without perspective, art is as bland as watching 3-D movies with your naked eye. It doesn't work. You need those special glasses. Jesus' entire earthly ministry was about Him bringing heavenly perspective to our dire, flat view of life. This is why I need to ask God every day to help me see as He sees. When this doesn't happen I screw everything up and set priorities that are almost comical--if they weren't so sad.

"God help me to see through Your eyes--to see my spouse, other family members, my work associates, my neighbors and even strangers as you see them. Forgive me for being satisfied with anything less."

By Rich DuBose, Director, Pacific Union Conference Church Support Services

What If?

On the whole we are too accepting of ourselves and our plight. We reason that we cannot effect change, or that the people around us don't really want to change. So the status quo becomes the accepted norm. We say, "this is just the way things are."

Open Door - Photo by Dreamstime

Over the last two years I have become acquainted with the young woman who cuts my hair. She's told me quite a bit about her parents and siblings and personal aspirations. She went to a beauty college straight out of high school and has been cutting hair for several years. I'm guessing she is is probably in her late twenties. Recently she realized she didn't like the future she was creating for herself. So she decided to ask the "what if" question. She asked, "What if I was a nurse, instead of a hair dresser?"

The more she thought about it and talked about it with others, the more she liked it. Finally one day she went to the local community college and filled out an application to enter the nursing program. She reached that critical point where she began to act on her dream. She has now completed her first three quarters and is loving it. Asking the "what if" question allowed her to view life in a whole new way. She realized she had the power to think and act differently.

What if we applied the "what if" question to our lives? What if we applied it to our church and to our God-given mission?

What if we prayed every day for our neighbors?
What if we watched for opportunities to encourage others?
What if we asked Jesus to use us as He sees fit?
What if went out of our way to speak positive words to our children every day?
What if we spent 30 minutes to an hour each day in God's word?
What if we started walking 2 miles a day and cut back on our calorie intake by 10%?
What if we decided to change the course of our lives and start pursuing our dreams? 

We may like where we are and may have the assurance that we are on the right track. If so, we can praise God for that. But it's comforting to know that nothing is set in concrete. Every day opens up new possibilities. The only limiting factor is our inattention to God's leading and our failure to ask, "what if?"

Rich DuBose is director of Church Support Services for the Pacific Union Conference.

Living Waters

A few months ago I had the privilege of visiting Daryl and Mary Jo Oft in Payson, Arizona, where they operate a nursing service to Payson and several nearby communities. But that's only how they make a living. Their real mission is to share God's message of hope, to alleviate suffering, and to do what they can to make the world a better place.

Several years ago God lead them to a little island community, Kaswanga, Kenya, to assist the people there with some of their urgent needs. This has developed into their working with Kaswanga and Wanyama (both fishing villages on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria).

 
Bread Making - Mary Jo Oft with a local resident

In addition to holding evangelistic meetings, the Oft's have helped locals stabilize their water supply, plant gardens and establish a feeding center to feed the many area orphans who have lost their parents to HIV. Read more about their ministry at Living Waters International.

Say It With Your Car

The Thousand Oaks Seventh-day Adventist Church is presently engaged in a series of evangelistic meetings and is using a marketing technique to help acquaint people with what they're offering. Using the URL, www.GPSforLife.org, they set up a website that describes the meetings, then produced a number of magnetic signs that members are displaying on their cars to help get the word out.

 

This is an interesting way to drive more eyes to any website, whether it is for meetings, your church or a specific ministry.

For more details contact pastor Michael Brownfield via the Thousand Oaks Church website.

So Many Needs

This past weekend I spent time in and around the Los Angeles area video-taping several people with fascinating stories (either about the ministries they are involved with, or about themselves). I also meet with several people from a media entity to learn more about their ministry and to explore ways that we can partner with them. On that day the outside temperature was 112 degrees. I think summer is here.

On Sabbath I visited the White Memorial Church in Los Angeles and helped with a web evangelism seminar. It was part of a larger evangelism training event by the Southern California Conference to prepare for Claim LA (a three-year effort to share Christ with the greater Los Angeles area). The attendance was good, despite the heat. I say that because the sanctuary air conditioner stopped working, which made for a very hot day.

In the afternoon, Chris Johnson, a friend from Santa Barbara, helped me conduct a three-hour seminar on how church websites can be used to enhance the evangelism efforts of the church. We had about 35 people present and greatly benefited from the interaction.

One cannot go into inner Los Angeles or some of its surrounding communities without realizing how desperate some of the needs are for the people who live there. As with many large metropolitan areas, the extreme contrasts of wealth and poverty are readily visible. LA is a mission field in every sense of the word.

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We need urban missionaries---people who are willing to move into our large cities and surrounding communities to be "salt" and "light" to their neighbors and business contacts. We need "seed sowers" who are willing to commit several years of their lives to reflecting Christ's love to people in inner cities. If we want to win people, we have to go where they are. And we only earn the right to talk with them about spiritual things by spending time with them and letting them see that we love them "with no strings attached."

Some other people who need to hear what Christ has to offers have money--lots of it. It's more difficult to go and live among them. Most of us don't have the means to do that. Obviously, it takes special people to do this.

How do we share Christ with people who have great wealth? I would love to hear your ideas on this and the others issues mentioned above.

Photo by Studiomill