With stay-at-home restrictions still enforced due to the Coronavirus pandemic, top Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Inter-America continue to juggle multiple video conference meetings, trainings, devotionals, sermons, and anything in-between to strengthen the church membership across its 24 unions, or major church regions.
“We are living in a new paradigm and we have to make sure to continue focusing on our ministry to nurture the church,” said Elie Henry, president of the church in Inter-America, as he spoke to departmental directors and leaders during debriefing meetings this week. “God wants for us success and hope, and wants to prosper us in everything,” he said as he quoted Jeremiah 29:11, encouraging leaders to hold onto the promise.
Multiple meetings and trainings
It’s week seven since all travels were halted throughout the Inter-American Division (IAD) territory, and yet it has not stopped administrators and department heads from fulfilling dozens of speaking engagements every week from their computer screens or cellphones. “It’s our new normal in Inter-America,” said Pastor Henry.
“I’ve had 21 presentations in the last few days and been able to speak to so many members, education leaders, and university administrators,” said Gamaliel Flórez, education director. “It’s been a very different experience. With so many virtual sermons, you have to plan differently; it’s a new dynamic.”
In what may have been one or two trips per year to Venezuela alone, Abel Marquez, communication director, said he has been able to go to Venezuela virtually three or four times during one weekend. Márquez’s days are filled with multiple online seminars, daily coordination with regional media centers for television productions for Hope Channel Inter-America, podcasts and video shorts for social media, speaking engagements, communication events, and Zoom meetings for communication directors and media production staff.
“It’s amazing how you can be in multiple places in one day with the wonderfully simple tools we have available to us,” said Márquez. “They allow us to connect with colleagues and members in our task of sharing hope during such an historic time for our world.”
Increasing opportunities
Using every opportunity to connect with thousands of professionals and students at non-Adventist universities, Hiram Ruiz, public campus ministries director, said that for seven consecutive weekends, hundreds connect virtually for Friday vespers programs, Sabbath worship services, and additional programs on Sabbath afternoons.
“University students are facing a lot of uncertainty, adjusting to additional online homework, away from their homes and not really sure what the future will look like,” said Ruiz. “The beauty of this situation is that they realize that they are not alone and can learn to depend more on God every day.”
Al Powell, who leads youth ministries, said that he lost count of all the sermons he’s preached for the youth for nearly two months. From preaching at virtual camporees, Adventist youth meetings, and Sabbath morning sermons across several union territories, the speaking engagements could be three to five in a day, without counting team meetings with union youth ministries directors every week.
“We are rallying with our team as we have certifications for youth ministries going on right now in three languages with more than 7,000 youth leaders participating,” said Powell. “This is a crucial time to continue keeping our young people engaged in leadership, as they are on the front line using their technological skills to witness and share hope with others.”
Generating relevant content
“Keeping children savoring the Bible truths and lessons at home during the quarantine has been an added dynamic for the hundreds of children’s ministries leaders all across Inter-America,” said Dinorah Rivera, children’s ministries director.
Besides the multiple resources available for this year’s discipleship activities for children, Rivera has teamed up with her union’s children’s ministries directors on a weekly one-hour television production program streamed online every Sabbath on The Talking Backpack, lessons for children and parents to review at home. In addition, Rivera, who leads women’s ministries, said she meets regularly with her union directors, fulfills her speaking engagements every week and is ready to launch this year’s women’s ministries certification program online in the coming days.
“This has been the most extraordinary, unique experience I’ve ever had,” said Melchor Ferreyra, personal ministries director. Because the speaking engagements have multiplied from home, he has had to make a weekly schedule with the help of his wife Meriviana to fulfill all the requests coming in. “She’s my assistant, my camera person, and it’s been really a wonderful experience to be able to spend so much time together in the same space, working together, something that we had never experienced in our married life,” he said.
When Ferreyra is not preaching, he’s training small group leaders and lay leaders to continue their ministry in sharing the gospel even in the present circumstances.
Josney Rodríguez, ministerial association secretary, spends his days and weekends ministering to pastors and church members. “Everything falls on the pastor, especially during these challenging times,” said Rodríguez. “This is all a new way of ministering to the needs of the members through this situation.” It’s been trainings and meetings with pastors every week, he said. “We continue to help them as they do their evangelism work and generate more content for our members.”
Crucial time to strengthen the church
The back-to-back speaking engagements every weekend have not stopped for Belkis Archbold, health ministries director. Traveling virtually across IAD territory for meetings, trainings, and spiritual messages, Archbold speaks to the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
“This is a critical time for the health ministry to continue making an impact in the church membership and the community,” she said. “The Lord is preparing us for major events ahead and we need to be spiritually strong, but we must also be physically and mentally healthy.”
Many of the unions have been featuring health programs online and Archbold has been able to coordinate with Loma Linda University’s mental health professionals to speak to leaders and members as they navigate through stressful and anxious times.
Keeping Sabbath School functioning at a crucial time like this, when gathering at church is not allowed, can prove challenging, said Samuel Telemaque, Sabbath school director. “Sabbath School plays a critical role in strengthening the church spiritually and discipling members to engage in sharing the gospel.” He meets with union directors and their families regularly to pray over them and let them know that God is at work changing the world and the church.
“The pandemic has forced leaders to have a clearer focus on mission, continuing to reach different people groups too,” Telemaque said. In addition to Zoom meetings, trainings and events, Telemaque engages with his team of regional leaders caring for those with special needs--what the church has been calling Possibilities Ministries.
Speaking to regional leaders across the territory has multiplied for Erwin González, who leads as publishing ministries director. “Our thousands of literature evangelists continue to adjust their ministry to the coronavirus measures with commitment and unmovable faith,” he said.
González is in constant communication with Inter-America’s two publishing houses to provide new and relevant literature and books that they can continue to share with the thousands who are anxious and without hope. From virtual seminars and presentations to helping literature evangelists adjust their ministry, González has no trouble maintaining a ‘new normal’ schedule.
Encouraging faithfulness
Roberto Herrera, stewardship ministries director, has been preparing sermons on the importance of keeping faithful in a relationship with God through any situation. Training pastors in the role they have in engaging the membership in faithful stewardship also takes time every day, while weekly meetings with regional directors and specific groups of leaders continue.
“It’s incredible how the church is really demanding more as they grapple with a membership that has dwindling income or are facing challenges earning their daily wages,” said Herrera. “God is not going to fail our brethren at this time, but we must do our part to strengthen them spiritually.”
Strengthening family ministries across the territory has brought Pedro Iglesias, family ministries director, and his wife Cecilia, associate director, to lead many Zoom meetings and training sessions for hundreds of leaders faithfully ministering to families facing all kinds of challenges and issues during the quarantine. When they are not holding virtual family weeks, they are busy with virtual family retreats across several unions.
All the online evangelistic campaigns which have sprung up in the last few weeks keep Balvin Braham, assistant to the IAD president for evangelism, busy with preaching, weekly meetings with evangelism leaders, and adapting comprehensive strategic evangelism plans for the months and years to come. “It’s amazing to see that in the midst of this quarantine, there are still baptisms happening,” he said.
Henry added, “I see the hand of God leading His church. When they close our churches, we are there in the homes, looking for the way to move forward and present Christ and continue engaging church members to pray and trust that He will get us out of this stronger than before.”
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America has over 3.7 million members who gather at more than 23,000 churches and congregations in Mexico, Central America, The Caribbean, French Antilles, Colombia, and Venezuela.
This article was originally published on the Inter-America Division’s website