A Seventh-day Adventist in Brazil, away from the church for more than 15 years, has returned to active membership thanks to “A New Beginning,” the South American Division’s “Re-encounter” program designed to reach absent church members.

Maria de Lourdes Cardeal, age 81, had been baptized as an Adventist Church member in the early 2000s, but soon lost contact with the church. During the interval, she worshipped with other denominations.

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic proved a time of reflection and kindled a desire in Cardeal to reconnect with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But the local congregations were closed, as were all other churches. What to do? She wrote a letter explaining her story and stating her intention to reaffiliate with the Adventists, confident a written message would receive a response.

An Adventist Church leader in the Divinópolis region, west of Minas Gerais, very close to where Cardeal lives, received the letter. As it was a day of worship, her words were read to the congregation, evoking an emotional response from the members.

Adventists visited Cardeal, and despite several physical limitations, she was rebaptized in September 2020.

Reencounter

Stories such as that of Maria de Lourdes were experienced in many South American Division Seventh-day Adventist churches during the special week of the Reencounter program, which ran from November 22-27. Special programs were held in person and online in order to reach people who have the desire to return to the church.

Readers can follow the services through Rádio Novo Tempo , Facebook , Youtube and TV Novo Tempo .

This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site