Evangelism Stories

Sí, ya lo sé: Está claro que Jesús no nació el 25 de diciembre, pero eso no significa que los adventistas no podamos practicar la Compasión durante las fiestas navideñas. La Compasión tiene que ser un estilo de vida que esté presente cada hora y cada día de nuestra vida, lo que incluye las fiestas navideñas. La Compasión era una prioridad diaria para Cristo, aun durante las fiestas. No se lo conocía por ser alguien que se apartara de las festividades de sus días, sino que era famoso por hacer el bien durante esas ocasiones especiales, y en todo momento (lea Juan 5:1-15).

Realmente me gusta el eslogan de Nike: “Just do it!” (¡Solo hazlo!) Es simple y relevante, pero presenta un gran desafío. La declaración “Solo hazlo” es lo suficientemente osada como para desafiarlo a tan solo una cosa: la acción. Nada de palabras, nada de buenas intenciones, nada de planificación, sino simple y pura acción. Si usted está sentado por demasiado tiempo, póngase de pie y muévase. Si está en la cama esperando que suceda algo, levántese y comience a hacer lo que usted sabe es lo correcto. Es simple como eso: Solo hazlo.

Recently I have been obsessed with building church culture. I'll get to the reason why in just a moment. Google the phrase "church culture" and your search will return with thousands, if not tens of thousands, of websites, articles, blog posts, and video links about the topic. There are even entire conferences dedicated to building church culture, taking place every year around the country.

I'm so grateful for the endeavors of the North American Division [NAD] to include and laud young adult leadership. I truly believe we are headed in the right direction and our intent is genuine, even altruistic. One such example is the inclusion of student government presidents from our Adventist campuses [AIA] and collegiate officers from Adventist Christian Fellowship [ACF] as voting members of the NAD's year-end meetings [NADYEM].

On this episode Pastors Walter Castro and Jose CortesJr. are interviewed about Volunteer Lay Pastors.

In this video, Pastor Dustin Hall talks about evangelism, community, proclamation, and church growth. 

El juego de sóftbol entre los pastores y los jóvenes es una tradición en el campestre hispano de la Asociación del Gran Nueva York. Yo era el nuevo director de Ministerios de Jóvenes y me encantaba el béisbol, por lo que estaba listo para jugar. Recuerdo que me puse la camiseta, la que mi esposa me había dado, con mi apellido, CORTES, en la espalda y un gran número 1.

En este video Pastor Manuel Rosario habla de como desarrollar profundidad espiritual en las nuevas iglesias. Pastor Rosario divide el título del tema en tres variables: 1) El Desarrollo. 2) La profundidad. 3) Y las Nuevas Iglesias. Con audacia y bien basado en la Biblia y el mensaje profético, él explica las tres variables para desarrollar una espiritualidad ferviente y verdadera en las nuevas iglesias. 

When I got to her home, she was already waiting for me. Her parents had approached our Senior Pastor and told him that their daughter, Rose, wanted to be baptized. As the Youth Pastor of our church, I was excited and jumped at the opportunity to help one more youth give her life to Jesus. I had made an appointment, just to follow up, offer some Bible studies, and support her in her big decision. 

Growing Young Adventists [#GYA] is a learning journey for local churches and leaders helping to build faith communities that will not only survive, but thrive in the years ahead. It is an inter-generational movement nurturing relationship building and cultural transformation that embraces young people and benefits all generations in the Adventist church. 

No hace mucho me llamó un pastor muy frustrado. Estaba llorando, y me dijo: “La junta de mi iglesia acaba de votar otra campaña de evangelización para este año, así como lo hizo el año pasado. Son 20 mil dólares para pagar mayormente los panfletos y un orador invitado durante cuatro semanas.” Y añadió: “Ya conozco los resultados: cuatro semanas con un puñado de asistentes, y se quejarán de que los demás no asisten todas las noches. Tendré al evangelista soplándome en la nuca para que le consiga personas que bautizar. Se bautizarán cinco personas, tres de las cuales serán niños de la iglesia, y solo dos de la comunidad.

Me reuní con los coordinadores de las Uniones Hispanas en enero y compartí con ellos una visión que Dios había colocado en mi corazón: la de tener una Caravana de Capacitación a lo largo y a lo ancho de la División Norteamericana, y la de brindar recursos a los Coordinadores de Asociación, a los pastores y líderes de los grupos pequeños, para que pudieran estar equipados y comenzar su ministerio de grupos pequeños, o mejorar los que ya estuvieran en funcionamiento. 

During the 2017 eHuddle in Orlando, Florida, Pastor Anna Bennet, Associate Chaplain at Southern Adventist University, and Vanessa Hairston, former Southern Adventist University student, spoke on small groups and the importance of being intentional in forming disciples in a relaxed and friendly environment where any person can participate.

I met with the Union Hispanic Coordinators in January and shared with them a vision that God had placed on my heart, to have a Caravan of Training, all throughout the NAD, and to give resources to the Conference Coordinators, Pastors and Leaders of Small Groups so that they could be equipped to begin Small Group ministries or enhance what was already taking place. The Coordinators agreed with the plan and an itinerary was prepared. 

Several years ago, on a Saturday right before Halloween, the members of the newly planted church that I pastored decided to do some outreach in our community. I wrote a pamphlet on the history of Halloween, its origin, and its practices.I ended with a stern appeal, telling people they

I really like the Nike slogan-"Just do it." Simple, relevant, yet challenging. The "Just do it" statement is bold enough to challenge you for one thing only: action. Not words, not good intentions, not planning, but simple and raw action. If you are sitting for too long, stand up and move. 

In this video, Pastor Roger Hernandez shares the why, the how, and the what of Evangelism and how ultimately, it takes time. He speaks on Evangelism as a process similar to pregnancy, rather than a singular event.

This fall, join hundreds of churches across North America for The Appearing, a five-part seed-sowing experience from the Voice of Prophecy. During this all-new outreach event October 11-15, Pastor Shawn Boonstra will share timely truth about the Second Coming with your guests, comparing what the Bible says with several of the most popular end-time theories today.

Pastor Cortes’ talk focuses on why the Church Planters Bootcamp is important.

One of the final speakers of last year’s Church Planters Bootcamp – Opening Night, Tom Evans wraps up the evening with updates on new and exciting endeavors within the North American Division.

As we approach the 2018 North American Division Church Planters’ BootCamp we would like to share the Opening Session for the 2017 BootCamp for those who did not have the benefit of being there. 

The Nevada-Utah Conference has teamed up with Pastor Ryan Hablitzel of the Ogden Seventh-Day Adventist Church to establish a Center of Influence in Ogden, Utah that is focused on offering sustainable employment for youth involved in ministry in the area.

There is no substitute for proclamation! If we want people to learn about Jesus’ love and His grace offered freely to each one of us, sinners, we must not only show them with our actions but also tell them with our words. If we want people to understand the plan of redemption, and Jesus’ command to love others, as well as the hope of His Second Coming and a resurrection, we must tell them about these things.

“Why plant more churches? Don’t we have enough churches already?” The most common initial responses I’ve heard when church planting is mentioned, often spoken within the same breath. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Perhaps, these questions represent one of Satan’s most harmful myths, created in the pits of hell, to keep the church from fulfilling its mission in his desire to make the church disappear from this earth.

Tom Evans is the President of the North New South Wales Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Australia Union, South Pacific Division.

In this eHuddle video from 2017, Pastor Laffit Cortes and Pastor Morris Thompson speak on the power of small groups to take a church to the next levels of evangelism. Pastor Cortes starts off by encouraging church leaders to redefine their definition of love to be more than just polite, but by personally investing in the other members of one’s church family. He lists the main objectives of small groups given to us by Ellen G. White, which are spiritual growth, Bible study, and evangelism.

When babies are born they don’t know everything, neither can they do everything! They need help. The same happens with spiritual babies after their new birth, the baptism.

I learned this the hard way, one night, a few days after my son Jose Cortes III was born

Five years ago, as 16 students of the South Lancaster Academy, who had requested baptism during that week of prayer, were about to be baptized at the fully packed Village Adventist Church in South Lancaster, Massachusetts, something unimaginable happened.

In this short video, Amie Register talks about 3 problems experienced when greeting first time guests at church