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News Archive
AND News Release
Adventist News Dispatch
Southern Asia-Pacific Division of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
November 17 2005
• Philippines: Journey of Hope Kicks Off in Southern Asia-Pacific Region
• Southern Asia-Pacific: Church Chooses Leaders in Six Fields
• Myanmar Church Dedicates Second Missionary Boat
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Philippines: Journey of Hope Kicks Off in Southern Asia-Pacific Region
Silang, Cavite, Philippines – Challenged by a tremendous need of reaching out to the metropolises of the 18-country territory of the Adventist Church in the Southern Asia-Pacific region, church leaders on November 10-15, mapped their strategies to fulfill this need.
Pastor Alberto C Gulfan, Jr, president of the church in the region, supported by his team of leaders from 10 sub-regions pushed specific agendas in line with the Adventist world church’s vision of “Tell[ing] the World.”
The Tell the World program is a vision of how the gospel of Jesus will be shared by the Seventh-day Adventist Church from 2005-2010. As the document of Tell the World outlines, seven areas were identified on which to focus the church’s resources, energies and prayers. “These seven areas will unite the entire church in a vision of sharing the good news. They will involve every level of church leadership, every institution, every service, every initiative, and every church member,” the document says.
The following are goals for 2005-2010 along the seven areas:
- Spiritual Growth: Increase the percentage of church members spending time in daily Bible study and prayer from 50 percent to at least 65 percent.
- Community Involvement: Increase the percentage of church members involved in community service from 29 percent to at least 40 percent.
- Personal Witness: Challenge five million Seventh-day Adventists to reach at least one person for Jesus and bring him or her into fellowship with God’s family by 2010. [In the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD), it would be at least 36 percent of the present membership of about one million reaching out to at least two persons for Jesus in five years. That would be about 720,000 baptisms in the next five years. Granting a loss factor of 30 percent that would give a net increase of 504,000.]
- City Outreach: Building on Hope for the Big Cities to plant and establish new congregations in more than 27 cities around the world. (In the SSD, each level of the church organization should choose at least one city and decide how many new congregations to plant in those cities. Suggested figure region-wide is 150 new congregations in the chosen cities—meaning, 30 new congregations each year.)
Church Planting: Plant and nurture 20,000 new congregations in unentered areas while also providing proper nurture for the 17,000 congregations planted between 2000 and 2005. (In the SSD, the goal is 1,540 new congregations or 308 each year from 2006 to 2010.)
- Evangelistic Programming: Involve every church in an annual evangelistic event resulting in 400,000 evangelistic outreach and discipleship programs, including 100,000 youth evangelistic series. [In the SSD, there should be, at least, 6,089 (number of organized churches) campaigns each year or 30,445 during the next five years. At the same time, encourage the 3,123 organized companies to do similar activities each year (15,615 in five years). This will bring the total of evangelistic campaigns to 46,060 in five years.]
- Media Ministry: Creatively use technology and communication channels—radio, television, the Internet, publications—to reach every person in the world with the gospel message. (In the SSD, each level of church organization is tasked with setting aside funding for establishment, procurement of communication equipment and to establish a media ministry in each territory.
This is a journey of hope, the leaders say, because despite the great challenges, all church’s departments, entities, leaders, and members will unite for a single-minded mission. Then, the church will provide an opportunity for the entire world to hear and respond to the good news about Jesus Christ. [AND]
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Southern Asia-Pacific: Church Chooses Leaders in Six Fields
Silang, Cavite, Philippines – Six of the 10 Union and Attached Mission fields (sub-regions) of the Adventist Church in the Southern Asia-Pacific region (SSD) chose their leaders, November 10-15, during the quinquennial council meetings held at the church’s headquarters located in Silang, Cavite, Philippines.
The terms of office for officers of seven union and attached mission fields have expired during this session (after a five-year term) and were due for filling. However, the election of officers for the Guam-Micronesia Mission (GMM), was tabled pending consultations, as a matter of procedure, with GMM’s local constituency.
Elections of officers for the three union conferences in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division—Central Philippine Union Conference, East Indonesia Union Conference, and South Philippine Union Conference—will be done during their respective constituency meetings.
The following were voted to serve a term of five years in their respective fields:
Bangladesh Union Mission (BAUM)
Siegfried G Mayr, president (reelected)
Edward P Chambugong, secretary (reelected)
Sweetie Ritchil, treasurer (elected)
Myanmar Union Mission (MYUM)
Muller Kyaw, president (reelected)
Memory Tun, secretary (reelected)
Nang Do Dal, treasurer (reelected)
North Philippine Union Mission (NPUM)
Abner S Roque, president (elected)
Nepthali Manez, secretary (elected)
Romero A Daquila, treasurer, (elected)
West Indonesia Union Mission (WIUM)
Johnny Lubis, president (elected)
Joseph Sy Peranginangin, secretary (elected)
Burken F Sihotang, treasurer (elected)
Sri Lanka Mission (SLM)
Joseph William Reith, president (elected)
P Perumal Dhanaraja, secretary (reelected)
Anthony Francis, treasurer (elected)
At the SSD headquarters, two positions were left vacant due to the election of two department directors as presidents of NPUM and WIUM, respectively. Pastor Vivencio R Bermudez, formerly associate director of the Publishing Ministries Department was elected director. The associate director’s position was dissolved.
The position of director for the Stewardship and Trust Services Departments vacated by Pastor Roque has not been filled as of press time. [Jonathan Catolico]
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 Myanmar Church Dedicates Second Missionary Boat
Ayeyarwady, Myanmar - JESS ODELL, the second of the many boats envisioned to providing available education, health care, and social uplift to people living along several riverbanks in Myanmar, was dedicated on October 27.
Held at the Kyaw Shipping Dock in Mawlamyaing Kyun, Myaungmya District in the Ayeyarwady region, the ceremony was attended by about 50 people. Officers of the Adventist Church in Myanmar--Pastor Muller Kyaw, president; Pastor Memory Tun, executive secretary; and Saya Nang Do Dal, treasurer—were on hand to spearhead the ceremony. Others in attendance were Pastors Rawlson Johnny and Smile Shein, president and secretary, respectively of the Ayeyarwady field; Pastor Yan Aye, president of Myanmar Union Adventist Seminary; and Pastor Moses Po, a retired minister.
On September 11, the first boat, Merrie Kay, was dedicated. And since then it has been plying the river banks to attend to the needs of people along riverbanks.
Awaiting permit to operate, the second boat is ready to sail. As soon as permit is granted it will assist Merrie Kay in providing transportation to participants who will attend the 15-day evangelistic effort in the Ngapukdaw Township that is being organized by the Adventist church in Ayeyarwady.
The availability of these boats will help realize long-awaited projects which were forestalled because of financial constraints. “Now, we can conduct more evangelistic meetings because these boats will bring these people to our meeting places and also transporting our supplies,” said the leaders. [Kenneth Suanzanang/AND]
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Adventist News Dispatch . Southern Asia-Pacific Division, Bypass, San Miguel II, 4118 Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Phone: +63 (46) 414.4073 | 414.4079. Email: AND@adventist.org.ph
Adventist News Dispatch (AND) is a weekly online news and information produced by the Communication department from the Seventh-day Adventist Church regional headquarters.
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AND Staff:
Jonathan Catolico, editor; Romhelyn Gay Tuballes, associate editor;
Maxine MJ Bell and Jose Sarsoza, Jr., consulting editors;
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