TED News Bulletin, 31 October 2007 - unOFFICIAL ADVENTIST FORUM

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do.
And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with
– even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department.
Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently. Romans 14.1: The Message

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#143648 - 10/31/07 05:02 PM TED News Bulletin, 31 October 2007
Stan Jensen Carpe Diem!!! Registered: 09/15/06 Posts: 3919 Loc: 49.05° Lat- 122.3° Long	TED News Bulletin Trans-European Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 31 October 2007 In this issue: ------------------------- * Norway: Youth Leadership Convention * Greece: Church Planters Meet * England: Newbold College to Offer DMin * Latvia: New Law Offers More Freedom * England: Annual Appeal Success ------------------------- YOUTH LEADERSHIP CONVENTION...[TED News Staff/TED News] Halvorsbole, Norway – Youth leaders in the Seventh-day Adventist church, and others interested in youth work, gathered in Norway on 18-21 October for the Trans-European Division Youth Leadership Convention, Youth Matters. More than 170 participants assembled at Halvorsbole Conference Centre to attend three days of informative, inspirational and invigorating meetings, with the emphasis on Youth Evangelism in the 21st Century. Through a variety of workshops and Critical Concern seminars offered in a packed programme, participants were challenged to realise the importance of youth evangelism; how to get involved; how to lead; and how to better minister to young people in our church. Guest speaker, Baraka Muganda, Youth Director of the World Church, shared the Seventh-day Adventist global strategies and vision for youth ministry. Ron Whitehead, Director of the Centre for Youth Evangelism at Andrews University, presented 7 Principles of Youth Ministry Excellence; and Soren Ostergaard, Director of the Centre for Youth Studies and Christian Education, presented perspectives on youth, faith and church in a liquid culture, focussing on how we can relate the gospel to young people today. Manuela Casti, project leader of the European Valuegenesis survey, together with Dr Stephen Currow, of Newbold College, explored the results of the survey and their meaning for the church today. Finally, Stephan Sigg, of Friedensau Adventist University, presented the concept of Link2Life, a biennial satellite evangelism event organized by the Adventist Media Centre in Germany, with its main aim to reach un-churched youth. The Youth Matters Convention coincided with the 100th year anniversary of the World Adventist Youth Department. This was celebrated in a symbolic way as hundreds of balloons were released simultaneously by the participants, with an invitation card attached offering free courses at the Bible Correspondence School in Norway. This act symbolised a central theme in the Adventist Youth ministry, - to reach out to others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Victor Marley, Youth Director of the Adventist church in Norway, and a key organiser of this event, commented: “Youth Matters is an important event in the TED because it inspires and informs those who inspire and inform others. A variety of presenters enabled us to understand culture, the trends amongst our own young people and our responsibilities towards them. Youth Matters was a fitting celebration for 100 years of youth ministry in the Adventist church, and our emphasis on reaching out is in many ways a return to the first vision by our pioneers”. “In celebrating the past 100 years we re-committed ourselves to the continuing aim of youth ministry – The Advent message to all the world in our generation. This aim transcends both time and setting and still remains the moving force in the 21st Century”, concluded Paul Tompkins, TED Youth Director. CHURCH PLANTERS MEET...[Janos Kovacs-Biro/TED News Staff/TED News] Athens, Greece - Church planters from the southern part of Greece met with the Trans-European Division (TED) Evangelism director, Janos Kovacs-Biro on 27 and 28 October. During two days, pastors and lay people in the Adventist church were taught principles of healthy church growth and practical steps to organise their church for this kind of outreach. Reports were also received from each participant on the progress of their plans. Amongst the reports was one from the Romanian Church that meets in Athens. Its programme has been so successful that they have outgrown their current premises, and need to think about either moving or beginning another group. “It was good to hear of the innovative ways that members and ministers are reaching out to their communities,” commented TED Field Secretary Paul Clee, who was also present. One of the moving parts of the gathering was on Sabbath afternoon, when planters split into groups, circled fellow planters, and prayed for each other. Pastor Kovacs-Biro said, “Church Planting is always exciting and challenging. It is good to see how God opens doors for people to be reached by His Gospel. In Greece we have experienced that through small groups, health seminars, family counselling and public evangelistic meetings God touches people’s hearts. One of the biggest challenges in Greece is to reach the Greek indigenous population with the Gospel of Jesus’ second coming. It was good to see that our members in Greece are interested in this task!” NEWBOLD COLLEGE TO OFFER DMIN...[Helen Pearson/TED News] Bracknell, England - Newbold College has completed its suite of theological degrees with the final decision to offer a Doctorate of Ministry programme in partnership with the University of Wales, Lampeter. At its meeting in Silver Spring, MD, the International Board of Ministerial and Theological Education for the Seventh-day Adventist Church gave Newbold the go-ahead to offer this professionally-focused degree. The doctoral theses of DMin students focus on applied theology and practical ministerial issues as opposed to the more academic theological dissertations written by PhD students. This latest development complements the decision taken two years ago to approve Newbold’s candidacy status for PhDs and means that Newbold can now offer a complete programme of Seventh-day Adventist academic and professional theological education. Currently, Newbold has admitted eleven highly-motivated PhD students and two or three more are expected to join during the course of this academic year. Their theses are on a wide variety of subjects including the Theology of Daniel, the Trinity in the Book of Revelation, Ellen G. White and Friedrich Schleiermacher, and Seventh-day Adventist church growth in Europe. The first students will begin to graduate in two years time. There is a lively interest in the DMin programme. Already eight part-time students have commenced the preparatory postgraduate work for the DMin programme prior to commencing their research programme next autumn. “If the ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist church is to thrive and grow, we need sound academic approaches as a basis for thoughtful and professional pastoral ministry,” says Dr Laurence Turner, Director of Research Degrees. “This decision gives Newbold the opportunity to assure the future of both pastoral education and sound theological teaching in the area served by the College.” NEW LAW OFFERS MORE FREEDOM...[Valdis Zilgalvis/TED News Staff/TED News] Riga, Latvia - On 12 June 2007, the Parliament in Latvia issued a new law that concerns the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The purpose of the new law is to encourage the development of an open and harmonious society in Latvia. The new law affirms the Seventh-day Adventist church in Latvia as a registered church entitled to certain legal rights. This includes the right for the Church to have its own internal rules and regulations; it may distribute literature, evangelise and perform legally binding weddings, and pastors will be allowed to offer religious services at hospitals, in prisons and in the military. The Church also has permission to educate pastors and is allowed to teach Christian beliefs in public schools. Moreover, Adventist pastors will not be expected to pass on information to the State about church members; and persons being persecuted for their Adventist belief and practises will by this law have the right to receive juridical defence and support. ANNUAL APPEAL SUCCESS...[Bert Smit/TED News Staff/TED News] Watford, England - From washing cars, running up mountains and singing songs to regular collection from door-to-door, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) supporters in the United Kingdom help keep the agency’s activities funded during their Annual Appeal. Over the last five years the funds collected during Ingathering for the benefit of the work of ADRA-UK have increased consistently. In 2007 the total amount raised was nearly £600,000 with an estimated 5,000 volunteers going from door-to-door to promote the development and relief work of the charity each spring. Some suggest that there is a steady decline in the number of people actively doing the public collection, yet every year more collection tins are requested and more funds are raised. “We are obviously not content to just keep up with inflation but want to do more than that,” commented Bert Smit, Executive-director for ADRA-UK. From regular contact with supporters ADRA knows that its work is something of which the Church is proud. With regular promotion and raising awareness throughout the year the three week fund raising event takes on a special meaning. “Promotion is key to our success”, says Bert Smit. In 2007 ADRA-UK mailed to every church a special DVD with a feature presentation introducing the Appeal. In addition, the British church paper, ‘The Messenger’, featured the Appeal in the six issues preceding the collection period featuring special updates. Since 2001 ADRA-UK has been able to raise £3,858,000. This has supported a project portfolio well in excess of £14,000,000. New fund raising activities need to be planned due to significant changes in UK charity law. As a result, ADRA-UK has established a Marketing and PR Advisory Council that will help steer the agency towards greater effectiveness in raising awareness and help to substantially improve income generation. __________________________________________________________________ TED News Staff: Paul Clee, News Director and Editor Heidi Kamal Kendel, Editorial Assistant 119 St Peter's Street, St Albans, Herts. AL1 3EY, England E-mail: tednews@ted-adventist.org Website: http://www.ted-adventist.org TED News is an information bulletin issued by the Communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division. You are free to re-print any portion of the bulletin without the need for special permission. However, we kindly request that you identify TED News whenever you publish these materials.
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