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A Place to Belong

Story by Kiona Costello

Students travel from near and far to attend Blue Mountain Academy (BMA), whether it is just across the street or a 10-hour plane ride away. Despite the distance or the number of familiar faces, feelings of loneliness can persist. However, at BMA, those feelings can be transformed with the supportive community in place.

Milhery Jean-Misere (pictured center with his friends) is a three-year BMA student from Philadelphia. He previously attended Huntingdon Valley Christian Academy, a Pre-K to eighth grade school, like several current BMA students. Since Jean-Misere already knew some people on campus, it would be easy to assume that he wouldn’t feel lonely, but loneliness can hit even the ones you would least expect.

Dover First Brings Hope Downtown

Story by Evan Knott

The Dover First church recently brought public evangelism to the heart of Delaware, holding tent meetings just steps from the State Capitol on the Legislative Mall. The “Hope for Today” series featured guest speaker D. W. West, assistant to the president of Adventist World Radio. Meetings were held on the Legislative Mall during the first week, before concluding at the Dover First church.

Special Sabbath Services in Pennsylvania Draw Guests to 100 Churches

Blue Mountain Academy students participate in Pottsville church’s Friends, Family and Faith Sabbath.

Story by Tamyra Horst

This past September, nearly 100 churches across Pennsylvania opened their doors in a special way—inviting friends, family, neighbors and those who hadn’t attended church in a while to join them for a Grand Reunion Sabbath. The results were powerful: sanctuaries filled with guests, meaningful worship, warm fellowship and decisions for Christ.

161 Join Elyria Church, More than Doubling Membership

Marius Marton, pastor of the Elyria church, baptizes a new member.

The Elyria church concluded its Pentecost 2025 evangelistic series earlier this year, adding 161 new individuals to its membership—surpassing the congregation’s previous membership and worship attendance before the campaign.

Before the series began, Elyria had a membership of 100. Andrew Sutton, treasurer of the Ohio Conference, emphasized that in God’s eyes every soul is precious and that even a small number of baptisms makes an evangelistic effort worthwhile.

God’s Gift to Us

Dan Kiefer/Unsplash

Editorial by Carl Rodriguez

Many gift-giving traditions occur during Christmas in North America. Each family that celebrates the event has their own historical and cultural basis for the exchange of presents.

Even the Magi in the time of Christ’s birth gave gifts to show appreciation for the bountiful blessings God had bestowed on them. Matthew 2:11 records this event: “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (NIV).

Welcoming Home New Family Members

Editorial by Jerry Lutz

With all the evangelistic meetings and prophecy seminars that have been going on in our conference this year, such as our twin outreach initiatives, Pentecost 2025 and Reach Baltimore 2025, there are likely some unfamiliar faces and new members in your church. For this, we praise God and welcome them with open arms into the fellowship of believers. How wonderful it is to see how the Lord is blessing Chesapeake churches with hundreds of baptisms and many more who are preparing to join God’s great advent movement.

While we rejoice with the saved and celebrate every new soul who enters the kingdom, we who are more mature in our walk with Jesus and better grounded in the faith must be mindful of the special care and needs of our newborn brothers and sisters in Christ.

ACSGW Receives Thanksgiving Baskets to Fight Hunger in Community

At the "Food 4 Families" event, the John C. Flood team grants ACSGW $3,000 to assist a family who was in need of HVAC services.

Story by Ken Flemmer

Last Friday, the "Food 4 Families" campaign, hosted by NBC4 Washington and Telemundo 44 Washington, granted Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington (ACSGW) in Silver Spring, Md., 50 Thanksgiving turkeys, including sides. Allegheny East Conference's Metropolitan church in Hyattsville, Md., also received 50 baskets. These donations were facilitated by the Capital Area Food Bank. Additional support was provided by Montgomery County government and the City of Takoma Park.

Adventist HealthCare Named to Newsweek Most Trustworthy List

Adventist HealthCare has been named to Newsweek’s 2025 list of Most Trustworthy Companies in America. The rankings were determined by examining three main public pillars of trust – customer trust, potential investor trust, and potential employee trust – as well as evaluating online remarks.

Of the thousands of companies that met the initial analysis threshold across all industries, only 700 companies were named most trustworthy nationwide, including only 16 Maryland-based companies.

In the Healthcare and Life Sciences category, which included a broad range of health systems, pharmaceutical companies, online wellness firms and other health services, Adventist HealthCare ranked 17th out of the 33 organizations named.

Columbia Union Evangelism Directors Unite in Pursuit of God's Work

2025 Columbia Union Conference Evangelism directors

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

Today, the Evangelism directors from the various conferences within the Columbia Union are convening at the Chesapeake Conference headquarters in Columbia, Md., to engage with Columbia Union leadership and fellow colleagues.

José D. Espósito, the union’s assistant to the president for Evangelism, organized the gathering for participants to exchange updates on their respective territories, gain insights into the activities within the North American Division and foster collaboration.