News

Story by Samantha Young

Anibal Santeliz, pastor at the Cornerstone, Parksley Spanish and Pocomoke churches on the Delmarva Peninsula, is excited about a new one-hour weekly radio program he hosts in his community.

“When I came to work on the Eastern Shore, the wife of one of my members who works at a local radio station mentioned that we should have a [religious] program,” says Santeliz. Later another employee at the radio station suggested the same thing.

Historia de Samantha Young

Aníbal Santeliz, pastor de la iglesia de Cornerstone, Parksley Spanish y Pocomoke en la Península de Delmarva de la Conferencia de Chesapeake, está entusiasmado con su nuevo programa de radio en español de una hora a la semana.

“Cuando vine a trabajar en la costa este, la esposa de un miembro de una de mis iglesias que trabaja en una emisora ​​de radio local mencionó que deberíamos tener un programa radial [religioso]”, dice Santeliz. “Sabía que no teníamos un presupuesto para ello, así que oré y le pedí ayuda a un par de nuevos amigos”, comenta Santeliz.

Story by Donna Bigler

Washington Adventist University’s Enactus business team earned the title of Regional Champion at this year’s Enactus United States Regional Competition, held March 31 in Washington, D.C. The event is one of six regional competitions held across the United States. 

During the competition – which included teams from Rutgers University, University of New Hampshire, University of Virginia, Elmira College and West Virginia Wesleyan College – the Washington Adventist University (WAU) team was judged on three projects that it worked on this academic year.

Story by Celeste Ryan Blyden

At its March meeting, the Columbia Union Conference Executive Committee voted to move the REACH Columbia Union Evangelism School—currently based in Philadelphia—to Washington Adventist University (WAU) in Takoma Park, Md.

The REACH School opened in 2014 when the union and university teamed up to provide young adults an opportunity to enroll in a yearlong, immersion program that combined a 15-credit classroom curriculum with hands-on ministry experience.

Committee members believe the move to an academic setting is a natural fit that will provide access to the university’s infrastructure and make it more cost-effective.  

Story by Janel Haas Ware

Shenandoah Valley Academy’s (SVA) music ministry combines the power of music and the sacredness in the lives of young people who graduate prepared to serve God with their musical talents. One such student is now orchestra director and strings teacher, Kelly Wiedemann (’03), who shares her testimony:

Attending SVA confirmed my life calling as a music teacher. Singing in Shenandoans, the school choir, and playing violin in the string ensemble was fun! The teachers exposed us to many styles of music, and I gained sincere appreciation for traditional church hymns, contemporary praise music, African-American spirituals, classical symphonies and country hoedowns. Teaching a wide variety of music promotes creativity, cultural awareness, tolerance and respect. 

Interview by V. Michelle Bernard

In Grace Outlet, Kris Eckenroth, lead pastor of the Pennsylvania Conference’s Grace Outlet in Reading, shares lessons learned and the story of Grace Outlet, a church plant that strives to dispense the unmerited favor of God. Read our interview with Eckenroth below:

Visitor: What made you want to start Grace Outlet?

Story by Margaret Attey

Nancy Abu-Bonsrah, member of the Potomac Conference's Washington-Ghanaian church in Spencerville, Md., made history March 17 when she became the first black female neurosurgery resident to be accepted at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. Abu-Bonsrah plans to complete her seven years of medical specialization in the same department Dr. Ben Carson, now the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, made medical history.

Jovenes predicadores y bautizados

HIstoria de Winston Simpson

Cuando planificamos una campaña Evangelística, pensamos en comisiones, un local y sobre todo en un buen predicador, o un evangelista con experiencia. En el distrito norte de Ohio, específicamente en la Iglesia de Willard el pastor pensó en que era hora de correr riesgos. En lugar de hacer lo tradicional y lo que dice la lógica, debíamos de probar hacer evangelismo con los jóvenes de nuestra Iglesia. Se eligieron siete jóvenes, los cuales nunca habían predicado, pero tenían el deseo de hacerlo en el nombre de nuestro Dios. Los nombres de los jóvenes son: Francisco, Jennifer, Fanny, Aranza, Eiby, Kevin y Emanuel.

Berkeley Poulsen displays a card he designed for an art class fundraiser to support the Restore a Child organization.

Story by Heidi Wetmore

The idea started out as a fun linoleum block printing project. Middle school and high school art teacher, Nancy Rivera, challenged her students to design a Christmas card, then carve the design into a linoleum block, ink it with a roller and finally hand stamp the design onto fine paper. The students personally signed the back of each hand-made Christmas card and intended to give them to special people in their lives.

Richmond Academy first- and second-graders hold The Leader in Me notebooks, alongside teacher Karen Van Ornam.

Story by Tiffany Doss

At the beginning of the school year, staff and faculty at Richmond Academy (RA) in Virginia, adopted The Leader in Me program, which draws key components from the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

This program teaches skills for academic success, such as critical thinking, goal setting, listening, speaking and self-directed learning.