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The Church as a Body

Silhouette by Mick C from Flickr

Editorial by Rick Remmers

During the past few months, the Chesapeake Conference has pursued a process of dialogue with members, pastors and educators resulting in the executive committee approving an updated strategic plan: Our Vision—Fulfilling the Great Commission through vibrant, healthy churches and schools.

So, what does a healthy church look like? Well, when it comes to our physical health, most of us are familiar with the eight natural remedies: nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, temperance, fresh air, rest and trust in God. What if we were to adapt these principles to the church?

New Pastors Join New Jersey Conference

The New Jersey Conference recently welcomed several new pastors.

In 2012 Joel Brisson graduated from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (Mich.). He was a lay pastor in Lynn, Mass., prior to joining the New Jersey Conference. Brisson will serve as the associate pastor for the Maranatha French church in Newark, the Philadelphie French in Jersey City and the All

Nations Community church in Maplewood. Brisson and his wife, Klaudia, have a 3-year-old, Josiah, and 1-year- old twins, Krislie and Klael.

The Stewardship of Health and Healing

Fruit by Wicker Paradise from Flickr

Editorial by Terry Forde

The biblical prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Behold, I will bring [the city] health and cure, and I will heal them” (Jeremiah 33:6) to remind people of God’s promise that still brings us hope today.

As I have the opportunity to talk with members of our Adventist HealthCare team, people will often tell me stories. Some of the stories are funny; some are quite serious. And some of them are so filled with joy that they make everything we do feel important and significant.

These stories are the powerful culture-shaping experiences that we share with one another because they give meaning and shape to our work. They help explain who we are.

Chesapeake Conference Shares Gospel in Cuba

Story by Andre Hastick

In March of 2018, President Rick Remmers, along with a team of Chesapeake Conference pastors, embarked on a mission trip to Cuba. During this trip, 12 churches held a one-week evangelistic series, and Chesapeake pastors preached in 10 of those meetings in the Pinar Del Rio region of Cuba.

Book Release: Losing Everything

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

Susan P. Murray, a member of New Jersey Conference’s Rockaway church, started a journal documenting her feelings about her mother’s decline from Alzheimer’s. She turned those entries into Losing Everything, a book gives a gritty glimpse into how the disease changes its victims and how it impacts those that love them.

Read our interview with Murray below:

Visitor: What do you most want people to understand or know after reading this book?

Seventh-day Adventist Dog

By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission

All the villagers races to the airstrip, singing and dancing, when American pilot Gary Roberts landing at Suminka, a remote village in the Indonesian province of Papua.

It had taken 10 years to cut down the trees by hand to clear the way for an airstrip at their mountainous village, and Gary’s mission plane was the first to land. This was a big event.

As Gary stepped out of the plane, the crowd grew silent. The singing and dancing stopped.

“Is this a Seventh-day Adventist plane?” a man asked.

He saw the three angels’ logo on the airplane’s tail.

Battered But Unbroken

Story by Kimi-Roux James, Adventist Development and Relief Agency

Staring in the mirror, Marie* saw an ugly, bruised scar above her mouth that swelled over her entire cheek. The throbbing pain was unbearable. Tears slid down her face.

For the sake of her children, she couldn’t live with him anymore.

Her mind raced back to her own father who used to beat her for talking back to him. Staying with her parents was miserable and often violent. Then, at 17, Marie found solace and comfort in her boyfriend whom she ran away with, thinking life would be better.

Spring Valley Academy's Aquatic Engineers Win Third Place in Nationals

Story by Vicki Swetnam

The LEGO® Robotics club at Spring Valley Academy (SVA), named the Aquatic Engineers, recently built and programmed an autonomous robot with the ability to solve simulated challenges.

The 10-member team won third place out of 24 teams at the Adventist LEGO Robotics League Southern Challenge for their robot’s innovative design and successful completion of real-world challenges relating to transporting, using and disposing of water. Southern Adventist University (Tenn.) hosted this regional competition, themed “Hydro Dynamics.”

The Aquatic Engineers were among the top six teams from the Southern Challenge invited to the national competition at Forest Lake Academy (Fla.).