Subject: Are you in the game?

May/June 2022 • Issue 31

Are You in the Game?

ASI Columbia Union members gathered for their annual spring Convention in April, were challenged with this question: Are you in the game?

 

“We’ve got to get in the game. The game is to witness. The game is to testify,” said Pete Palmer, president of Allegheny East Conference.

 

Palmer and Gary Gibbs, president of Pennsylvania Conference shared their views of what it means to spread the gospel in 2022 during the divine worship service. The two men offered their ideas during a conversation facilitated by ASI Columbia Union member Richard Gordon, in lieu of a sermon. 


“God has called every single one of us to live a life with purpose and that purpose is not just in this life,” Gibbs said. “That purpose is to get … to heaven. You never want to lose sight of that.”


ASI members have the unique opportunity to share the gospel one on one with anyone they meet, Gibbs explained. They can live for Christ and touch the lives of people in the marketplace.


ASI members are starting players “because they are witnessing in front of the world. That means they are in the game,” said Palmer, using a sports analogy.

Pete Palmer (left), president of Allegheny East Conference, and Gary Gibbs (right), president of Pennsylvania Conference, talking about spreading the gospel in 2022 with Richard Gordon (center) for during ASI Columbia Union's Spring Convention.

Celeste Ryan Blyden, executive secretary of Columbia Union, and Mark Brown, president of ASI Columbia Union, welcome the congregation to the Spring Convention.

WATCH THE CONVENTION

Enjoy ASI Columbia Union's Spring Convention. You can watch Sabbath School and diving worship service for the first time or view it again.


The worship service was part a day of festivities at Blue Mountain Academy in Hamburg, PA. It began with Sabbath School, led by ASI Columbia Union member Elder Ron Goss, whose ministry Project Restore prints and distributes the Great Controversy. Dr. H. Jean Wright II hosted an afternoon program, sharing tips for moving forward after the COVID pandemic. The day ended with a concert, featuring Karla Rivera Curtis and Blue Mountain Academy students, and an evening ministry brainstorming session. Members talked about ways to offer medical care to those in need and finding more ways to do literature evangelism.

— Michele Joseph, managing editor, ASI Columbia Union newsletter

LIVING AFTER THE STORM

There’s a popular saying that goes, “We’re all in the same boat.”

 

It isn’t true, said Dr. H. Jean Wright, a clinical and forensic psychologist, who presented during ASI Columbia Union’s Spring Convention.

 

We’re all in the same storm, he said. That means some people have dealt with COVID and all the other issues of life in a canoe, some in an ocean liner and some barely hanging on to a raft.

 

“What I discovered during the last two years, especially with Christians is they found themselves falling into the same trap as people who have no hope,” said Wright, an assistant professor at Temple University and the CEO of Mental Health Success Boost LLC. People got caught up in “where I can’t go, what I can’t do and what I don’t have.”

 

However, since we’re all in the storm together “we can come together and help each other,” he said.

 

Watch Wright’s presentation and find out how we can move forward after the storm.

ASI COLUMBIA UNION AT WORK

For more than 40 years, Grace Momadi-Masaka has found ways to share the love of Jesus with people in several countries in Africa. She and her family helped build more than 80 churches, then sponsored 58 crusades. They supported more than 400 students, including about 100 pastors in Tanzania.


Today, she and her husband, Daniel, who live in New Jersey, are focused on literature evangelism. At first their ministry, Samaritan Laymen Ministries, shipped Bibles and Ellen White's writings to countries who struggled to gain access.

Daniel Masaka and his wife, Grace Momadi-Masaka, run Samaritan Laymen Ministries, which is translating Ellen White's writings into Swahili. Their grown sons, David (left) and Paul, 16, (right) provide tech support.

Then it grew to translating Ellen White's writings into Swahili.


"Now, 11 percent of Seventh-day Adventists speak Swahili," Momadi-Masaka says. "This is a lot. ... The harvest is truly ready."


However, she says, only 3 percent of White's writings are available in Swahili.


Momadi-Masaka, with the help of friends, recently has finished translating all nine volumes of White's Testimonies for the Church and an abridged version of The Great Controversy.


It is a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, but as with all their ministry efforts the couple believe it is worth it.


"In working for the Lord, you don't have a border," Momadi-Masaka said.

We want to celebrate the outstanding ministries of our members. Would you like to have your ministry or business spotlighted in the ASI Columbia Union newsletter? If so, contact us at connect@columbiaunionasi.com and tell us how God has been using you.

ASI COLUMBIA UNION'S WEBSITE GETS AN UPDATE

There's a fresh, new look to ASI Columbia Union's website. The new website brings all of the organization's communication and resources in one place. Members can learn about events, register for activities and more. Visitors can read about ASI's mission and sign up to be members. Everyone can read the latest newsletter and find access to the archive, donate to the organization or contact the leadership.


Take a look at cuasi.org today and share the website with others.

CLICK THESE LINKS TO CONNECT WITH ASI COLUMBIA UNION

Experience the Mission

REACHING INTO THE COMMUNITY

ASI Columbia Union was represented at the Montgomery County Day of Prayer.


Mark Brown, president of ASI Columbia Union, prayed for economic recovery, the health of essential workers and businesses.


"I'm especially encouraged today because I believe God has strategically placed His people in the marketplace so that individuals may know there is a God," he said.

JOIN THE PRAYER LINE

Call 570-354-0272 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. to pray with Sharon Pruitt, ASI Columbia Union vice president for spiritual development, and other ASI Columbia Union members.

PRAYER REQUESTS

General Conference Session — Please join the Adventist community in prayer as we prepare for the General Conference Session in June. Lift up the leadership of the world church and pray for God's guidance in executing our mission.


Click here to join the 40 Days of Prayer event.


ASI Columbia Union members and families — Pray that God would bless and keep each member and their families and guide them in their mission to spread the gospel throughout the union and around the world.

GOD'S PROMISE

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. " — Isaiah 41:10 NIV

UPCOMING EVENTS

3rd Thursdays — ASI Hour, 8 p.m. EST, a monthly meeting offering tools and training to encourage Sharing Christ in the Marketplace. Click here to register to join the virtual events or replay past meetings.

Aug. 3-6, 2022 — ASI International Convention in Orlando, Fla. For more details, visit asiministries.org.

Our mission is to obey the Holy Spirit’s call to encourage, empower and equip Adventist members of Columbia Union to work together to finish God’s work in these times in harmony with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

ASI Columbia Union Board: Mark A. Brown, president; Sharon Pruitt, vice president for spiritual development; Daniel Reed, vice president for projects, missions and evangelism

Sponsor: Celeste Ryan Blyden, executive secretary, Columbia Union Conference

Newsletter Managing Editor: Michele Joseph


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