NAD Family Ministries Newsletter

Our mission of evangelism is to provide resources, training, and networking opportunities for those working to strengthen or rebuild families within the territory of the North American Division.

Vision Statement

Healthy families for eternity.

From our office

We welcome submissions of your conference or union sponsored:

- upcoming events

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November 2016

From our Directors

Family Ministries Collaborates with Ministerial, Education, Evangelism, and

Children's Ministries Departments

It has been a privilege to collaborate with directors throughout the North American Division who represent various departments. We are able to reach across to Ministerial, Children's Ministries, Evangelism, and Education with available resources and presentations. We are all stronger when we work together as a ministry team to meet the needs in our field. There are a number of collaborative presentations that the NAD Family Ministries directors are blessed to be able to provide including:

1. Prepare-Enrich Training- a one day workshop to train pastors to use a tool to prepare couples for marriage or to enrich the marriages of couples in their church or community.

2. Pastoral Worker Meetings- a workshop to train pastors in the use of available Family Ministry resources that meet the needs of the entire process of evangelism (preparation, actual meetings, follow-up, retention).

3. Pastor/Teacher Meetings- a one day interactive workshop on how pastors/teachers and churches/schools can join hands in common missional goals.

4. Pastoral Couple Marriage Retreats- a weekend seminar to enrich the marriages of our pastoral couples. Presentations are specifically geared towards the challenges of balancing ministry and family.

5. Parenting Seminars- presentations are used based on the parenting resources written by Drs. Consuegra.

If you are a conference or a union Family Ministries Director, please take the time to collaborate with your ministry colleagues to see if perhaps there is some way that you may also be of service in your territory, across departmental lines. And, if you would like for us to come assist you please be sure to contact us with plenty of time as our calendars are at least 12-18 months out.

In His Service,

Drs. Claudio & Pamela Consuegra

Directors, Family Ministries

Beyond the Pew

2017 Adventist Ministries Convention

January 8-11, 2017

Registration Now Open!

www.adventistministriesconvention.com

Out and About Ministry

Marriage by Design

Family Ministries Director Jeanne Hartwell and her husband Ray presented a week-end marriage retreat for the Potomac Conference October 7-9, 2016. The title of the weekend was "Marriage By Design" and included strategies for making your marriage what you want it to be. The retreat was held at Camp Blue Ridge and was coordinated by Joe and Annie Benedetti, lay people in the Potomac Conference. The Benedettis have been coordinating this weekend for 17 years and made the weekend even more special with all the little treats and surprises they had planned.

Jeanne Hartwell

Family Ministries Director

Pennsylvania Conference

Welcome to the Family Ministries Network!

Dr. Renee Mobley has been named the director for Family Ministries, Men's Ministries and Adventist Single Adult Ministries in the South Central Conference. Dr. Mobley holds a Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy with more than 20 years' experience. She is trained in Clinical Pastoral Education, and is the former Head Chaplain at Crestwood Medical Center in Huntsville, Alabama. She has been an adjunct professor at Oakwood University in the school of Theology, Teaching Chaplaincy and Pre- Counseling.


	Dr. Renee Mobely

As an international speaker, she has trained and facilitated numerous workshops, seminars, and conferences.

Dr. Mobley has been seen and heard on numero us television and radio broadcast and has been cited in many newspapers and publications. She is known for her recent publication title United for Life Work

book, a Step-by-Step Guide to Self-Improvement.

She has two adult daughters and in her mind the world's best son' in law, also three grand dogs. Her favorite Bible text is Romans 8:28, especially the first part. "AND WE KNOW", that all things work together for good.

My Prayer as a New Family Ministries Director

Dear God, Can I just be truthful? I am sitting here wondering why in the world did I say yes when the president of the conference called and asked would I be willing to take this position. I don't know, it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, so it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Now Dear God, I have come down off the mountain an I am trembling at the thought of what this position means. I am reminded what Ellen White wrote over a hundred years ago," Neve r in the history of the world has the ministry of family life been needed more urgently than it is right now . Never have families been more anxious for the right answer to the things which trouble them . Never have homes been in such jeopardy as they are today". Lord have mercy, this is far more true now than then.

I realize conditions in society are but a reflection of conditions in the homes. I also know that a change in the home will be mirrored in a changed society. So, Lord, knowing this, help me to never be too busy that I can't stop and listen with an ear that hears beyond their words, help me to show a level of understanding and compassion that could only come from you. Help that even those I pass may want to get to know YOU better just by me walking by. Help me to always remember that YOU working out Your plans through me. My plans would be so much smaller and self- centered. Lastly God, I don't want to just be family life director to the members of South Central Conference, I want to be family. As I finish this prayer I understand that more now than ever. I have been called for such a time as this. Help me Lord to never forget.

Your now even more humbled servant,

Renee'

Dr. Renee Mobely

Family, Men's & Adventist Single Adult Ministries

South Central Conference

British Columbia Conference Men of Hope- Great Weekend

On October 14-16 the "Men of Hope" had their 12th annual gathering at Camp Hope with speakers Dr. Paul Dybdal and Brain Gallant. The theme was "Peace with God" with 130 mean registered .

Camp Hope director Bill Gerber, displayed his partial collection of 65 difference kinds of axes, hatches, makes and styles that were chopped into blocks of wood, this served as a great conversation starter for men and was of a fun interest to see the great variety of axes.

On Friday night theology professor Dr. Paul Dybdal from Walla Walla University, just 'Paul' for the weekend started us out with some deep thoughts on the meaning of a man's 'Calling'. He shared how we all had childhood dreams, often rarely realized, yet God has a calling for each one of us. We can wander from this calling, get side tracked, ignore or run from God's calling. Yet God still calls us, often persistently over our lifetime. He clearly showed that those who follow the calling of service and self-denial, and sacrifice are the happiest and most satisfied then those who live for just personal gain and glory. The service ended with a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace played on a pan flute and accompanied by several violins and piano from young men from Fountainview Academy. It was a deeply spiritual moment of reflection and thought of one's own 'calling'.

Men's Ministries retreat group shot.

Sabbath morning service Bryan Gallant from the Iowa/ Missouri Conference shared his story of the pain of losing his two young children in a tragic car accident and the journey of healing and restoration in incredible ways and events that only the grace and goodness of God can do. Instead of being bitter and angry at God, Bryan is a living example of someone who is fully alive, fully aware of God's incredible ability to restore and heal. Bryan's deep love for God and ability to laugh and live free in the full assurance of God's amazing plan was encouraging for every man. (Read more.)

For Church, Paul gave the men a great biblical lesson on 'Fighting' using the example of 'Shammah' one of David's mighty men found in 2 Samuel 23. Shammah defended a field of lentils as the Israelite army fled. Many profound and insightful lessons were drawn from the story of Shammah as one who stood with conviction for something that was of importance.

Paul encourage men to stand convicted on clear Biblical things like tithing, Sabbath keeping,

abstaining from alcohol.

As part of our tradition the men gathered outside the lodge for a group picture and just for an added bonus, a black bear came out of the far side of the campus, this added to the great fun and many took off to get pictures of the bear.

As always the Camp Hope cafeteria staff provided amazingly delicious and healthy meals. Every meal was served with a great spirit of joy and service that just added to the special weekend.

Sabbath afternoon Bryan who professes to be more of a great story teller then a preacher told the story of 'Demetri' a prisoner for his faith in Christ. This story lead into the study of 'Who are you?' Bryan built on the story illustrating our position in Christ and the need to believe and accept our royal standing as 'Sons of God', and not allow the devil to make us act as slaves or failures.

Saturday night was a fun evening with much lively singing with trumpets, saxophone, and many instruments that blessed us for the whole weekend. Then we had a short power point presentation of 'Why Women Live Longer than Men', illustrating the many dangerous and often crazy things men do that are risky. Jim Smith gave his amazing testimony of how God has delivered him from his life of abuse, drugs, shame and alcohol, and gave a free copy of his life story to share with others. Camp director Bill Gerber lead us in some fun giveaways to men who came the farthest, newest married, oldest father, largest group etc.. Again Paul gave a great message about 'Worry' and expounded on the life and times of the people of Christ's age who mostly lived a very meager life and were surviving just day by day. The deep and profound lesson hidden in the command of 'not to worry' took on new meaning and a greater reality to trust and believe God and seek Gods eternal kingdom.

Sunday morning Bryon gave the closing challenging message to live above the many voice that shout and scream to us. He gave an active illustration of a car and who is really driving the car, Christ or our dark, fallen emotions and voices. With chairs and great volunteers to portray the inner life of men, Bryon showed how to continue to let Christ be the great power and driver of our lives. He shared when we fall we need re-read MAPS, Re-Mind yourself who you are, Re-Asses, look what happened, Re-Play what God says, and Re-Submit to Christ.

We have confidence the weekend was a turning point for many men and a great inspiration for other men to continue to live and serve God, family and others with all our heart, mind and soul. Please check out more pictures on face book at BC Men of Hope.

Greg Wellman

Men's Ministries Director

British Columbia Conference

British Columbia Single Adult Ministries

CAMP HOPE SINGLES RETREAT is over...


	Refreshing environment

.but not forgotten...it will take a long time to forget this successful singles get together in Hope, B.C. on October 21 - 24th... Many gathered here together to spend time and talents to share and worship and just have a great fellowship.

We hiked, walked, talked, ate excellent meals, went to an i ncredible


Fun while learning

Bavarian Black Forest Restaurant for lunch, swam in the Harrison Hot Springs pool, listened to pastors Samek and Wellman and participated in Talent Show and White Elephant Exchange as you see on the pictures...or just enjoyed each other company in the bea utiful Camp Hope Lodge.


	A lot of heart

Please join us next year to make this again an incredible experience on Septe mber 22- 24th, 2017 in Hope, B.C. more pictures are on our faebook site BC SDA Singles Group.

Hiking with friends

Jana Bislin

ASAM Coordinator

British Columbia

Chesapeake Chapter of Adventist Single Adult Ministries Retreat Fall 2016

Thirty-eight Singles gathered over the weekend of October 7-9, 2016 to enjoy a retreat at Camp Mt. Aetna in Hagerstown MD. They came from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey Tennessee and other states for spiritual enrichment, Christian fellowship and good food. Susan Mayo of Philadelphia PA is a regular attendee of the Singles Retreats. She also recruits others from the Philadelphia area to come to the retreats. Susan commented as follows:

'The Chesapeake Singles Retreat is great! It is a time when Singles get together for fellowship, spiritual renewal and fun! Mt. Aetna is a beautiful place and the accommodations are really nice! Our speaker Lorraine Edwards was fantastic and her talks were all Bible based. The food is always delicious and they feed you well. If you have never attended this event, please join us in the spring of 2017!" (Read more.)

The speaker was Lorraine Edwards who is a Social Worker employed by the Salvation Army in Richmond, VA. Lorraine is a single person who spoke from her heart about issues that singles face in life and in the church. Lorraine started out the weekend by having the Singles make a commitment to being Christian first and then Single, Black, White, Brown, Male or Female. She stated that everything else that was said or done over the weekend was of no value unless the person makes a commitment to Christ first. In the beginning of time Adam was by himself with only God as a companion. Later he was given Eve as a companion.

Once a commitment is made to Christ, the Single person can claim the promise that "No good thing will I withhold from those who walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11. Lorraine stated that if you are "walking uprightly" and God has not brought a spouse into your life, perhaps there is a reason for that. Perhaps a spouse would not be good for you at this particular time. Perhaps you are not ready to be a good spouse to someone else and have some growing to do.

Lorraine also spoke about the conditions of people who are divorced or widowed, and stated that the only Biblical reason for divorce is infidelity. She gave comfort to the divorced or widowed, saying that God loves you regardless of the circumstances of your life, and you are still His child regardless of the mistakes that you may have made in the past.

Lorraine challenged the Single people present to live pure lives so that they would not have regrets later in life if a spouse comes into their lives. Moral lapses that a person may have when single can have a real negative impact on their lives when they want to join their lives with another person and embarrassing revelations may have to be made. Indulgence in pornography can have a severely negative impact on a future relationship.

Lorraine did some one-on-one counseling for several people who wanted someone to talk to. Some attendees took time to counsel one-on-one with her. She ended the weekend with an account of her personal journey through life, from earlier in her life thinking that a husband would be coming along to reaching middle age and realizing that it was a distinct possibility that she would never have a husband. She talked about finding Bible texts like Psalm 37:4, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart". She also added Matthew 6:33 which says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." She came to the conclusion that if she "delights" in the Lord, and seeks His kingdom first, He would send her the husband that she desired. Lorraine soon realized that her "delighting" was for selfish reasons and that she was being phony and was not serving because she really loved the Lord. She realized that she had not made a complete commitment to the Lord. Lorraine finally came to realize that God really loved her as a person and if she had Christ she had the "ONE" because a human husband could be taken away from her but Christ loved her and would never leave her.

For the question of "what if my ship never comes in" Lorraine added the following:

God still wants to breathe into me.
God still wants to give me a home.
God still has a purpose for me.
God still gives me protective boundaries.
God still provides what I need.
God still supports me in my mission

There were other activities besides the lectures. On Sabbath afternoon attendees could go to the nature center and see the exhibits, or just relax, and sit and talk or take a little nap. It was a time to get away from a hectic weekly existence and slow down and take life slower. On Saturday night attendees enjoyed ice cream and then many of the attendees played table games. An enjoyable evening was had by all.

I want to personally thank Lorraine for her messages at the retreat. The next retreat will be in April, 2017.

Fred Thomas

ASAM Coordinator

Chesapeake Conference

It's Not Just a Game!

Christian parents have long known the dangers of the Ouija board but many remain unaware of its increasing use among today's teens. There has never been a generation more media savvy and technology literate than the current generation, and these skills are profoundly shaping the cultural landscape in which they live. This is equally true for Christian youth.

In a recent survey conducted by the Barna Group, "One spiritual reality sweeping [this] generation is exposure to and experimentation with witchcraft and psychic activities. Seventy-three percent of teenagers have engaged in a least one such activity, including born-again teenagers (69 percent). In all, half have explored witchcraft, including. . .playing games with witchcraft elements, using a Ouija board. . .or casting a spell." (Read more.)

Last week saw the release of Ouija: Origin of Evil, a supernatural horror film that grossed $22 million in its first three days. It is set for worldwide release on Monday, October 31st. Renowned film critic, Roger Ebert says "2016 has been a very good year for horror movies." And his web site notes that "the tide is pulling us back to horror that uses violence realistically and disturbingly. . .the financial success. . . could lead to a new wave of brutal violence in horror films, and it'll happen sooner than you think."

An alarming fact in the Barna report states that "teens have little proactive feedback from parents or church leaders about how they are to understand the supernatural world. Despite [their] widespread participation in churches, only 1 out of every 5 teenagers recall any church teaching in the last year that helped to shape their views about the supernatural."

2017 Awareness Dates

February 11 - Christian Marriage Sabbath

February 18 - Christian Parenting Sabbath

February 11-18 - Christian Family Week

May 20 - Adventist Single Adult Ministries Sabbath

September 2 - Men's Ministries Sabbath

September 10-16 - Family Togetherness Week

Resources

Did you know?

Online training is available for Family Ministries , Men's Ministries , and Adventist Single Adult Ministries local church leaders. Each can be accessed by clicking on the respective link above.