A Communiqué from the Office of the President |
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TOGETHER -- WE'RE SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE ARIZONA CONFERENCE
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It is a pleasure to share with Arizona constituents and friends the many wonderful things happening within our Conference. May you catch our vision for winning men and women, boys and girls to Jesus!
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"God's Love Gives Us Light and Purpose" |
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Though we can never fully understand the mystery of God, Jesus leaves no doubt about how we can reach him. If we want to grow in strength, and spirituality, we need to turn away from the things that separate us from the light. Jesus says, “I am the light of the world whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8: 12
Though we can never fully understand the mystery of God, Jesus leaves no doubt about how we can reach Him. If we want to grow in strength and spirituality, we need to turn away from things that separate us from the light. Jesus says, “I am the light of the world whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
However, turning away from darkness is only part of the story. We also need to turn toward the light. “Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God for He will freely pardon.” Isaiah 55:7
No matter how far we've wandered and no matter how many times we've stumbled, God will forgive us. It's His nature. He will lavish us with forgiveness as Isaiah 55:7 says in the Message Bible.
I know too well how many mistakes I've made and sadly continue to make. I also know how much God loves me. That's grace! Whenever I doubt it that true love is really possible, I read Paul's words in Ephesians 2:10. He says, ‘For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us to do long ago.”
Our life has a purpose. Our story is important. Our dreams count. We were born to make an impact. We can trust God to help us walk our path. He has planned it carefully. Trust that it is good and walk on with His courage and confidence.
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After spending Christmas in Tennessee and Georgia with my kids, their spouses and my precious grandkids, I traveled back to Phoenix on January 2. I was back in the office the next two days but on the 5th of January I had a strange sensation and smell in my nose. I went and got tested for the coronavirus. and I tested positive. Unfortunately, that meant I was not able to fulfill my church responsibilities on January 6. Sadly, COVID had caused me unnecessary grief again. Even though I never felt sick I did not return to work for five days based on our office policy, which follows the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for our workplace. This was my second round of COVID and fortunately in both cases I never really felt sick. Maybe it's my good Type O positive blood or maybe it is because of my good old-fashioned Seventh-day Adventist lifestyle or maybe I just got lucky. Regardless, I was back to work pretty quickly and had the privilege of attending and preaching at the Midvale Park church on January 13. |
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Sabbath, January 13 was a true joy to be in Sabbath School at Midvale Park. They had a great program and thought-provoking lesson. I preached for the church's divine worship hour program and was blessed again with a great fellowship meal. The rest of the afternoon and evening my wife and I made visits to our church family in Tucson. It was a wonderful day in Tucson. |
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The week of January 14 to 19 I was at the conference office holding various meetings and leading out in staff worship all week. During that week I had the privilege of attending and participating in the 10 Days of Prayer at my own church, Paradise Valley church. I was amazed to find out how many different countries were watching the program online and how many different people sent in special prayer requests as well. It was great to hear of all the churches around the conference that participated in the annual 10 Days of Prayer. What a great way to draw closer together as a community and start the year out in prayer. |
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On Sabbath January 20th I had the privilege of giving a short message to the Cave Creek Seventh-day Adventist church and encouraging them to continue doing the great work of ministry. I was asked by pastor Bobby McGhee to visit this church since they had recently paid off their mortgage. What a wonderful blessing it is for this church to have their mortgage paid as now they can use those funds to do more ministry. May God continue to bless them in their work for Him. |
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On January 22 I had the honor of participating in the memorial service for our dear friend Cedric “Doc” Davis at the Camelback SDA church. Cedric had been a friend of mine for many years and had served this conference on several committees including most recently on the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. I was truly blessed to hear the testimonies of friends and family as to his incredible character and how he cared for so many people. May God bless his family as they continue to grieve over his loss. |
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Most of the week of January 21st through 25th I spent in committees and appointments. However, the week ended on a high note with our Multilingual Ministries Convocation. Friday night and Sabbath, January 26 to 27, was spent at Thunderbird Adventist Academy in their auditorium listening to wonderful messages by featured speakers Dr. VicLouis Arreola III and Dr. Leon Brown. This program was led out by Elder Villamor Meriales, Assistant to the President for Multilingual Ministries, and his team. It was a fabulous program with great messages, and beautiful music by many of the churches that participated. The Lord has really blessed this ministry as it has grown from just a couple of churches to over a dozen churches now. God bless them. |
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Finally, the week of January 28 through the 31st and on into the first couple days of February was our bimonthly committee week. This is an important week that shows up in the calendar every two months because nearly every single activity or program of the Arizona conference is discussed, planned, or financed through these committees. It is truly a long difficult week. However it is very necessary to help forward the work of God in our beloved state of Arizona.
May God continue to grow the Arizona Conference Family.
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MONTH
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
YEAR TO DATE
WEEKS
AVERAGE/WEEK
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$1,537,108
$1,753,211
$1,297,008
$2,801,951
$21,768,200
52
$418,619
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2022
$1,182,937
$1,757,285
$1.330,253
$2.418,298
$17,564,680
53
$331,409
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29.94%
-.23%
-2.5%
15.86%
23.93%
26.31%
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Reaching into Homes and Changing Lives |
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Viewers call frequently to request the free literature we offer, such as Desire of Ages and magazines on various Bible topics. Please pray that as people receive these truth-filled Christ-centered resources, they will experience God's love for them, and the Holy Spirit will guide them into all truth.
Donald is homeless, sleeping in a burned-out apartment with a tv and antenna. He saw GNTV's number on the channel and called for prayer, saying he did not wish to live anymore. We prayed together and got him in contact with a crisis counselor. He called back after we prayed together, expressing his gratitude again for the prayer. We spoke to him yet again, and he shared that he is now setup with a mental health team. Donald is requesting continued prayer, so please join us in prayer for him.
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Edee shared with us that she was raised in a household of disfunction and abuse. She tells us that, "Something was missing [at the church I was attending], and so I'm going to keep searching until I find what I am looking for. I've been watching GNTV almost a year now, and you show everything anyone needs to know. I believe everything that I'm watching on your channel, and you keep coming up with new things to learn." Edee decided to check out the Tucson Desert Valley Church, and when she drove up and rolled down her car window to ask someone where to go, she met "the nicest church members." They not only directed her where to go, but they waited for her to park and then invited her to sit with |
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them. She was so impressed and felt so welcomed by the church family that she plans to keep coming!
Mark (pictured to the right), a recently baptized member from Apache Junction, writes: "The church became exactly the family I never had, and it is as precious a feeling as it ever could be. I am different now. The more I study the Bible, the better I am. Blessings to everyone working with Good News TV. It is just fabulous to have such programming on television, and each program is fascinating. Thanks for all you do to put out the truth. It is wonderful to have the Good News, and I wish there were big billboards all over the Valley that advertised it."
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If you've met a GNTV viewer at your church, please send us a message at [email protected]
or give us a call at 480-264-1116.
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Speaking of advertising, if you would like your neighbors to learn about these 24-hour channels that broadcast the hope we have in Christ, then you can help! We may not be on billboards, but you can get these GNTV door hangers that advertise our English and Spanish channels, and distribute them in your community. Please contact us and we will get them to you or your church for FREE!
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Just a quick reminder--If you have an event at your church that you'd like us to promote, then please let us know so we can promote them on GNTV. We broadcast throughout most of Arizona, including the communities of Prescott, Payson, Flagstaff, Yuma, Tucson metro-area, Bullhead City, Verde Valley and Phoenix metro-area. The signal goes far beyond these communities listed, so if your church is near any of them then viewers in your neighborhood are watching and may come!
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Please click the image to watch a brief 2:39 duration update about the work done recently for the Yuma station.
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THANK YOU SO MUCH for your continued prayers and support for Good News TV and our viewers! We deeply appreciate you, and we depend on your help to ensure this ministry continues reaching our communities throughout Arizona and far beyond 24 hours/day. Please don't hesitate to call us at 480-264-1116 if you have questions or to let us know you care about this ministry.
God bless you,
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Luke Skelton
Director, Media Ministry
480-264-1116
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.Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Monday – Wednesday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Thursday 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Friday & Saturday Closed
480.991.8501
We are also available for curbside pick-up or local Phoenix area delivery.
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We need dentists, dental assistants, hygienists, medical doctors, nurse practitioners, RN’s, help in vision and those who just want to be a blessing to others while getting a blessing themselves. You can go to Arizonasonshine.com and click the tab for upcoming events to see what’s coming up and sign up to help. You can also find the reports with stats and videos of our previous events.
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Arizona Connect
-Ed Keyes, President
-Ray Navarro, Executive Secretary
-Reggie Leach, Treasurer
Information: 480-991-6777
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