On August 27-31 of 2024, approximately 150 delegates including district pastors, publishing directors, lay members, and literature evangelists gathered at the Mountain Provinces Mission, the Seventh-day Adventist office in Baguio City. The event marked the 2nd batch of NPUC-wide Spirit of Prophecy (SOP) seminar under the theme “Lest We Forget, Jesus is Coming. Get involved in the Literature Ministry.”
Among the guest speakers was Bryan Tolentino, SOP Director from the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD). He encouraged the delegates to deepen their understanding of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. Tolentino emphasized that a lack of understanding and ignorance of Ellen G White’s writings has left many Seventh-day Adventists vulnerable to deception. He also warned about the dangers of time setting in relation to the Lord’s coming.
Dony Chrissutianto, Director of the E. G. White Estate at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) addressed issues on plagiarism, vegetarianism, and health principles. He challenged the delegates to understand the Spirit of Prophecy in light of Bible truths, emphasizing that these writings are instrumental in preparing for Christ’s soon return.
Abraham Del Rosario, Publishing Director of the North Philippine Union Conference (NPUC) underscored the critical importance of seminars like this one, asserting that the Publishing Ministry is a divinely appointed means of reaching a broad audience, including the affluent, educated, and even those deeply entrenched in worldly pursuits. He stressed that everyone—regardless of age or education, pastors, teachers, students, or lay members has a role to play in this ministry. “We must carry out this action,” he urged, “because it allows everyone to participate and ensures that no one is left out of the mission to spread the message of Christ.”
Inspired by the seminar, John Rowell Eda, a district pastor from NELM was convinced to join the publishing ministry to further encourage church members’ involvement.
ACADEMY SUMMIT FOR PUBLISHING LEADERS
Following the SOP seminar, the Academy Summit for Publishing Leaders commenced, bringing together about 100 Area Publishing Ministries Leaders (APML), Publishing Directors, and branch managers from around the NPUC. Key resource speakers for this event were Almir Marroni and Tercio Marques, Publishing Directors for the General Conference and the Middle East and North Africa Union (MENA) respectively. They underscored the importance of effective supervision and introduced new techniques to motivate literature evangelists. Marques shared successful recruiting and retention strategies, while Marroni focused on effective publishing leadership in modern times, challenging leaders to keep their teams motivated.
Vivencio Bermudez, retired SSD publishing director, discussed the duties of APMLs to their literature evangelists. Arnel Gabin, SSD Vice President for Nurture Discipleship Retention-Integrated Evangelism Lifestyle (NDR-IEL), shared the topic on Jesus’ natural leadership style in relation to canvassing work – a work second to none. Abner Dizon, SSD Director for Interfaith, spoke on evangelizing and reaching the Muslim community.
For the Sabbath School Program, inspiring experiences of Literature Evangelists were featured in a segment entitled, “Miracles of Grace.” Delegates went home accepting the challenge to fulfill their appointed tasks, motivated by the belief that the work must be completed because Jesus is coming soon.
The Spirit of Prophecy Seminar and Publishing Leaders Academy were coordinated and organized by the NPUC Publishing Ministries Department, led by Pastor Abraham Del Rosario.
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