Last weekend I had the opportunity to lead a delegation from the North Bahamas Mission to the Personal Ministries, Sabbath School, Community Services and Bible School Congress hosted by West Indies Union in Mandeville, Jamaica. The delegation included Elder Eugene Taylor, Elder Aileen Sands, Sis. Miriam Thompson, Sis. Paulyn Johnson and Sis. Jacqueline Collie. The Congress was designed to highlight the aspects of the initiative “Tell The World”, which is the thrust for the Seventh-day Adventist Church over the next five years. Participants were trained for service, in order to come back to their local fields and not only inspire, but train the members of our Mission territory in how they can become engaged in service through Tell the World. Each of our delegates were inspired through what they received from the various training sessions, and have returned with a passion to set our field ablaze in “Telling the World”. Beginning this Sabbath and continuing on, they will be sharing various components of the concepts of Tell the World and how you can get involved. It is only as friends of Jesus realize that they have a duty to tell their friends about Jesus, that the work will be finished and we can really go home.

As we seek to implement the goals and objectives of Tell the World in the North Bahamas Mission, The West Indies Union Conference will host a special “Tell The World” Summit here in Grand Bahama on Sunday, May 7, 2006 beginning at 9:00 a.m. to officially launch the initiatives of Tell the World in the North Bahamas Mission. Dr. Enell Hall, Vice-President and Ministerial Secretary of the Union, Dr. Wendall R. McMillan, Field Secretary and Stewardship Director of the Union, Pastor Joseph Smith, Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Director of the Union and Ms. Vivienne Quarrie, Associate Sabbath School Director will be the featured presenters for the Summit. The Summit is open to all members of the Mission, but the following officers are urgently requested to be there: All Pastors, Elders, Personal Ministries Leaders, Assistants and Secretaries, Community Services Leader and Assistants, Sabbath School Superintendents, Assistants, Unit Leaders, Teachers, Secretaries and all Youth and Pathfinder Leaders, Assistants and Counselors. Let us do our best to come and be apart of this great Summit.

All Elders, Stewardship Directors and Treasurers are asked to attend a special Stewardship Certification Programme April 28 -30, 2006 as follows:

Take the Message to Every Person – The gospel commission is the great missionary charter of Christ’s kingdom. The disciples were to work earnestly for souls, giving to all the invitation of mercy. They were not to wait for the people to come to them; they were to go to the people with their message.

God’s messengers are commissioned to take up the very work that Christ did while on this earth. They are to give themselves to every line of ministry that He carried on. With earnestness and sincerity, they are to tell men of the unsearchable riches and the immortal treasure of heaven.

Happy Sabbath!