This week on ANN. Six shipping containers filled with medical supplies from Adventist Health are on their way to Africa to assist with COVID-19 emergency responses in Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This $3 million project results from a partnership between California-based Adventist Health and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), the international humanitarian branch of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This shipment is just one of several projects on which Adventist Health and ADRA are partnering worldwide. A third shipment is scheduled for February 2022. On October 23, 2021, Adventists all over the world will celebrate Creation Sabbath. And, just in time for Creation Sabbath 2021, 'Creation Detectives: The Movie' is now available. 'Creation Detectives' is the brainchild of Manolo Quintanilla and Noemi Duran, director of the Geoscience Research Institute European Branch Office. Quintanilla says, "We noticed that children love comic book superheroes and started a ministry dressing up as superheroes to visit sick children in hospitals. How better to lead children to the ultimate and real superhero, Jesus Christ? Creation Detectives is another way in which we want to harness children's natural interest in comics to teach them about science, the creation, and the Creator." AdventHealth's West Florida Division has opened the new state-of-the-art Taneja Center for Surgery at its flagship hospital, AdventHealth Tampa. The center will serve the community by providing complex surgeries using the most advanced equipment. Take a look at the newly designed tower with this special report from AdventHealth. Thailand experienced its first COVID-19 case on January 13, 2020, and successfully contained the virus until December 2020. In January 2021, COVID-19 cases increased drastically, according to local reports. Since September 29, the accumulated number of cases ballooned to 1.5 million, with more than 10,000 new cases per day. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) conducted a rapid assessment among 316 migrants in Mae Sot District in Thailand. They found that migrants were getting paid less than the average worker, and work hours were reduced after the COVID-19 outbreak. ADRA Thailand is working to provide aid to 5,000 migrant workers, including 1,000 school-age students. The Adventist Church in Tanzania celebrated 40,000 new members who embraced the Advent hope through baptism after a three-week media evangelistic campaign. Themed "Peace from Above," the event displayed the full package of the Adventist message, which tackled physical, mental, and human spiritual needs. President of the North Tanzania Union Conference Godwin Lekundayo explained that people attain sustainable peace by choosing God. The message was broadcast live from the main site in Nyamongo, a city in Northern Tanzania, on the border with Kenya. The signal was relayed to more than 4,000 sites across the country, and the event was simultaneously interpreted from Kiswahili into five languages: English, French, Portuguese, Arabic, and sign language. For the latest news and current events within the Adventist community, visit Adventist News Network. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ereijALwZ0

Tomorrow, October 23, is Creation Sabbath Day. With this, Pastor Ted Wilson invites you to look into our materials available at creationsabbath.net. Creation is a crucial topic found in various passages throughout the Bible. Psalm 95:1-7, "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms." It continues, "For the Lord is the great God and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land." "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand." God wants us to remember that He is our Creator and that we belong to Him. This message is evident in the heart of the three angels' messages found in Revelation 14:6-7. It says, "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth – to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people – saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him Who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." Notice that creation and worship are tied together in these two verses – we are to worship God our Creator. It echoes the fourth commandment in Exodus 20:11, which says, "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." Indeed, creation and worship are intimately related. They come together in God's seal of creation and redemption, the Sabbath. As Ellen White comments in Christian Stewardship, p. 66, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Man has no right nor power to substitute the first day for the seventh. He may pretend to do this; "nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure." The customs and teachings of men will not lessen the claims of the divine law. God has sanctified the seventh day. That specified portion of time, set apart by God Himself for religious worship, continues as sacred today as when first hallowed by our Creator." May God bless you this Creation Sabbath as you find rest in Him. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7ibm1_FWCY

Why hasn’t Jesus returned yet? Jesus is working in the heavenly tabernacle right now, representing those who have chosen him as their Savior. As we, on earth, are charged with telling the world about God’s love, Jesus works on our behalf in Heaven so we can spend forever with Him. Blog: https://www.ibelievebible.com/the-heavenly-sanctuary/ ___
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Why is digital evangelism so important to the Adventist Church? How can I participate in the “I Will Go” strategic plan? What did some of the decisions made at this year’s Annual Council mean and what does it mean for our church members. This week, Jennifer and Sam talk to the three Officers of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists – Ted N.C. Wilson, president, Seventh-day Adventist World Church; Erton Kohler, secretary, Seventh-day Adventist World Church; Paul Douglas, treasurer, Seventh-day Adventist World Church about what happened at Annual Council and why it mattered. —
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This week on ANN. The Adventist Church began its Annual Council business meetings, starting with the LEAD Conference late last week. LEAD stands for ‘Leadership, Education and Development.” The Department of Adventist Mission presented the conference this year, focusing on “Through the Storms: Mission During Crises.” The Annual Council is one of two yearly meetings of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church’s Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is the second-highest governing body of the denomination. It is second to the delegates of the General Conference in Session, which takes place every five years. This year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Annual Council meetings are taking place both in-person and online. Newly elected Secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church, Erton Kohler, opened his secretariat report to the 2021 Annual Council. During the Secretariat Report, Kohler gave many examples of the amazing work the Adventist Church has done globally during the 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Director of the Adventist Archives, Statistics, and Research department, David Trim, told attendees that there can only be one topic: “The impact on the church of the COVID-19 pandemic—what has happened; and what the statistics suggest might happen in the near future.” The 2021 Annual Council Secretariat also focused on Mission. Even during the pandemic, the Adventist Church continued to train and send missionaries, including International Service Employees (ISE) and Adventist Volunteers worldwide. While methods have been updated because of the pandemic, Adventists everywhere are still answering the call “I Will Go.” Adventist Volunteer Services (AVS) also continued to engage volunteers and service. AVS launched a new website and “Passport to Mission” online course updated in collaboration with the Institute of World Mission. AVS also expanded the One year in Mission project to include the community where the volunteer is located. The final segment of the 2021 Annual Council Secretariat Report focused on the Mission. Director of Adventist Mission, Gary Krause, started his report saying, “We are praying for a mission that is stronger than crises, and we’ve seen in the past year through the pandemic that Adventist Mission has continued going forward because of people willing to say ‘I Will Go.” A Mission Priority System is now working to help prioritize mission projects based on mission challenges and unreached people. Treasurer of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Paul Doulas, opened his inaugural Treasury Report to the 2021 Annual Council’s Executive committee with some good news. He said, “ In looking at the state of our finances at the end of August, I can report that the financial picture is much stronger today than it was a year ago,” Douglas told the hybrid of in-person and virtual delegates. While many things contributed to the positive financial outlook for the Church, including cash and investments increase, account receivable decrease, and notes receivable decrease, Douglas reported tithe being ahead by 5.2% compared to last year. The financial markets have provided positive results for us so far this year. Looking to the end of this year and into the next, Douglas believes the positive trends will continue. During the Treasurer’s Report, Undertreasurer of the World Church Ray Wahlen reported on budgets and tithe. Wahlen said the approach to the 2022 budget would be with a storing emphasis on Mission. In the past, the Adventist Church has usually set the income at 100 percent of the actual tithe and world mission offerings from two years before. Due to the current state of the world and to avoid taking undue risks, the Church will use 100 percent of 2019’s actual income, which will strike a balance between the risk of overstating income potential and the possibility of faster economic recovery. President of the Adventist World Church, Ted N.C. Wilson opened the Annual Council session on Leadership, Education, and Development (LEAD) Conference this year. He asked delegates to “lean on the Master of the universe in times of trouble…and not take your eyes off Christ or His goal for the Church.” This sentiment was echoed throughout the conference, which centered on the theme “Through the Storms: Mission During Crises.” This theme was divided into two sections: “Storms from the Past,” presented Thursday night, October 7, and “Current and Future Crises,” presented Friday morning, October 8. For the latest news and current events within the Adventist community, visit Adventist News Network. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-UDZh7FNz8