Flip through the convention program
A personal invitation
Please consider this your personal invitation to attend the Southwestern Union Ministries Convention August 21-24, 2008. This year we're offering a buffet of ministry training seminars, quality servings that you can partake of, and then carry the blessings back to your home church.
Training will be provided for pastors and members in Children's Ministries, Community Services, Family Ministries, Health Ministries, Personal Ministries, Prison Ministries, Sabbath School, Women's Ministries, Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible School, and Youth Ministries.
As always, our emphasis is on evangelism. Each of our ministry tracks focus on building a program that will attract people to our churches and open their hearts to the gospel. Our general session speakers will seek to open our hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit and fill us with both the desire to reach others and the tools to do so effectively.
Our featured speakers will include:
Doug Batchelor, speaker/director of Amazing Facts Ministry. Doug is one of the most sought-after speakers in our church. As you may know from his frequent appearances on 3ABN, at camp meetings, and from his own highly successful satellite evangelism series, Doug's passion for sharing God's message grows from his own experience in finding God.
Roscoe Howard, secretary of the North American Division, is widely known as a powerful speaker with a burden that each of our churches and members be equipped to reach out to their neighbors and communities with the gospel of Christ. We are fortunate to have Elder Howard as a leader of our church and as a speaker for our convention.
Alejandro Bullón, retired ministerial director for the South American Division, is legendary among Spanish-speaking Adventists for his love of sharing the gospel. Whenever Elder Bullón speaks, lives are changed. Anyone who has heard him speak before will know what a blessing it is for us to be able to have him at our convention once again.
Steve Case, president and founder of Piece of the Pie Ministries, will be the featured speaker and trainer for our children's ministries program. Popular among children's ministries leaders because of his innovative ideas and practical programs, Steve is in great demand and we are fortunate to have him return and be a part of our 2008 convention.
José Rojas, director of the Office of Volunteer ministries at the North American Division, is an accomplished musician and recording artist as well as an author and a passionate preacher of the Word. No stranger to the Southwestern Union, José is loved for his unique style of communicating the gospel.
The new ministries being featured at this convention are health ministries and prison ministries. In churches I visit, I find new health ministries springing up as people look for ways to meet the needs of their communities. And I find that many are acting on their burden to reach out to prison inmates with Bible lessons. Each person involved in these life-changing ministries will be strengthened by the training seminars offered at our convention.
Certification courses will be offered in the areas of Children's Ministries, Family Ministries, and Women's Ministries. These programs will begin on Friday and each will have seminars in both English and Spanish. This event is offered in partnership with the North American Division.
As always, the music at this year's convention will be outstanding and uplifting. The convention choir will lead us in worship and a number of special guest musicians will be there to lift us up into the presence of God.
So come to your Southwestern Union Ministries Convention and share in a sumptuous buffet of spiritual food and ministries training that will strengthen your work as you serve your family, your church, and your community.
Buford Griffith, Jr., Southwestern Union vice president for ministries