The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Inter-American Division (IAD) celebrated the culmination of intense evangelistic efforts during a livestreamed program hosted from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on Apr. 20, 2024.
More than 2,000 church members and new believers crowded Universidad Tecnológica de Honduras’ Auditorium in San Pedro Sula, to worship, fellowship, and witness dozens of baptisms onsite and abroad as part of “All the Family in Mission” banner initiative.
Involving every member
“All the Family in Mission” seeks to involve every church member in personal and public evangelism outreach mission initiatives in preparation of Jesus’s soon coming.
“We are delighted that you have chosen this region to host what we have coined as ‘Embrace the only Hope’ series here in Honduras,” said Pastor Adan Ramos, president of the Honduras Union. He thanked IAD leaders and union leaders in attendance. “We are delighted to learn how the gospel has been spread throughout seven other unions and share how we have motivated others get involved in the mission here in our country,” he added.
Dozens were baptized during the live event, totaling 1,315 baptisms to close the one-week reaping campaigns held in 180 congregations in the Northwest Honduras Conference, reported Ramos. That brings the number to nearly 3,000 new members across Honduras, he said.
The live event highlighted the work of active church members and leaders in spreading the gospel in their communities, not only across the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the northwest region in Honduras, but also throughout Central America, Venezuela and parts of Colombia, church leaders said.
Pastor Elie Henry, president of the IAD, during his spiritual message on Sabbath morning, encouraged leaders, members, and soon-to-be baptized believers to open their eyes wide to see the mission that God has for them. “God has a plan for each one of you,” said Henry. “He loves us and knew us before we came to be. It’s all about the grand vision that God has for us, that God wants to redeem us and wants to lead us to have a global vision for His purpose, he said.
Pastor Henry challenged congregants to take time to study the Bible, pray daily, yearn to know Jesus and His will, and testify of His goodness wherever they go.
Newly baptized members
Marleny Matute, 40, took Pastor Henry’s message to heart. As a single mother she has struggled to make ends meet working at a school cafeteria. Matute has occasionally visited the Adventist Church in Cerro Verde where her 15-year-old daughter had been part of the Pathfinder Club and was baptized several years ago.
Twenty-three-year-old Maryori Bueso was also baptized onsite during the program. She said she will not turn back on her decision to follow Jesus. She began Bible studies in November after a friend invited her. After her bible studies she told her partner and father of their four-year-old son that she wanted to do things right before God. “I wanted to get married but he did not,” she said. So Bueso decided to be baptized.
Enrique Pérez had grown up in the streets and when he heard about Jesus at age 17, he decided to get baptized and join the church. Pérez later left the church and became a successful entrepreneur. During one of his business trips, he turned on the television in his hotel room and happened to see a sermon given by Adventist Evangelist Alejandro Bullón. According to Perez, during the sermon, Bullon said: “I don’t know where you are, if at home or in some dark hotel room trying to be happy, but that will not make you happy, only Jesus can make you happy.”
Reaching out to former members
Pérez is one of 38 former Seventh-day Adventists who have returned to church. Reaching out to former members was part of three evangelism initiatives that were launched throughout the Northwest Honduras Conference in November, said Pastor Daniel Durón, executive secretary. “We challenged our active members, spread out in our 144 churches and 68 small groups, to fast and pray for 15 days and reach out to at least one person in their circle for bible studies, said Durón.
Six months of evangelistic preparation
The arduous work of preparation for evangelistic series for six months led to a significant increase in membership, said Durón. Just this year, the conference has reached 500 more new members than the total of 800 baptisms reached in 2023. “We praise God that pastors, small group leaders, and active members took on the challenge of bringing at least one person to the feet of Jesus,” Durón said. Besides conservation of new members now, Durón said engaging more of the membership in the mission of the church will be an added initiative in the months ahead.
Local church leaders thanked IAD leaders for leading out in evangelistic campaigns this month and especially for the support of Pastor Melchor Ferreyra, personal ministries director of the IAD for evangelistic campaigns. He led at San Pedro Sula’s Central Adventist Church and the school of evangelism sessions he held onsite with pastors and active church members throughout the past six-months in San Pedro Sula.
It’s all about ensuring that everyone is involved in mission, said Ferreyra. “We must focus on taking time to plan evangelism impact by preparing as a church body, investing in planting the seed of the gospel, growing that seed, cultivating and conserving the new believers in an ongoing cycle in church,” he said.
Highlights of the program included the community impact led by Dr. Carlos Bocanegra and his group of medical doctors and staff who provided free healthcare services to more than 850 persons from needy communities in San Pedro Sula. Dr. Bocanegra’s medical team from his Asociación Médica Adventist organization in Perú included a urologist, gynecologist, medical practitioners, psychologists, physical therapist, pharmacologist, and nurses.
Growing the church
“The event here in Honduras was intended to present the model of what a church that is growing and serving looks like,” said Braham. The importance for these efforts to be successful is to ensure that the church is in-reaching to grow in Christ and reaching out horizontally, connecting people to Christ while addressing their social, economic, spiritual, mental, and emotional needs.”
Union leaders grouped in this first “All the Family in Mission” celebration event reported that there were 2,871 baptisms reached in Honduras; 2,800 baptisms reached in Guatemala, 3,080 baptism in Costa Rica and Nicaragua; 2,000 in South Colombia; 1,010 in West Venezuela, and 3,791 baptisms reached in East Venezuela.
Additional “All the Family in Mission” territory-wide events planned this year include one in Guadeloupe in the French Antilles Guiana Union on June 29, 2024, and in the Jamaica Union on September 28, 2024.
To view the event online, click HERE
To access the photo gallery of the event, click HERE
Melchor Ferreyra contributed information to this article.
The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-American Division news site.