16 July 2012 Belgrade, Serbia [Laszlo Gallusz, tedNEWS] In the last ten months, two schools for lay members training were held in the South-East European Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SEEUC); one in Novi Sad, Serbia and one in Skopje, Macedonia. About one hundred lay members were trained during these two weekends in various aspects of evangelistic work. The programme comprised fifteen modules, taught by teachers from Belgrade Theological Seminary, church administrators, pastors with vast experience in evangelism, and guest lecturers. While a theoretical basis was a fundamental element of the training programme, the focus was on the demonstration of different ministry models and providing tools for lay members to use in their local contexts. At the end of the programme, the local missionaries were expected to implement those approaches and ideas with which they felt comfortable, in their allocated territory.
As a ‘Finale’ of the local missionary training programme, a camp was organised on the mountain Zlatibor for about one hundred participants from 3–12 July 2012. The main speaker of the event was Dr Daniel Duda, Education Director at the Trans-European Division (TED). This camp was a fine opportunity not only for training, but also for swapping experiences between local missionaries. The training sessions were combined with outreach activities on Zlatibor, where there were a lot summer tourists. One of the outreach activities was a Health Expo held in the centre of the town on the mountain. Many personal contacts were made leading to great witnessing opportunities.
The climax of the camp was the awards ceremony where Pastor Djordje Trajkovski, President of the SEEUC, addressed the local missionaries, challenging them to build peace in this restless world thus demonstrating the love of Christ. Upon receiving their certificate, all the participants had an opportunity to address the group in one sentence in which they stated the ministry which they will develop in their local community. During the camp, the group read the book of Acts from the Bible, which inspired them to ask the question: ‘Lord, what is your plan for my life and where would you like to see me in terms of ministry?’
Arvai Svetlana from Ba?ka Palanka stated that she has experienced the Lord’s presence in a very special way during the camp and upon her return to her local church, she would work on implementing the ideas she had learned. Similarly, Bojan Baki?, a young church elder from Ruma, said that after the training he would go home with a much clearer picture of what he can do for the Lord and in which direction he is supposed to lead his local church.
Mihajlo Gurev, President of Macedonian Mission, concluded that these missionary training schools were providing more than just theoretical knowledge. They are bringing a fresh perspective on the possibilities the church has in Macedonia. [tedNEWS]
tedNEWS Staff: Miroslav Pujic, director; Deana Stojkovic, editor
119 St Peter’s Street, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3EY, England
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ted-adventist.org
tedNEWS is an information bulletin issued by the communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division.
You are free to re-print any portion of the bulletin without need for special permission. However, we kindly request that you identify tedNEWS whenever you publish these materials.
