21 December 2015 | St Albans, United Kingdom [tedNEWS] How has your year been? What would you choose as a highlight? Raafat Kamal, President of the Trans-European Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, claims with a smile that his year started on a high, meeting with 450 young people in Sweden. In a year-end video message, he talked about their energy, their commitment to the church, their leadership and their initiative. “That really was inspirational”, he said.
Swedish President, Göran Hansen, couldn’t agree more. “All Christians, especially our young people, need to have good answers to why we are Christians, why we believe this and that”, he writes. Göran believes that our youth need more than just Bible stories. “Our public schools are soaked with criticism of Christian faith, affecting everyone, including our own youth. This is why it has been a sheer joy this past year to see young people, mainly teenagers, meeting in both local groups and in nationwide gatherings, digging into the Bible, real Bibles, to study divine and eternal truth together.”
The Swedish programme, WALK2015, aims to help young people to live an everyday life where Jesus is number 1. It inspires them to read and understand the Bible better, to provide opportunities to meet and build positive relationships with others and to challenge teenagers and young people to grow in their discipleship. Göran enthuses, “The response and result has been overwhelming and we will surely develop and continue these activities.”
Raafat sees stories like that being repeated all over Europe, even in his own home church of St Albans, where he talked about the Health Expo’s they have been running for the public and those churches and volunteers who have responded to the growing refugee/migrant crisis throughout the year.
Believing this, the highlight for Djordje this year was an evangelistic series, ‘Healthy relationships’, with Willie and Elaine Oliver, held 24-26 April in New Belgrade, Serbia. It was part of their Mission to the City initiative. He states, “It had the objective of restoring broken family relationships in the community.” Seminars were also held at the Belgrade Theological Seminary for pastors and members, helping them to learn how to make Adventist homes into centres of healing and hope. In a very practical message, Djordje states that “this is what this world needs mostly today.”
Family issues were also highlighted by Raafat as he shared the importance of the listening exercise he has undertaken since becoming president, particularly the think tank last February with what he called “eighty front strikers” from around the Division and beyond. As a result of the listening, planning, praying and visioning together, he says, “this gave us a direction how to move forward with our strategic planning. One of the key areas is now for the Division to assist in developing leaders across all the Unions, in effect, to use one of Raafat’s favourite phrases, “To train trainers”.
He also explains the rationale behind expanding the Youth team, employing a full-time health professional, and how an additional emphasis on family will help both internally within the church while making an impact on the communities around us. He sees these as key areas where good leadership can make a significant impact on Mission in secularised Europe.
The Europe of 2016 is a difficult place. The migrant crisis, economic challenges, security threats – not to mention the challenges of working in a secularised culture. However, Raafat is not alone in facing those challenges with courage.
Living in a challenging time like this, often our heart is troubled. We feel discouraged, abandoned and even forgotten by God. Jesus’ promise to us is that we have never been forgotten. He can’t imagine living though eternity without us. Soon He will come again as the King of Kings to take us from this world and to be with Him forever. In the meanwhile, lets take courage and look up, for His Coming is near.”
Pastor Ian Sweeney, President of the British Union Conference, shared with his members a reflection of the joyous announcement by the angels, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’ [Luke 2:14] He noted that “There is both a vertical and a horizontal sense to this pronouncement, namely: ‘Glory to God in the highest’ (vertical) and peace on earth and good will towards men (horizontal).”
Today, as back in Roman times, Ian emphasised that “the angels’ announcement was a declaration that God was offering a peace that Rome could not give, a peace that could not be offered by the world.” It is a peace that Jesus offered 33 years later. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27, KJV).
Now, Ian emphasises, “we have the distinct privilege and duty to share with our neighbours, family and friends our personal experience of finding Christ’s peace in a violent, blood-soaked world. Through Jesus Christ we can share that we have peace with God and with our fellow men and that God desires all of humanity to experience His peace.” Watch Ian’s Christmas video message.
Raafat recognises the difficulties facing in Europe but sees them as an opportunity. However, his ultimate answer is that “Hope can only come from Jesus Christ.” That hope is something that we, as Seventh-day Adventists, scattered among “200 million neighbours across our Division” can share in practical ways.
Raafat concludes, “I love the mission of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ might have had the big vision of saving the world, but his vision was a neighbour vision and my neighbour vision is where I live, where I work, where I am.” His challenge then, as we enter 2016 is for us, individually, to bring that little element of hope, that sweetness, that blessing, to talk about Jesus Christ and his blessings. [tedNEWS]
tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, director; Deana Stojković, editor
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