![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Botha-Tompkins-630.jpeg\")
<\/a>The reason for the gathering was \u201cOperation Enduring Faith,\u201d a special Day of Fellowship and the first big meeting of Scottish churches since the COVID-19 pandemic. \u201cIt took the pastoral team over nine months of planning,\u201d commented pastor James Botha, president of the Scottish Mission. But the efforts paid off as \u201c80% of the Scottish mission members chose to be here in person, rather than stay at home and watch a sermon online. Choosing analogue over digital forges a different kind of bond.\u201d<\/p>\n
Operation Enduring Faith <\/strong><\/p>\n Pastor Rolf J. P\u00f6hler, Professor of Systematic Theology at Friedensau Adventist University, was the keynote speaker for this special 8 October Sabbath fellowship. His insightful message, titled Operation Enduring Faith<\/em>, challenged those present to develop a resilient faith to better serve the world. \u201cThe real question is, am I a blessing to others? Is my resilience a gift of God that I want to share?\u201d P\u00f6hler asked, reflecting on the risks of consumer, self-serving Christianity. He also highlighted the difference between \u2018endurance\u2019 and \u2018doggedness\u2019, and the importance of showing both spiritual discernment and intellectual flexibility. \u201cLike a skyscraper, firm at the foundation but moving at the top, we need to be people who are steadfast in our faith, but also flexible… to adjust to certain situations. This is what characterises a Christian,\u201d P\u00f6hler concluded.<\/p>\n \u201cResilience means not only that we are able to withstand the onslaughts today, but also that we are adapting for the future,\u201d commented pastor Botha. \u201cI want people to know that the church of God in Scotland is resilient. Not only as individuals, but also together as a church we are resilient and can go very far and do big things,\u201d said Botha.<\/p>\n A Global Church <\/strong><\/p>\n The afternoon programme was dedicated to furthering connections between the Scottish Mission and the global church. A variety of guest speakers were given the opportunity to present different mission projects and outreach programmes for Scottish Mission members to connect, support, and get involved.<\/p>\n Catherine Boldeau, Development Education Officer for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in the UK, reported on the Africa-Scotland Action Project<\/a> (ASAP), an environmental stewardship initiative that is mobilising faith-based organisations around the world to combat climate change.\u00a0 \u201cADRA UK, ADRA AFRO, and the Scottish Mission are collaborating on a year-long initiative to tackle the effects of climate change,\u201d said Boldeau. Thanks to ASAP, 3,000 trees have been planted across Zambia, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique and Namibia, and other initiatives such as gully reclamation and clean up campaigns are taking place. \u201cThe Scottish Mission held tree-planting and litter picking events, including the 18th of September cleaning campaign, during World Pathfinder Day,\u201d Boldeau reported.<\/p>\n Beverley Anderson and Adina Lupu, Scottish Mission Prayer Ministry sponsors, invited the congregation to pray for revival in Scotland. Taking inspiration from the renowned Scottish reformer John Knox, who famously said, \u201cGive Me Scotland or I die,\u201d they challenged church members to \u201cmove forward on our knees, asking for God’s will to be accomplished, and for His Spirit to be poured out!\u201d<\/p>\n Pastor Christian Salcianu, Principal of the Adventist Discovery Centre (ADC), Bert Smit, CEO ADRA UK, and Adi Slobozeanu and Benjamin Bakina, from The Word on the Street<\/em><\/a>, a social media initiative aimed at helping young people talk more about mental health, also introduced initiatives providing ample opportunities for members to engage and grow in their faith.<\/p>\n Hungry for God <\/strong><\/p>\n To many, the highlight of the event was sharing with one another and being in the presence of God. \u201cIt was the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that the Scottish Mission churches have come together,\u201d said pastor Botha. \u201cOur membership currently stands at 730, and we see more than 500 gathered here today. This is a testimony to a hungry church: hungry for God, hungry to be together, hungry for the Gospel. What I saw today with my own eyes in this place today is a miracle,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing that stood out for me was the awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit and the oneness of all who gathered,\u201d said pastor Jacques Venter, Associate Executive Secretary of the British Union Conference. \u201cThe message of resilience was a powerful reflection of our focus to spread the good news of Jesus Christ across Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n With the population of Scotland at around 5.5 million people, the mission field for Scottish Mission members is expansive, even daunting. John Knox\u2019s legacy in Scotland is almost lost and forgotten to most citizens. But there are a committed few who will still rally to the spirit of his cry, \u201cGive Me Scotland or I die.\u201d This is not a political calling, but a prayer to the Lord to reveal His presence to Scots people. It is in this spirit that the faith of the 730 Scottish Mission members endures and even grows!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Record attendance at Scottish day of fellowship shows a church hungry for revival <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1588,7,1577],"tags":[72,1232,1233,1235,287,1234,773,772],"class_list":["post-11994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ireland-united-kingdom","category-news","category-organisational-updates","tag-adra","tag-dunfermline","tag-james-botha","tag-john-knox","tag-news","tag-rolf-j-pohler","tag-scotland","tag-scottish-mission"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11994"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12010,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11994\/revisions\/12010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a><\/a>