Arizona Connect - Az Conference President

A Communiqué from the Office of the President

January 2024

TOGETHER -- WE'RE SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE ARIZONA CONFERENCE

It is a pleasure to share with Arizona constituents and friends the many wonderful things happening within our Conference. May you catch our vision for winning men and women, boys and girls to Jesus!

"Lead Us Oh God"

“Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.” Psalm 143:10 NKJV

Have you ever had the desire to do what's right but seemed to fail or just not know how to express it to God? Psalm 143:10 can help you with that.

Listen to the words of the psalm as it is written. It says, “Teach me to do your will, let your good spirit lead me on level ground" (In the original Hebrew). This is a prayer expressing the desire to have God's divine direction in our lives and to have God's guidance because He is our God. It shows us the intimate relationship that the psalmist had with God.

If we have that kind of relationship with God then when things happen in our life that we don’t understand we ask God to guide us, to direct our steps, to correct us, and for the Spirit to lead us onto solid ground. I know it is only a paraphrase of the Bible, but I like the way the Message Bible puts it.

“Hurry with your answer, God! I’m nearly at the end of my rope. Don’t turn away; don’t ignore me! That would be certain death. If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you. Point out the road I must travel; I’m all ears, all eyes before you. Save me from my enemies, God— you’re my only hope! Teach me how to live to please you, because you’re my God. Lead me by your blessed Spirit into cleared and level pastureland.”

My this be our prayer for 2024. “”Lead us Oh God!”

Although December is generally filled with parties, family time, and vacations it was still a very busy month. I spent December 1 visiting members in the Tucson area, including finding a long lost relative, my mother’s sister Alice. I recently found out that she moved there several years ago. She is 93 and still living on her own and getting around pretty well. My mother had ten sisters and two brothers and Alice is one of only two remaining, so it was a real joy to catch up with her.

On Sabbath, December 2, I had the privilege of speaking at the Tucson Sharon church. It was a wonderful experience. Sabbath School was outstanding and the church service was a blessing with many different activities. Special tribute was given to Pastor Jonathan Smith and his wife Florencita for their ministry in Tucson both to the church and to the community. There was an outstanding baby dedication with three different young people and their various families bringing about 25 visitors to the church that day. We were also blessed with a fabulous meal at the Smith home in the afternoon.

That evening we attended the Tucson Spanish church's evangelistic meeting. The music was great and the message was outstanding. More than anything it is fantastic to see all the people making decisions to follow Jesus.

The next day, December 3, I had the privilege of being a part of our annual Arizona Conference Retiree Banquet. This year the banquet was let out by the Melashenko family. As you can imagine the music was fabulous, as well as the entire program.

The week of December 4 through 7 was filled with committee meetings. It felt like nearly every committee happened at the same time. By the end of the week I counted 24 committees, meetings, and appointments that I had been a part of.

On the evening of the 7th, the Arizona Conference celebrated its annual Office Christmas Party. The food was great, but the fellowship with coworkers and their families was even better. The office was decorated in an international flavor with many of the world's countries represented and we followed that same theme with our party. The evening meal was filled with lots of wonderful food and I want to especially thank our Communication Director Jeff Rogers for organizing the celebration. We also had a lot of fun with a Christmas trivia game that was led out by Education Director Chris Juhl.

On Sabbath December 9, I had the privilege of being a part of the Central Phoenix Spanish church's evangelistic program. It started in the morning and went all the way through the evening with many baptisms for God's Kingdom. Praise the Lord for the efforts that these churches have put in to win souls for Jesus. Assistant to the President for Hispanic Ministries Abi Escalante and his team are doing a tremendous job in their mission.

On that same day I got to interview Kylee Leske for a special video promoting the Arizona Adventist tax credit program. I’m really thankful for people like Kylee who have dedicated their lives to following Jesus and being a part of His church. Her short testimony should inspire many to participate in the tax credit program since it will help young people get into and stay in our Adventist schools around the conference. I believe that’s where they will have the best chance of staying faithful to God in these critical and formative years.

The week of December 11-16 was again a full week of appointments and meetings. However, thankfully at the end of that week I began my vacation to the southern states of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee to be with our kids and grandkids.

The first three days of my vacation were filled with calls and other issues, but from the 21^st though the end of the year it was mainly vacation.

The hardest part of the trip was seeing the health of my dear friend and long time Arizona Conference Communication Director Phil Draper fail and eventually pass away. During the time I was in Tennessee with my kids and grandkids, my wife and I spent several days at Phil’s bedside. He was his usually jovial, happy self even in the midst of the terrible pain he was suffering.

On his last Friday night he was surrounded by three generations of VanDenburgh’s; Hawaii Conference President and former Arizona Conference Youth Director Erik, his son Jacob, and his father Doug. His special niece Karen and her husband Joe were there along as well as his dear wife Joey and their daughter Brianna. My son Andrew, my wife Lillian, and I were all there. We sang several songs including his requests: “Side by Side We Stand” and “When We All Get To Heaven.” We prayed and read scripture and Phil fell into a deep restful sleep until he passed away two days later.

We will certainly never forget Phil for what he contributed to the Arizona Conference. He was a real blessing to so many of us. We will continue to pray for Joey and Brianna as they move forward after the loss of their dear loved one.

It is my sincere prayer that as you begin 2024 that you begin it with Jesus as your Savior, Guide, and Friend. May God bless the Arizona Conference family, this year and always.

MONTH

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

YEAR TO DATE

WEEKS

AVERAGE/WEEK

2023

$1,451,507

$1,537,108

$1,753,211

$1,297,008

$18,966,249*

$403,537*

2022

$1,388,762

$1,182,937

$1,757,285

$1.330,253

$15,146,382*

$315,550*

% CHANGE

4.52%

29.94%

-.23%

-2.5%

25.22%*

27.88%*

*God has blessed and the weekly average tithe giving has increased over the prior year. In addition, Arizona Conference has been blessed by two generous tithe donations since the start of the year. These incredible gifts will grow opportunity for ministry in Arizona. Arizona Conference Administration acknowledges that these gifts reflect a higher-than-average tithe giving statistic and will take that into consideration when making fiscal decisions for the future of the church in Arizona.

Reaching into Homes and Changing Lives

HAPPY NEW YEAR to our Arizona Conference Family!

As we start the year, let us share just share the personal testimony from another couple viewers in Tucson, who learned the truth and turned to God in their lives as teenagers not long ago.

Lynessa, and her friend at high school, Adam, discovered Good News TV in their search to come closer to God. At 16 and 17 years old, respectively, they joined the Midvale Park Church, and became an integral part of her new church family!

CLICK the image to watch the story of Lynessa, at just 16 years old.

Just a quick reminder, if you have events at your church in the areas were we broadcast, please let us know so we can promote them on GNTV. We broadcast in Prescott, Payson, Flagstaff, Yuma, Tucson, Bullhead City, Verde Valley and Phoenix.

We continue to have more stories brewing, which we look forward to sharing in future updates.

If you have a story to share with us from your church, please do!!!

Your Support At Work

As our donors and prayer warriors, we want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH! We deeply appreciate you, and we depend on your prayers and support for this ministry to continue.

Please don't hesitate to call us at 480-264-1116 to let us know you are interested in our GNTV ministry and praying for or supporting us. As a small token of our appreciation, we would love to send you a free truth-filled sharing magazine you can read and share, or a GNTV t-shirt you could wear to promote the ministry. It's as easy as just calling to let us know.

Additionally, check out last month's Arizona Connect newsletter for a video that explains how your prayers and support are invested through this ministry.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

God bless you,

Luke Skelton

Director, Media Ministry

480-264-1116

PRAYER MINISTRIES

Please join our church family in unity around the world for the annual blessing of

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER: January 10-20, 2024.

Theme is "Priorities of Faith"

Scripture is Micah 6:8 "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

https://www.tendaysofprayer.org/

Individuals, prayer partners, families, groups, and church families are all encouraged to customize your participation, whether by gatherings at church, home, Zoom, etc. Although the official date is Jan 11-21 is encouraged, the dates can be customized to fit you or your schedule, too. The website above has a host of amazing, inspiring materials to help in English, Spanish, Korean, and other languages. Resources include: Leader's Guide, Materials for Kids, Bulletin Inserts, Bible Prayer Promises, devotionals, all night prayer vigil info, and much more!

The practical and interesting daily topics are: (devo thoughts on each topic on website):

Less Is More

The Danger of Being Busy for God

The Blessing of Waiting

The Freedom of a Focused Life of Simplicity

Focusing on Things that Matter in Prayer

Grit, Passion, Perseverance

The Value of Being Kind

Practicing an Attitude of Gratitude

The Blessing of the Sabbath

Be Rich in What Matters

Priorities of Faith

Important Prayer Ministry websites

1. Ten Days of Prayer Resource website: https://www.tendaysofprayer.org/

2. Log in to pray 24x7 Zoom Prayer Link with other Seventh-day Adventists around the world!

https://247unitedprayer.org/

3. "Day of Prayer and Fasting" Jan 6: Resources by Elder Pavel Goia: Day of Prayer and Fasting 2024 - Quarter 1 (US Letter).pdf (ministerialassociation.org)

4. Sign up to be part of the Prayer Community:

https://www.wepray.org/

For questions, contact azprayers@gmail.com or 480-888-6983

.Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Monday – Wednesday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Thursday 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Friday & Saturday Closed

480.991.8501

www.AdventistBookCenter.com

We are also available for curbside pick-up or local Phoenix area delivery.

We need dentists, dental assistants, hygienists, medical doctors, nurse practitioners, RN’s, help in vision and those who just want to be a blessing to others while getting a blessing themselves. You can go to Arizonasonshine.com and click the tab for upcoming events to see what’s coming up and sign up to help. You can also find the reports with stats and videos of our previous events.

Thank You

On December 3 the Communication Department and the Arizona Conference received a special gift of a new Nikon D850 SLR camera. Doug Kittleson of Hereford, Arizona and member of the Sierra Vista Church gifted the brand new camera to the Conference. The Nikon that the department had been using had seen lots of use and the new D850 will serve the ministry of the Conference in years to come. Conference Administration and Communication Department personnel were on hand to receive and thank the Kittlesons for their gracious gift.