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1st
Women Pastors and Elders Convention Held in Northern Asia-Pacific
Division
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first Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD) Women Pastors and
Elders Convention was successfully held May 31 to June 4,
2004, in Beijing, China, by the Ministerial Association and
the Women’s Ministries Department.
Fifty-three
people attended this historic event, including Dr. Jairyong
Lee, NSD president; Takashi Shiraishi, Japan Union Conference
president, and Glenn Mitchell, Communication director, NSD.
Attendees came from the Division office as well as from Japan
Union Conference, Chinese Union Mission, and Korean Union
Conference. |
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To End the convention, Lee challenged
each delegate to be like Moses, leading God's children to
the "Promise Land". |
On the opening
night, Dr. Lee delivered a message, “What are you doing here,
Elijah?” (I King 19:9) to remind the attendees that they are
the Elijahs in these last days and should carry with them the mission
of Elijah, preparing people for the coming of Christ. Each day started
with morning devotion. Clarissa Worley, a pastor in the United States,
spoke on topics relevant to women pastors, elders, and leaders,
and focused on spiritual growth and its relevance to their inter-personal
relationships and their work in the church. The main theme was “Great
Teachings of Christ for His Leaders.” Delegates also had time
to share problems and challenges they face as women leaders.
To
end the convention, Lee challenged each delegate to be like Moses,
leading God’s children to the “Promised Land.”
Beautiful
in God’s Eyes
13th in a Series of Devotional Books for Women by Women
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The
2005 Women’s Ministries devotional book, Beautiful
in God’s Eyes, is the 13th in a series of devotionals
for women by women.
The devotional
book, published by Review and Herald Publishing for GC Women’s
Ministries, will be available at ABCs soon.
Proceeds
from this book will be used to fund scholarships for Adventist
women attending Adventist colleges. To date, 864 women have
received scholarships totaling more than $335,400 from the
sale of previous women’s devotional books.
The devotional
book project—intended to be for one year—was initiated
by Rose Otis, first GC Women’s Ministries director.
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East-Central
Africa Division
East
Africa Union
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All
roads led to the Saint George’s Secondary School in
Nairobi, Kenya. As the women marched through the streets they
shouted the words “You Can Change the World” which
was written on a huge banner they carried. It was the start
of the Great East Africa Congress.
One thousand
five hundred women attended the four-day Women’s Ministries
congress. “Never have I addressed so many women before....
It was a great and rewarding experience,” said Joy Gashaija,
Women’s Ministries director for East Central Africa
Division (ECD).
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Ladies learned how to make
bar soap at one of the workshops during the congress
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The
congress provided fellowship and spiritual enhancements, addressed
and encouraged discussion on major common issues affecting
ECD women, and helped women identify their roles as Women’s
Ministries members.
Eleven
sermons were presented mainly by Gashaija; Elder Geoffrey
Mbwana, ECD president; Pastor C. Richly, ECD associate secretary;
Joy Owino, a lecturer at Tanzania Union College; and Mrs.
Jerusha Muga, Women’s Ministries director of East Africa
Union. Participants found the messages greatly inspiring and
the twenty workshops interesting. |
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Ethiopia
Union
| Women’s
Ministries in the Ethiopia Union is well underway. In the past
there were many misconceptions about what Women’s Ministries
was, but after Joy Gashaija, ECD Division director, met with
them and explained fully the Women’s Ministries program,
the women were eager to serve. Elder Benjamin Brown, union president,
said he had not before seen the women in Ethiopia Union respond
to an invitation to serve in the manner they did during this
seminar. |
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Southern
Asia Division
North
Kerala Section
Sister Aleykutty, married with four children, began the literature
evangelist program with support from another member—visiting
parsonages, police stations, liquor shops, and seminaries. Sometimes
sarcastic comments were made or their books were stolen, but they
were still determined, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, they
answered questions people asked. On occasion, they gave free or
reduced priced books. Sister Aleykutty is sure the widely scattered
gospel seeds will one day germinate and bear fruit.
Northeast
India Union
Through a women’s initiative to see the pews of their church
filled again, a ministry to members no longer attending church began
in the Khasi Jaintia Conference.
Women earnestly
prayed for the Holy Spirit to touch them and show them what to do
to win their former members back. They wrote letters requesting
that the members return to church, then visited every home to express
their hope that the members would return, and prayed with them.
The week of
prayer began shortly after. Despite the rain and distance of many
of the homes, the church was packed to capacity. Ten precious souls
were baptized at the end of the week and others are preparing for
baptism.
West-Central
Africa Division
South
West Ghana Conference and South Ghana Conference
A special retreat for young women was held in Ghana this year and
550 young women attended. Mrs. Margaret Osei, Women’s Ministries
director for Ghana Union Conference, is happy that these young people
have shown an interest in the Women’s Ministries program which
many had thought was only for the adult women.
GC Women’s Ministries would very
much like to hear the results of your Leadership Certification Training
programs, retreats, small group meetings, and evangelistic campaigns.
Send news to your division director to incorporate in her reports
to us. Thank you.
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KEEPERS
PAGE : Just for You!
Women’s Ministries Leadership Certification –
Level 2
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Core
Requirements for Level 2: |
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Electives |
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“Women
of the Old Testament” describes the lives and
historical contributions of the women specifically mentioned
in the book of Judges and invites the student to apply the
principles upon which these women acted to their own lives.
“Philosophy
of Women’s Ministries, Roles and Objectives”
provides a study of the “why” and “how”
of women’s ministries.
“Principles
of Counseling” considers various schools of
thought in professional counseling and provides guidelines
for the lay counselor.
“Presenting
an Effective Seminar” is a step-by-step guide
for the new presenter, covering everything from speech preparation
and presentation to dealing with translation needs.
“Budget
and Finance” looks at constructing a ministry’s
budget, procedures in proper bookkeeping, and working with
local treasurers and other administrative officers on money
matters.
“Producing
a Newsletter” discusses the purpose, staffing,
format, and production details of putting together a newsletter.
“Small
Group Ministries and Support Groups” prepares
the ministry leader to organize, format, and find leaders
for small groups, as well as providing ideas on topic-specific
small groups such as Singles or Divorce Recovery.
“Reclaiming
Former Members” is a “how-to” for
identifying former members, making contact, addressing the
reasons why they left, and “loving them” back
into the church. |
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“Principles
of Visitation” discusses the various
reasons to visit someone and gives guidelines on how to conduct
the visit.
“Audio-visual
Use/Production” surveys the various
types of audio-visual aids available and how to produce and
use them with maximum effectiveness within presentations.
“Effective
Leadership in Meetings, Committees, and Boards” outlines
the responsibilities of a board member, how to interact in
meetings, how to chair a committee, and how to prepare agendas
and minutes.
“Time
Management” takes a look at cultural
perceptions concerning time, the importance of time management
and goal setting in leadership, and principles for managing
multiple projects and schedules.
“Program
Planning” describes the necessary steps
for putting together a program from scratch, including picking
a theme, planning the order of events, advertising, etc.
“Development
of Resources” considers the process
of planning, writing, and publishing resources that can be
used by others.
“Writing
Proposals” discusses the different sections
of a proposal and what information to include to best communicate
your purpose and need.
“Prayer
Ministries” surveys various types of
prayer ministries, the purpose of such a ministry, and how
to begin one in the local church.
“Discipling
New Members” shows participants how
to take advantage of their womanly nurturing instincts to
guide and involve new members in the various ministries of
the church.
“Literacy
Training” provides directions for creating
and running a literacy program, including a look at learning
styles and teaching techniques.
“Assessing
and Using Community Resources” shows
the ministry leader how to look for and make use of existing
community resources to aid with the programs of her ministry.
“Woman
to Woman in Islam” is a discussion of
how to conduct personal evangelism with Muslim women while
understanding and respecting their culture and existing religious
beliefs.
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Students
must complete Level 1 before Level 2 can be studied.
Upon
completion, students will receive a certificate from their
union or conference Women’s Ministries.
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Level 2 CDs
have been shipped to Women’s Ministries division directors.
CDs will also be available through GCWM for US$40.00, plus shipping
and handling.
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Special
Dates
October
17th
International Day for Eradication of Poverty (Poverty Day)
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Special
October Days
Scholarships
are due for January meeting of the GC Women’s Ministries
Scholarship Committee
National
Domestic Violence Month
Breast
Cancer Awareness Month |
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More
News...
Read the following
stories at http://wm.gc.adventist.org,
News and Events, Faces of Women’s Ministries
Reports and pictures
of Ardis Stenbakken and Heather-Dawn Small’s training programs,
evangelistic meetings, and retreats.
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When
you see the GC Women’s Ministries logo [Women’s
Ministries logo] in an article, more information or pictures
are available on our website |
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