February 2026 Carolina's 10,000 P5

Feb 10
13 min read

Embracing Carolina with the Compassionate Call of Christ

The 10,000 President’s Prayer Partners is a fast-growing group of Carolina Conference constituents who take matters such as these to their knees. We invite you to join us and make this monthly list a matter of prayer. Together we seek the Lord for His answers and provisions to every need we bring before Him.

Pray for the Armor of the Holy Spirit – The Shoes of Peace

Happy February and Happy Valentines’s Day as we celebrate this month of love. Genuine selfless love is the essence of the heart of the Gospel message. As we read in Isaiah 52:7 – “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!”

From Pentecost 2025 we have now transitioned into 2026 with our new marching motto:

Beyond Pentecost

Believe. Pray. Expect

We continue to recognize that this ongoing initiative will only be successful through prayer and the intervention of the Holy Spirit.

In our November, 2025 issue of P5, as we continued our quest in praying for the Latter Rain power of the Holy Spirit, we reflected on how receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (as we see in Acts 2:38 from the words of Peter –“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” and the words of Jesus in John Chapters 14-16) connects us with putting on the full armor of God in the midst the Great Controversy as Paul once again, charges the followers of Jesus to protect themselves in Ephesians 6: 10-18.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

These two ideas — Spirit and armor — are deeply connected, because both describe how a believer is equipped and empowered to live victoriously in a spiritual battle. As we continue to pray to receive the Holy Spirit, we are asking God to vest and protect us with the full armor of God by which we live out that empowerment under the Spirit’s direction, The Holy Spirit provides us with that armor, activates it, and teaches us to use it.

Beginning with our December 2025 P5 we began exploring how each part of this armor is so vital to our receiving the latter rain power that we so desperately need and seek as we passionately long to reach every heart we can for our Heavenly home. So, here’s how we will expand and explore these vital elements of the Holy Spirit’s Armor in the coming months of our P5 prayer life:

December (2025) - The Belt of Truth

January (2026) - The Breastplate of Righteousness

February (2026) - The Shoes of Peace

March (2026) - The Shield of Faith

April (2026) - The Helmet of Salvation

May (2026) - The Sword of the Spirit

The Shoes of Peace

Continuing in Ephesians 6, Paul describes the Shoes of peace as the third important component in the armor of a Christian Solider in the great battle we are waging of the Great Controversy.

Paul’s image of the “shoes of the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15) is quietly one of the most Spirit-saturated pieces of the armor—because peace is one of the Spirit’s primary works, and movement is one of His favorite methods.

That peace isn’t self-generated grit; it’s the reconciliation Christ achieved and the Holy Spirit applies. “The mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6); As we focused on earlier last year, one of the fruits of the Spirit is peace (Galatians 5:22).

The Holy Spirit anchors us in peace with God before we ever step onto the battlefield. Without that inner assurance, we’re spiritually barefoot—easily wounded by fear, guilt, or accusation. The Spirit is the One who gives us settled peace inside so we can stand firm outside.

Roman soldiers wore hob-nailed sandals for traction. Paul’s readers would have caught this instantly: these shoes weren’t for comfort; they were for stability under pressure. Jesus promised: “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you” (John 16:13). Where the Spirit leads, peace goes with us—not as passivity, but as confidence that God is already at work ahead of us. The Spirit turns peace into an intentional commitment to our mission, not retreat.

A Spirit-filled believer brings calm into chaos and reflects Christ’s character even in the middle of a disagreement.

As a quick reminder, the shoes of peace connect us with the Holy Spirit because:

The Spirit produces peace

The Spirit stabilizes our walk

The Spirit mobilizes us for mission and

The Spirit reveals Christ through our calm confidence

Paul says the shoes of our armor give us our footing. That matters because the last days are not neutral territory. In our understanding of prophecy and end-time events, Revelation 12–13 describes: a time of deception, accusation, pressure to conform, and a polarization around worship. The enemy’s strategy is not just to silence the message, but to destabilize the messengers. The Holy Spirit uses peace to do what fear cannot.

During this month, join me as we prayerfully focus on the shoes of the gospel of peace and their specific role in our end-time witness of Beyond Pentecost.

The influence of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) educators is often described as a ministry, not just a profession. Their impact extends beyond academics to shaping lives spiritually, morally, and socially.

Here are some blessings of their influence of our children and youth:

Spiritual development
Character development
Mission influence4.
Academic excellence with an eternal purpose
Lifelong impact
Blessings to the educators themselves.

Each month, I invite you to praise God for one of these blessings. Last month, we thanked God for the blessing of academic excellence in Adventist education that is accompanied with an eternal purpose.

As we continue into the second month of this New Year (February 2026) let’s thank God for the lifelong impact that each of our schools have on the lives of our children and youth. Because of the significance of this impact, I will focus three aspects of this this month and three in the next March P5 issue.

Seventh-day Adventist education aims at more than graduation day. Its design is lifelong formation—shaping how a person thinks, lives, serves, and hopes. Here are the first three enduring impacts most often seen:

A. Adventist education integrates faith with every discipline. Students learn to ask not only “How does this work”? but also “Why does it matter in God’s story”? And the lifelong result is that graduates tend to carry a biblical lens into career choices, ethical decisions, and civic life—long after textbooks are closed. Ellen White described true education as restoring the image of God in humanity—not merely training the intellect.

B. Because Adventist schools emphasize physical, mental, spiritual, and social health, students often internalize habits that persist for decades. Once again those lifelong results show measurable benefits of longevity, resilience, and quality of life—especially when faith and health remain connected.

C. Rather than moral relativism, Adventist education encourages principled thinking grounded in Scripture. Students are trained to stand for conviction without arrogance, choose faithfulness over convenience, and respect others while remaining true to belief. And the lifelong result: As a general rule, Adventist leaders and professionals are known for integrity, trustworthiness, and calm moral clarity under pressure.

Continuing with this February issue of P5, I invite you to pray for these precious men and women who are the ministers of education – representing Jesus -- to the children and youth of our Caolina churches and communities during this second half of our 2025-2026 school year:

With each issue of our President’s Prayer Partners (P5), we continue to highlight one of our quinquennial goals and share updates on the progress God is enabling across our conference.

This month we focus on the measurable initiatives taking place at Mount Pisgah Academy as we seek to enhance the ministry of our campus to continue excelling in its missional and educational emphasis to generate a sustainable and consistent enrollment of 125-150 students.

Here’s a report by Principal Dewald Coetzer of the great initiatives taking place to generate that sense of enthusiasm and appeal at MPA:

Master Plan Update: Investing in Facilities, Students, and the Future

Mount Pisgah Academy continues to move forward with confidence and purpose as we advance the next phase of our campus Master Plan. This plan reflects our ongoing commitment to providing safe, modern, and student-centered facilities that support learning, wellness, and community life.

We are currently in the permitting stage, an important step that allows us to move responsibly and strategically toward construction. The bidding process is scheduled to begin in March, bringing us closer to turning plans into action.

Facility Improvements Underway

This phase of the Master Plan includes several significant upgrades across campus:

• Roof replacements for the Administration Building and the Girls’ Dormitory, ensuring long-term protection and reliability.

• A complete renovation of the gymnasium, transforming it into a multi-purpose hub that will include:

o A classroom

o A training room

o Office spaces

o A concession room

In addition, the gym will be equipped with a brand-new electrical system and a modern HVAC system, greatly improving efficiency, comfort, and safety. These updates are essential steps in keeping our facilities current and ensuring that our students have spaces that fully support both academic and athletic development.

Library Transformation: A Student-Centered Space

Another exciting component of the Master Plan is the transformation of our library into a student/study center. This space will continue to serve as a quiet place for reading and studying during the school day, while also becoming a welcoming environment for students to interact and build community outside of school hours. This will be especially valuable during the winter months, providing a warm, engaging space for connection, collaboration, and healthy social interaction.

Celebrating Our Student Athletes

Alongside these facility improvements, we are proud to celebrate the success of our athletic programs this year. Our teams participated in two major tournaments:

• The Girls’ Volleyball and Boys’ Soccer teams traveled to Union Adventist University in Nebraska.

• The Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams competed at Andrews University in Michigan in January.

• All of our teams performed exceptionally well. We are especially proud to highlight that:

o Our Girls’ Volleyball team received the Sportsmanship Award at the Union tournament.

o Our Boys’ Basketball team received the Sportsmanship Award at the Andrews tournament.

These honors speak volumes about the character of our student-athletes. They represent not only themselves, but our school and our Savior with integrity, respect, and excellence. Well done, teams! — We are extremely proud of you.

Looking Ahead with Gratitude

As we look to the future, we are encouraged by a steady increase in enrollment, growing from 87 students at the end of 2024 to 111 students currently. This growth is a clear sign that Mount Pisgah Academy is moving in the right direction. By God’s grace, we will continue to strengthen our facilities, programs, and mission as we serve our students and families.

Thank you to our community for your continued support, prayers, and belief in the mission of Mount Pisgah Academy. The best days are ahead.

01 Protection from Satan Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8	02 Protection from Our Sinful Heart But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:14-15	03 Deep Spiritual Encouragement For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. Romans 1:11-12
04 Wisdom If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5	05 Doctrinal Faithfulness By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 2 Timothy 1:14	06 A Healthy Body But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:27	07 A Strong Marriage & Family He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church. 1 Timothy 3:2-6

We are on our third cycle of remembering these departmental leaders and their ministries. Our purpose is not intended to report all that these departments have been or are accomplishing, but rather to simply uplift all our leadership team and their faithful service in the respective ministries that they oversee in our prayers.

Our fifth branch of our organizational ministry function highlights seven departments of Church Ministries:

• Family Ministries

• Hispanic Ministries

• Men’s Ministries

• Planned Giving/Trust Services

• Prayer Ministries

• Singles Ministries

• Women’s Ministries

We began the year with a focus on Family Ministries. During the month of February, we wish to pray for and uplift our Hispanic Ministries Department of the Carolina Conference under the dedicated and gifted leadership of Pastor Victor

Jaeger and his secretary, Lorraine Gonzalez, who transitioned from our Ministerial Department to our Hispanic Ministries Department.

The goal of this department is to reach each and every member of the Hispanic population in our conference for Christ. They also seek to train and equip each member to share the Gospel with their friends, neighbors, and loved ones. And God has tremendously blessed their work during the past 20+ years under the great leadership of Pastor Samuel Romero, Pastor Ricardo Palacios, and now Pastor Victor Jaeger. As a result of their dedicated labors, we now have our largest segment of trained and certified VLP’s (Volunteer Lay Pastors), the highest record of soul winning with over 65% of the baptisms and POF’s (Professions of Faith) in our conference from this past year, and in preceding years. Our Hispanic Ministries also represent the largest growth of church plants in the Carolinas and a growing membership of over 25% for the entire Carolina Conference.

Especially in the challenging times in which we live, where many of our Hispanic brothers and sisters have come under severe scrutiny by the enforcement of current immigration policies, please remember with compassion and prayer those among our Hispanic church family who live in dread of deportation for lack of appropriate documentation, or the non-renewal of visas or the revocation of their asylum status. Let’s remember that most of those who are part of our church family are people who left loved ones and friends behind to seek a safer homeland of freedom and opportunity in America to raise their families. Let’s not forget that our American heritage began with pilgrims who escaped the persecution of their homeland to find a land that provided them with religious freedom. The sad history of our nation is that the pioneers of our nation came here without any documentation and displaced people who had lived long before in this land for generations.

It was President Ronald Reagan who echoed these closing words before he left the White House on January 19, 1989 – “Yes, the torch of Lady Liberty symbolizes our freedom and represents our heritage, the compact with our parents, our grandparents, and our ancestors. It is that lady who gives us our great and special place in the world…If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.”

As an immigrant who is grateful to be an American today, I as your servant leader for the Lord ask you to earnestly pray for and demonstrate the compassionate heart of Jesus to each member of our Carolina Adventist family that is being guided in a closer walk with Christ through our Hispanic ministries.

As a President’s Prayer Partner, we invite you once again to be truly a people of the Word. As Seventh-day Adventists, we adhere to 28 Fundamental Beliefs that are based solely on the Bible. We began our third cycle of focusing on these vital beliefs, which are centered in Christ as both our Savior and Lord, in December of 2021.

Let’s continue to thoughtfully place His Word in our hearts every day this month. I personally carry a set of these passages in my car and recite them aloud as I drive from one place to another. My aim is to say one verse prayerfully at least five times a day for a week, thus internalizing the promise of God’s Word: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

I encourage you to repeat these passages until they become a part of your very being. Of course, you’re always free to do more. Please consider, in a prayerful manner, how you can saturate your soul with His Word and make it a part of your heart every day.

Exodus 20:8-11 (KJV) – “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Isaiah 58:13-14 (NKJV) – “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken,”
Luke 6:5 (NKJV) – “And He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.’”
Hebrews 4:4 (KJV) – “For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works; and again in this place: They shall not enter My rest.’ Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, ‘Today, after such a long time, as it has been said: Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.’”

Be part of God’s praying church across North America by uplifting these leaders of our church who guide God’s work in these territories of God’s vineyard: