March 2026 Carolina's 10,000 P5

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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 Shield of Faith

Spring is right around the corner! The frigid months of winter are beginning to dissipate as bright yellow daffodils have warmed our hearts with the beauty of life and God’s amazing love and tender care for each of us.

As we welcome March, may our hearts be filled with gratitude, our spirits strengthened with courage, and our

eyes fixed on Jesus. The Lord who guided us through yesterday will surely lead us through today and into the bright hope of tomorrow.

Scripture reminds us: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). March can feel like that morning light—evidence that God is still moving, still renewing, still calling His people forward.

From Pentecost 2025 we have now transitioned into 2026 and beyond 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 the promise of the Holy Spirit with putting on the full armor of God in the midst the Great Controversy as Paul charges the followers of Jesus to protect themselves in Ephesians 6: 10-18.

10 “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 have been and will continue to expand and explore these vital elements of the Holy Spirit’s Armor in the next few 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 Shield of Faith

In Ephesians 6:16 Paul emphasizes his point that “Above all, taking the shield of faith, where with ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

This suggests that the armor of God is not merely symbolic equipment—it is the life of Christ applied to the believer through the Holy Spirit. The Shield of Faith and the work of the Spirit are deeply connected. Faith is not something we manufacture by sheer willpower. Scripture teaches that faith grows through the work of the Spirit in the heart. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

In Roman warfare, the shield was large enough to cover the whole body. Soldiers would even link their shields together to form a protective wall against flaming arrows. Paul says this shield quenches the “fiery darts” of Satan—darts (or what we may think of as enemy drones in today’s context!) – darts like doubt, temptation, discouragement, accusation, and fear.

But what is it that actually extinguishes those darts? It is Spirit-inspired trust in God’s character and promises. When the enemy makes us feel like God has abandoned us or is unresponsive to our prayers, when the hosts of Satan overwhelm us with a burden of guilt, making us feel like our sins are too great and convinces us that we live without hope, it is the Holy Spirit that reminds us as we see in Romans 8:1 that “There is therefore now no condemnation.”

From our Adventist perspective, the Shield of Faith has cosmic significance in the Great Controversy, Satan’s central attack is misrepresenting the character of God. His fiery darts aim to make us distrust God. Faith, produced by the Spirit, defends the believer by affirming God’s goodness and truth.

Briefly we can sum up the significance of the shield of faith in this manner – The Holy Spirit gives birth to faith, strengthens faith through the time we spend in God’s Word, and raises faith like a shield to protect the believer from Satan’s attacks. Or even more simply: The Spirit supplies our power and faith becomes our shield.

During this month, join me as we prayerfully focus on protecting our lives with the shield of faith and its 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.

However, Seventh-day Adventist education aims at more than a diploma awarded on graduation day. Its design is a lifelong formation—shaping how a person thinks, lives, serves, and hopes. Last month in our February P5 issue, we focused on three enduring impacts that our teachers have in the lifelong formation of our children and youth. Because of the significance of this impact, I mentioned in our last issue that I would like to focus on three more aspects. Here they are! You can see the first three points – A, B, and C in the prior month’s issue. So, this issue will complete this segment with points D, E, and F.

D. As children develop from kindergarten through their elementary years and through their secondary education in our schools across North and South Carolina, they grow in a deeper understanding of biblical literacy and prophetic identity. Adventist education consistently engages students in Scripture – especially with themes of (1) Creation & redemption; (2) The great controversy between Christ and Satan; and (3) The Three Angels’ Messages of Revelation 14. As a result, graduates from our school often retain a stronger sense of prophetic purpose, understanding that their lives are part of God’s end-time mission, not just one that’s focused on earthly or personal success.

E. Research and church observation show that students in our Adventist schools are more likely to remain active in the life of their local church. They are also more likely to raise their children with their faith and values. This intergenerational faith retention is demonstrated through a faith-multiplying legacy.

F. In our very fractured world, Adventist education blesses our children with a solid belief that anchors their future. How? It is simply by a focused emphasis on the soon return of Christ, the meaning of life beyond material success, and an expectation that’s based and founded on prophecy, not just a “pie in the sky” optimism. That’s why graduates who’ve grown up in the environment of an Adventist school generally tend to face suffering, change, and even death with a stronger and steadier hope.

Continuing with this March 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 Carolina 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 our second goal of intentionally engaging, empowering, and enabling our young adults in the mission of the church.

On January 24, when many of the streets and highways of the Carolinas were impacted with a severe winter storm with very icy conditions, I had the wonderful blessing and privilege of being in the balmier city of Charleston, South Carolina for their Sabbath services and the opportunity to host a “Let’s Talk” session with our young adults. It was wonderful to listen and dialogue with these men and women about their love for the church and answer their questions regarding various matters that they chose to discuss in an open format. As the administrators of the Carolina Conference, it is our desire to engage in at least four of these gatherings each year as requested and hosted by various churches in both North and South Carolina.

We are also so blessed in the Carolinas to have a full-time leader dedicated to the ministry of our young adults and campus ministries. Here’s a report from Pastor Cris Cazarine, our director, on some of the ongoing developments taking place with our focused emphasis on this quinquennial

goal:

Young Adult Ministries: Faith, Fellowship, and Looking Ahead

When we first heard that a winter storm was moving toward Kentucky the same weekend as the NAD Young Adult LIFE Experience, we joked that we were so excited we ran straight toward the storm. Not really. But that is pretty much what happened.

The Young Adult LIFE Experience (YALX) was scheduled for January 23–25 in Louisville, Kentucky. About twenty-five young adults and pastors from the Carolinas had planned to attend. Then the storm arrived. Travel warnings went out across several states, and many who planned to go had to cancel because they risked getting stuck in Kentucky for nearly a week. Still, a few brave souls made the trip. Those who worked or studied online decided to take the risk, and we ended up “snowed in” together in Louisville. As

it turned out, it was not a bad place to be stuck.

Even with fewer people, the event was meaningful and full of energy. Young adults and leaders gathered from across North America for worship, training, and conversation about the real transitions young adults face in life. Speakers from across the Division shared insights on faith, calling, relationships, leadership, and the challenges young adults navigate as they grow into adulthood.

Beyond the sessions, one of the most meaningful parts of the weekend was the chance to meet young

adults from across North America. New friendships formed quickly. Many left feeling encouraged and reminded that they are part of something much larger than their local church. One of the young adults

who attended described the experience this way:

“As the bitter cold wind blew outside the building and snow covered the ground with a beautiful, frozen blanket, we received warmth through fellowship, reuniting with old friends and making new ones, all while hearing testimonies of how God leads young adults as they go through life and receiving training to better

equip us to serve as young adults or with them. As we braved the weather to do LIFE together during this NAD Young Adult LIFE Experience, we saw the commitment, desire, and drive that God has placed in the heart of young adults and those called to this ministry with them to serve and to create the change that the church needs.” — Marcos D. Alcántara K. Carolina Conference Young Adult Leadership Team Member

Moments like these remind us that when young adults gather to seek God together, even a winter storm cannot stop what God is doing.

Looking Ahead to Camp Meeting

We are already looking forward to another special moment for our young adult community at Camp Meeting, happening May 24–30 at Lake Junaluska.

This year’s young adult gatherings will feature Pastor Bryan Arvelo as the speaker and worship led

by Foster’s Band. Throughout the week, young adults will have opportunities for meaningful worship,

connection, and conversation about faith and life.

Camp Meeting is also a time for community. In addition to our nightly meetings, we are planning

moments for young adults to spend time together, including a white water rafting day, a bonfire gathering,

and other opportunities to build friendships and enjoy time outdoors.

We invite every young adult across the Carolinas to make plans now to join us. Whether you come with friends, a church group, or on your own, Camp Meeting continues to be one of the most meaningful times of the year to reconnect with God and with one another. We look forward to seeing many of you there.

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

During the month of February, we uplifted our Hispanic Ministries Department of the Carolina Conference. This month we ask you to pray for our Men’s Ministries Department under the wonderful, dedicated and gifted leadership of Pastor Tony LaPorte. Let’s also welcome our newest secretary in this department, Gwen Haylock! She’s simply amazing and such a blessing to our office family.

Men are consistently faced with questions and challenges concerning their role as husbands, fathers, and spiritual leaders at home and in present day society.

The Carolina Conference Men’s Ministries Department has introduced various approaches to address these relevant issues and meet the needs of the men in our region. They provide programs, resources and training for local church Men’s Ministries leaders that promote effectiveness and success. In the past five years they have conducted several instructional training sessions to certify our local leaders. Currently there are thirteen local leaders that have been certified by the North American Division Men’s Ministries

Department. Several resources such as books, websites, DVDs, and personal instructional counsel have been provided on an ongoing basis.

Throughout the years, several meetings (2-3 per year) have been conducted for the purpose of training and for the planning of Men’s Retreats and other events focusing on meeting men’s relevant challenges. These events give leaders the opportunity to share ideas, plan local church events, seek advice, and build support networks and friendships.

I invite you to join our President’s Prayer Partners in earnest prayer for our Carolina Men’s Ministries department. This ministry plays a vital role in strengthening the Spiritual lives of men—calling them to deeper faith, stronger leadership in their homes, and greater commitment to the mission of Christ.

In a time when the enemy is working hard to weaken families and faith, godly men are needed more than ever—men who will stand in faith, serve in humility, and lead with Christlike love. When men are spiritually revived, families are strengthened, churches are energized, and the mission of the gospel advances.

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.

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: