May 2023 Carolina's 10,000 P5
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.
01 Lifting Up Camp Meeting in Our Prayers
In just over two weeks, the Carolina Conference family, along with Adventists from the Southern Union, North American Division, and beyond, will gather at Lake Junaluska for our annual camp meeting. This week-long event amidst the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains and serene waters of Lake Junaluska serves as a time
of spiritual renewal and revitalization, embracing our theme for 2023: “Seeking His Face.”
What does it truly mean to seek His face? As Jesus experienced the challenges of earthly life and more, we can unite as one family, knowing that we serve an understanding and caring Savior. Through seminars and worship gatherings, we seek His face by opening our minds to the timeless truths of sacred Scripture, as He fills our hearts with compassion and care for one another. In music, praise, and prayer, we worship Him with overflowing hope, gratitude, and glory.
Every human yearns to be known and loved, and God shares this desire. He richly blesses those who seek His face. God’s call to seek His face stems from His desire to be known by us.
My prayer, along with the leadership team in the Carolinas, is that you will experience the fulfillment of Jeremiah 29:13 during our time at Junaluska: “And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (NKJV). I pray that our church falls even deeper in love with Jesus. Will you join me in praying
for the overwhelming power and presence of His Spirit throughout our gathering? When we depart from Lake Junaluska, my hope is that everyone we encounter will recognize that something extraordinary has transpired in our lives, experiencing Jesus through our example and being drawn to seek the face of our Savior, too!
02 Remembering Our Quinquennial Goals in Prayer
Focus on Discipleship
In each issue of our President’s Prayer Partners, we focus on specific goals and share developments contributing to our journey. In our April issue, we emphasized our third goal: a concentrated effort to enhance the ministry of Mount Pisgah Academy.
For this May issue, let’s refocus on our first goal—developing measurable goals for discipleship. Here are the highlights:
- Distribution of Discipleship Handbooks: Copies have been distributed to pastors, churches, and individuals across the Carolinas. Small groups are studying this resource in English or Spanish, fostering growth within our Seventh-day Adventist Church community.
I received a testimony from a Volunteer Lay Pastor (VLP) who shared their experience with the Discipleship Handbook: “Blythewood has been using it for Wednesday night prayer meeting study. This past Wednesday night, we covered chapter 9, ‘Sacred Assemblies.’ I was so moved by the 1 . hour discussion we had on that small chapter that I scrapped my sermon for this Sabbath and decided to use that chapter for my sermon notes. The book has been such a blessing to those of us attending prayer meeting. I wanted to share the tremendous blessing with the rest of the church that we received Wednesday night. Thank you again.”
Let’s continue to distribute and utilize the Discipleship Handbook as we journey together in developing measurable goals for discipleship.
During our staff worships and Executive Committee meetings, we have explored essential discipleship topics, including:
The ultimate goal of discipleship: being more like Jesus
Relying on Scriptures as the source of our spiritual and practical guidance
Valuing the Gift of Prophecy and its testimony of Jesus
Harnessing the power of secret prayer
Cultivating a devotional life and beholding Jesus
Embracing family worship to bring Christ into our homes
Understanding the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist movement
Recognizing the call to be witnesses for Christ is a not a spiritual gift, but a sacred calling of every disciple of Christ
The importance of regular attendance at Sabbath School, church services, and prayer or mid-week Bible study meeting
Let’s continue our journey of learning and growing as faithful disciples and disciple-makers. May God’s guidance and presence accompany us along the way!
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 |
04 Praying for Our Department Ministries
Beginning with our April 2019 issue of P5, we started highlighting a department of the conference each month. Our aim is not to provide a comprehensive report of all their accomplishments, but to uplift our leaders and their faithful service in their respective ministries through our prayers.
In September 2021, we began the second full cycle of remembering all the ministry departments of the Carolina Conference.
The Outreach Branch of the Carolina Conference is divided into the following departmental subdivisions of service:
Personal Ministries
Bible Correspondence Schools
Global Mission
Health Ministries
Literature Ministries
Prison Ministries
Public Campus Ministries
Single Adult Ministries
Special Needs Ministries
Stewardship Ministries
During this month of May, we ask you to uplift our Prison Ministries Department under the dedicated volunteer leadership of our director, Jim Wetmore, his assistant Larry Barker, and the supporting secretary for this department, Vanessa Arana.
The mission of the Prison Ministries Department is to share the love of Christ with incarcerated persons and their families. They aim to accomplish this by following the example given to us by Jesus, ministering to the spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental needs of individuals.
Their determination is to keep Christ and His crucifixion at the center of all their words, actions, and programs as they bring hope and light into some of the darkest corners of society.
Their desire and mission are to recruit and train interested volunteers. They conduct training sessions, the most recent one being in the Columbia area with Chaplain Danny McManus. Speaking in local churches and utilizing opportunities at Camp Meeting, they generate interest in prison ministry. Their focus includes providing assistance and mentoring to released inmates, connecting through letter-writing and Bible studies by mail. Celebrating decisions for Christ brings them great joy. They also engage with chaplains and volunteers from prison ministries sponsored by other denominations to stay informed about the latest methods used.
05 Saturated With the Word
As the President’s Prayer Partner, we invite you to cultivate a deep relationship with the Word of God. As Seventh-day Adventists, we believe in 28 Fundamental Truths that are solely based on the Bible. In December 2021, we began our third cycle of emphasizing these essential beliefs, which are centered on Christ as our Savior and Lord.
Let’s continue to prayfully meditate on His Word throughout this month. I carry a set of these passages in my car and recite them aloud as I travel from place to place. My aim is to recite one verse at least five times a day for a week, thereby embracing the promise of God’s Word: “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11).
Repeat these passages until they become a part of your very being. You can also choose to do more, so consider how you can immerse your soul in God’s Word every day.
06 Praying for Our Greatest Need: The Outpouring and Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Last month during our C.O.R.E. event for the Elders of our churches, we sensed the beautiful presence of the Holy Spirit in our early morning hours of prayer and throughout the day. Pastor Pavel Goia’s inspiring messages challenged us to come together and pray specifically for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit before the return of our Savior.
The “latter rain” symbolizes the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit, preparing God’s church for the harvest (Joel 2:23-29). However, before experiencing the power of the latter rain, we are called to pray unceasingly for the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
Here are key aspects of our prayer focus:
Praying daily for personal renewal of the Holy Spirit.
Through daily prayer for the Holy Spirit, we will experience the presence of Christ living in us. 2 Corinthians 4:16 (NKJV) reminds us that the inward man is renewed day by day.
The power of God is a supernatural force that may not always be felt, but it will be within us, enabling us to have God’s love in our hearts.
Jesus’ words in John 15:4 tell us to abide in Him, and He in us. Ellen White, in her book “Desire of Ages” (Page 676), explains that abiding in Christ means constantly receiving His Spirit and surrendering ourselves to His service.
Therefore, I join Pastor Pavel Goia in urging our President’s Prayer Partners to encourage one another to daily seek the Holy Spirit through faith and surrendering ourselves to the Lord each morning with everything we have and are.
As individuals and as church families, when we pursue this, our churches will experience the mighty power of God through the outpouring of the latter rain of His Holy Spirit. May that day come soon for Christ’s churches in the Carolinas!
07 Uplifting God’s Anointed Leaders
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:
