News

North American Division Adventist Single Adult Ministries November 6, 2008 Committee Meeting (report not minutes)

Discussion From Minutes:

Upcoming NAD ASAM Conventions:

2009 Newport Beach, California - July 2-4

2011 Denver, Colorado June 30-July 2

2013 Toronto, Ontario July 4-6, 2013

ASAM Leadership conventions will be held every other year 2010, 2012, 2014, etc.

An ASAM promotional video will be produced.

Short term mission trips will be planned.

An ASAM Leadership curriculum will be developed.

Divorce Care and Divorce Care 4kids will be promoted.

An Adventist Single Adult Ministries Sabbath is on the North American Division Calendar of Special Days. It will be on May 15, 2009.

Convention:

July 2-4, 2009 is the Go Deeper NAD ASAM Convention in Newport Beach, California.

To ensure a place at the convention, single adults are advised to register by the February 19, 2009 early bird registration deadline at http://www.adventistsingleadultministries.org/

Other items:

Each NAD Ministry will be encouraged to develop a forum for discussion and display of resources. Single Adult Ministries already has a forum on the NAD ASAM website.

There is some dissatisfaction with the current ASAM logo and a subcommittee was set up to study the issue.

Next Meeting November 5, 2009.

A Single Reflection of Him BC Thanksgiving Retreat October 10-13, 2008

They came from Maryland, California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, BC and Alberta for one of the best British Columbia Conference Canadian Thanksgiving Single Adult Ministries Retreats in recent memory! From the Sabbath School on changing loneliness into a time of solitude with God to the Skagit River African Animal Safari, this active weekend will long be remembered.

Guest speaker, Carol Barron, inspired and encouraged attendees to draw closer to God during this stressful time of Heavenly preparation. Ilija Ampevski’s testimony and Saturday evening concert awed and inspired.

One of the skilled African Animal Safari Teams ended the freedom of twelve foreign-to-Canada animals. Thanks to the Camp Hope cooks the taste of hippopotamus was a tender and welcome surprise following a cool and lengthy trek to Ross Lake.

It was hard to leave this weekend of fellowship with other single adults who face similar life and church issues, but time dictates our journey and all good things must come to an end. Our farewell circle encouraged us to continue our walk with God and to look forward as “side by side we stand’ awaiting our Heavenly Father’s soon return.

(pictures on Photo page)

Adventist Single Adult Ministries in the British Columbia Conference

One of the largest and fastest growing people groups in Canada and North America is the single adult; the never-married, the widowed and divorced. As of the 2006 Canadian Census they now make up 51.6% of the adult population.

So, what is the Adventist Church doing to minister to and reach out to this fast growing people group? What we are doing is not nearly enough.

Next year in 2009 ASAM will have been in the British Columbia Conference for 30 years. Has the ministry grown in 30 years? I’m sorry to say that we have not grown very much. We have very few churches that are ministering to these church members. In fact, many singles leave the church for various reasons; one of the reasons being they do not feel accepted as they are. Marriage is the standard we hold up. If and once you are married then you are okay. What a shame!

Yes, marriage is good for that is the way we were created but singleness is also good. When you look in the Bible you will find many of God’s workers were single’ Daniel, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Paul and yes, even Jesus.

So, just what is Adventist Single Adult Ministries? Is it a place to look for a spouse? No, it is a ministry. It is:

1. A place of ministry both for and by the single adult church member.

2. Above all a place where single adults can learn of and develop a strong relationship with their Saviour and Friend, Jesus Christ.

3. It is a place where the single adult can receive the love and acceptance of friends that they perhaps do not receive in their local church.

4. It is a place where single adults can recover from loss through divorce and death of a spouse.

5. It is a place of fellowship where single adults can build good, healthy and strong Christian friendship with other single adults.

And so, this evening, I challenge you, each church member to love and accept single members just as they are.

I challenge each church to establish a Single Adult Ministry.

And above all, I challenge each single member to become comfortable with their singleness and to work on their relationship with the Lord. Singleness is a gift of time that God has given to you to work on your relationship with Him. It is a gift of time for you to reach out to other singles to help them work on their relationship with Him through Adventist Single Adult Ministry.

In British Columbia we have three conference-wide events each year:

1. Spring Retreat

2. Nightly meetings at camp meeting

3. Thanksgiving Retreat in October

Yes, with 51.6% of the adult population of Canada single, God has given Adventist Single Adult Ministries a real opportunity. My fellow Seventh-day Adventist Church member, what are we going to do about it?

The above article was presented by Darlene Reimche at the 2008 British Columbia Conference Camp Meeting July 23, 2008

FRIDAY FAX, Special Edition
A News and Information Service for Leaders in North America

THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENT
OF THE CHURCH!

How can we reach and effectively utilize the vast, untapped ministry potential of the largest and fastest growing segment in society and in our church - Single Adults? Too many to ignore and growing in number, Single Adults want to be included as an integral part of our church.

WHO ARE THEY? A HALF MILLION SINGLE NAD ADVENTISTS CAN'T BE IGNORED! They comprise nearly half the membership of the Adventist Church! That percentage would be even higher, but a study conducted by the division found that when an Adventist couple gets divorced, at least one of the spouses leaves the church within one year 70% of the time!

The term 'single adult' covers a wide range of categories and age groups - never married (age 18+), divorced, widowed, and single parents. Although approximately half of our church is not married, most singles will tell you that there is a definite stigma associated with being unattached. Many, especially single parents and those recently single again, are struggling to make ends meet. Singles often deal with guilt and regret over divorce and feel ostracized. Many times singles are overlooked by local church members and committees.

"Jesus was a single person," says North American Division President Don Schneider. "He understands what it is like to be alone. Obviously there must always be room for singles in church life!

WHAT IS THE CHURCH DOING FOR THEM? - Adventist Single Adult Ministries (ASAM) was officially organized as a ministry under the NAD Family Ministries Department in 2003. One trend is a shift from a social club to nurture and more outreach. ASAM groups are sponsoring hundreds of short-term mission trips.

Andrea Hicks, ASAM Coordinator said "I am excited about our potential to impact our church and world for Christ. Some of our projects for this year include: 1) development of a Certification Pr3) production of a DVD to better educate members and leaders at every level about ASAM."

Contact: Andrea Hicks at Ahicks@nadasam.com with ideas or questions.

Managing Editor - Lynetta Murdoch