National Service Organization (NSO)
Welcome to National Servicemen's Organization- Greetings and welcome to the South Atlantic Conference National Serviceman's
Organization (NSO) Department website. I am pleased you are taking the
time to visit and I encourage you to contact me with your comments and
requests for additional information not found at the site.
I am at your service and I thank God for the privilege of
serving as your NSO Director.
 A
military career, though
rewarding, is always challenging for a practicing Seventh-day Adventist. Many of our youth are enlisting without
sufficient
information to make an informed decision. Once
they have joined, they often find the hardships overwhelming and the
enlistment contract binding.
Non-combatancy,
Conscientious Objector status and Sabbath observance are just a few
examples of the areas where our youth are in need of information. If needed, the draft could be reinstated
quickly and
all SDA males from the ages of 20-26 will immediately be subject to
induction. (The registration age is 18.) They need to be aware of the procedure for
appealing
to a Draft Board for a classification in keeping with their faith.
- Greetings and welcome to the South Atlantic Conference National Serviceman's
Organization (NSO) Department website. I am pleased you are taking the
time to visit and I encourage you to contact me with your comments and
requests for additional information not found at the site.
I am at your service and I thank God for the privilege of
serving as your NSO Director.
A
military career, though
rewarding, is always challenging for a practicing Seventh-day Adventist. Many of our youth are enlisting without
sufficient
information to make an informed decision. Once
they have joined, they often find the hardships overwhelming and the
enlistment contract binding.
Non-combatancy,
Conscientious Objector status and Sabbath observance are just a few
examples of the areas where our youth are in need of information. If needed, the draft could be reinstated
quickly and
all SDA males from the ages of 20-26 will immediately be subject to
induction. (The registration age is 18.) They need to be aware of the procedure for
appealing
to a Draft Board for a classification in keeping with their faith.
In
addition, for our members
currently in uniform we provide publications which keep them spiritually
in touch with the church while serving the nation such as; Message
Magazine, Adventist Review, Sabbath School Quarterlies and many others
all sent free of charge by NSO to anywhere their service takes them. (See the Forms Section of this site for a
Registration Form.)
The
church and its relationship to the military has been an important issue
to SDA since the Civil War, but without a draft since the Vietnam
conflict over 30 years ago, many are lowering their guards in this
area. It is my prayer and goal to get the
message
out to every South Atlantic Conference church member of the many
services this conference provides to you or your loved ones in uniform
through the National Service Organization, (NSO).
One
way to accomplish this is through a dynamic PowerPoint seminar followed
by a Question and Answer session. This presentation will graphically
depict the atrocities of War. This clears
up
issues that cloud the minds of our youth that are in the valley of
decision and brings much needed information to rightly concerned
parents. This seminar is available at no
cost to
our conference churches and many churches have taken advantage of this
opportunity and their members have been blessed as a result. So if it has not been presented at your church,
please
speak with your Pastor or AYS Leader about scheduling an NSO Day.
I
solicit your prayers for the ministry of this department and as you
approach the Throne of Grace each day I humbly ask that you remember all
of our service members stationed around the world, often separated from
family, lives in harms way, in service to the nation.
James
Reid,
Director
National
Serviceman's Organization (NSO)
jreid@southatlantic.org
National Servicemen's Kit Available for our service men and
women
who are members of SAC churches we offer our Servicemen’s Kit for the
subsidized nominal cost of $4.00. Visit
our Media
Section to view its contents. To order please send check or Money Order
made to the South Atlantic Conference along with the following.
1)
Your name,
address
and relation to the Soldier.
2)
The
soldier’s
military address and name of SAC Home church.
We
will mail the Kit directly to the member
along with a welcome letter from this department letting them know we
are here for their spiritual support and we will include a Registration
Form to request the above publications.
The National
Service Organization
(NSO) is part of Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries (ACM) at the General
Conference. The Work of the NSO The National
Service Organization serves the needs of three important
groups of people. These groups, and the needs to be addressed, are
outlined in NSO s official charter:
1. The church in general.
- Development of policies that clarify the position of the church
and
its relationship to military service.
- Effective communication of those policies to the church.
- Consultation with the NSO Committees of overseas divisions, as
they provide similar services in their territories where needed.
2. The youth of the church.
- Development and implement of an educational program to help the
youth of the church successfully deal with the issue of military
service.
- Prepare and circulate appropriate information
materials concerning
military service.
3. Seventh-day Adventists in military service
- Assist Adventist military service personnel with problems of
conscience and religious accommodation encountered in the military.
- Develop
and maintain effective working relationships with military
and civilian officials to address issues about Adventists in the
military.
- Promote and supervise retreats for church members in
military
service.Provide for publication of For God and Country for Adventists in
the military.
- Creation and maintenance of a database of
Adventist in the military,
as a means of providing them with church publications and other
supplies.
- Promotion of a bi-annual Adventist Chaplaincy
Ministries Offering,
where needed, as a means of helping provide funds for selected services
and materials.
Tithes and Offerings for Members in the Military Honoring God through faithful stewardship is encouraged of all
Seventh-day Adventists.
In the Bible rich blessings are promised to those who return an honest
tithe and are generous with offerings to support God's work.
In response to requests from Adventist members in the United States
military, the NSO has made arrangements for members in the US armed
forces serving outside the United States to be able to send tithes and
offerings through a North American Division organization, and thus
qualify for a receipt for tax-exempt contributions. Contact ACM/NSO for
further information. Of course, members are still encouraged to support
the local expenses of their base chapel program.
Military members serving in countries in other world divisions should
contact their conference/union leadership, or the division ACM director,
for further guidance in this area.
Follow this link to the National Service Organization section for
additional information about Sabbath accommodation and military reserve
issues. Immigrants' Alternate Oath for U.S. CitizenshipAdventist immigrants to the United States who are preparing for citizenship, and who have conscientious convictions about the bearing of arms and wish to take an alternate oath of citizenship, should contact: The Office of General Counsel of the General Conference 12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
telephone: 301-680-6323
e-mail: 74617.116@compuserve.com
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