Community Services

Welcome to Community Services

The churches in the South Atlantic Conference are actively reaching out to minister to the communities around them. Our churches and their members are tirelessly working to meet the needs in their communities.

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 14:35)

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25:35,36. NIV)

All across the South Atlantic Conference our members are coming together to touch the lives of others.

Church Serves Thanksgiving Meals and More
On November 22, 2009 the members of the Berean Church in Atlanta, Ga. came together and served warm traditional Thanksgiving meals to over 1,000 community guests. Hundreds of determined volunteers came out to serve their brothers and sisters, in spite of a persistent downpour of rain. The event was a collaboration of the community service and personal ministries departments. The dinner was held at Berean Christian Junior Academy and Greater Atlanta Adventist Academy.

The churches in the South Atlantic Conference are actively reaching out to minister to the communities around them. Our churches and their members are tirelessly working to meet the needs in their communities.

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 14:35)

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25:35,36. NIV)

All across the South Atlantic Conference our members are coming together to touch the lives of others.

Church Serves Thanksgiving Meals and More
On November 22, 2009 the members of the Berean Church in Atlanta, Ga. came together and served warm traditional Thanksgiving meals to over 1,000 community guests. Hundreds of determined volunteers came out to serve their brothers and sisters, in spite of a persistent downpour of rain. The event was a collaboration of the community service and personal ministries departments. The dinner was held at Berean Christian Junior Academy and Greater Atlanta Adventist Academy. Both students and parents showed their support by coming out en masse to volunteer at the event. But this occasion was more than just a regular dinner. The guests were also able to receive free clothing, health and dental screenings, haircuts, and job related advice. The event was so successful that plans are in the works to make this a yearly event that continues to grow each year.

Students Spend Time Visiting Seniors
The Carolina Adventist Academy (CAA) in Whiteville, N.C. is a school where the students are on fire for Jesus. The students at the school are sharing their love for Jesus with their communities, and they are showing their commitment to evangelism. Under the direction of Karen Taylor, principal, the students visit residents at Premier Living Nursing Home in Lake Waccamaw, N.C., at least once per month. “I think it’s good for us and good for the residents,” says Jessica Davidson, a fifth grader at CAA. “We visit them and tell them about Jesus so that they can have a better relationship with Him.” And a little child shall lead them!

Church Sponsors Home Ownership Seminars
On September 13, 2009 the West End Church in Atlanta, Ga., partnered with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) Program to provide individuals with information on home ownership. NACA is a non-profit, community advocacy and home ownership organization that has made the dream of home ownership a reality for thousands of working people. It was the twentieth time the church has partnered with NACA. Damien Smith, West End's Community Service leader and the event organizer, realized the witnessing potential of the event after he used the program to secure his home in 2004. The event was fully supported by Calvin B. Preston, the senior pastor, and Patrick Carter, the associate pastor. While the program participants took part in the seminar, the church parking lot was used for activities that ranged from moonwalks and Frisbee tosses to horseback rides and a gospel DJ. Church members, as well as community volunteers, served as hosts to usher in and direct the crowds and to distribute literature that included The Ten Commandments Twice Removed and Ministry of Healing books. In addition, health professionals were available to give blood pressure screenings, provide stroke awareness, diabetic education, and dental screenings for children. The NACA seminars had been previously only held on Saturdays, but now attendees have the opportunity to attend on Sundays at West End. The church now hosts NACA quarterly and the latest workshop was scheduled for March 14, 2010.

(The Southern Tidings was used as a resource for this article.)

Community Services -Links of Interest

Resource Materials for Community Service Workers
The following resources are recommended for your ministry. You can purchase these by calling AdventSource (800-328-0525), the Adventist Book Center (800-765-6955) or your local Christian bookstore.

• A Public Relations Primer compiled by Ann Calkins will help your Adventist Community
Services Center identify with current social issues, and gain public attention.
• Adventist Mission in the 21st Century, ed. by Jon Dybdahl. Subtitled “Presenting Jesus to a Diverse World,”. This book asks some serious questions: What have we accomplished? What challenges remain? What are we doing to finish the work? What works and what doesn’t?
• Christian Service by Ellen G. White.
• Compassion in a time of AIDS by Harvey Elder, M.D., Bruce Campbell Moyer, S.T.D., Eunice Diaz, Ph.D., Carolyn Watkins, M.A.
• Follow Me: How to Walk With Jesus, by Miraslov Kis.

Resource Materials for Community Service Workers
The following resources are recommended for your ministry. You can purchase these by calling AdventSource (800-328-0525), the Adventist Book Center (800-765-6955) or your local Christian bookstore.

• A Public Relations Primer compiled by Ann Calkins will help your Adventist Community
Services Center identify with current social issues, and gain public attention.
• Adventist Mission in the 21st Century, ed. by Jon Dybdahl. Subtitled “Presenting Jesus to a Diverse World,”. This book asks some serious questions: What have we accomplished? What challenges remain? What are we doing to finish the work? What works and what doesn’t?
• Christian Service by Ellen G. White.
• Compassion in a time of AIDS by Harvey Elder, M.D., Bruce Campbell Moyer, S.T.D., Eunice Diaz, Ph.D., Carolyn Watkins, M.A.
• Follow Me: How to Walk With Jesus, by Miraslov Kis. With sensitive sketches of people whose lives were transformed when they met Jesus, the author gives us new eyes, and then explores the implications of following Jesus.
• Ministries of Compassion is a revised edition of the Adventist Community Services manual. This is the official guide for community service centers, the inner city program, and similar projects.
• Ministries of Health and Healing (2002 Revised) is the handbook for health ministries. Includes overall mission and objectives, and chapters on specific ministries.
• The Ministry of Healing by Ellen G. White.
• Welfare Ministry by Ellen G. White.
• When Disaster Strikes is a step-by-step guide for public information officers and is a must for anyone involved in Adventist Disaster Response.
• Who Are the Seventh-day Adventists? by John Seaman. This sharing booklet gives a brief sketch of Adventist history, beliefs, people, church, and mission.

Visit Adventist Community Services at http://www.communityservices.org

Visit AdventSource on-line at www.adventsource.org/cs for a complete list of the latest resources available for local church leaders.
For information about additional resources and answers to your questions call the Adventist Plusline at 1-800-732-7587 or visit them on-line at www.plusline.org.

The Community Services Coordinator

In His earthly ministry Christ worked out a pattern for His followers to copy. He “went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed” (Acts 10:38). Christ identified with the poor and oppressed. “He fed the hungry and healed the sick. . . By the good He accomplished, by His loving words and kindly deeds, He interpreted the Gospel to men,” comments Ellen White. “Christ’s work in behalf of man is not finished. It continues today. In like manner His ambassadors are to preach the gospel and to reveal His pitying love for lost and perishing souls. By an unselfish interest in those who need help they are to give a practical demonstration of the truth of the gospel” (Welfare Ministry, pages 56-57).

When a church serves the world it is an expression of the love of Christ to the world. It is the body of Christ serving the world’s needs and being used by the Holy Spirit as an agency of salvation.

The church was created for service. It serves the Lord in praise, serves one another in love, and serves the world in humility. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10).