Tuesday was our Wedding Anniversary! Joanne and I have been married for 13 years. Through these years God has blessed our family in an awesome way. I must say that I am very grateful for Joanne, who is not only a wonderful loving wife and mother but also a great partner in ministry. I was not married for the first 7 years of my ministry and it was great, but when Joanne came into the picture, not only life but also ministry became extraordinary.
Marriage is a great thing, it was instituted by God, something I would like to encourage our young adults to think about. If you are planning on taking that step, or know someone who is
thinking about it, keep this in mind:
Premarital counseling with a qualified counselor helps greatly.
If the relationship is not good during dating or engagement, it is very likely that it will not work later on. Life should get better once you get married, not worse.
A marriage with a believer is more likely to be a successful and happy one. (This is Biblical.)
Ministry & Travel Report
During the last few weeks, we have met, seen, and experienced many great people, beautiful places, awesome ministries and lots of love as we continue to visit and minister across our Atlantic Union. I must say that Joanne, Jose III, Joel, and I enjoy meeting kids, teens, young adults, and adults just about every weekend and we are grateful to God for the ministry that each one of you is carrying out for God on behalf of our young people.
Following, just a brief report of some of the places and ministries we have visited, as well as some of the meetings attended in the last few weeks:
Adventist Christian Fellowship Summit in Columbia University
8th Adventist Christian Fellowship Summit & First North American Division ACF Summit @ Columbia University (April 13-14)
Atlantic Union Adventist Youth Ministries Directors Advisory (April 22-25)
Site Visit & Planning Trip for Just Claim It 4 (JCI4), Miami, Florida (April 25-27)
Southern New England Conference Teens Retreat @ Camp Winnekeag (May 12)
North American Division Hispanic Leadership Meetings & Changed Latino Youth Net Rally in Silver Spring, Maryland (May 1-3)
Adventurer Day @ Leominster Adventist Church (May 5)
Northern New England Conference Pathfinder Camporee @ Camp Lawroweld, Maine (May 5 & 6)
New York Conference Pathfinder Camporee @ Letchworth State Park, New York (May 19)
Southern New England Conference Pathfinder Camporee @ Camp Berkshire, Wingdale, New York (May 19 & 20)
Northern New England Conference Pathfinder Camporee
I would like to express gratitude to the Adventist Youth Ministries Directors of each Conference and to the Volunteer Leaders who work side by side with them to make all of these ministries opportunities happen. I am also very grateful to all the leaders in our local churches, who work with kids, teens, young adults; your ministry is invaluable. We, the Conference Directors and I, are here for you. We love you and pray for you as we work together for the salvation of the youth in our churches and communities.
To see pictures of the programs mentioned above, please go to the Atlantic Union Adventist Youth Ministries Page in Facebook, www.facebook.com/AtlanticUnionAdventistYouthMinistries. You can also check the Atlantic Union Adventist Youth Ministries Twitter Account @AUYouth.
*In order to have uniformity and matching colors, we voted to recommend that we use the citation cords from the Glendale Catalog:http://www.paradestore.com/catalog.pdf
007 CONFIRMED PREVIOUSLY VOTED to enable, plan, promote and grow the Atlantic
Union-wide Annual Compassion Movement, a weekend, each year, when Youth, Young Adults, College & University students, Pathfinder, Adventurers, & Master Guides gather in a city of the Atlantic Union to touch the city through intentional acts of compassion. More info will be forthcoming in the weeks and months to come.
008 VOTED the following cities and SUGGESTED dates for annual Compassion Movement Event:
2013: New York City (March 22-24, 2013)
2014: Portland, ME (March 21-23, 2014)
2015: Hamilton BDA (March 27-29, 2015)
2016: Worcester, MAMarch 25-27, 2016)
2017: Syracuse or Rochester, NY (March 24-26, 2017)
Other enabling and exploratory actions were taken, they will be reported once they begin to take shape and there is some progress to report.
ADVENTIST CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP INSTITUTE / ACF INSTITUTE (July 22-August 3 @La Sierra University, Riverside, California)
ACF stands for Adventist Christian Fellowship, the official ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for College & University students on public campuses in North America. As we strengthen our public campus ministries in our Atlantic Union Conference area, we would like to encourage students on public campuses and ACF leaders to attend this training institute. For more info, read below:
—————————–
Note from Ron Pickell, ACF Coordinator for North America:
You are receiving this message because you have expressed an interest in the summer campus ministry training – ACF Institute being provided through Affiliated Resources For Campus Ministry (ARC) and hosted by Southeastern California Conference at La Sierra University, July 22-August 3. We are very excited about the line up of our presenters featuring Dr. Maury Jackson on Christian World View at LSU, Dr Allan Walse on Spirituality and Christian Discipleship – Department chair of Discipleship and Religious Education Andrews University Theological Seminary, Jose Vicente Rojas on training student volunteers, Director of Volunteer Ministries, NAD, Angelo Grasso on Christian Discipleship, ACF Coordinator for greater Boston area, Eric Penick coordinating the on campus CRAVE outreach experience, Associate Youth/Young Adult Director SECC, Lucien-Nahum Isaac on Campus Ministry Essentials, Chaplain at UC Berkeley, MA in Counseling and Psychology U. Missouri, Columbia and finally myself – Ron Pickell on The Journey Bible Study program introducing students to the life and ministry of Christ and campus ministry essentials, ACF/NAD Volunteer Coordinator and lead pastor Berkeley SDA Church, M. Div. and Doctoral student AU Theological Seminary.
The registration is now online and I wanted to get this out to you personally as we are expecting to fill up rather quickly from the response we have been receiving. I would encourage you to share this info with your networks and to sponsor a student leader from your area. A presenter’s flier will be going out next week along with the updated course outline/schedule. Until then direct potential participants to the ACF Institute Facebook page by liking us and the online registration listed above.
All For Christ and Campus,
Ron
———————————-
The Adventist Youth Ministries Department of the Atlantic Union Conference will sponsor the Registration ($400.00 which includes Registration, Food, & Room) for one student leader per Conference, a total of six for the Atlantic Union. The student leader will be recommended to the Atlantic Union Conference by the Conference Adventist Youth Ministries Director. If you are interested or know a student leader from a public campus who is, please contact your Conference Adventist Youth Ministries Director.
WORLD YOUTH CONGRESS (WORLD CONFERENCE ON YOUTH & COMMUNITY SERVICE July 1-13, 2013 in Cape Town & Pretoria, South Africa) IMPORTANT INFORMATION
A large delegation of Youth & Young Adults from the Atlantic Union will be going to South Africa, next year to participate in the 2013 World Youth Congress, with other Adventist Youth and Young Adults from across the globe. The North American Division is offering a $100.00 Registration Subsidy for the first 100 people who register. I would like to suggest that we take advantage of that offer right away.
—————————-
Note from Pastor James Black, North American Division Youth Ministries Director:
North American Division Youth Ministries is delighted to be a part of a worldwide movement of youth and young adults in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Despite challenges, it is a good day for our youth and young adults in that there is a full menu of opportunities for service to others around the world.
Once every five years all divisions partner with the General Conference Youth Ministries Department for what is called the World Conference on Youth and Community Service (WCYCS). Many of our constituents have been blessed in the past by serving in Bangkok, Thailand, and Taipei, Taiwan. The next stop will be in Pretoria, South Africa – July 1-13, 2013. This event is divided into two phases – Service Projects will take place July 1-5 and the Youth Congress will follow July 8-13. It is critical that you start planning now by having perspective delegates complete the WCYCS application and choose a project(s) for your group(s). We are more than pleased with the variety and participant’s cost for each service project.
We are committing to at least 250 youth and young adult delegates from NAD. As an incentive, we will provide a subsidy of $100.00 per delegate to the first 100 registrants. All we will need is a completed application and a $100.00 deposit. The deposit is non-refundable but transferrable. The deposit plus the subsidy will pay the youth congress fee ($200.00 early-bird). Please do all you can to promote and encourage those in your areas who may want to participate.
Although all of the preparation information is received from the GC Youth website, all applications and monies will be processed through the division office. Also, each division is responsible for processing hotel rooms during the youth congress July 8-13. For hotel lodging (6 nights) during youth congress we are recommending two hotels, the Protea Waterfront Centurion www.proteahotels.com/protea-hotel-waterfront-centurion.htmland the Burgers Park Hotel www.burgerspark.co.za. The nightly rate for Protea (doubles only) is $87.00 per person. There are 50 rooms available for 100 people. The nightly rate for the Burgers Park is $50.00 per person (double and twin) and $91.00 per person for single. Lodging confirmation will be on a first come first served basis. Please understand that other divisions will have the same access to these hotels, therefore it would be in our best interest to confirm reservation ASAP. Please DO NOT contact these hotels directly for reservations.
Your budget should include the following:
Airfare
Visa
Lodging (Includes breakfast)
Service Projects (cost is $70-$100 per person/groups of 10) Includes food and lodging
Youth Congress Fee (Includes 2 meals daily)
Insurance (short term)
Miscellaneous
Please complete WCYCS program overview with all the details, please visit www.gcyouthministries.com in order to familiarize yourself with this event and let us know how we can assist you in your planning.
Pastor James Black
—————————————-
After doing some research, we are recommending that our Atlantic Union delegates to this event stay at the Protea Hotel in Pretoria, if you like to take a look at the hotel, please check this link: www.proteahotels.com/protea-hotel-waterfront-centurion.html
I also think it would be awesome if each Conference (in the Atlantic Union) would pick a Mission Project. Please, work with your Conference Adventist Youth Ministries Director in choosing your group’s project. If you will have a large delegation, your Conference may be able to handle an individual project, if you are not taking too many, you may join with another Conference and do one project together. Projects will take place in Cape Town and Pretoria. Please, check the projects out in this link: http://wycs.intellivine.com/Projects/tabid/298/Default.aspx
Keep in mind that all of our applications and fees need to be sent to NAD and they will take care of them, from there. Please read Forwarded Info and share info with leaders as it becomes appropriate!
ADVENTIST YOUTH MINISTRIES COLUMNS & NEWS IN THE GLEANER MAGAZINE
There are two Adventist Youth Ministries Columns in the Gleaner, our official Atlantic Union Conference magazine. The columns are: “The Big Picture” and “Youth in Service” each one of these columns alternate in the Gleaner every other month. Please, make sure you read them and pass them on to your Youth, Young Adults, your Pastor, and other Leaders in your Church. The Gleaner also includes Adventist Youth Ministries News from each one of our Conferences on a regular basis. You can read the Gleaner online: http://atlantic-union.org/ministriesdept/gleaner/gleaner-online/.
Official Calendar of Adventist Youth Ministries in the Atlantic Union for 2012
Adventist Christian Fellowship Institute/ACF Institute(July 22-August 3 @La Sierra University, Riverside, California)
World Pathfinder Day & Pathfinder Baptism Day in the Atlantic Union (September 15, 2012 @ each local church)
North American Division Satellite Latino Youth Net/Spanish (October 13-20, live from Orlando, Florida on Esperanza TV)
Atlantic Union Adventist Youth Ministries Leadership Council (November 2-4, 2012)
North American Division Satellite Latino Youth Net/English (November 3-10 from Orlando, Florida, on Hope TV)
Adventurer Day & Adventurer Baptism Day in the Atlantic Union (October 13, 2012 @ each local church)
Academy Service & Leadership Conference (November 8-10, 2012 @Location to be Announced)
Cruise with a Mission (December 9-16, 2012 leaving out of Fort Lauderdale Port, Florida) The Atlantic Union Adventist Youth Ministries Department has joined the Center for Youth Evangelism on this Mission Trip for Young Adults. This is an awesome experience which includes daily spiritual inspiration, mission, network opportunities, and much fun. For more info, click on this link: http://bit.ly/6rk3KV
*Our Website Calendar includes all the Adventist Youth Ministries dates for each one of our six Conferences in the Atlantic Union. You can check it and sync with to get the dates right on your computer or mobile device: http://auyouth.com/calendar/
Save the Dates for the years 2013-2016
III World Youth Congress (July 1-13, 2013 @ Cape Town & Pretoria, South Africa) Youth and Young Adults from all over the world will travel to Cape Town to participate in Community Service Projects from July 1-5, 2013. The Congress will begin on July 8 through 13, 2013 in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. We would like to take a big delegation from the Atlantic Union to participate in both, the Mission Project and the World Youth Congress. For more info, please check this link: http://bit.ly/vBdgGb
Just Claim It (March 2014 @ Miami, Florida)
Forever Faithful Pathfinder International Camporee (August 11-16, 2014, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Pathfinder Clubs, it is time to start thinking and envisioning your next once in a lifetime Oshkosh Camporee experience. Don’t leave the planning to the last minute. For more info, please click here: http://bit.ly/b6P1DM
Atlantic Union “The Future is Now” Pathfinder Camporee (May 18-22, 2016 @ Burlingame State Park, Charlestown, Rhode Island) We are working on these dates right now, we are also checking with the different states to make sure there are no Tests or Examinations that interfere with this date. If you are aware of a conflict in your territory, please communicate with us ASAP, as we conclude the planning for the Camporee Dates.
*More Information on the Calendar of Spiritual Programs & Events in Our Conferences
*Summer Ministries, which include Summer Camp, Mission Trips, Youth Evangelism & Outreach, Fun Days, Day Camps, among others are about to kick off all over the our territory, please check with your Conference Adventist Youth Ministries. We encourage you to participate and bring your friends with you. If you are a leader, pass this info to kids, youth, and young adults in your church and community so they can be a part of our Summer Ministries across the Atlantic Union.
thinking about it, keep this in mind: 
006 VOTED Uniform Updates for (Stars & Citation Cords) for Master Guide, Pathfinder, & Adventurer Leadership 
There are two Adventist Youth Ministries Columns in the Gleaner, our official Atlantic Union Conference magazine. The columns are: “The Big Picture” and “Youth in Service” each one of these columns alternate in the Gleaner every other month. Please, make sure you read them and pass them on to your Youth, Young Adults, your Pastor, and other Leaders in your Church. The Gleaner also includes Adventist Youth Ministries News from each one of our Conferences on a regular basis. You can read the Gleaner online: 
About the Author