"Every Worker a Minister… Every Minister a Soul-Winner,” was the theme for the 2003 Ministerial/Teachers Council for the Nevada-Utah Conference held at the Leoni Meadows Retreat Center Sept. 21-25. The scent of pine and fir trees greeted the near 100 workers and families as they gathered for spiritual rejuvenation.
The weekend began with keynote speaker Randy Younker from Andrews University. In addition to explaining the “Challenges to Adventist Theology,” he also spoke about creation and archaeology during the plenary sessions each day.
Stephen Bohr, pastor of the Fresno Central Church, provided devotional talks each morning. He brought the Bible to life for listeners by expounding on “The Gospel in Genesis.” He also commended those gathered for earning the reputation of standing firm for the truth.
In addition to the daily breakout sessions, attendees welcomed 10 new workers to the conference. In Las Vegas… Mountain View: Denny Krause, senior pastor; Maranatha Spanish: Armando Juarez, senior pastor, and Sandy Silva, assistant pastor; Paradise: George McLain, assistant pastor. In Salt Lake City… Salt Lake Central: Earl Peters, pastor; Samoan: Pepe Iata, pastor.
Prayer was also a focus of the meetings. One special prayer request came from Iata. He has been visiting other Samoan congregations each Sunday to interact with others who share his cultural background, and word has gotten around that he is a good speaker. Consequently, he is frequently asked by the pastors of the churches he visits to preach the sermon when he comes. His messages have been very well received and have sparked a lot of interest in further study.
As a result of his contact with Iata, one pastor has been seriously studying the Advent message and encouraging his congregation in deeper study. This pastor asked that Nevada-Utah workers pray for him. He plans to resign as pastor from his denomination, and then announce his intentions to join the Seventh-day Adventist Church to his congregation and ask them to join him.
In addition to new pastors, new teachers attended as well. The prayers of the Cornerstone Christina Academy in Provo, Utah, were answered this fall with the arrival of teacher Leisa Buller from St. Johns, Mich. The school where Buller had been teaching closed because it lacked students, and the school wondered whether or not it might face the same fate. But Buller personally recruited several students, and the school was able to stay open with 12 students in seven grades.
Michele Krpalek joined the conference as a teacher at the Ogden/Deamude Elementary School in Ogden, Utah. Krpalek is teaching grades 5-8. Another Michigan teacher, Debbie Kulwicki, joins the staff at Las Vegas Junior Academy teaching fourth grade. Cara Luna, a Native-American, joins the staff at Monument Valley Mission School to teach grades 1-4.
New pastors and teachers aren’t the only ones joining the Nevada-Utah Conference. Secretary/Treasurer Gary Norman shared that the Nevada-Utah Conference is growing faster than any other conference in the Pacific Union and is approaching 7,000 members. Conference President Larry Moore reminded workers to keep looking up for encouragement.
