The success of evangelistic outreach is often proportional to the in-reach of church members who take time to revitalize their own spiritual resources and to engage in study and prayer.

Long before the six-week series, “Revelation Offers Hope,” opened in San Bernardino last October, Southeastern California Conference leaders, It Is Written staff members, and the pastors and lay members in 22 area churches began praying and preparing for God’s blessing.

Guest speaker Ron Halvorsen, evangelist for It Is Written, conducted a Sabbath afternoon rally on April 17, 2004, to solicit grass-roots support for the meetings. Bob Tomlin, SECC church ministries director, provided guidance through a steering committee.

SECC evangelists Curtis Bradford and Phil Jones began conducting witnessing and visitation classes. More than 200 participated in the training and initiated Bible studies. In addition, Karen Martell, prayer coordinator for the Southeastern California Conference, launched prayer walks. More than 400 individuals began walking through specific neighborhoods asking the Holy Spirit to turn people’s hearts toward God.

Halvorsen said, “We follow the Joshua model that says, ‘Wherever the soles of your feet touch, I will give you that land.’ Prayer walking softens the territory and prepares the hearts of people who will attend the series. It is a vital component of any evangelistic meeting.”

The series brought pastors in the San Bernardino area together. Halvorsen’s sermons were presented in English, but screens with key points were in both Spanish and English. “One of the most positive things I experienced during this series was the opportunity to connect with other local churches as we worked together as a pastoral team,” said Pastor Michael McMillan of the Victoria church.

Bus and Blimp

Besides handbills, direct mail, radio and TV ads, colorful posters announced the meetings at bus stops. In addition, local church members Lewis and Marsha Nagel offered to advertise the series on the side of a large blimp they had recently purchased. For nine days, the Nagels and their crew flew over San Bernardino in the 134-foot blimp that displayed a website address: Revelationofhope.org. More than 35,000 website hits were recorded during the period.

“Blimps are an effective way of reaching people by the hundreds of thousands in a relatively small area,” Nagel said. “By pairing the appeal of a blimp and the easy accessibility of a website, you have a powerful combination.”

Strong Attendance, Many Baptisms

On Friday evening, Oct. 15, all 2,700 seats were filled. As many as 300 people had to be turned away. As the series progressed, attendance averaged 2,000 on weekends and 1,500 on week nights.

A mass baptism concluded the series of 22 meetings on Sabbath, Nov. 20. A total of 142 people were baptized at the Loma Linda University Drayson Center swimming pool, and another 100 were baptized that same day in local churches.

“We believe another 75 baptisms will occur in the near future as pastors continue to work with interests generated by these meetings,” said Curtis Bradford, SECC evangelist.

While his father was conducting the “Revelation Offers Hope” series, Ron Halvorsen, Jr., conducted weeks of prayer at Redlands, Mesa Grande and Loma Linda academies. A total of 167 students made decisions for baptism. Many are currently studying and expect to be baptized before the end of the school year.

Personal Stories

One woman was driving on the freeway when another car hit her vehicle. As she took the nearest exit to survey the damage, she noticed the blimp. Her Adventist brother had been urging her to attend a local church with him to no avail. She visited the Revelation Offers Hope website, realized it was sponsored by Adventists, and asked her brother to attend the meetings with her. A few weeks later she was baptized.

During the meetings, Halvorsen told his own story of growing up in New York City and going “from gangs to God.” A non-Adventist family attending the meetings brought a friend along, a gang leader who had just been released from prison. He spoke to Halvorsen afterward. “I want to turn my life around and devote it to Christ,” he said. He came regularly and began preparing for baptism.

Then tragedy struck. Two nights before his scheduled baptism, he was gunned down by local gang members in a drive-by shooting. The young man’s family did not have enough money to bury him, so church members raised $2,500 to pay for funeral arrangements. “This broke our hearts, but we were encouraged that he had come to know Jesus before this horrible tragedy occurred,” said Halvorsen.

“We need to pray for the continuing efforts in the San Bernardino area,” Halvorsen concluded, “as pastors study with these new believers and help them become a part of their new church families.”