TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD!
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I pray that this message finds all of you safe and healthy, by God’s grace! Last Sabbath, I initially intended to send you the spiritual message that I shared with you on that day together with the summary of the blessings that we as a Conference received from the Lord last year. As the contents of my writing became very extensive, I decided to split it in two parts. Please find the second half of it below:
1 – Despite the pandemic, the faithfulness and generosity of our BC Conference members were remarkable with a tithe increase of 4.56%over 2019, highest ever received by the Conference – $14.6M. Of course, the cost of living also rose dramatically but more revenue was brought into God’s storehouse to continue to support its mission in 2021 and on. I would like to express my sincere gratitude, on behalf of our BC Conference Administrative Team, to our members for placing God first in their lives. To God be the Glory!
2 – We were able to support all evangelism funding requests that were sent to us by our pastors and churches. Evangelism continues to be the top priority on our Conference – Matt. 28:19-21.
3 – We were extremely concerned about the sustainability of our ABC during this COVID-19 stretch. However, God had better plans! Our ABC experienced a record profit growth last year. Even after losing the income generated by the book mobile and store at Camp Meeting which usually represent 67% of all yearly ABC income, the percentage increase last year reached 10,000% – unbelievable and unheard of in the SDA Church! God is always in control of His people and His Church!
4 – We decreased dramatically in baptisms and Profession of Faith in 2020. This was expected as our churches were closed for many months because of the ongoing health crisis. People could not be visited at homes and those who were receiving the Bible studies had to transition to an impersonal format. The incredible ascending trend of church additions that started in 2018 (216) decreased in 2020. The drop was from 302 souls in 2019 to 147 in 2020. However, we are grateful for every single child of God who took a decision for Christ in 2020. We have much work to do together in 2021. God has promised to inspire His people for that: Joel 2:28-32
5 – The BC Conference ADCOM decided to invest $200,000 extra to support our schools which are facing financial challenges caused by their drop in student enrolment experienced due to the corona virus pandemic. We value and uphold Adventist Christian Education in our Conference!
6 – Our Communication Dept. continues to produce practical materials to enhance the spiritual atmosphere in our churches and schools. One more individual is in the process of being hired to assist the Communication and the IT Departments of our Conference – videos, printed materials, and websites for our churches and schools! Please keep those Departments in your prayers!
7 – Our Board of Directors Meetings and all other meetings have gone virtual. Although it was hard in the beginning, the meetings are running smoothly and saving valuable dollars to be invested in evangelism.
8 – Our new Conference Office Building project is expected to receive a final answer from the Abbotsford City regarding our Development application on February 23. We are very hopeful that it will be a positive response which will allow us to move quickly to the next stage – Building permit application. Please keep this much needed project in your prayers!
9 – We are envisioning that by the beginning of September this year, we will have all the necessary funds available to build the new BC Conference Office, a dream for the last 25 +years+), according to the initial projected cost – loan and debt free – Praise God!
10 – The BC Conference established a system to support our pastors in a special way to do ministry during these unprecedent times! We provided and renewed a Zoom license to all of them that enables our churches to host meetings up to 300 people in any meeting!
11 – The much-needed washroom block in section B at Camp Hope, which includes a large covered recreational area, is about 70% finished. We are working hard to have this project done this year, still, God willing! A special note of thanks to our Camp Hope workers and amazing volunteers who donated hundreds of labour-hours to make this structure a reality, too. This is the largest capital investment at Camp Hope in decades!
12 – At the end of last year, the BC Conference BOD, Lakeview Christian School (LCS), and the Rest Haven Church took a leap of faith to buy a much-needed piece of land at the entrance of our school in Sidney. That land addition will provide for the present and future growth plan of our school!
13 – The Victoria Church will be getting their new building permit soon. The new church facility will include separate areas for children, community services, and health ministries.
14 – Please pray for the appropriate committees as they meet to select the BC Conference new Ministerial Director as Pastor Tom Glatts will retiring at the end of March.
15 – On behalf of the BC Conference Administrative Team, I would like to thank Pastor Tom Glatts for his dedicated service “to train the trainers” of our Conference, as he retires on April 1 this year. Pastor Glatts did a superb job as he interacted well with our pastors, church elders, and all of us in the office and field. He served the BC Conference for nearly 12 years as the Pastor of the Westminster and White Rock Pastoral District and the Abbotsford Church, before joining our team in the office in January 2017. He exceeded our human expectations by conducting his ministry with integrity, passion, vision, and an admirable commitment to the Lord’s Cause, by God’s grace. Tom will be certainly missed!
Please find below the link to a video with the LCS leadership with their students (90%+ are non-Adventists) during the “possession ceremony” of their newly acquired land. Your heart will be touched by it!
Now, it’s time we praise God from Whom all our blessings flow. I am reminded of the promise given by the wisest man on earth: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5-6 NIV) Yes, let’s continue to work together to achieve greater things for God in 2021!
Thank you for your faithful service to God and His children and for all you did to assist us to accomplish much for the Lord last year, together!
Happy Sabbath!
In His Service,
Wesley Torres
President
