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Delegates of the first-ever Festival of Mission (FoM) have contributed to the formation of the strategic direction of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific, or South Pacific Division (SPD), for the next five years. "As leaders of the church, we want to listen to you," says Dr Barry Oliver, president of the SPD.

As part of the "listening process," delegates and leaders of the SPD spent more than two hours during FoM reviewing a draft strategic document, and sharing their feedback and concerns with Dr Oliver.

The draft strategic plan included a focus on "authentic discipleship, special identity, active stewardship and humble service." Dr Oliver says he hopes the plan will be adopted throughout the South Pacific, giving unions, missions, conferences and church entities the opportunity to "plug in and use some of the objectives in forming their own strategic plans."

The consultation process for the strategic direction will continue to the end of the year. It will involve several groups, as well as various church and institutional leaders. Finally, it will be voted by the Division Executive Committee (DEC).

Held from September 8 to 13, FoM 2009, themed "Rescue, retain, reclaim," was hosted by the SPD. It replaced the more formal business session that used to be held every five years. The business session that was used to appoint church leaders is now held during the General Conference Session and at the quinquennial meeting of the DEC.

More than 650 delegates from all over the Pacific attended the inaugural event, held in the Watson Park Convention Centre, Brisbane, Queensland.

According to Dr Oliver, there were four major aims for organising FoM. "We want members to get a renewed sense that church is about mission; to explore what mission is with the help of innovative ideas on what's working; to be inspired for spiritual uplift; and to gain a sense of unity and oneness in the SPD," he says.

International guest speakers for FoM included Dr Hyveth Williams, senior pastor of the Campus Hill church in Loma Linda, California; and Dr José Rojas, director of Volunteer Ministries for the North American Division.

Every morning, Dr Williams spoke on the themes of "rescue, retain and reclaim," and challenged delegates to look beyond their prejudices in order to save souls. Her presentations were followed by a panel discussion on themes that impact the mission of the church in the SPD.

In the evenings, Dr Rojas reminded Festival of Mission delegates of the love and grace of God, and encouraged them to become missionaries.

"Doubt always leads to unbelief but when you believe, you begin with faith. And when you believe, it unleashes power you cannot describe," said Dr Rojas. "As missionaries, we tend to get discouraged by rejection or the lack of baptisms. But believe the unbelievable and start with making people disciples of Christ . . .be strong and courageous, because this work isn't ours anyway. It is the Lord's."

Delegates also had the opportunity to listen to reports from the four regions of the SPD-Australian Union Conference, New Zealand Pacific Union Conference, Papua New Guinea Union Mission and Trans-Pacific Union Mission. Major SPD institutions such as Sanitarium, Sydney Adventist Hospital, Avondale College, Pacific Adventist University and Adventist Media Network also gave reports.

Delegates were updated on events, projects and milestones over the past five years, and found out how conferences, missions and institutions are furthering the mission of the church.

SPD leaders also took time to wash the feet of FoM delegates on a Friday evening. The foot-washing event, as part of a special communion service, reminded both leaders and delegates of the ministry and humility of Jesus Christ.

At the end of the festival, Dr Oliver prayed a prayer of anointing for the power of the Holy Spirit on the missionaries of the South Pacific. "We are not satisfied because there is still so much to be done," Dr Oliver prayed. "We claim Your promise to send the Holy Spirit to everybody and we ask that You make us instruments to be used just as You will."

According to Dr Oliver, a FoM will be held every five years.

11 September 2009

4.17pm: Delegates have just spent the last two hours discussing the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific's strategic plan for the next five years.

They separated into almost 20 groups, and spent time reflecting on the draft plan that was given to them. After 45 minutes, many were given the opportunity to address Dr Barry Oliver, president of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific, directly with their feedback and concerns.

A variety of items were discussed, from the relevance of the structure of the church to the need of an emphasis on discipleship. Delegates were also invited to hand in sheets of papers with their comments.

According to Dr Oliver, all suggestions will be considered and "this is only the start of the process of establishing a strategic direction of the Church."

Consultation will continue to the end of the year, and will involve several groups, including a Strategic Planning Committee, as well as various church leaders.

11.07am: A drama involving an ATV being driven on and off stage started off the morning worship presented by Pastor Lawrence Tanabose, general secretary of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific.

Pastor Tanabose talked about celebrating God's faithfulness and the dangers of unfaithfulness in people.

"God has the faithfulness to save his masterpieces and restore humanity," Pastor Tanabose assured delegates.

When Dr Hyveth Williams took the the stage after a 30 minutes break, she asked delegates, "Why are our churches dying, crying and not feeling the presence of Jesus?"

She addressed the issue of retaining people in the church and gave two ways in which that could be done.

1. We should retain our members by making sure we are keeping them in the character of God. We need to beware of the domineering characters of church leaders and members. "Break the trend, don't let them take over the church of God. The war has begun!" she declared.

2. We must preach the everlasting gospel that is the number one priority in the three angels' message (Revelation 14:6-7). "The three angels' message shouldn't be treated lightly as it addresses present day realities," she says.

10 September 2009

10.03pm: There are currently about 650 delegates on site, and more are still expected to arrive tomorrow.

This evening, the presidents of the four administrative regions of the Adventist Church prayed for each other, prayed for each other's ministry in their respective community and prayed for every single person throughout the South Pacific.

Pastor Jose Rojas invited delegates to become fools that night - the kind of fool that Jesus was to the world.

Citing Numbers 21:5-10, Pastor Rojas reflected that "leadership is when you lead all your people, even your enemies," and that the bronze snake was to help the Israelites "believe beyond believable."

According to Pastor Rojas, "Doubt always leads to unbelief, but when you believe, you begin with faith. And when you believe, it unleashes power you cannot describe."

As missionaries, we tend to get discouraged by the rejection or the lack of baptisms, but he encouraged people to believe the unbelievable and to start with making people disciples of Christ. To simply start with developing relationships one person at a time.

John 3:14-16 - "God takes any life, even a broken one and performs a miracle...but first, you must believe."

"Be strong and courageous, because this work isn't ours any way. It is the Lord's."

Of the cold weather at camp, Pastor Rojas joked, "You don't want it to be warm, because that's when the poisonous snakes come out. So now you don't need to worry about being bitten by a snake...everything is poisonous in Australia, except the food."

11.26am: "Our children and our young people feel alone and abandoned," Dr Branimir Schubert, Vice chancellor of Pacific Adventist University in Papua New Guinea, said during his morning devotion.

He went on to warn delegates that they need to make sure that they spend time with their children even when they are busy "doing mission".

Dr Schubert also concentrated on the fact that our bodies are temples of God, and because God has made a dwelling place in us, He is with us all the time.

He then challenged delgates to ponder:

- Do I show my real self to God?
- Do I show my real self to people around me?
- Do I have people around me to whom I can show my real self?
- How can I better understand the unconditional love of God and His desire to dwell in me?

After a short break, delegates returned to listen to Dr Hyveth Williams' message of reclamation, and about the "love motivation".

"We forgive, but we don't accept," she says of people when it comes to the sins of others.

She emphasised that the ministry of reclaimation, of bringing people back to God, has to be a life-long committment.

And for those who are ready to walk away from God after being disillusioned by the actions of others, she encouraged them to remember "it was Jesus Christ who had called you, not men and women."

Delegates left with a challenge - to reach at least one person they know, forgive them unconditionally and to accept them.

9 September 2009

9.30pm: The evening program started with a very special InFocus recording with Hyveth Williams for the My Story segment.

Dr Williams shared her life story of her abused childhood, subsequent atheism and the way in which "God found me".

She also talked about her ministry to young children who are at-risk and abused, as well as her views on the role of women in ministry.

My Story with Dr Hyveth Williams can be viewed online and on Hope Channel in two weeks.

"Anything God asks of you, it is because He did it first," said Jose Rojas, director of Volunteer Ministries for the Adventist Church in North America, during his evening talk. "Jesus asked us to be missionaries because He was a missionary first. Jesus came to save the lost."

Pastor Rojas reminded delegates of the story of sin and redemption, relating the life, ministry and sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the extent of love God has for humankind.

He then warned delegates about denying people access to church because of their behaviour or appearance, saying that "churches are like hospitals".

His final message? 1 Corinthians 6:20 - "Being a missionary is to tell others what Jesus has done in your life."

5.50pm: The singers are rehearsing at the moment and the music could be heard right around the convention centre. Most delegates have had their dinner of baked potato, salad and orange/sultana cake by now and are getting ready for the next meeting at 7.15pm.

In the afternoon, delegates watched video presentations from the Trans Pacific and New Zealand Pacific regions, featuring stories of mission from the local churches and church departments.

Of particular significance was perhaps an interview with Fiafianoa Kavakava, one of the first few people from the Wallis Islands to be baptised by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. More about her story later.

"We have witnessed what God is doing," Lawrence Tanabose, general secretary of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific, said at the end of the presentations.

12 noon: Delegates had a short break after the morning devotion with Eddie Tupa'i and some took the opportunity to visit the expo hall, to find out more about the various Adventist ministries in the South Pacific.

They then returned to the main meeting tent to listen to Hyveth Williams, senior pastor of Campus Hill Adventist church in Loma Linda, Californina, who talked about how to rescue "the perishing".

Dr Williams shared ways of relating with non-Christians, saying that we need to speak to them as a friend and overcome the disapproval that we commonly have of non-Christians and the need to treat them without judgement.

According to Dr Williams, 90% of people join our church out of friendship. She emphasised that we need to realise that the church is for everybody and that we need to accept those who turn up, even if they don't fit into normal, accepted, societals moulds.

"Our mission is to rescue those outside the church, not within," she says. "This mission is urgent, necessary and must be done today."

Following Dr williams' talk, delegates listened to a discussion panel, where they talked about practical implementation of what they have heard.

Panel members included:

- Paul Petersen: field secretary of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific (SPD)
- Julie Weslake: children's ministries director of the SPD
- Joseph Talipuan: Sabbath school and personal ministries director of the SPD
- Hyveth Williams
- Barry Oliver: president of SPD
- Waisea Vuniwa: president of the Adventist Church in the Trans-Pacific region
- Ray Coombe: director of Adventist Mission of the SPD
- Terry Goltz: publishing ministries director of the SPD
- Gary Webster: public evangelist of the SPD

Topics discussed included:

- Is literature evangelism still effective?
- Is public evangelism still alive and well?
- What is personal evangelism?

10.00am: After a rather cool evening, delegates woke up to a bright and sunny day to attend the first meeting on day two of the Festival of Mission.

Two young children (aged 4 and 6) started the morning devotion with prayer, followed by some interviews, including one with Andrew Kingston, president of the Adventist Church in Solomon Islands. Pastor Kingston told delegates about the "exciting growth" in the Solomons, and of how he cannot obtain an accurate figure of the membership of the region because they had run out of baptismal certificates.

When asked what he wanted delegates to leave with, morning speaker Eddie Tupa'i, president of the Adventist Church in North New Zealand, said he wanted them to realise that Jesus can ressurect whatever that has died in our lives. "Stand tall, be brave, be strong," he says.

Pastor Tupa'i reflected on the story of Jarius and that the "greatest workshop on leadership development was when Jesus Christ decided to walk with Jarius back to his house."

According to Pastor Tupa'i, the life of men in the Adventist Church is not easy, partly because there are more women in church. He encouraged the men saying that they "need to stand up and believe that this is our church."

Pastor Tupa'i then encouraged the church to be outward focused, to be "relational and missional". He also urged those who feel like giving up on the church to focus on Jesus, asking them to give their heart to Jesus Christ again, the only person who can help them get over their issues.

8 September 2009

9.00pm: Who are we? Where have we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? These were the four questions Barry Oliver posed to delegates during the keynote address.

To Dr Oliver, we are a family of God whose purpose for living is to proclaim the gospel. "There is no reason for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to be if not for mission," he says. "The core of the great commission is to make disciples."

And to accomplish it, he offered four solutions:

- Maintain and promote identity of Seventh-day Adventists
- Ensure the centrality of Scripture in proclaiming the message
- We determine and promote our priorities
- We have a strategic focus

The evening program started with a ceremony of flags, where representatives marched the flags of countries in each of the four regional offices of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific- Australia, New Zealand, Trans Pacific and Papua New Guinea - down the aisle to the stage.

The praise and worship session was led by leaders representing each regional office, accompanied by a live orchestra comprising of musicians from New Zealand and every state of Australia.

At the end of the evening program, delegates separated into small groups scattered all around the main tent for a session of prayer.

11.55am: Festival of Mission has begun!

About 500 people have registered and checked in to the Watson Park Convention Centre so far, and another 300 are expected. Most have arrived from the Pacific Islands while those from around the local area are expected today.

Beds and mattresses are being furiously moved back and forth into tents, while a hired bus and and two cars are making trips to and from the Brisbane airport to pick up delegates. Pillows, blankets, sheets and towels that are hired are also being distributed to delegates as they register.

The official opening ceremony, with a keynote address from Barry Oliver, president of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific, will take place at 7.15pm this evening.