The pandemic tested the world in its capability to recover. The results are commendable for a few, but for most countries worldwide, recovering and getting back is still a rough road to tread. The same is true for most businesses that are greatly affected economically and are struggling to bounce back.
This year’s convention of Adventist business professionals dwells on overcoming challenges while progressing the mission in the workplace. The Adventist-Laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) of the Southern Asia-Pacific Region convene at the La Carmela de Boracay Resort, Aklan, the Philippines, for a four-day convention from September 1-4, 2022. According to organizers, this is by far the most extensive delegation
Under the theme, Scaling Up During Crisis, more than 500 delegates from different countries within the division assembled for the first time after the pandemic. This gathering was initially planned to be in South Korea in 2020 but was rescheduled due to the pandemic.
The Adventist-Laymen’s Services and Industries is a focused-mission organization empowering lay people of the church to be involved in various church missions and projects. The incumbent president of the SSD-ASI chapter, Mr. Rexon Nainggolan opened the convention by stating, “The integrated work of the church through leaders and lay people creates a network of believers that supports each other in fulfilling the mission,” Nainggolan said.
Speakers from different industries in the market and Adventist Church leaders shared management ideas and development strategies contextualized for church organizations to achieve mission-oriented, Christ-like working ethics in various Adventist offices. Speakers also reiterated the value of epitomizing a positive mindset, following the example that leaders and disciples of the past exhibited while following God’s mission.
In his devotional message, Pastor James Howard, General Conference Sabbath School & Personal Ministries Director, encouraged delegates to find inspiration in Nehemiah’s way of thinking as he faced challenges in his leadership and mission. Amidst the political and spiritual challenges that hurdled Jerusalem’s rebuilding, Howard emphasized that Nehemiah remained focused on his mission.
“Nehemiah’s mindset was clear and absolute,” said Howard. “Nehemiah left an example of dependence on God; understanding his mission and identity, taking action and responsibility; he spent time studying and developing clear plans, and remained focused on his mission,” Howard added.
Adventist University of the Philippines, College of Theology Dean Pastor Felixian Felicitas shared the story of Joseph and his response to crisis while thriving God’s mission for Israel. He reminded delegates about the character that Joseph exemplified when he was betrayed and when his faith was stretched. Joseph’s resilience paved the way for God to fulfill his mission for Israel. “Just like Joseph, all of us face crises at different levels and perspectives,” Felicitas said. “But despite facing what seemed to be insurmountable feats, Joseph understood that God never forgets, that God hears our prayers, and that He is in control,” he added.
Southern Asia-Pacific Division Communication director, Pastor Mamerto Guingguing II, welcomed the Sabbath through an inspirational talk on spiritual scale-up during the Friday evening service. The Bible account narrated countless occasions when adversity tried the mission, yet the Lord’s work flourished through His(God) leading. Guingguing concluded that to fortify our Christian character, God permits mishaps and reversals to refine us and prepare us for the greater crisis ahead.
“Prayer and spiritual discipline are essential to ready our hearts as we face a greater crisis in the end time,” Guingguing said. “Despite life’s challenges, praise and worship should be the heartbeat of the Christian life. This should be our spontaneous response to difficulties,” Guingguing added.
Scaling Up for the Mission
Business professionals in marketing, human resource, project development, and networking presented modern strategies and trends to complement the church’s mission.
[SSD-ASI former, current and upcoming leaders were recognized during the convention for inspiring leadership in encouraging Adventist business professionals and Laymen to share Jesus in their respective spheres of influence. Photo courtesy of Jackson Claudio]
Product Marketing Specialist Albright Dy, the first presenter of the convention, discussed fundamental elements of scaling up and achieving a great value of service in taking part in God’s mission. Dy shares, “if the quality of work we dedicate for the mission is random, spontaneous, and mediocre, the possibility of scaling up is far from achieving.”
Behind every organization are people who have invested their skills and time in keeping the entity’s operations and brand promise. Amytis Mahal Sandalo-Banaag, Senior Assistant Human Resource Officer, reminded delegates and business professionals about giving value to the best investment each organization has, their people. Banaag quoted Colossians 3:23 TLB, “Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters,” According to Banaag, God does not settle for less. “He(God) is performance-conscious and is concerned about the quality and level of our work towards the mission,” Banned added.
Marvin De Ocampo, ASI member and senior financial advisor of a renowned global financial company, incites clear objectives for identifying strategies to position the church where people can find the church easily and have a clearer understanding of who we are and what we do as a church.
“Our strategy is to create a plan that will help the church identify how we can establish our presence in the communities through mission-oriented projects and how it should be positioned in the mind of individuals who sees us and attract them to follow Jesus,” Ocampo said.
Joyce Dy, Industrial and Organization Psychologist, talked about a management tool intended to evaluate strategy performance that can be useful for churches, especially in assessing activities to improve and create proactive devices to counter consequences in an organization.
Dr. Guntur Siboro, managing director of an on-demand entertainment subscription service in Indonesia, talks about the power behind a compelling brand image. “What kind of image do we reflect the community through our brand,” Siboro asked the delegate as he opened his talk. Siboro stressed that “as a church, our brand should be consistent, holistic, and conceivable.”
A Christian Mindset in times of crisis
Sabbath fellowship just got even better when nearby churches joined the fellowship. While convening for Sabbath, everyone wore their masks to practice safety and health protocols. In his Sabbath message, Pastor James Howard dwells on the foundation of the Adventist pioneer mindset. Howard told delegates about the gravity of establishing our faith in God’s prophetic word.
[Photo courtesy of SSD Communication Department]
“The mindset God wanted us to have is not the kind of mindset the world has set before us,” Howard said.“Prophecy is not just about dates and figures, but it’s the revelation of Christ’s salvation in our lives,” he added.
Howard also shared that God’s prophetic word is entrusted to us to share and tell the world about God’s saving grace. “The gift of salvation was given to those who called for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.”
“The main business of the church is to bring the message to the world,” said Pastor Roger Caderma, Southern Asia-Pacific Division president, as he concluded the convention with a reminder of the ultimate purpose of our existence. Caderma, in his commitment message, described the Adventist Church as an organized entity with all its organizations, institutions, schools, hospitals, publishing houses, and supporting ministries (https://www.adventiststatistics.org/). Despite its organized composition, Caderma stressed that “these numbers are useless if we don’t fulfill the gospel commission.”
“Seventh-day Adventists are people with a mission, people with a purpose, and people with commitment,” Caderma concluded.
Thriving through the pandemic
Despite the pandemic, several projects were established in prime locations around the division to establish an Adventist presence in unreached cities. One of the projects that ASI funded was the establishment of a church on Komodo Island in Indonesia. The island is a tourist destination known for Komodo dragons, only seen in two locations, and Komodo Island is one of them. Despite being a tourist location, an Adventist presence is not yet established in this location. SSD-ASI purposed to build a church and organized an evangelistic meeting which resulted in the baptism of the first eight believers on the island.
The convention concluded on Saturday afternoon. Organizers aim to hold the next meeting in the 3rd quarter of 2023. The location of the next convention is yet to be discussed.
To know more about the projects and mission initiatives of SSD-ASI, please visit https://ssd-asi.org.
Edward Rodriguez, SSD Communication Department