TED News Bulletin
Trans-European Division of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church

30 April 2008


In this issue:
-------------------------
* Latvia: Church Planting in the Baltics
* United Arab Emirates: Leadership Training in the Gulf
* England: TED Institute of Youth Evangelism
* The Netherlands: Images of God’s Love
* England: Helping out with the Sun
-------------------------

CHURCH PLANTING IN THE BALTICS...[G. Bukalders/TED News Staff/TED
News]

Riga, Latvia - Several years ago many Adventist churches started the
church planting initiative. Now the time has come to evaluate the
success and make any necessary adjustments in the Baltics. As part of
this, Janos Kovacs-Biro, Director for Evangelism and Church Planting
in the Trans-European Division, visited the church plants in Latvia
and Lithuania,
14-20 April..

Visiting the churches, Pastor Kovacs-Biro led out in coaching
discussions and training sessions involving eight Core Groups and
representatives of the Church. In his message, Kovacs-Biro explained
that the small groups in the early church met in homes, but they also
came together in the Temple, thus emphasizing the significance of
small groups being part of the larger family to which they belong.

One such small group was started in 2003 by church members in Ccsis,
Latvia, in response to a seminar held on church planting. They held a
vision - that small groups could become a big church. And what
started off as one group multiplied, and today there are at least
eight active groups in Ccsis.

Another church plant, Korinta in Riga, consisting of about 25 young
people, impacts the local community by reaching out to their friends
and workmates, organizing sport activities and social events, and
working in an orphanage.

Ministers in the Baltic Union Conference (BAUC) of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church have reached the second phase in church planting.
They encourage lay members to look for opportunities to use their
special talents and their passion for church planting. “I see that in
the next one to three years church planting will become number one on
the agenda in all our churches,” says Pastor Gintaris Nekis.

Valdis Zilgalvis, President of the BAUC, reflecting on Janos
Kovacs-Biro’s visit said; “I am very thankful for Janos’s visit to
Lithuania and Latvia. He has a biblical approach to the church
planting movement, showing balance in care for ‘old churches’ and
‘new churches’. Furthermore, Pastor Zilgalvis emphasized the
significance of organization, and points to the fact that
organization was in place even the early church.


LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN THE GULF...[G. Calebs, G. Mathew/TED News
Staff/TED News]

Dubai, UAE – In mid-April, 23 fellowship leaders from the Gulf region
attended a leadership seminar in Dubai, conducted by Pastor Raafat
Kamal, Trans-European Division Field Secretary.

The objective of the seminar, hosted by Pastor Victor Harewood,
leader of six fellowship groups in the territory extending from Dubai
to the Sultanate of Oman, was to explore the difference between
Christian and secular leadership. Led by Pastor Kamal, various facets
of leadership were highlighted: credibility, fair-mindedness,
decision making, and transparency. Given the relaxed atmosphere of
the Harewood’s home, the group was highly interactive and involved in
the discussion, expressing their views on important issues such as
cultural practices, social norms, and church leadership.

Gloria Calebs, the Communication Director for the Dubai fellowship
said, “This seminar on leadership was a first for the Gulf Section
South by the Trans-European Division (TED); it was thought provoking
and...emphasised Christian leadership in the twenty-first century. We
thank Pastor Kamal for including Gulf Section South in his
itinerary”.


TED INSTITUTE OF YOUTH EVANGELISM...[Paul Tompkins/TED News]

St Albans, England - On Monday 28 April a key planning meeting was
held at the TED office in St Albans, England ahead of the first
programmes of RELAY, the new TED Institute of Youth Evangelism that
will commence in Hungary and Sweden this autumn. RELAY is an exciting
new initiative that seeks to encourage, enrich and equip Adventist
Youth for a life of sharing the saving power of Jesus Christ.

The programme has been designed to be delivered in any setting within
the TED territory. It has three Core courses; 'Foundations in
Adventist Beliefs'; 'Foundations in Discipleship' and 'Leadership and
Foundations in Youth Outreach'. A further elective subject will
complete the 120 hours of training which has been designed to be
flexible, practical and mobile in its teaching and delivery. The
Course can be completed in either 2 two-week courses or in a
one-month block.

Course organisors, local coordinators and teachers came together to
plan all aspects of these first two programmes, which aim to
stimulate biblical thinking, leadership development and mobilize
young people for evangelism and mission. TED Youth Director, Paul
Tompkins commented: “The RELAY programme is a key feature in our
plans to feed the core young people in our division – there was a
real buzz in the air as we set the plans for this summer and planned
to build on this momentum for future institute programmes in each
succeeding year.”


IMAGES OF GOD’S LOVE...[Clair Sanches/TED News Staff/TED News]

Dalfsen, The Netherlands - Het Mooirivier Congress Hotel in Dalfsen
was the setting when 193 women met for a joint Women’s Retreat in the
Netherlands, 28-30 March. This joint venture was a first for the
Adventist Church in Britain and the Netherlands, organised by their
Women Ministries (WM) Department.

The WM Directors of the respective countries, Heather Haworth and
Clair Sanches, welcomed everyone on Friday evening. After an
icebreaker and some singing, the mood was set for Rachel Arrais from
the WM Department of the World Church (GC) to give her first
presentation on the Holy Spirit, emphasizing that we need to be
united in the same manner as the disciples were. This topic was
revisited with further elaboration that evening, in a programme
augmented by the beautiful contribution of Advocals, a choir from
Arnhem.

A variety of activities was on the programme for the weekend. On
Sabbath, Heather-Dawn Small, WM Director of the General Conference
preached a sermon on the theme of the retreat. Later, a presentation
was made by Heather Haworth, on the WM projects running in the Church
on the British Isles. The participants were also given the
opportunity to visit three workshops: ‘Creative Prayer’ by Karen
Holford; ‘Young Womens Workshop’ by Rachel Arrais, and ‘Choir’ by
Valerie Fidelia. Finally, in the evening the ladies got involved in
painting tulips made of wood.

All too soon it was Sunday, and time to depart. Clair Sanches gave
the last morning worship, closing the service by dividing the ladies
into groups praying for each other.

“All in all, this venture was a great success. In 2010 the Dutch
ladies will be going to Britain for another joint retreat. It is
wonderful how God can help bridge language and cultural differences
and make us one in Him,” concluded Clair Sanches.


HELPING OUT WITH THE SUN...[TED News Staff/TED News]

St Albans, England – The Trans-European Division (TED) has benefited
from the services of its latest recruit, Anca Tanasa, who last
September joined the Treasury staff as Senior Accountant and TED
SunPlus Co-ordinator. In this second role she trains other treasury
staff throughout the TED.

Anca comes originally from Romania but has lived in England for about
ten years. She initially studied English at Newbold College, but then
went on to graduate with a double major in Accounting and Management
in 2004, and worked in the business office there.

Reflecting on her few months at the TED, Anca said, “Working for
Newbold for a short while was my introduction to working for the
church, but working for TED makes me realize the great work is
carried out every day. The people have been great at TED, they helped
me...settle in quickly and I love working with people that are so
passionate about God...I can only thank the Lord for bringing me to
the TED and for being part of His great work.”

Already Anca is making a difference. Union Treasurers have expressed
their delight in the services she has provided in solving particular
problems.

To contact Anca, please visit the TED Team at: www.ted-adventist.org

__________________________________________________________________
TED News Staff:
Paul Clee, News Director and Editor
Heidi Kamal Kendel, Editorial Assistant
119 St Peter's Street, St Albans, Herts.,
AL1 3EY, England
E-mail: tednews@ted-adventist.org
Website: www.ted-adventist.org

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