Greater New York Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Adventist Youth Ministries Department
Pastor Jose’s FYI
9/17/08
1. Joanne’s Father/Emergency Trip to Australia
2. New Adventist Youth Ministries Website in Greater New York
3. Seventh-day Adventist Youth Awareness Day in Greater New York (next Friday, September 26, all day)
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1. Joanne’s Father/Emergency Trip to Australia: I am writing this FYI aboard a Qantas Airline Flight over the Pacific. Our family would like to ask you to keep Joanne’s dad, Barry Gillespie, in your prayers. He had a brain aneurysm, though he survived it, he is not doing well. Joanne and I felt this was the time to come see him and spend time with him, I consulted with the Conference Administrators and decided to move up our long December vacation and take the time now that Joanne’s father is in need of our presence. I have a full preaching schedule and million things that need to be done before December, but as I have always mentioned to you, family must come first, and our family needs us now.
My father bought Jose III a Doctor’s Kit and instructed him, that as soon as we get to the Hospital where Grandpa Barry is, to take out his kit and examine him, pray with him, and help him to feel better. So Jose is excited about his mission, and both, him and Joel are thrilled with the possibility of seeing live Kangaroos, Koalas, big crocs, huge bats and meeting cousins Kasey and Jaden. Joanne and I are praying to find Barry doing well and hoping we can help him in his recovery process. Keep us in your prayers.
I will be in touch with the AY & Pathfinder Coordinators as well as with the Master Guide, PLA, PIA, AYLC, and AYES Corps Instructors and Veronica at the office to make sure that our Department and Ministries continue to run efficiently and accordingly in the next few weeks. We anticipate returning by October 13.
*As I write, we are on our way, been flying since Monday15 @ 7:10 PM and it’s now Tuesday 16, 1:45 PM your time. Where we are it is 3:45 AM, Wednesday 17. On this flight we lost our Tuesday, as we crossed the International Date Line.
2. New Adventist Youth Ministries Website in Greater New York: Our official website, www.gnycyouth.com, has been re-designed and is online, ready for viewing. It is a new and improved version. Congratulations and special thanks to Emanuel Pelote from Simplicity Networks www.symplicitynetworks.com/ and Joanne Cortes, my gorgeous wife and one of my very competent assistants, for the re-design and all the long hours of work that have gone into this website. We want this website to be one that each teen, young adult and adult in our Conference can be proud of and use as a great tool for ministry.
It contains sections for each Adventist Youth Ministry in our Conference, Resources, Small Groups, Evangelism, Pictures, Videos, Leadership, Prayer Requests, Testimonies, Schools and their info, churches and their info, links, and Polls. There is also a section dedicated to the Bible, where you can access the Bible and read many Bible resources; another section dedicated to Ellen G. White and young people; there you can access the writings of Ellen G. White. Another section is dedicated to Ideas; this is your website we would like to receive your ideas, as well as the materials you have developed in your ministry in order to improve the site and continue to make it a tool disciples can use in ministry in Greater New York.
Most of the Church’s websites that I see have lots of info, but do not have an area where an individual searching can meet Jesus and accept Him. We have included a Meet Jesus Section on this website, you’ll love it; we pray many will come to know Him better and make a decision as a result of this. Another section is Pastor Jose’s Blogs; there I will share some of my thoughts with you on a regular basis.
We are excited about the site and really pray it will be a blessing to you in your ministry and personal life. There are some sections that need improvement, we are working on them. If you noticed an area in the website, which is not working well, please E-mail us and let us. There are areas that will need some troubleshooting on our part during the first few days, due to many new features added to the website and the high volume of viewers.
3. Seventh-day Adventist Youth Awareness Day in Greater New York (September 26): Wear your church to school, neighborhood, and work. This initiative has the objective to make our God and our church more visible at our schools, neighborhoods, and work places here in Greater New York. Wear a T-shirt, shirt, jacket that identifies you as a Seventh-day Adventist (Camporee t-shirts, our yearly theme t-shirts, AY Department long sleeve dress shirts, AY, Adventurer, and Pathfinder jackets). If you do not have any Adventist, Christian, or Adventist Youth Ministries' paraphernalia, take your Bible with you on that day, don’t keep it in your bag or brief case, put it on your desk, make it visible and open it at some point during the day (lunch break, recess, etc). We want to let others know that we are happy and not secretive about the God we serve and the Church family we are a part of.
On this day and onward be ready to share your personal testimony and share Jesus with others; be ready to witness because when people see your shirt, Bible, or anything else that identifies you, they will ask. Make sure you share Jesus, your testimony, and something positive about our church. Don’t get into a religious or denominational argument with them. You may win an argument and lose a potential believer and future Seventh-day Adventist in an introductory religion argument. Sharing your testimony “before you met Jesus and after you met Jesus,” telling someone about how Jesus has changed your personal live and your family life is very powerful.
As disciples of Jesus we must be intentional about sharing our faith on a daily basis, remember Evangelism is not an event, it is a way of life for Adventist Youth and Young Adults in Greater New York. There are millions of inhabitants in our territory, but there are thousands of us; working with the Holy Spirit we can impact our schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and thus impact the New York City and its suburbs.
Keep in touch:
www.gnycyouth.com (website)
ay@gnycyouth.com(Veronica)
gnycyouth@aol.com(Pastor Jose & Joanne)
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