Integrated Evangelism, which constitutes the backbone of "Go One Million", is the coordinated participation of believers in the proclamation of God's kingdom, under a permanent program of total involvement, using the varied individual or collective resources available in the Church.

Accordingly, "Go One Million" training will result in growing numbers of members who commit to improving and exercising their individual gifts to be used by God in optimal ways to enlarge His kingdom and, thus, hasten His Second Coming.

In order for the church, the Body of Christ, to accomplish the purpose for which it was established, there must be synergy, unity, harmony for there to be proper functioning. Additionally, the matter of training and proper allocation of human resources in the local church should always be addressed together with insights on the mission of the church (Matt. 28:19, 20).

Jesus not only established His church at a point in time, but He also committed Himself to build the church throughout time. Accordingly, in Matthew 16:16 the Lord declares, "I will build my church." Through His Holy Spirit, Jesus continues to build the church by inspiring members of its body to service. The church as God's appointed agency for the salvation of fallen humanity will be a focal point of successive "Go One Million" Training, with the goal of graduating over a thousand members by June 2005.

On hand for this highly spiritual occasion will be our Union President, Dr. Patrick Allen, and Mrs. Patricia Allen, Dr. W. R. McMillan, Union Secretary, and Pastor Glen Samuels, newly appointed Ministerial Director of West Indies Union. -Administration

Bahamas Academy Elementary Division celebrated "Estherlean Ash Week" November 16 – 23 to honour its former teacher, librarian, and principal who retired from the school’s environment in June of this year after nineteen years of dedicated service to this institution.

The week began on Sabbath, November 16, at the Grant’s Town Church where Mrs. Ash worshipped at her home church with her family, former teachers, and well-wishers. The teachers from the Elementary Division sang the soul-stirring song, "Still I Will Trust You", with Troy Rolle, one of Mrs. Ash’s favourite singers, singing the lead part. Mr. Winston Ash, husband of the honoree, gave a humorous yet lovely tribute to his wife then presented her with a single rose. Pastor T. Basil Sturrup delivered a powerful message on the topic "Going Fishing". Afterwards, the teachers continued the fellowship over a delicious potluck lunch.

The week continued as the teachers showered their former principal with gifts and a walk down memory lane on Tuesday when they invited Mrs. Ash back to the school for a gala party. Lots of laughter and tears filled the occasion and the guest of honour was visibly delighted.

We could not leave the children out because they, too, wanted to show their love and appreciation to the lady who had been their Principal for the past eight years. A special assembly/chapel was held in her honour on Friday, to which she was chauffeur-driven in a white ‘stretch limousine’. All week long, Estherlean’s favourites were displayed: her colours of blue and silver in backdrops and balloons, her singers including Kemuel Knowles, Keturah Bryan, Darrenique Mortimer, and the little darlings from the Early Learning Center. To top off the service, her pastor, Eric Danny Clarke, delivered a glowing tribute to Mrs. Ash and an inspiring message to the students and parents who gathered. Again, Estherlean was showered with gifts, this time from the students. The treat of the day came when Mrs. Ash told the students her life story, motivating them to dream big and work each day to make their dreams come true.

The icing on the cake came on Saturday night when a large crowd showed their love and support at a gala banquet. The highlight of the evening was the true-to-life and humorous skit performed by the elementary teachers. Juliette Sands portrayed Mrs. Ash very well; Troy Rolle portrayed Mrs. Hermia Brown to a "T"; and Jeremiah Duncombe portrayed Dr. Carey right down to the glasses. Tributes were given by the Conference Administrators and the Senior Mistress of the Elementary Division who thanked the former principal for her professionalism, friendship, and co-operative spirit through the years. Pastor K. D. Albury, President of the Conference and Chairman of the School Board, presented Mrs. Ash with a small gold box, leaving the audience to speculate about what was inside. Also making a presentation to Mrs. Ash on behalf of the School was Mrs. Cherry Blackmore, Business Manager. The evening ended with a video-taped response from the honoree.

Thanks a million to the hard-working committees at the Elementary Division (Betty Lynes and team, Josette Forbes and team, Desiree Brown and team) for helping us pay tribute to a lady deserving of our praise. Thanks, too, to the emcee for the evening—Pastor Gary King, who flew in from Exuma just for the occasion. Thanks to the friends who helped us give three cheers to a lady! -Lynn C. Smith, Principal

Re-broadcast of Ordination Service on ZNS 1, Wednesday, December 4, 2002, from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. You are cordially invited to tune in.

- Communications Dept.

Children’s choirs and groups worshipped God in songs and pantomimes. Special welcome was extended to our special guest for the weekend, the Evans triplets -Dexter, Devon and Danesha from the Lowe Sound Church in North Andros along with their mother who accompanied them. They certainly thrilled the hearts of the congregation, as all the other choirs and group did, with their melodious singing. The Adelaide Children’s group was not to be outdone. They too came and lifted our hearts heavenward with their item in song.

This musical extravaganza was a great blessing and one that truly will linger in the hearts of many. It also set the pace for what was to come the following evening of Sunday, November 24. This evening was one of glamour and elegance as girls appeared arrayed in evening gowns and exquisite outfits. Our boys matched them well in their formal suits. Indeed the BCPOU Hall was colourfully decorated - truly fit for Princes and Princesses.

The evening was full of entertainment, fellowship and relaxation as Kim Knowles, CM Director of the Maranatha Church, kept the boys and girls involved in lively activities and games. Splendid performances were also given by the various churches.

The highlight of the evening was an hour of entertainment by ventriloquist Derek Adams and company, featuring "Charlie" the yellow Bahamian Bird. Roars of laughter echoed through the hall as Charlie grabbed the attention of all the boys and girls with his jokes.

One cannot forget the scrumptious meal prepared by the teachers. It was enjoyed by young and old alike.

The evening was not to be completed without an item of music rendered by the Evans triplets.

Hats off to Mrs. Rowena Smith, our Conference-wide Children’s Ministries Director, and all of the supportive Children Ministries Leaders and teachers of the various churches for a superb weekend. With great anticipation, the boys and girls look forward to next year’s Children’s weekend. -Dianne Jones, Hillview CM Department

Education Corner

This is a weekly column sponsored by Bahamas Academy of S.D.A.

At a recent PTA Meeting of the Early Learning Center, parents were asked to suggest topics they would like to have addressed at their meetings. A parent said he wanted to know how to teach his child more about God. The suggestion initially surprised me because parents usually want to know about other topics, such as what should I feed my child for breakfast/lunch? how can I get my child to obey me? or how can I get him to be interested in doing his homework?

As I pondered more on the parent's idea, the thoughts warmed my heart. As we discussed this further after the meeting, I shared some ideas with the parent and was happy to discover that the parent was already putting these ideas into practice. But he was concerned that his 2-year- old did not seem to be interested because he never sat still long enough to read a story or even pray. I assured him that he should continue to read, sing, and pray with the child and he was not to worry about the short attention span of his boy because that was normal at his age. Other parents at the meeting had also confirmed that the children were coming home talking about God and singing the songs they learnt in school.

I left that meeting thanking the Lord for using that parent to confirm in my heart and mind that parents are still interested in knowing how to lead their boys and girls to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ! I needed that confirmation that week because just several days before, I had an opportunity to talk with a 16-year-old student on the secondary campus who left me wondering if our parents and schools were indeed fulfilling our spiritual mandate. Let me explain. I was talking to this Adventist young lady, one who had been born into the Church, who went through the various Sabbath School classes each Sabbath, and one who went through our entire school system up to where she is now. I was trying to get her to "see" why, as an Adventist student, she should be the one to be a role model on our campus, the one to raise the standard and show the non-Adventist students how to dress and behave. However, she did not seem to agree that this should be the case She argued that everyone has a choice to make in life and she chooses to do what she wants because she wants to do it. She saw nothing wrong with her wearing make-up to school, she saw nothing wrong with wearing her skirt shorter than those of the other girls, and she saw nothing wrong with her influence on our campus.

I continued "reasoning" with this young lady for over an hour, seemingly with no success. She even went so far as to say she didn't know why we have weeks of prayer because the children only go forward for baptism because their friends go forward! I must confess that after being in Adventist education for 22 years, I left that young lady feeling very discouraged and depressed.

I spent the rest of the week giving serious thought to what she said to me and what the true mission of our schools is. I wrestled with the Lord for many days after that encounter, then the Lord sent the ELC parent to me to confirm what I have known all along: we need to continue reading, singing, and praying with and for our young people if we want to teach them more about Christ. We need to continue to lift up Christ in our homes. We need to stop criticizing the church leaders and teachers in our schools in the presence of our children. We need to stop living double lives that we think our children don't know about.

Parents, the great controversy is very real and we must face up to the reality that the devil wants our children. This is not the time to "play" church-we must continue to have worship in our homes, we must continue to hold high the standards of the Church. I believe in an effort to keep our children being friends with us, we allow them to lower the standards while we turn the other way. We allow them to dress how they want, go where they want, talk to whom they want, go to church when they want. Parents, let's continue to raise the standards high for our children. Let's pass on our Faith to this next generation-a vibrant, living Faith that focuses on a loving God who wants to save our children and us.

The funeral service will be held tomorrow, December 1, 2002, at 10 a.m. at the New Providence Church, Soldier Road.

Featured artists include: Harmonious Praise, BARAC, Dr Floyd Carter. Erica Miller, Paula Musgrove, Allison Mason, Precious Praise Interpretive Choir and Calvary Deliverance Praise Team. A donation is kindly requested of interested persons.

Please call 393-1493/322-5110 for details, or obtain tickets at the door. You cannot afford to miss this great spirit-filled event, being held under the patronage of The Governor-General Her Excellency, Dame Ivy Dumont. -Pansy Hamilton Brown, Organizer