The Nonprofit Leadership Certification Program (NLCP) 2021 was held in Orlando, Florida, from August 2-4 (Monday – Wednesday). It was co-sponsored by the North American Division Adventist Community Services (NAD ACS) in partnership with Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI), Andrews University, Central California Conference, and Human Resources of the General Conference. The program was well-attended by over 40 participants from around the North American Division. We had a diverse group that consisted of ACS directors, conference and church leaders, pastors, leaders involved in various ministries, and those interested in starting a non-profit organization.
The workshops included topics on urban ministry, cross-cultural ministry, conflict management, marketing and communications, volunteer engagement, and inspirational, impactful, and strategic leadership. Participants were also given opportunities to network and engage in discussion with one another. “Being able to engage in conversation with people of similar interests and passion for non-profit leadership is very enlightening,” one participant said. Another said that this was his first time attending the NLCP and loved everything about it.
It is with deep sadness we announce the passing of Pastor Henry and Mrs. Sharon Fordham on Sunday, July 18, 2021, in a tragic house fire. Pastor Henry J. Fordham III was the president of the Allegheny East Conference. Local authorities have not determined yet the cause of the fire.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and the conference as they grapple with this devastating loss. Please know that the NAD ACS office is here to support through these trying times.
Click on the following links for more information:
One of our Emotional and Spiritual Care providers speaks with Search and Rescue workers during one of their breaks, offering support to those working on the scene.
UPDATE – July 7, 2021
Adventist Community Services Disaster Response (ACS DR) teams continue to assist with Recovery Efforts in Surfside, Florida. Donations are pouring into the Warehouse which are being sorted and categorized for distribution for families of those affected by the condo collapse. Local churches such as the Tabernacle Seventh-day Adventist Church are being utilized as Distribution Sites where the survivors and other community members can have access to these donated goods that include food, clothing, personal care kits, and other essentials items. Several areas surrounding the Disaster Site are shut down and multiple buildings in Miami have been evacuated due to safety concerns. The American Red Cross is helping displaced residents and emergency providers find a safe place to stay by setting up shelters in a hotel nearby, as well as offering their headquarters to house evacuees. In addition, we are working in coordination with them to provide counseling through our credentialed personnel. ACS Emotional and Spiritual Care providers are teaming up with Red Cross providers to render aid to residents and community members in various areas around the Disaster Site.
One particular survival story was told by a young lady who lived in the collapsed building. She explained to our Providers that her mother had saved her life. Upon inquiring as to how this was so, she went on to share that the only reason she was not home on that fateful night was because her mother had fallen ill earlier in the day. She decided to leave her apartment and stay with her mother that night just to ensure that she would be okay. As she spoke, she got emotional and our Providers offered to pray with her. Right there in the middle of the hotel lobby, our Providers prayed and asked God to continue to be with her and her mother. At the end of the prayer, she asked if she could receive a hug. Though as Providers we are careful with how touch is used, each of the Providers embraced and asked God to be with her. “There are more stories that could be told, but needless to stay ACS is participating in work that will have impact on those affected by this event,” said W. Derrick Lea, Director of NAD ACS.
Click here to read article on the Miami building collapse by NAD Communications.
ACS Warehouse Management team sorting through boxes of donated goods.
ACS personnel cleaning and preparing a couple of extra rooms in the Tabernacle SDA Church for distribution of supplies.
W. Derrick Lea, NAD ACS Director, meets with the Providers to ensure that they are abreast of their role in lending comfort and support.
ACS and Red Cross providers discussing on how to coordinate the counseling sessions.
One of our Emotional and Spiritual Care providers speaks with Search and Rescue workers during one of their breaks, offering support to those working on the scene.
Comfort animals worked in concert with our Emotional and Spiritual Care providers.
Care Providers praying with the young lady who resided in the building but was not home on that fateful night.
ACS Providers connecting with people in the community.
ACS Disaster Response personnel from the Southeastern and Florida conferences assembled early this morning at Feeding South Florida in Pembroke Park which will be utilized as a Warehouse. It is located about 15 minutes away under normal traffic conditions from the Disaster site. This area of the city is shut down currently allowing only designated response personnel and residents within a 15-block radius of the site, and police are ensuring these restrictions are enforced through verification of credentials every other block. ACS conference directors Conrad Duncan and Robert Moore outlined the plan of operations for the team. Each person was designated with a particular role and then a tour of the facility was given to the entire team.
In addition to collecting the donated goods that come in, we have identified various Distribution Sites which include our local churches. We will utilize our ACS Volunteers to operate at these sites in order to be able to provide these goods directly to families of those affected. In addition, the team traveled to the Disaster site and met with Serve Florida at their Command Center. They discussed what support ACS would consider helpful which included travel cost coverage for our volunteers, increased messaging to the public of the donations that will be helpful, and transportation support for the Warehouse to deliver goods to those affected.
Video: Southeastern Conference ACS Director Robert Moore and Florida Conference Ryan Amos speak about ACS involvement.
A 13-story condominium tower, Champlain Towers South, located near Miami, Florida, partially collapsed in the early hours of June 24, 2021 morning. Sixteen people have been confirmed dead and around 150 unaccounted for. We are working together with the ACS teams at the Southern Union Conference, and Florida and Southeastern conferences who are assessing the situation in order to determine how to best serve the affected community. The local authorities of Florida State have requested ACS to assist with Warehouse operations. ACS Disaster Response (ACS DR) leadership from both conferences are working in a coordinated way to form a Warehouse Management team and are in discussion on how the Recovery Efforts will take place. ACS Directors Robert Moore and Conrad Duncan have each identified trained members from their conference that will outfit this team for 24 hours a day during the first week of operations.
In addition to the need for a State Warehouse, we are also attempting to set up Distribution Sites for community members. We’ve also been asked by the American Red Cross whether our Emotional and Spiritual Care Providers could be utilized to provide assistance for families affected by this tragic event. We will be in discussion with them to determine the particulars of this assignment for this phase. Since Florida has been the site of several challenging circumstances, we have credentialed Providers who are ready to be of service. W. Derrick Lea, Director for North American Division Adventist Community Services, is currently onsite meeting with our ACS team members at the Warehouse to put the operational plan in place, set schedules of those assigned, and collaborate with authorities responsible for overall Response in the community. “The days will be long, but we trust that many will be helped through our efforts, and that those who observe us will see Christ working through us,” said Lea.
Please keep the individuals and families who have been affected by this tragedy in your prayers.
We are pleased to welcome Colette Newer as the new Associate Director for North American Division Adventist Community Services (NAD ACS). Before accepting this call, Newer served as the Director for Outreach Ministries at Washington Conference with focus areas on Prison Ministry, Community Services, and Disaster Response. In this capacity, she loved watching God call and empower church members to establish new and innovative ministries in their communities.
Newer has a bachelor’s in sociology from Whitman College (1990), master’s in administration from Andrews University (2015), and Certificate in Fundraising Management from Indiana University (2016). She would be a perpetual student if allowed to be and is always looking for a good workshop or class to attend.
“I am excited to continue our work with Colette Newer and take even greater advantage of the skills she brings to NAD ACS. We hope to expand the areas we can assist communities that are often overlooked,” said W. Derrick Lea, Executive Director for NAD ACS. Newer will be a great asset to the NAD ACS team with her outstanding leadership skills, wealth of knowledge, passion for community outreach and social justice. We look forward to working with her as we continue to grow and move forward in our ministry.
By: Sasha Charles-Prince, Community Services Coordinator for the College Station SDA Church
The church family at the College Station Seventh-day Adventist Church has actively been living their motto of: LOVING AND GUIDING ALL TO KNOW JESUS, TO GROW IN JESUS, AND TO GO BE LIKE JESUS.
In 2020 and 2021, we participated in multiple outreach projects in our community. We have formed a relationship with Twin City Missions, a local non-profit that works with homeless and displaced families. We have worked with them to provide care packages for displaced families that are moving out of the center and into homes. We have been able to provide over 30 boxes of non-perishable food items, as well as 40 Christmas hampers to the center’s families as well.
Our Community Services department also initiated a Day of Service where our members go into the community to serve and minister to them. We packed diaper hampers and food hampers, and volunteered at the local food bank and laundromats to meet the community and share God’s love with them.
With mixed emotions, I would like to express my sincere appreciation; indeed, it has been my privilege and honor to serve you and the NAD ACS ministry over the last 20 years.
The NAD Executive Committee has decided to seek a new director for the NAD ACS ministry. Derrick Lea has been elected as the new director. He is a competent leader with knowledge and skills, and I have confidence that he will continue to enhance the ACS ministry to the next level of professional growth. The NAD ACS associate director will be elected later.
As I look back, we have had the privilege to experience the following blessings with your support, and much more:
Challenged the social dimensions of holistic engagement from charity to justice.
Developed and initiated three Leadership Development programs.
Expanded the scope of services from relief to individual and community development.
Increased the net assets from $215,000 to $8.3 million (as of February 2020).
Increased 125 to 1,358 ACS Centers (as of December 2019).
Reorganized and decentralized the ACS Disaster Response program.
Re-framed the North American Division ACS infrastructure.
Established six ACS ministries from Disaster Response and Inner City programs.
Transitioned from ADRA North America to ACS North America.
It has been an amazing journey, and I am sincerely grateful for your support and friendship over the years. Many of you, I feel as we grew together (not getting old, but more mature and experienced) and became brothers and sisters in Christ.
I don’t know what the next chapter of my life’s journey at this time is, but I believe that God will lead according to His will. We are simply a tool in His hands, and we will seek His guidance and commit our lives into His hands daily.
Please continually support the NAD ACS staff and keep them in your prayers as they journey through the transition. I was blessed with the faithful servants of the Lord; they are not only remarkable colleagues but also friends, and they are indeed God sent.
Thank you again for your love and kindness over the years, and I am looking forward to interacting with you in different opportunities.
Please feel free to contact me if there is anything that I could assist at SungKwon2021@gmail.com
Please take good care of yourselves and see you all in Heaven, if not before.
We are pleased to welcome W. Derrick Lea as the new director of the North American Division Adventist Community Services (NAD ACS). Lea had previously served as the NAD ACS associate director with focus areas on Disaster Response and Emotional and Spiritual Care ministries for five years. “While I am excited about this surprising opportunity, I want to express my sincere appreciation for the gentleman whose role I will fill, Dr. Sung Kwon. ACS would not have advanced to our present place without Sung’s tremendous efforts and work. We are indebted to him for his twenty-plus years of service and certainly wish him the best in his pursuits in the coming days,” said Lea.
We also would like to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Sung Kwon who has been an instrumental leader over the years for ACS ministry. Kwon’s determination, dedication and commitment, outstanding leadership skills, wealth of knowledge, innovative ideas, and passion for community outreach and development throughout the last twenty years has brought ACS ministry to where it is today. We want to wish him all the best for a new chapter in his life and in all his future endeavors. “It has been my privilege and honor to serve the NAD ACS ministry over the last 20 years. Derrick Lea is a competent leader with knowledge and skills, and I have confidence that he will continue to enhance the ACS ministry to the next level of professional growth,” said Kwon.
”I want to thank Dr. Kwon for his 20 years of dedicated service to the Lord’s work and the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He has worked tirelessly to build up the work of Adventist Community Services throughout the Division and the world. His energy and vision have been integral to the work that he and his team have accomplished during these past two decades,” stated Bonita Shields, vice president for ministries of the North American Division.
“I want to thank the Lord for His leading in providing Derrick Lea to lead Adventist Community Services for the next quadrennial period. Derrick has been part of the NAD ACS team for several years, leading out in the Disaster Relief work in the Division—and he has been BUSY with the numerous disasters taking place. I am thankful for his expertise and his commitment to carry this work forward,” continued Shields.
BOULDER, CO - MARCH 22: Healthcare workers walk out of a King Sooper's Grocery store after a gunman opened fire on March 22, 2021 in Boulder, Colorado. Dozens of police responded to the afternoon shooting in which at least one witness described three people who appeared to be wounded, according to published reports. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images))
On Monday, March 22, a gunman opened fire at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, leaving ten people dead. Among the casualties was a police officer who was responding to this heinous act of violence. Derrick Lea, North American Division ACS Disaster Response director, has been in communication with Cathy Kissner, Rocky Mountain Conference ACS director, the Emergency Management in Boulder, Colorado VOAD, and other associated entities to discuss a plan as to how we can render assistance to the affected community. We have been requested to serve by filling the role of providing emotional and spiritual care. The local ACS team has selected some individuals who have been trained and equipped for this task. We’ve also communicated with the local Adventist church in Boulder, informing them of the resources we can provide. Additionally, we’re working with Salvation Army that has been asked to distribute food to the community to see if we could partner with them.
“While the tragedy is one we had hoped would not happen again, the reality of these type of events is hitting us with more regularity. Our continuous desire is to be prepared for these type of crisis events and also ultimately represent the love of Christ in our acts of service to those hurting,” said Lea.
Click here to read the statement put out by the Rocky Mountain Conference.
Please remember the families who have lost loved ones, the survivors, as well as those who are responding to this tragedy.
BOULDER, CO – MARCH 22: Healthcare workers walk out of a King Sooper’s Grocery store after a gunman opened fire on March 22, 2021 in Boulder, Colorado. Dozens of police responded to the afternoon shooting in which at least one witness described three people who appeared to be wounded, according to published reports. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images))
After 37 years of denomination work, Dr. Steve A. Rose Sr. retired on March 1, 2021. He served as the vice president for administration and also the director for Adventist Community Services in the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference.
Dr. Rose has been an instrumental leader over the decades for ACS ministry. It has truly been a privilege to have him serve in our ministry, and we want to express our sincere gratitude to him for his remarkable service. We also wish him the best of luck in his retirement years.
The Adventist Community Services’ relationship with City Harvest expired on Jan. 31, 2021, but the work is continuing at another level. “We are now connected with FEMA through our City Harvest partnership,” said W. Derrick Lea, ACS Disaster Response director for the North American Division. City Harvest chose ACS because of its ability to disperse the goods they’ve received each Monday for the past nine months, reported Lea. The purchase of a 9 x 14 x 8 freezer in September 2020 has expanded the ACS warehouse’s ability to serve the community. In addition to receiving produce, this new agreement adds refrigerated, frozen and non-perishable items until the end of April 2021 — with the possibility of extension. “NAD was able to join our Greater New York and Northeastern conferences at the Bronx warehouse on Monday at 8 a.m. for the pallet delivery,” Lea said.
In addition to the need for a State Warehouse, we are also attempting to set up Distribution Sites for community members. We’ve also been asked by the American Red Cross whether our Emotional and Spiritual Care Providers could be utilized to provide assistance for families affected by this tragic event. We will be in discussion with them to determine the particulars of this assignment for this phase. Since Florida has been the site of several challenging circumstances, we have credentialed Providers who are ready to be of service. W. Derrick Lea, Director for North American Division Adventist Community Services, is currently onsite meeting with our ACS team members at the Warehouse to put the operational plan in place, set schedules of those assigned, and collaborate with authorities responsible for overall Response in the community. “The days will be long, but we trust that many will be helped through our efforts, and that those who observe us will see Christ working through us,” said Lea.
After 37 years of denomination work, Dr. Steve A. Rose Sr. retired on March 1, 2021. He served as the vice president for administration and also the director for Adventist Community Services in the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference.
