Category: Educational

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Educational Events Local Conference

STEAM Ahead Summer Camps

STEAM Ahead @ Discovery Junction, a ministry of Upper Columbia Conference ACS, is organizing four Kids camps this summer Monday through Friday from 10 am – 12 noon. The first camp “Lego Robotics” which was held from July 9-12 taught kids robotics and engineering principles to make cool things out of legos through the Lego Mindstorms EV3 software. It was attended by eight children, four of whom were Nepalese. More Nepalese children expressed desire to attend the remaining camps. Gayle Haeger, one of the organizers, invited a newly retired librarian who is a Lego Robotics specialist to present at this camp. This also provided an opportunity for evangelism. The non-SDA librarian every day requested during the worship that Gayle pray for her family member who had taken a serious fall. At the end of the week, she told Gayle what a wonderful experience she had and wished to be a part of the second camp “Microscopy4Kids”, as well. Gayle invited her to assist, and she was delighted to be back.

The second camp took place from July 16-20 where the kids learned about different kinds of microscopes and how they function. They also got to closely look at tiny living organisms, insect wings, animal hair, flower parts, and etc. The third camp, “Mini Maker Mania”, started on July 23rd and will end on the 27th. It involves designing, building, and creating things through hands-on experiments and activities. The final summer camp “Junior Chef” will provide kids instruction in the culinary arts. It will include healthy samples and recipes, use of basic kitchen equipment, kitchen safety and hygiene, and tips on staying healthy and energized. It will be held next week from July 30 – August 3.

In addition to the Kids Camps, STEAM Ahead also organized a Junior camp at Camp MiVoden few weeks ago. Seven of their past two-year STEAM Ahead children from the local low-income public school attended the camp. Currently, the parents of one of the attendees live in a park. Patty Marsh, UCC ACS Director, said, “What a privilege is ours to change the lives of children not only in this world, but for the world to come”. She added, “As you can imagine – outreach ministry whether during the summer or after school enrichment is challenging, but in this complex world I believe we must stretch our methods in the way we touch the lives of others”.

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Disaster Response Educational Local Conference

Rocky Mountain Conference ACS DR Simulation

On April 22, Sunday morning, the Rocky Mountain Conference Adventist Community Services held the first Disaster Response Simulation at H.M. Richards Elementary School. The purpose was to give volunteers a hands-on experience needed to respond to a disaster. “The leadership team for Disaster Response felt doing the simulation would allow the volunteers to have an extended training. Before all we did was to give the theory of donations management, now we have given the practical side,” said Cathy Kissner, RMC ACS Director. All the leadership team was involved in the training so that volunteers could meet and interact with each other. “Everyone felt the day was well spent and learned a great deal,” Kissner added. There were 30 individuals trained from three different States. Elder Marshall and Julie Gonzales, Texas Conference ACS/ACSDR Directors, were the guest attendees.

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Community Development Educational

Improving Community Outreach in Jamaica

Dr. May-Ellen Colon
Giving her presentation on community outreach services. Credits: Andrew Johnson

ACS leaders from the General Conference and the North American Division spent a few days in Jamaica to help our fellow church members in improving their community outreach ministries, through the Flip Classroom workshop sessions. The team consisted of Dr. Sung Kwon, Executive Director of NAD ACS, Dr. Sharon Aka, Associate Director of NAD Adventist Learning Community (ALC), and Dr. May-Ellen Colon, Director of ACS International, from the General Conference. The general sessions were provided by Dr. Colon and Dr. Kwon; and the ALC classes were given by Dr. Aka.

For the Sabbath worship service, Dr. Colon and Dr. Kwon spoke on how we, as Adventists, should transform our communities by reaching out and ministering to them. Dr. Kwon went on to add that we need to get out of our comfort zone within the four walls of the church and focus on serving those outside of these walls. “We have become inward focused instead of outward focused. We have become a self-serving entity instead of serving God and his people. The gospel is not about preaching from the head, but it is about connecting to people heart to heart,” said Dr. Kwon.

On Sunday, Dr. Aka led out in the meeting with ACS leaders in the Jamaican Conferences, where she gave them an orientation of the Community Services & Urban Ministry Certification Program on the ALC platform. She also demonstrated how to access instructional videos and material that would help them in improving their community service ministry.

Read full article here.

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Educational

Individuals in Crisis Workshop

Adventist Community Services hosted a 2-day “Assisting Individuals in Crisis” Workshop on March 15 – 16 (Wednesday & Thursday) at Summit Northwest Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho. It was conducted by Dr. Martin Feldbush. Participants were awarded CEUs by University of Maryland and Certificates of completion by ICISF. This is a new program launched for volunteer training through ACS. The workshop sessions were well received and turned out to be a great success. There were around 75 individuals from various professional backgrounds that deal with people in crisis; healthcare, law enforcement, counseling, mental health, and etc. The participants were extremely impressed with the sessions and are already looking forward to the “Group Crisis Intervention” Workshop.

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Educational Events

Adventist Community Services Convention 2016

The NAD Adventist Community Services hosted its Convention this year from September 7-10 at Gladstone, Oregon. It was co-sponsored by the North Pacific Union Conference. The event was widely attended by more than 200 community outreach leaders and volunteers from around the nation and beyond. They were blessed with uplifting music, inspirational messages, informative workshops, and also a sightseeing tour of the main attractions in the area. They also had the privilege to take a tour of the Portland Adventist Community Services Center.

Dr. Sung Kwon, Executive Director of NAD ACS, provided the initial keynote message on the first evening of the convention. Other presenters throughout the event included Bill Knott, Adventist Review editor, Zack Plantak, Professor of Religion & Ethics, Loma Linda University, and May-Ellen and Gaspar Colon, co-authors of the third quarter Sabbath School lessons. Elder Dan Jackson, NAD President, delivered the Friday evening keynote message and the Sabbath morning sermon. On Sabbath afternoon, various outreach ministries provided a short presentation on their programs and activities.

A big ‘Thank You’ to all those who attended and made our Convention a success! We would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to fill out the survey below. Please provide us your suggestions and concerns as we continue planning such events in the future. Thank you for your time!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2016ACSConvention

Check out photos on our Facebook page

 

 

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Disaster Response Educational Local Conference

Perspectives on ACS at National Mass Care Exercise

On August 22-25, the NAD Adventist Community Services led out in the National Mass Care Exercise (NMCE), which was developed by the Iowa-Missouri Conference ACS Director, Jody Dickhaut. The purpose is to simulate an actual crisis event and determine how a community would respond during a major disaster. Other NGOs that participated in this unprecedented Exercise included The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), State Emergency Management, Red Cross, Salvation Army, and etc.

Duane Hallock, an Adventist church member, is the Regional Communications Director for the American Red Cross of Greater Kansas City, Missouri. Being an Adventist, Hallock was quite impressed to see the Church actively involved in serving communities around the nation. “I listened in as Jody Dickhaut conducted his morning briefing, and it was obvious that considerable planning and preparation had already been done. I was given renewed confidence in the ability of Adventists to respond quickly and effectively when needed,” says Hallock.

Hallock added, “I always show up on the scene of a disaster and look for “my people” – those wearing red vests. When I showed up for this exercise, I noticed that wherever I looked I also saw a large number of people in golden yellow shirts. As a Seventh-day Adventist, I was filled with pride knowing that these were also “my people” – volunteers with the Adventist Community Services Disaster Response.”

Hallock was not only pleased to see the work the Adventist Church is doing, but also with the relationships ACS is developing with our peer organizations. “Once during the drill, I noticed how both groups – those in yellow shirts and those in red vests – were co-mingling. Again, I was overcome with pride as I saw all of “my people” working together seamlessly to serve the humanitarian needs of our hurting world”, stated Hallock.

Categories
Disaster Response Educational Events

ACS Conducts National Mass Care Exercise

The North American Division Adventist Community Services is currently (August 22 – 25) leading out in the National Mass Care Exercise, which is taking place in Missouri, along with the States of Iowa and Nebraska. The purpose is to simulate an actual crisis event in size and scope, and determine how we would respond as a community during a major disaster that may strike these areas in the future. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), State Emergency Management, Red Cross, Salvation Army, and several other NGOs have joined together to conduct this Mass Care Exercise. The Iowa-Missouri Conference ACS Director, Jodi Dickhaut, has played a role in developing this exercise for the past year.

During this event, NAD has been involved in representing Disaster Response in Jefferson City, MO at the Emergency Operations Center. There were approximately 100 individuals representing different agencies, that simulated the resources they could bring to play in a live situation. The drawbacks of the exercise were taken note of and will be addressed. With similar related operations taking place all over the State, ACS gathered support personnel from Iowa-Missouri, Central States, and Rocky Mountain Conferences in different parts of the State, culminating with the Mass Care Exercise event in Independence, MO at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. About 500 individuals have arrived and will serve in various roles as assigned by the organizers at the Arena, 100 of who are ACS volunteers.

This is the largest event of its size ever planned in the United States. The significance of this operation is witnessed by other state authorities and the Federal Government as well. Representatives from around the country have sent personnel to observe and capture how this Exercise is being conducted. After this Exercise, reports will be used to create plans for others in State Emergency Management offices around the nation. The Adventist Community Services Disaster Response Team, led by W. Derrick Lea, plans on working in a collaborative manner to share the information acquired with each of our conferences. “The intent is to get better at helping those experiencing crisis in an intentional way,” stated Lea. Dr Sung Kwon, NAD ACS Director, expressed his excitement about the involvement of the Adventist Church with the Conference ACS leaders and volunteers. Kwon stated, “This is a great opportunity to serve and educate the communities in disaster response situations, also to be recognized as a vital team player to support the efforts as Adventist Church.”

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Educational NEWS

REACH Columbia Union Urban Evangelism School

Apply today for this life-changing, urban ministry adventure. REACH Columbia Union Urban Evangelism School is a practical opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the city of Philadelphia, while receiving college credit. Spots are limited, scholarships available. This One-Year Program starts June 2016, apply now! Go to: www.reachcolumbiaunion.org.

This is a unique opportunity that will expose students to creative ways of following Jesus and getting involved in ministry, as well as earning college credit. Encourage your young adults to apply today so they won’t miss out on this life-changing opportunity!

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Educational Events

Nonprofit Leadership Certification Takes off!

Our NLCP started on Monday morning in Federal Way, WA. With 48+ attendees and a variety of presenters, the participants are getting their full experience and learning even more. “Being able to engage in conversation with people of similar interests and passion for non profit leadership is very enlightening”, said a participant of the NLCP program.

For more daily pictures, visit our social media pages! And make sure you join us next year to get a certification yourself!

Categories
Educational Events

Nonprofit Leadership Certification Program

April 18 – 21, 2016
Southern Union conference
norcross, GA
More info
To Register click here

Participants will learn:
Leadership:

To improve participants’ abilities to affect individual, organization, and community changes.

Mangement:

To improve participants’ abilities to effectively handle the administrative responsibilities of nonprofit management.

Social Dimensions of Evangelism:

To improve participants’ abilities through biblical concepts of holistic ministry to minister in dynamic environments.