1,300 Missionaries Go Door to Door in Pennsylvania

Church members generate 100 new contacts on a Sabbath afternoon.

By Tamyra Horst, Columbia Union Visitor

Some 1,300 Seventh-day Adventist believers went door to door across the U.S. state of Pennsylvania to distribute literature and invite people to Bible studies ahead of evangelistic meetings.

Church members generated 100 new contacts from the Sabbath afternoon outreach, adding to more than 400 active Bible studies that are currently being given by Bible workers. Each local church participating in the October and November meetings have a Bible worker laying the groundwork, making connections in local churches and preparing interests.

"Pennsylvania Conference membership is on fire to spread the word that Jesus is coming again,” said Tim Bailey, director of leadership and spiritual growth for the Adventist Church’s Pennsylvania Conference.

“Our goal is to have total member involvement all across the conference,” he said. “Unselfish labor for all our churches is what it will take to reach our territory. Miracles are possible only when we ask for them. And we are praying for God to continue to work His will.”

Church members in eastern Pennsylvania drove across the state one Sabbath afternoon, carpooling in vans, cars and buses, to help western Pennsylvania congregations prepare for the Faith for Family evangelistic efforts. Together these new friends went door to door, distributing literature and invitations to the series.

“I was amazed when I saw the big bus full of people arrive from Hamburg. It gave me goose bumps,” said Debra Bandel, a member of the Washington church, located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Pittsburgh.

Nancy Stump, a member of the Reading Hampden Heights church in Temple, traveled with a group from the Johnstown church. One woman whom Stump spoke with expressed a desire to attend the meetings but had no way to get there. When asked if a friend or family member could take her, she thought her son might. As they were talking, her son called. The woman began telling him about the meetings, but he didn’t seem happy and asked to talk to one of the Adventist visitors.

As Stump talked with the son, he asked what church she belonged to. When she told him the Seventh-day Adventist Church, he said: “Wow! I’ve been listening to Hope Channel, and we will be at the meetings!”