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A mother-daughter team from the Spencerville (Silv

A mother-daughter team from the Spencerville (Silver Spring, Md.) church recently published a weekly devotional book aimed at offering fresh spiritual insights into familiar Bible stories.

Merle Poirier and her daughter, Ellen Musselman, initially got involved in the project during the pandemic when they started looking for a new creative ministry outlet. Musselman, who has two young children, observed that parents with small kids going through Sabbath School materials end up reading the same Bible stories repeatedly. The two realized there was an opportunity to develop companion adult Bible studies that could provide parents with meaningful devotional content.

After further research, Poirier and Musselman partnered with “Starting with Jesus,” a ministry that helps children develop a relationship with Jesus by offering Sabbath School video lessons and weekly podcasts for Beginners to Juniors using the “My Bible First” curriculum.

The project was initially launched in January 2022 as a weekly blog post. Poirier wrote the devotionals, and Musselman, a professional graphic designer, created the visual content. The two say their goal was to provide something fresh for busy adults about familiar Bible stories that they “hadn’t heard before.”

Their project exploded in popularity this fall with the launch of a weekly email newsletter, creating the demand for a devotional book. “Renew: Staying with Jesus” was published in early November and covers Bible stories chronologically from Creation to King Saul. The pair plans to develop two more books to cover the entire three-year “My Bible First” curriculum cycle.

Poirier says that even though the project originally aimed to provide devotional content for parents, because the book begins with Creation and goes through the Bible chronologically, it is relevant to anyone and can be used in a variety of ways.

The two say they have been blessed through the experience of developing the devotionals and are amazed at how God has grown the project to reach people worldwide.

Over 70 church leaders gathered at the Double Tree

Over 70 church leaders gathered at the Double Tree Hotel in Columbia, Md., on Nov. 19 for Chesapeake Conference’s annual church planting conference, “Seeds Vision.” The attendees represented 20 congregations in the Chesapeake and Allegheny East conferences.

The event was held in partnership with the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI) as part of Chesapeake Conference’s ongoing “35 by 25” initiative, which aims to plant 35 new churches in the conference by 2025. The conference is currently halfway toward meeting its goal.

Featured speakers included Alexander Bryant, president of the North American Division, Tim Madding, director of NADEI, and Bledi Leno, multiethnic ministries director for the Greater New York Conference.

“We know from the data that the best way to move the mission forward is to plant churches,” Bryant said during the opening remarks of his sermon.

In addition to the presentations, attendees were allocated discussion time to reflect and share takeaways for their local ministry context. During breaks, several attendees studied maps to identify possible locations for new churches.

“It was exciting to see a room full of people passionate about church planting and reaching the unentered areas,” says David Klinedinst, Chesapeake Conference evangelism and church growth director.

More than 220 women gathered from Nov. 4-6 in Ocea

More than 220 women gathered from Nov. 4-6 in Ocean City, Md., for the Chesapeake Conference’s 2022 women’s ministries retreat, “Unleashed: #CrazyFaith.”

Pre-registrations for the event sold out and attendance during the weekend reached max capacity.

“I’m happy that people responded well and that women are happy to be together,” says Anastacia Ferguson-Bansie, Chesapeake Conference women’s ministries field director.

The retreat featured messages from Deeann Bragaw, women’s ministries director for the North American Division. Additional breakout sessions were held in English and Spanish on a number of topics. Carmen Esposito, a guidance counselor at Spencerville Adventist Academy, served as the Spanish keynote speaker.

Ferguson-Bansie says that the seminar on dealing with infertility and pregnancy loss seemed to resonate with many attendees, noting statistics that say that 1 in 4 women will have pregnancy struggles.

An unexpected highlight was the retreat’s positive impact on hotel staff. According to Ferguson-Bansie, several hotel staff members reported that they were moved by the presentations and the kindness of the attendees, many of whom offered to pray with them. One female staff member even chose to stay and attend the presentations after her shift.

Ferguson-Bansie says she hopes attendees left the retreat reminded of the power of the ministry of presence. “Hold on to the measure of faith that God has given you and put that faith into action, whether it’s in your home, your family, or your church,” she says.

The 2023 retreat will be held Oct. 27-29 at the Kalahari Resort in Pocono Manor, Pa.

Chesapeake Conference Executive Committee (EXCOM)

Chesapeake Conference Executive Committee (EXCOM) members met at Mt. Aetna Retreat Center from Oct. 28-30 for a retreat focused on vision and strategic planning.

The EXCOM retreat, held every five years at the beginning of each quinquennium, is an essential part of forming the conference’s five-year strategic plan, which also includes gathering feedback from constituents such as pastors, teachers, department directors and church members.

During the retreat, EXCOM members participated in several analytical exercises reflecting on the conference’s current strengths and weaknesses. Discussions were also held about potential opportunities for the conference to expand its mission and impact over the next five years.

The retreat was marked by a “strong spiritual focus,” says Andre Hastick, executive secretary. Devotional messages highlighted relevant biblical principles, and prayer time was set aside to invite God to guide the discussions.

EXCOM members also participated in team-building exercises and toured the retreat center facilities.

Over the next few months, the secretariat department will continue to gather feedback from additional conference constituents. Once all the data is collected, the conference is expected to release its five-year strategic plan early next year.

The Chesapeake Conference Executive Committee vote

The Chesapeake Conference Executive Committee voted to appoint Tom Boggess as the conference’s association secretary and planned giving and trust services director.

Boggess has worked in the department for the last six years, serving as the trust services field representative and assistant director. Boggess fills the position previously held by Sean Robinson, who recently accepted a position at Hope Channel International.

In addition to his experience in trust services, Boggess brings an extensive background in pastoral ministry to his new position. Boggess served as the pastor of the Martinsburg (W.Va.) church for 18 years and, until recently, pastored the Prince Frederick (Md.) church part-time. Boggess previously worked for over 10 years as a pastor in the Potomac Conference.

“Chesapeake is blessed to have Elder Boggess serve in this important position,” says Jerry Lutz, Chesapeake Conference president. “As an experienced pastor here in Chesapeake and field representative for wills and trusts, having worked closely with the outgoing association secretary on these and other related matters, Tom will provide solid, spiritual leadership and careful management of the business affairs of the association.”

Boggess says he is excited to work more closely with churches and schools in his new role as association secretary. “The conference has been growing, and so there’s been a lot more activity in buying and selling,” he says. “I think that’s going to continue, and [more churches] are going to be in the process of wanting to buy, and we want to be ready to help them do that.”

The Chesapeake Conference Executive Committee rece

The Chesapeake Conference Executive Committee recently approved a reconfiguration of the conference’s youth, young adult and children’s ministries departments and elected two new directors.

The committee appointed Kenia Reyes de Leon as youth and young adult ministries director and Shawn Paris as camp ministries and missions director. Ann Reynolds will now serve exclusively as the children’s ministries director.

Reyes de Leon and Paris will begin their new roles on Dec. 1.

“This is an exciting and important moment of change for Chesapeake, especially for those in the age category of zero through young adult,” says Jerry Lutz, Chesapeake Conference president. “The combined experience, unique skill sets and spiritual gifts of these three directors will be the catalyst for the growth and expansion of their respective ministries. While honoring the many positive accomplishments and blessings of the past, they will lead the way forward, working together in the advancement of children’s, youth, young adult, and family ministries in our conference.”

Sean Robinson will soon be taking up new responsib

Sean Robinson will soon be taking up new responsibilities at Hope Channel, where he will act as vice president for marketing and development.

Robinson has served at Chesapeake Conference as the association secretary and director for planned giving and trust services since 2016.

Robinson says he has made “many wonderful memories” during his years at Chesapeake Conference, noting that his “greatest memories are those made with the Chesapeake family who have become my dear friends.” He reports he has greatly enjoyed working with many pastors, churches and schools.

Robinson says he is looking forward to new challenges at Hope Channel, a global television network with almost 80 channels and a subsidiary of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. In particular, Robinson says he is looking forward to “being part of a team tasked with sharing the gospel with people who have yet to hear about Jesus Christ and His deep love for them.”

Conference colleagues said farewell to Robinson during a luncheon at the conference headquarters on Oct. 26.

“It is with mixed feelings that we bid farewell to Elder Robinson as he takes up his new responsibilities at Hope Channel,” says Jerry Lutz, Chesapeake Conference president. “On one hand, he will be greatly missed for the outstanding leadership and administrative care he provided the Chesapeake Association for the past seven years. On the other hand, the Hope Channel will now be the recipient of his considerable professional abilities and skills by which we have been blessed, and have enjoyed, in our conference.”

7th and 8th-grade students from Mt. Aetna Adventis

7th and 8th-grade students from Mt. Aetna Adventist School headed south for a history study tour through North and South Carolina from Oct. 16-21.

Students visited noteworthy historical sites and museums such as the McCloud Plantation, Fort Moultrie, USS Yorktown, Tyron Palace, Roanoke Island and Wright Brothers National Memorial.

The trip is part of the school’s ongoing emphasis on providing students with hands-on learning experiences beyond the classroom. The southern history study tour is one of four tours the school rotates through every other year for students in grades 5-8. Other study tours include trips to Boston, Philadelphia and Williamsburg, Va.

According to Rod Kerbs, school principal, the annual trips are important because they help students experience history on a tangible level, noting that visiting a historical site in person goes beyond what students can learn through a YouTube video. “It’s different to be able to feel it and smell it and taste it,” he says. “[History] comes alive.”

Kerbs says this year’s study tour also provided an opportunity to address spiritual issues. Glen Milam, Mt. Aetna Retreat Center director, served as the trip’s tour guide and wove the theme of the Great Controversy throughout the week as students learned about some of America’s most significant human conflicts. Kerbs adds that when students learn about the sacrifice of previous generations of Americans, they can begin to appreciate God’s sacrifice for them on deeper levels.

A week-long evangelistic series got underway at th

A week-long evangelistic series got underway at the Frederick (Md.) Spanish church on Oct. 8 with lots of celebration, as 26 people were baptized during the opening night meeting. Church leaders expect an additional 10-15 baptisms when the series ends on Oct. 15.

The baptisms result from months of preparation and evangelistic efforts in the church district, which also includes the Canaan (Frederick, Md.) Spanish, Hagerstown (Md.) Spanish, and Martinsburg (W.Va.) Spanish churches.

“I cannot describe it,” says Kelvis Romero, district pastor. “The Holy Spirit was feeling so powerful and there was just joy.”

The week of district-wide evangelistic meetings has featured nightly sermons from Jose Espositio, assistant to the president for evangelism at the Columbia Union. Before the meetings, evangelistic series were held separately at each church from Oct. 1-8. Speakers for these local series included Esposito, Ruben Ramos, Columbia Union vice president for multilingual ministries, and Orlando Rosales, Chesapeake Conference Hispanic Ministries director.

Romero says those baptized include children who’ve studied with their parents, individuals who’ve gone through Bible studies and participated in small groups and former Adventists who’ve been away from the Church for many years. One of those baptized included a former Pentecostal minister who had come to accept the Adventist message.

Romero says each congregation is working deliberately to ensure that new members are well-supported in their new church families, noting that baptism isn’t the end of the discipleship journey. Each new member will be adopted by a church leader who will act as a mentor and spiritual guide.

“We don’t want people to come to our church and feel lonely,” Romero says. “We want people to feel loved in our church.”

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To reach the Chesapeake region with the distinctive, Christ-centered Seventh-day Adventist message of Hope and Wholeness.

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