Personal Ministries

Jim Tiffany (231-263-3974) is our Personal Ministries Leader, and Tim McKinley (231-929-7715), is the Personal Ministries Secretary.

Personal Ministries is about people caring for the needs of others. This department helps provide training and support services for pastors and members of the local church in their Christ-ordained work of helping their neighbors, friends, coworkers, and family members learn of Jesus’ love. The goal of Personal Ministries is to see every member of our churches involved in and excited about sharing the good news of Jesus and His soon coming. It attempts to accomplish this goal through the following training seminars, events, and programs:

Prison Ministry: Several inmates at Pugsley Correctional Facility in Kingsley, MI have requested a Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath School and Church service on a weekly basis.  In response to this request, the Traverse City and Kalkaska Personal Ministries departments have enlisted several volunteers from each church to be trained volunteers and to conduct these services each Sabbath afternoon.  Kerry Kelly is coordinating this program.

Personal Ministries Planning:  Check the PM Plan tab on the left navigational bar to keep up to date with our planning process.  We started April 4, 2005 by considering what God wants our church community and programs to be like.  Then we began to look at things we could do to improve and become more like the ideal that we described.  The plan and process are described on these web pages.

Personal Bible Studies:  Many members of our church conduct personal Bible Studies with friends, relatives, and others  from the community.  Anyone interested in learning how to conduct these can receive personal training from one of our church members or formal training from the PEP Training sessions offered by the Michigan Conference.  Contact Jim Tiffany or Tim McKinley for more information.

Personal Evangelism Preparation (PEP) Training: PEP focuses on four main areas of ministry: (1) Personal Bible Study Ministry, (2) Small Group Ministry, (3) Health Outreach Ministry, and (4) Lay Evangelist Ministry. It provides the curriculum and materials for each of these areas so that a pastor or personal ministries leader in the local church can organize and provide training opportunities in the church. PEP is an integral part of Michigan’s plan to empower every church to be a training center for Christian workers.

Festival of Faith: Despite all our conscientious efforts and prayer, many people with whom we work and study the Bible in our communities do not make decisions for Christ and join the Adventist Church. The Festival of Faith assists our members with this need. It is an evangelistic mini-series held over a weekend that builds on the truths that nonmembers have been studying. Many attendees choose to be baptized during this retreat.

Festival of Discipleship: Christ wants and needs active disciples who are growing in their personal relationship with Him and faithfully witnessing about their new experience. The Festival of Discipleship encourages this development in new members. Through small groups and actual out-in-the-real-world opportunities, those who attend are introduced to Christian discipleship.

Other Ministries of the Personal Ministries Department:

1. Ingathering: Hope for Humanity—This is our annual campaign to visit homes in our communities, share with them a report of our worldwide humanitarian work, and give them an opportunity to financially support this work. Pam McKinley (231-929-7715) is the Ingathering Leader for the Traverse City Church. 

2. Disaster Response—The Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has an extensive disaster response ministry with four separate teams: (a) mobile kitchen team, (b) chainsaw debris removal team, (c) radio communication team, and (d) donated goods distribution team. If you would like to join a team, please call the Michigan Conference office and ask for Cheryl Wilson (517-485-2226).

To report any technical or content problems contact Kerry Kelly by e-mail or call 231-228-4050