God has given us Himself for Jesus did say "If you have seen me then you have seen My Father." There is identity in that we are His and He obviously loves us. There are forgiveness, salvation, hope, joy now and later. There is also no condemnation. In a sense we get everything through this one gift. This fact ought to spark a sense of joy daily, weekly, monthly and yearly as the gift is relevant throughout the year as opposed to being tied to a limited time of the year. It is not latched to what we shall receive within the next few days or not receive for we have access to the Gift and the benefits now. Wow - isn’t that good news? If it isn’t, then I don’t know what is for every other gift is limited to space and time but not the Ultimate Gift of Jesus our Lord.

Recognizing the aforementioned, we have reason to rejoice, to celebrate God’s goodness to us and to extend the offer of this gift to all we contact or who contact us. We need not become engrossed in the commercialization of this Gift for worldly gains or incur unnecessary debts thus spending January’s and February’s salaries in advance. The result of this is sadness, uncomfortableness and stress. Hence, we are urged to be responsible and exercise caution.

Nearing the end of another year, we are all encouraged to reflect on our stewardship of time, talents, treasure and temple during the year. Have we been faithful in all these areas? Have we been encouragers? These final days accord us the opportunity to square up with God and recommit our lives to Him, for greater and more dedicated service now and in the new year should life be ours.

Additionally, I wish to inform you that during Convention 2003, two special projects have been designated to receive all loose and special offerings. They are the Stevens SDA Church building programme in Long Island, and Bahamas Academy drive to secure its property with additional walls and grills.

Happy holidays and a spirit-filled time in the Lord. -Editor

Participating in the ground-breaking ceremony were Pastor Keith D. Albury, Bahamas Conference President; Mr. Jason Roberts, Chief Councillor, South Abaco; Mr. Willard Cooper, Building Committee Chairman. Also participating and coordinating the groundbreaking activities was Pastor Henry R. Moncur, District Pastor.

After they spoke, the President, Chief Councillor, Building Committee Chairman, District Pastor and church member Sis. Jacqueline Collie turned over the first shovelfuls of dirt, symbolically signaling the beginning of construction. They were followed by the rest of the members and guests present, including the children and babies, representing their stake in the future of the church.

In his keynote address, Pastor Albury commended the members on their vision, innovative worship center design and property size and encouraged them not to despise the day of small beginnings. He challenged them to make their buildings a center in the community, where seven days a week it can be used to reach the needs of the community. Speaking from 1 Chronicles 29, he encouraged them to trust in the Lord during the entire phase of the project. Mr. Roberts applauded the Adventist Church for its work and for the opportunity this building has to impact the local community. Pastor Moncur noted the efforts of the pioneers who laboured in Abaco as well as the members of South Abaco who were responsible for making this day happen. He challenged the members to let their building speak to the pioneers of the Advent moment worldwide and in Abaco.

Pastor Moncur then led in a litany of dedication, and then in a time of prayer for the new facility on such issues as worker safety, cooperative weather, financial provision, fulfillment of the church’s mission and the South Abaco community.

The first two phases are to be completed by Summer 2003. The facility consists of a 300 seat octagonal worship center, fellowship hall, children’s/youth center, kitchen, outside basketball/volleyball courts and living quarters. It will also have numerous classrooms and meeting areas, a bookstore and resource room, as well as a drive-thru canopy and large entranceway/foyer. With over 3 acres, future developments are planned.

The highlight of the weekend was undeniably the Mortgage-Burning ceremony on Sunday, during which Pastor K.D. Albury delivered an inspiring sermon on the divine mandate for believers to demonstrate their faith through the spirit of rejoicing.

Ever since the dedication of Centreville in 1962, its congregation experienced considerable growth, which, over time, created a need for expanded facilities in order to minister to God's people adequately. The vision to construct these new facilities to address the needs of a growing church was crystallized during the pastoral term of Dr. H.A. Roach, former president of the Bahamas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. However, the vision would not come to fruition until some fifteen years later in 1996 when Dr. M.D. Toote assumed the pastorate at Centreville.

Driven by the Holy Ghost and the membership's collective and supportive spirit, Pastor Toote challenged the church to assess its past and chart its course for the future. This exercise led Centreville to commit to three overarching objectives to be met during Dr. Toote's pastoral term: One, Evangelism and Retention of membership; Two, Expansion of the Physical Plant and Three, Faithfulness through Stewardship. Success in the areas of Evangelism and Stewardship propelled the church to achieve the goal of expanding the physical plant, which, upon completion, included a West Wing Extension, a Balcony and Refurbishment of the sanctuary.

Next came the challenge of paying off the debt incurred for these added facilities, which far exceeded a quarter million dollars. Again, Pastor Toote, after much prayer and reflection, was inspired with a plan to pay off the church's mortgage. The plan was called "Gideon's Challenge" after the account in Judges 7:6-9 where the Lord said to Gideon: "By the 300 that lapped will I save you." After the pastor consulted with the pastoral staff and members of the Board, the plan was presented to the church at large receiving widespread support. Accordingly, three hundred members from all levels of the church committed themselves to making contributions of various amounts on a consistent basis in order to pay off the mortgage at the 2002 celebrations of the church's 41st anniversary.

Again, we commend all our sister churches for their support during this special time in the life of the Centreville church. Indeed, the weekend's celebrations affirmed the invaluable accomplishment that can be attained through unity, prayer and faith in God. May the visions and dreams of the past, through commitment and the sacrifices of God's people, remain as a demonstration of His power to do anything but fail.

Dr. Patrick Allen, president of West Indies Union of Seventh-day Adventists, along with Dr. M.D. Toote, pastor of Centreville, unveiled the Commemorative plaque after the actual burning of the mortgage documents inside the sanctuary. This brief ceremony, during which Pastor S.N. McKinney offered a prayer of thanksgiving, served the purpose of officially dedicating the newly constructed West Wing for Centreville's expanded ministry to the surrounding community. Again, we thank the Lord for giving us the victory over the enemy of debt!– Pansy Hamilton-Brown

Education Corner

This is a weekly column sponsored by Bahamas Academy of Seventh-day Adventists

It has been a real pleasure for us to share this column with you during this first term of the new school year. Your positive comments have been encouraging and they let us know that this column is fulfilling one its main purposes, that of sharing information that will assist you with your parenting skills.

We also discovered that this column also serves to inform/remind parents of special dates and events at the school. Parents commented that their children don't always bring home letters from the school, so they were kept up to date in the section under UPCOMING EVENTS. We truly appreciate the time you take each week to read this column.

School closed this week for the Christmas holidays, and we need to let you know that this column will also take a break until school reopens in January.

We would also like to thank those of you who took the time to tell us about the positive encounters you have had with our staff members. We want to remind you that our Staff of the Month Awards will be announced each month until school closes in June. So please let us know whenever you are impressed with our service. Let me take this opportunity to share with you the winners for this first term:

We encourage you to join us for a special education emphasis during our January Convention services. At that time we will share some exciting plans for the future of our School, and we expect your continued support. Don't miss this!

On behalf of Mrs. Cherry Blackmore, Business Manager, Mrs. Celestine Creighton, Vice-Principal of the Elementary Division, Mr. Marcus Rahming, Vice-Principal of the Secondary Division, Mrs. Hermia Brown and Mr. Ronald Julien, Senior Mistress and Senior Master of the elementary and secondary divisions respectively, the seventy-six staff members, and the nine hundred and fifty-one (951) students of Bahamas Academy, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you God's richest blessings for this holiday season and a wonderful new year.

-Lynn C. Smith, Principal

Featured Artists include: Harmonious Praise, BARAC, Dr. Floyd Carter, New Providence Church Choir, Centreville Youth Choir, Living Faith Choir, Francophone -Adventist Men, BOL Children's Choir, Erica Miller, Paula Musgrove, Allison Mason, Precious Praise Interpretive Choir and Calvary Deliverance Praise Team. You are requested to support this concert and bring a generous donation. For more information call 393-1493 or 322-5110 -Pansy Hamilton Brown, Organizer

"WE ARE A FAMILY--TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE IT."

Check out the new Stewardship and Family Ministries Websites at www.familyministries.gc.adventistst.org  and www.Adventiststewardship.com for resources, sermons, information, etc. -M. A. Smith, Stewardship

All Adventist Men are especially invited to participate and attend rehearsals for Convention 2003. -Nelson J. Bain

Finally, you are invited to tune in to Family Focus with Pastor Peter Joseph December 28, 2002, at 6:00 a.m. on ZNS 1240.