It is no secret to those who know me that I regard New Zealand as “the best country on earth.” I’ve been there four years in a row, and have no plans or desire to stop my annual visits. My most recent visit, which I’ve just returned from, was a wonderful blessing, as it afforded me many opportunities for ministry and fellowship.

Christchurch is New Zealand’s second largest city, and it was my first stop. I was looking forward to catching up with some of those who had been baptized as a result of our efforts over the past few years. As providence would have it, I was able to reconnect with more than a dozen of them. What a joy it was to see their bright, happy and energetic faces at church on Sabbath morning. I hadn’t alerted any of the three churches I visited about my arrival, so my presence was a genuine surprise. A good one, I hope!

My heart leapt with joy to see Debbie and her mother sitting in church soaking up the sermon. And Theresa and Collin …
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For almost a decade now we’ve had the privilege of training over 800 people through our ARISE training programs . It’s been a powerful and beautiful experience! But we’ve always dreamed of having a longer, more thorough training program.

Thankfully, now that we have our own facilities since our recent merger with Light Bearers , we now have an opportunity to provide a longer program of training, discipleship and mentorship.

This is the ARISE Internship program. A 12-month extension of our Cornerstone Program . A select number of students are enrolled in this graduate program to continue learning in class and applying what they learn in the community.

The eight interns that are part of this internship program are actively engaged in frontline ministry. They are serving in local churches giving Bible studies and preaching, conducting training for the laity, organizing small groups, visiting backsliders, integrating into the overall life of the churches, and targeting the University of Oregon  (which has over 20,000 students) with outreach ministries. We’re excited to see young people committing their lives for Gospel ministry and being used by God in real ways to impact real people.

Meet the interns

As a direct result of attending the ARISE Bible Boot Camp at Kingscliff Church in April last year, six young adults from Ipswich Church recently took up the challenge to run their very own Bible Boot Camp for their local congregation.

Joe Tyler, Alo Talafua, Sasha Shofay, Vanessa Woodman, Nina Ngau and Sandra Entermann all maintain, “None of us went in confidently. We all knew we were up for a big challenge, but we had each other, we had our notes, and we had Jesus”.

Despite a massive storm raging around him–having just been hit with the news that his mother has only months to live–novice presenter, Alo, took up the challenge of delivering the opening session, The Word of God & Daniel 2. When questioned at the end if he had been nervous, he admitted that yes he was, but quoted David Asscherick, saying, “when you kneel before God you can stand before kings”.

The youngest of the presenters, Vanessa, put her hand up to present the controversial topic The Antichrist. She said “it was quite challenging, yet rewarding, to reveal how the Bible interprets …
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Over the years we have become associated with a number of talented musicians and songwriters. We’ve often daydreamed about a music tour that would be biblically grounded, of the highest musical quality, and evangelistically savvy. Those dreams have become reality. The first  Songs of Ascent Concert Tour took place last year from April through June 2011.

We traveled all over California and featured a themed approach that included original songs from several young, spirited Adventist musicians, most of them being former students of our ARISE evangelism training program.

We’re so thankful to Jesus for the blessings and success of the tour, which included more than 20 concerts and added 3000 miles to a very carefully and thoroughly packed mini-van. Christ was uplifted and hearts were moved by the gospel-centered music provided by the “musicianaries” (they are musicians and missionaries) that led those attending on the Eden to Eden journey through Scripture. We believe this creative project is just the beginning of a whole new way of “doing” ministry and evangelism.

This year’s tour will take place in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, British Columbia), launching this weekend …
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Listen to Ty Gibson, James Rafferty and David Asscherick discuss the details and events leading up to the merger between Light Bearers and ARISE.

You can download this video to share with others (right-click, save linked file as).

Matt, David, and Sherise surfing just South of Brisbaine, Australia

Moving can be dramatic. Yet change is a normal part of the human experience. Accordingly, the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus (535-475 BC) said, “all things move and nothing stays still,” indicating his belief that the only constant in our universe was change.

Interestingly, Heraclitus was the first to make philosophical use of the Greek word logos which John the apostle used to describe Christ in the opening of his gospel. “In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word (logos) was with God, and the Word (logos) was God” (John 1:1). For Heraclitus, logos was the principle of order and knowledge that bound the universe together. Paul agreed! He said that, “in Christ we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) and wrote that, “in Him (Jesus Christ) all things consist” (Col. 1:17).

If Jesus Christ is the logos that binds the universe together—which I believe!—then no matter how much things change, there is always a constant. No matter how much …
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What a privilege it was to conduct the Week of Spiritual Emphasis at the General Conference World Headquarters earlier this year! Blessings continue to flow from that experience. One such blessing is the cover feature article for the current edition of the Adventist Review. One of the Review’s associate editors, Kimberly Luste Maran, took my second presentation from the week and turned it into an article. And she did a great job! It still “feels” like an oral presentation, but is also very readable. This was, I am sure, not easy to pull off. So my hat is off to the excellent team there at the Review. Thank you for the work you do for Jesus!

I hope you enjoy reading the article as much as I enjoyed preaching it!

It is amazing to look at history and see how it often repeats itself.

Amber and I live in beautiful New Zealand. We have been fascinated by the history of this region – particularly its discovery by the Europeans.

New Zealand was first discovered by Abel Tasman (1603 – 1659), a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant. His was the first known European expedition to reach the islands of Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), New Zealand, and to sight the Fiji islands.

Tasman was sent on a mission by the Dutch East India Company to look for gold, a promising area for trade, and useful new shipping routes. Sailing south of Australia he found Tasmania where he planted the Dutch flag. After some exploration he set course East.

The winds were favorable and after about ten days he sighted land on the Northwest coast of South Island, New Zealand. Proceeding North and then East, he stopped to gather water. Here, one of his boats was attacked by the Māori, the original inhabitants of New Zealand. Four of his men and several Māori …
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Yesterday, May 12th, something amazing happened. Something providential and miraculous. Two ministries became one. This did not happen overnight, as you might imagine. We do, after all, live in a Newtonian world, and when two things come together there is friction. And yet, this merger, and the events leading up to it, has happened so providentially, so precisely, and so definitively, that we felt—no, we knew—that God was moving.

Newton, it seemed, took a break.

And God stepped in.

ARISE has been training, teaching, and preaching for a decade. Light Bearers for more than two decades. Both ministries have been stable, effective, and successful in their respective specialties. Ty Gibson and James Rafferty have been Co-Directors of Light Bearers from day one. Too, David Asscherick has been the Director of ARISE since day one. So these are two well established and moored ministries. This, then, was not a “fly by the seat of the pants” decision.

It began as a friendship. Moved to a conversation. Grew to an exploration. Matured to a real possibility. And then arrived as a providence-laden reality.

Like a birth, …
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It sounds so official, so formal: The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

And six months ago, when I accepted the invitation to conduct the annual Week of Spiritual Emphasis there, it seemed, well, unreal. I heard my mouth say yes. The next week, I received a confirmation letter.

And then I tried to forget about it.

It was on my calendar, right there, March 7-10. But I pretended not to see it. I reminded myself that it was still months and months away. So out of my mind it went.

Mostly.

Until I received the e-mail asking about my theme and titles for the week. They needed them for the posters and the advertising. Posters? Advertising?

Gulp.

So I replied with my theme: The Kingdom of Heaven in Your Life Today. I sent no titles, because, frankly, I didn’t have any yet. As is so often the case in life, six months away rather suddenly turned into six weeks away.

Now that the Week of Spiritual Emphasis is two weeks past, my anxiety and nervousness seem perfectly …
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