SEPTEMBER 2023

AKC At State Fair
Alaska Adventists will be onsite at the Alaska State Fair August 18 through September 4th. The focus is health--physical, mental and spiritual--and volunteers are needed to staff the booth. If you are available to help, use the link below to contact coordinator Paul Volk or call 520-975-6402 and stop by booth 17 to say hello.

Sabbath School Alive!
Mark your calendars for Sabbath School Alive! Training September 15 & 16, 2023 at the Anchorage Northside SDA Church. Join speakers Jim Howard and Joe Reeves, Director and Assistant Director of Sabbath School & Personal Ministries Department at the General Conference, as they provide information on revitalizing your Sabbath School. Although the focus is on adult Sabbath School, there are tips that can be applied to all age groups. Here's the schedule:

Friday evening, 7 pm – Young Adult Ministry (Joe Reeves) 
Sabbath School, 9:45 am – Model the Lesson (Jim Howard)  
Church Service, 10:50 pm – Philosophy of Sabbath School (Jim Howard)  
Sabbath Afternoon, 3-5 pm – How to teach and how to make Sabbath Schools Evangelistic (plus Q&A) (Jim Howard & Joe Reeve)

Young Adults and those with a passion for YA ministry are especially invited to join in on Friday evening for their special presentation, available in person at the Conference Office, and also through Zoom (link below). In-person participation is encouraged for all who are able, but Sabbath sessions at the Northside church will also be live-streamed on its Facebook page and YouTube channel. Pastors/Elders may invite their churches to participate in real-time during divine service using one of the links below.   

Grassroots Ministry
The Togiak Village Facebook page was started in 2019 as a way to share weekly church service information to the 50+ members in the village. When the pandemic hit, membership requests doubled with people joining from villages across Bush Alaska as well as Canada and Greenland. With the growth came a unique grassroots digital discipleship opportunity to communicate, converse, invite and proclaim Jesus Christ across all the dominations of faith represented in the group. The primarily Native audience is a safe space where members are prayed for, encouraged, and all are respected. Membership is now over 1,000 and continues to grow. If you'd like to help support this ministry, please let the conference know!

Bullying 101
Bullying can be a major problem for children today, but how do you recognize the signs and what can be done to prevent and treat it? To find out, AdventHealth spoke with board-certified pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist, Heather Elizondo Vega, MD, on the signs that your child may be experiencing bullying as well as what to do and how to prevent bullying.

Spiritual Struggles
Kenneth Pargament, a renowned scholar on the integration of spirituality and psychotherapy, spoke on the topic of spiritual struggle and shared ways to assess one’s moments of questioning and doubt to help oneself and others who may be experiencing similar challenges. “Spiritual struggles are not uncommon,” Pargament said, referencing studies in which 70 percent of people acknowledged going through such struggles at least once in their lifetime. “Spiritual struggles affect all faiths and demographic groups. But they are not a sign of a weak faith. They are a natural part of life.”

Adventist Education In Alaska

• Adventist Giving: Submit tithes and offering via your church website, online at AdventistGiving or on your mobile device.
• Alaska Adventist Radio: Alaska's own Adventist radio station, AARN, streams live at akadventistradio.net.  
• Offering Readings: Click here for readings.
• Friday Night Prayer Line weekly from 7-8 pm. Join ONLINE HERE, call toll-free at 800-719-6100 or, 1-605-562-0400 or 1-712-832-8330, rates apply. Use Access code 4760107 for all options.
• Remote Sabbath School: Remote Sabbath School, Sabbath at 9:30 am. Join ONLINE HERE, call toll-free at 800-719-6100 or, 1-605-562-0400 or 1-712-832-8330, rates apply. Use Access code 4760107 for all options. Study materials are available at www.SabbathSchoolMaterials.com.
• Will & Trust Services: Contact Western Adventist Foundation, Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. – 6:00 p.m at (866) 356-5595 or email info@wafsda.org.
• Youth Sabbath School Resources: Weekly discussion ideas, videos, lesson plans and more: youthsabbathschoolideas.org.