LORD TRANSFORM ME
New Approach to Evangelism in Jamaica
Union
ACTS 1:8 NKJV
• But you shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Evangelism: Primary Function of the
Church
• The Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, (2015, p. 129)
says, “The Gospel commission of Jesus tells us that
making disciples, which includes baptizing and teaching,
is the primary function of the church (Matthew 28:20). It
is, therefore the primary function of the board, which
serves as the chief committee of the church.”
Evangelism: Primary Function of the
Church
• Six of the nine functions of the church board
relates directly to evangelism (Seventh-day Adventist
Church Manual, 2015, pp. 131-132).
Evangelism: Primary Function of the
Church
• “The board should permit no other business to
interfere with planning for evangelism. Should
other business be too time consuming, the church
should appoint committees to care for specific
areas of church business, such as finance or church
building projects” (p. 132).
Evangelism: Primary Function of the
Church
• In Testimonies Volume 9, pages 19 and 20 Ellen White writes:
In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as
watchmen and light bearers. To them has been committed the last warning
for a perishing world. On them is shinning wonderful light from the Word
of God. They have
been given a Work of the most solemn import – the
proclamation of the first, second and third angels’ messages. There is no
other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else
to absorb their attention.”
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The SDA Church has the
Answers to society’s ills
• George Knight writes:
• “One of the greatest strengths of Adventism is the
lifestyle and doctrinal commitments that set it apart as a
unique movement. It stands for something biblical,
something true, something worth living for. That is part
of the attraction of the Adventist message for people
who are looking for the answer to life’s most perplexing
problems” (Knight, Lest we Forget, p. 366).
Joseph G. Smith
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QUESTION TO CONSIDER
• What is the new Strategy to Achieve a
Transformed individual and Church?
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QUESTION TO CONSIDER
What does a Transformed Church
look like?
What does it sound like?
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THE STRATEGY
THEME & LOGO
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Implications of
LORD TRANSFORM ME
God has to first work on us before
He can effectively work through
us.
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Implications of
LORD TRANSFORM ME
Lord Transform me calls for total
membership involvement (TMI)
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Implications of
LORD TRANSFORM ME
‘Lord Transform Me’ based on
Romans 12:1 & 2, is also a prayer; it is
expected to result in genuine
conversion and greater levels of
spirituality in the churches.
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Implications of
LORD TRANSFORM ME
‘Lord Transform Me’ is expected to
result in transformed Seventh-day
Adventist Christians who then become
agents of transformation and positively
impact their community.
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The strategy requires a coordinated
approach to MINISTRY &
MISSION
• Lord Transform me “calls for the collaboration of all
ministries, departments and institutions, working
harmoniously to fulfill the heart of our mission. We
desire to see faithfulness to the tenets of our beliefs as a
church on the part of every member” – Dr. Balvin B.
Braham Chair, Growth and Consolidation Strategic Planning,
IAD.
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Strategic Imperatives
• Lord Transform Me is a deliberate attempt to
strengthen the spiritual life of the members and
engage all members in Christian service, thereby
fulfilling the mission of the organization in winning souls
for Christ, as well as coordinating the various ministries
and departments to influence the faithfulness of all
members.
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Departments & Ministries
• All departments and ministries of the
Church will be working collaboratively to
engage all members in ministry and
mission.
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Assistant to the President for
Evangelism
• 1. Equip Adventist Pastors and Elders with appropriate skills and
competencies to organize their members to effectively connect
and share with others, build strong social relationships, increase
the membership of their congregations annually, and consolidate
all members through appropriate methods, as well as eliminate or
significantly reduce the high percentage of inactive membership
of the church, so that everyone becomes active and faithful
disciples of Christ – Total Membership Involvement (TMI).
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Ministerial Association
• 2. Nurture Pastors and Elders to grow spiritually, faithfully attend
to the needs of their families, and each member of their
congregation, build strong collegiality among themselves and
provide training and motivation that enable them to remain
committed leaders of the Church.
• Equip them to train their members to remain loyal to the
doctrinal beliefs of the Church.
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Sabbath School
• 3. Nurture and retain all members of the faith
through intentionally organized Bible study
programmes, especially those made available
through the Sabbath School Ministries and other
needs based Bible study initiatives.
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Stewardship
• 4. Affirm and Cultivate where necessary, the spirit of
faithfulness in each member, to consider returning
tithe and offering faithfully as an integral part of their
transformed life in Christ that must be lived.
• Strongly encourage all, and affirm members who
utilize their talents and spiritual gifts to connect and
share with others.
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Personal Ministries
• 5. Every member of the church must live a transformed life in
Christ and be an instrument for the saving of souls. They must be
equipped to determine social and spiritual needs both within and
outside the Church and be trained to connect and share with
others. Their skills and competencies in lay preaching, lay bible
work, bible instruction and lay witnessing should influence others
to Christ and disciple them not only to remain within the faith but
also to share their faith with others as well.
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Education
• 6. Educate and encourage students in
Adventist educational institutions to know and
understand the doctrinal beliefs of the
church, accept Christ as their Savior and
participate in leading others to the faith and to
support them in maintaining their faith.
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Public Campus Ministries
• 7. Guide Adventist students and professionals who
are studying and or working at non-Adventist
Colleges and Universities to know and understand
the doctrinal beliefs of the church, accept Christ as
their Savior and participate in leading others to the
faith and to support them in maintaining their faith.
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Youth Ministries
• 8. Nurture the youth of the Church to develop a
personal relationship with the Lord, wisely and biblically
evaluate current trends, embrace wholesome social
relationships within the Church, train them to connect
with Non-Seventh-day Adventists and influence them
to develop and maintain relationships with the Lord
and membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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Family Ministries
• 9. Assist members in developing strong spirituality
within their biological and church families, train
them to reach other Non-Adventist families with the
gospel of Christ, provide inspirational messages to
encourage both Adventist and Non-Adventist families to
live and share their faith in Christ and to maintain strong
family cohesion.
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Spirit of Prophecy
• 10. Devise means to educate the members of the
Church to appreciate and embrace the ministry of
Ellen White in the SDA Church and to study her writings
and make personal applications as well as to connect and
share with others important messages from her
writings that will nurture and build faith in Christ, the
Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the mission of the
Church.
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Communication
• 11. Develop and nurture interest of members of the
Church to utilize all available media; print, digital
and all other forms of mobile devices to share the
gospel. Direct them on how to access available content
information to share their faith and influence others to
Christ. Provide them the appropriate training to
explore, learn, connect and share.
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Church Planting
• 12. Equip members to establish Adventist presence
in un-entered territories within the
Union/Conference is a priority for evangelizing people
in unreached territories, primarily in the cities.
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Women Ministries
• 13. Organize and nurture the women of the Church
to grow their relationship with the Lord, develop
strong social relationships with others both within and
outside the Church through effective connect and share
initiatives, and train them to reap and disciple other
women through intentional initiatives.
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Children Ministries
• 14. Organize and nurture the children of the Church
to grow their relationship with the Lord, develop
strong social relationships with others both within and
outside the Church through effective connect and share
initiatives, and train them to reap and disciple others
through intentional initiatives.
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Health Ministries
• 15. Impaired physical and mental health is a great issue both
within and outside the Church. Help members to develop trust
and confidence in the Lord, determine what are their state
of social, spiritual, mental and physical wellbeing and
address deficiencies, while helping others along similar
lines, thereby assisting them to become God’s channel in
finding the path to health and happiness in Christ.
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Publishing Ministry
• 16. Distribute Adventist beliefs, lifestyle and practices through the
printed pages has been a primary missiological approach of the Church
since 1848. It has contributed to the exponential growth of Adventism
around the world. To motivate Colporteurs to develop and live a
transformed life in Christ, organize them to fulfill special connect and
share initiatives and train them for effective participation in such
initiatives, will continue and increase the membership growth of the
Church and pass on the legacy of the church to succeeding generations.
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Adventist Disaster & Relief Agency
(ADRA)
• 17 Organized and trained groups of volunteers within the
church to connect and share with governments and NGOs
to address felt needs and also to share their faith. By
addressing developmental and social needs, these volunteer
Adventists must point the beneficiaries to Christ. There must be
such initiatives in place that the members are trained to deliver in
order to guide both beneficiaries and donors to a saving
relationship with Christ.
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Religious Liberty
• 18. Very often it appears that some civic, community and business leaders are
quarantined and cannot be reached by those who carry the gospel. While it is
true that many of the members may not be effective in reaching them
through issues of proximity and social visibility, there are those within the
church who, by virtue of their visibility are able to reach them. There should
be initiatives of the church to recruit and train volunteers to
connect and share with civic, community and business
leaders on both social and spiritual levels.
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Health Institutions
• 19. Impaired physical and mental health is a great issue both
within and outside the Church. Effective Adventist health care
institutions help all of their employees and volunteers to
develop a strong relationship with the Lord, connect with
their patients socially, emotionally and spiritually and share
compassion with them. They also address deficiencies and
help them to find the path to health and happiness in Christ.
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Education Institutions
• 20. Intentionally plan programmes to build faith as
well as lead non-members into a saving relationship
with Christ, while challenging and preparing
committed workers who will passionately advance
the mission of the Church.
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LORD TRANSFORM ME [LTM]
• LORD TRANSFORM ME is an intentional effort on the part
of the SDA Church in the Inter-American Division to live Christlike lives, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in
harmony with Romans 12:2... Through a renewal of the mind,
they experience reformation in the way they live, interact and
serve; resulting in the influencing of others through deliberate
means to accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord and become His
disciples.
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FIVE PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS OF
“LORD TRANSFORM ME”
• 1.
•
•
•
•
TRANSFORM AND LIVE
2. EXPLORE AND LEARN
3. CONNECT AND SHARE
4. PROCLAIM AND REAP
5. CONSERVE AND DISCIPLE
Each of the five components carries its own strategic objectives and requires
an elder/leader to give leadership to it and a committee to give overall
supervision.
A reporting structure and incentive plan are also in place from the local
church to the GC
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TRANSFORM AND LIVE
• This involves all spiritual initiatives (Bible study,
Sabbath School Lesson, Prayer & Fasting, etc.) to aid
each member to become transformed by the Spirit of
the Lord to live Christ-like lives, shadowing the
righteousness of Christ, exemplifying faithfulness to
the Lord and His cause and participating faithfully
in the mission of Christ.
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EXPLORE AND LEARN
• This includes all the educational approaches
for building relational skills and to address
specific opportunities for effective connecting,
reaping and consolidation of members.
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CONNECT AND SHARE
• This is the deliberate, contextualized initiatives
undertaken to initiate contact with others on a
social level that leads to friendly relations,
study of the Word of God and interest in the
Seventh-day Adventist message.
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PROCLAIM AND REAP
• This includes all the evangelistic activities, both
personal, and public (tent, church, small group,
cottage, one-to-one, etc.) that motivate individuals
to find security in Christ and make decisions to
accept Him as their Savior and become members
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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CONSERVE AND DISCIPLE
• This includes the social and spiritual activities
deliberately administered to disciple new members
into the advent faith by providing them affirmation,
love, assurance and support. Also by equipping them
to effectively share their faith with others thus
influencing them to accept Christ as their Savior.
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TRAINING FOR
IMPLEMENTATION
• Provision is made for those who will be executing the
programme to be trained.
• Members will be asked to do a Spiritual Gifts Inventory
and there after they will be trained in their areas of
giftedness so that they will be equipped to used their
talents and abilities in ministry and mission.
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Annual Proclaim and Reap
Campaigns (April 16, 2016)
• There will be an annual Proclaim and Reap campaign at the local
Church/Pastoral district, local field, Union and Division levels each
year. The Proclaim and Reap campaign shall cover relevant topics
that will enable pastors/evangelists to connect with their
congregants through preaching, connect the people to Christ,
present testing truths, address the social and spiritual needs of
congregants, present hope and reap decisions for baptisms. These
Proclaim and Reap campaigns shall be for duration of not less
than two weeks.
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Lord Transform Me Initiative
• The implementation of the Lord Transform Me initiative,
with its five components is expected to result in an
annual increase of eight percent (8%) in baptisms, a
conservation of eighty percent (80%) of membership
and an active involvement of eighty percent (80%) of
church members in the ministries and services of the
Church.
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Appreciation/Recognition
• Member Recognition Banquet/Formal Dinner
• Each District Pastor is expected to plan a special appreciation and
recognition programme for those members who have fulfilled their
commitment in the LTM Mission Initiatives. This may be an annual
banquet, a formal dinner or some other appropriate activity. At that
occasion, the local Conference should send a representative who will
express appreciation to the members on behalf of the Inter-American
Division, the Union and the local field administration. Both the Union
and the local field will contribute financially to the programme.
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SPECIAL DATES TO NOTE
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
January 9 – Lord Transform Me Prayer Emphasis
February 1 – 29 – Lord Transform Me Emphasis month
April 2 – Lord Transform Me initiative launch in every church
April 16 – Proclaim & Reap Baptism Union-wide
June 1 – December 31 – Righteousness of Christ special Study
December 1 – 31 – Lord Transform Me Members’ Appreciation month
December 3, 2016 – Lord Transform Me Members’ Mobilization Sabbath in all churches
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WHAT DOES A TRANSFORMED CHURCH
LOOK LIKE? SOUND LIKE?
1. Rich, inspiring worship services
2. Praying church
3. Actively sharing the gospel
4. Busy serving community
5. Loving, sharing, caring, empathetic
6. People immersed in the Word
7. Converted people
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Great singing, joyful
United people – upper room experience
Boldness in confronting evil
Miracles being wrought – Fraser
Less crime and violence in society
More baptisms – “Lord added to the church
daily such as should be saved.”
15. Increased tithe and Offering
16. A more gentle and caring society
17. People ready for Christ’s return
8. Great preaching
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QUOTATIONS
• Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God
as a missionary – Christian Service, p. 9
• God expects personal service from everyone to
whom He has entrusted a knowledge of the truth
for this time” – Testimonies volume 9, p. 30.
• To save souls it to be the life-work of everyone who
professes Christ – Testimonies volume 4, p. 53.
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QUOTATIONS
• Not upon the ordained minister only rests the responsibility
of going forth to fulfill this commission. Everyone who has
received Christ is assigned to work for the salvation of his
fellowmen – Acts of the Apostles, p. 110
• The conversion of souls to God is the greatest work, the
highest work in which human beings can have a part –
Evangelism, p. 292
• “Time is short, and our forces must be organized to do a
larger work.” Christian Service, p. 72
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Reference
• (Adapted from) INTER-AMERICAN DIVISION
GROWTH AND CONSOLIDATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2015-2020
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