Naamloos Sermon (2)

Session Script 2

Introduction: Someone aptly characterized the last triennial as "chaotic, cacophonic and catastrophic".

It started with the dreaded Covid-19 and then the Russian war on Ukraine was punctuated by the disastrous floods in KwaZulu Natal. All these destabilised our human systems and ushered in what is now termed the new normal. Meetings went to zoom and other platforms, budgets had to be adjusted and prudence became the watchword.

Profile: The Northern Conference of South Africa started the term with 21 343 members; now its membership stands at 22 154, a modest increase of 3.6%.  The number of churches we started with was 127 with 33 groups and companies. Sadly, we had to disband 1(one) organised church because of the dwindling membership and unsustainability whilst a total number of 3 churches and seven companies were organised. The NCSA is blessed with an A-class contingent of pastors, 75 in number, including some departmental directors who are pastors, giving us a healthy pastor-to-church ratio of around 1:2., the lowest in the SAU and the SID. Unfortunately, during this term, we lost 12 of our pastors for various reasons, including death. We have 53 educators in 5 schools. The number of literature evangelists is 152. In this triennial, these men and women sold R2 552 246.31 worth of books, representing approximately 37% on average with 44% (current year) of the total SAU sales. God has been good to the Northern Conference of South Africa.

Strategic Plan: The NCSA strategic plan document was the guiding light and the glue that brought all departmental directors together to work in harmony to fulfil the mission of our Conference. One of the positive effects of this precious document was to dissolve silos around individuals as directors pulled together in an interdependent, integrated manner to implement the core three objectives fluently enunciated therein to wit: Missional Movement, Educational Excellence and Digital Delivery. The NCSA strategic plan mirrored the I WILL GO General Conference Strategic Plan cascaded down to all sub-organizations of the World Church.  The GC strategic plan is still operational even in the current quinquennium to end in 2025.

The strategic plan has been well canvassed throughout our Conference. It has often been the subject of celebrations interlaced with prayer and powerful testimonies as we sought the involvement of every member (TMI: Total Member Involvement) in the mission of the church because Jesus is Coming Again! The encouragement we all got from the world-renowned evangelist Pastor Mark Finley (Special Advisor to the GC President) was inspirational. Pr Mark Finley's efforts in linking the NCSA to Hope360 University for courses in training in evangelism, church administration and discipling is one of the best gifts we received in the past triennial.

ACMS, Stewardship, Trust Services and 7me: Victor Hugo once said, "Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come". The inception of the communication department in the NCSA accelerated the digitalization process as we sought to modernize our hard- and software systems. All our membership is fully on the Adventist Church Management System (ACMS) and around 99 (a whooping 77%) of our churches are now on the financial module and remit their tithes and offerings through the 7me app.

The "God First" stewardship emphasis video clips were helpful in letting us know that this ministry is not about money, as John Maxwell says, "but trust". A word of thanks to all faithful stewards who gave "not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver". 11 Corinthians 9:7.

The Trust Services Department, the office of the Covid-19 enforcement and the PARL department executed its duties with excellence in safeguarding the legal rights, responsibilities, and privileges of our members. This was accomplished under difficult circumstances.

Health, Family Life, Women and Children Ministries: With the Covid-19 pandemic raging, the promotion of a plant-based diet, conducting stop-smoking programmes, and ministry to those affected by HIV and Aids became some of the priorities in the NCSA. All this was done to utilise natural preventative remedies and temperance in resisting the sometimes-deadly effects of the different diseases. With the production of a recipe book and the usage of the media like YouTube much was accomplished.

The Bible says, "train up a child in the way he should go…" Proverbs 22:6. Through the Department of women and children's ministries, the Conference not only nurtured, empowered, and discipled women but also trained the children in exciting and stimulating ways. Here is one of the parents' testimonies

"I shared the God Loves Me 28 Ways with my 8-year-old daughter, Karien Mielmann. She loved the video presentations on YouTube and followed along in the booklet writing her thoughts and answers. It was a wonderful opportunity to study together as a mother and daughter, and at the end of the series she expressed her desire to be baptised!...   Andriëtte Mielmann , Praise the Lord and Amen.

Youth, Pathfinders and Adventurers: These so-called natives of anything digital had no difficulties in adapting to the new normal. Whether it was the Youth Indaba or Pathfinder and Adventurer training programmes, both the Northern Lights and the Junior Youth clusters simply and seamlessly moved into the newly created electronic platforms and continued as usual.

Lockdown created within us all a renewed appreciation and yearning for the outdoors and exploring God's creation. Around 33 youth attended two separate challenging Drakensberg hikes. For many of them, these hikes were amongst the most challenging things they have done in their lives to date, but after what has been a challenging time with the pandemic, they all cited this as a sense of accomplishment as it provided them with renewed fortitude, perspective and appreciation for abundant life and to not take things for granted.

Missional Mersonal Movement: The SSPM (Sabbath School and Personal ministries Department is moving at breakneck speed to digitalisation with the construction of its own website, complete with a training portal and repositories for different missional programmes. At a press of a button, local church leaders will have access to excellent training material on anything from small groups, how to chair a meeting, church organisation, grief counselling, Spirit of Prophecy and many more. There is a spiritual yearning for NCSA members to transition from just being Christians to being Disciples of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Financial Challenges and other Miracles: In all their programs, the NCSA Community depended like never before on the power of prayer. Numerous prayer initiatives were set up and men and women took turns to agonize with God in prayer for healing, financial breakthroughs, and institutional viability.

Entities like the NCDT, Schools and the NCSA itself who had to implement different strategies to mitigate against financial pressure are now mostly stable and, in some cases, profitable. The painful measures implemented to stabilise these organisations clearly put paid at the end. As a good example, the NCDT made some R8,5 million surplus in the last financial which enabled them to pay off their debt with the NCSA. The Conference, on the other hand, was by and large able to meet its monthly financial commitments without ever touching our reserves. A word of thanks is appropriate to all our members who remained faithful in their stewardship responsibilities under difficult and sometimes impossible economic circumstances.

In all these things, WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD and respond loudly that WE WILL GO!!!!