Subject: A Busload of Love

Pastor Melvyn Warfield III found a captive audience to share Jesus with on the bus.

November 2021 • Issue 27

A Busload of Love

To Pastor Melvyn Hayden III, trips to the botanical gardens, aquarium, or grocery store, are all ways to introduce the community to Jesus. It all happens from his bus.


Hayden's was just one of the ministries highlighted during ASI Columbia Union's Oct. 9 virtual event, The ASI Experience. Those gathered celebrated and encouraged creativity in ministry.


“The Lord showed me a very creative way to connect with the community because everybody likes to travel and go places,” he said to the attendees.


Hayden, who pastors two churches in southern New Jersey, earned a CDL license and then bought his first bus, which lasted 10 years.

Pastor Melvyn Hayden III (top) shares Jesus on this 47-passenger bus (above), which he owns and drives.

Carlos E. Charnichart, CFO and treasurer for the Pennsylvania Conference offered his personal testimony in a vesper thought for The ASI Experience on Oct. 9. Be blessed for the first time or again by clicking the link above.

This past summer he bought a newer 47-passenger bus, which he operates as a ministry helping community organizations who reach out to the homeless and senior citizens, Adventist schools and church members and their friends. Donations help fund the ministry.


“The Lord showed me a vision of our parking lot being packed with people desiring to go places that are safe and fun,” he said.

He finds as a bus driver, it gives him an opening to talk with people about Jesus.


“It’s so much easier to introduce someone to Christ when you’ve spent the whole day with them,” Hayden said.


To hear his full testimony and the ministries of other ASI Columbia Union members, click the link below to watch The ASI Experience.

— Michele Joseph, managing editor, ASI Columbia Union newsletter

ASI COLUMBIA UNION AT WORK

TEACH INTERNATIONAL INC.

The core goal of Teach International In. has always been to help people in need in India, said Joysingh Charles, who leads the organization today. It was founded in 1983 by his late brother Karnnel, focusing on educating children in low-income families. It also was a way to help graduates of Adventist institutions find jobs.

The graduates would receive help from Karnnel Charles to create schools. These schools were established across India, including 38 in the northeast region, Joysingh Charles said. They have donated computers to several Adventist schools and created computer centers and internet hubs for people from the community to have access.


Today, the focus has shifted a bit as the Indian government monitors religious organization's activity closely to stop them from proselytizing. Still, the Charles family has found a way to support education, especially for young women. They sponsor girls to receive nursing and other employment training and even help them start businesses.


A nurse in India can make $300 a month, which may seem small in the U.S. but is a boon to a family in India, Joysingh Charles said.


The organization has also expanded to do health camps, offering people access to needed medical expertise and medicine.


What can ASI Columbia Union members do to help?  Pray for Teach International Inc. that they may continue their ministry in India and help more people.

— Michele Joseph, managing editor, ASI Columbia Union newsletter

We want to celebrate the outstanding ministries of our members. Would like to have your ministry or business spotlighted in the ASI Columbia Union newsletter? If so, contact us at connect@columbiaunionasi.com and tell us how God has been using you.

THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

As we draw closer to the end of another year, I am sure that many of us have encountered life’s sunlight and shadows during this prolonged pandemic experience. And as the holiday season draws near, I pray that we all recognize that the very presence of shadows is an indication that light is near. 


Shadows, the dark areas of our journey, where the vibrant colors of life seem muted and the way forward seems unclear, are an indication that something is obstructing the light. As we near the time of thanksgiving and the celebration of the birth of our Savior, I encourage you to move away from those things that are obstructing the Light. It could be a disappointment, an unexpected loss, a looming challenge, or a fear that won’t go away. But I propose that there is something we can do. The prophet Isaiah made the pronouncement in chapter 1: “Arise,

shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” We must recognize that this Light does not lose its intensity or go away. Life may erect obstacles that obscure the Light, casting shadows on our path, but all that may be needed is for us to reposition ourselves.

 So, as we reflect on this year and look forward to the year ahead, if we see more shadows than light, then I pray for movement, a repositioning of our perspective. We must move our focus away from the obstacles and into the unobstructed, bright rays of the Light of the World, our Savior, our Redeemer, a light so bright that we may have to put on our SONglasses. I pray that as our hearts and souls are flooded with the light of God’s presence, that grief will be replaced with gratitude, and that the joy of the Lord will be ours as we prepare to enter the new year.   

May God bless you all.  I look forward to us having an even more engaging ASI experience as we move forward.  Continue to stay abreast of recent and upcoming events in our newsletters.  Looking forward to seeing or speaking with you soon.  Blessings to you all.


Your fellow servant,

Mark A. Brown

President

ASI Columbia Union

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GOD'S PROMISE

"Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;" — Psalm 95:1-6 NIV

A PRAYER FOR YOU

Dear Lord,


Thank you for your continued love, mercy and unmerited favor toward us. Thank your for allowing us to join You in the work of sharing the gospel here on earth. We pray that You would bless each ministry and business owner and their families in the ASI Columbia Union territory. Please give them the wisdom to stay connected with You, the courage to execute your plan, the resources to build and grow and the patience to do it in Your time and Your way. Please bless the upcoming events planned and help us to see Your hand in each one.


In Jesus' name, Amen.

JOIN THE PRAYER LINE

Call 570-354-0272 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. to pray with Sharon Pruitt, ASI Columbia Union vice president for spiritual development, and other ASI Columbia Union members.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursdays — ASI Hour, 8 p.m., a weekly meeting offering tools and training to encourage Sharing Christ in the Marketplace. Click here to register to join the virtual events or replay past meetings.

Our mission is to obey the Holy Spirit’s call to encourage, empower and equip Adventist members of Columbia Union to work together to finish God’s work in these times in harmony with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

ASI Columbia Union Board: Mark A. Brown, president; Sharon Pruitt, vice president for spiritual development; Daniel Reed, vice president for projects, missions and evangelism

ASI Columbia Union Staff: Nicole Labiche, administrative assistant

Sponsor: Celeste Ryan Blyden, vice president, Columbia Union Conference

Newsletter Managing Editor: Michele Joseph

 
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