Reenergizing Evangelism Growth: Finding a Roadmap for Growing Small Conferences

Finding Friendships

Everything in Alaska is an adventure — the geography, the boat-or-plane-only access to some areas, the rhythm of life, the extreme cost of living and the diversity of culture. Even ministry and evangelism are an adventure for the 36 congregations in this territory.

“We have to play a longer game here in Alaska,” said Kevin Miller, Alaska Conference president. “It’s not that we can’t do public evangelism, we just have to approach it differently. We have to look at evangelism in an integrated, long-term kind of way.”

Alaska leaders find the best ministry response when missionary-minded people enter a village of 500-800 people to live, be present, make friends and share their faith.

“Christ’s method alone is our mission in the bush,” said Tandi Perkins, Alaska Conference development director. “We try really hard to have people integrate into the village, who live there and are generally bi-vocational which provides an opportunity for friendships to develop and networks to be made.”

“You’re not going to come in, set up shop, present a Bible prophecy seminar and leave,” Miller said. “They want to know who you are and that you care about the community.”

One of the ways Daniel Jean-Francois, Alaska Conference ministerial director, and his wife, Laura, are investing in their neighborhood is by baking cakes to share with neighbors. Now their neighbors are giving back acts of kindness.

Jean-Francois, who additionally serves as pastor of Community Church and Northside Church in Anchorage, tells his church members to find simple, creative ways to interact with people they see on a regular basis.

“Those who are closest to you are who you are going to connect with ahead of an evangelism series,” he said. “We want to show the love of Christ and let people see who we are as Christians.”

On St. Lawrence Island, a mere 35 miles from Russia, the high levels of war- and family life-related anxieties are providing an opportunity to speak peace into anxious minds worried about alcoholism, harassment, abuse and more.

Ryan Rogers, Palmer Adventist Church pastor, was invited last fall to visit Gambell on the northern tip of St. Lawrence Island. Among other activities, he ended up playing basketball at the public school and hanging out with students.

“They just really wanted to talk with someone about how to have confidence when things are really scary,” Rogers said. “You couldn’t put a soft answer on it. It really challenged me to apply the gospel.”

On the same island, the church presence in the village of Savoonga just celebrated 10 baptisms after 10 years of ministry outreach.

“I don’t sense a big barrier to Adventists in general,” Rogers said. “Even though they may not be asking for it, with their deeply independent culture, we find people are starving for community. In the villages, if the church does something positive, the whole community feels it.”

Yet there is one large drawback in community building: Alaska’s transient nature fuels a lack of trust.

“People don’t expect me to stay,” Rogers said. “Evangelism doesn’t work well without good culture. When you go to villages, they don’t think you’re staying — and you don’t. There’s this mindset that you’re just going to leave them. We’re trying to build a culture where we are here to stay.”

Friendship evangelism is the strategic basis for NPUC-funded evangelism activities. Alaska Conference is providing virtual evangelism training to churches, hosting church revitalization trainings, and preparing for the arrival of the It Is Written ministry team in 2024. Nearly every church is connected for monthly Zoom training sessions.

“Pray, Plan and Prepare is the new Alaska conference evangelism strategy and motto, as we look forward to our 2024 Revelation Today spring evangelism series with John Bradshaw and It is Written,” shared Ashwin Somasundram, Alaska Conference vice president for administration. “It will be both a conference-wide and statewide event and our hope is for over 100 new souls to be won for God’s kingdom.”

This is an unusual opportunity in more than one way, and one which takes great preparation, Alaska leaders noted.

“Most of Alaska is off the grid,” Perkins said. “Much of our internet stability is questionable in the bush.”

With the introduction of Starlink internet service, this will be the first time every Adventist church in Alaska will be connected online. This growing infrastructure is already allowing nearly every church in the conference to connect for monthly Zoom trainings.

“Our people up here want to do good things for Jesus, so the response to evangelism training has been healthy and robust. They want to be a blessing to Alaska,” Miller said.

“We would be incredibly challenged to be out in the villages doing what we’re doing without the support of the Union, the North American Division and the General Conference,” Perkins said. “There are benefits to being a small conference and there are certainly challenges. One of them is that we cannot do it all ourselves. We need mission-minded people.”

“We still have 200 villages we’ve got to bring the three angels’ message to,” Miller continued. “We have to grow in our innovative thinking. We have to be in the moment, in the present, looking to the future and not dragging our feet in the past.”

“My prayer going forward is to remain faithful to God and what He is doing,” Miller concluded. “Our tithe is growing, our ministries are growing, our schools are growing, the Arctic Mission is growing. There are a lot of things happening here and the Lord is telling us we’re moving in the right direction.”