NAD NewsPoints, Feeding 20K, $30K for Haystacks, T. rex cannibals? CRAVE, HOPE Heals, LLUH TV, Public Campuses, Tour de Youth, Orlando, YA ViewPoint

[Stan]

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Feeding the 20,000 – During their recent leadership retreat, NAD leaders and family members packed 20,000 meals for feeding hungry people around the world. Teams were set up to fill, weigh, seal and box each meal and a gong was rung every time 2,000 meals were packed. The project was sponsored by Stop Hunger Now. MORE    $30,000 Haystacks Demonstration – This morning the Mountain View Christian School in Williamsport, Pa., received a $30,000 check, the Grand Prize, from the Uncle Ben’s Beginners contest – thanks to a video about haystacks as done by one of their students and his family illustrating the Haystacks recipe and using Uncle Ben's rice. MORE; Watch the video.    The body of Dr. Jay Sloop, from Yakima, Wash., has been found. The much-loved Seventh-day Adventist doctor disappeared while on a three-week mission trip to help the church in Kiev, Ukraine, set up a lifestyle center there in May, 2013. Many thousands were praying for him to be found. His body was discovered in a ventilation shaft of an abandoned building and has been identified by police. We mourn with the family and loved ones, and pray that his discovery will help bring some closure and answer many questions.  MORE; NBC report      Matthew McLain, a 26-year-old graduate student in the department of earth and biological sciences at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, recently discovered that Tyrannosaurus rex, the ferocious fanged dinosaur of the Cretaceous era, was a cannibal. McLain presented his findings at the 2015 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America. He also authored an abstract, which the society published under the title, “Tyrannosaur Cannibalism: a Case of a Tooth-Traced Tyrannosaur Bone in the Lance Formation of Eastern Wyoming.”  MORE    CRAVE, A joint effort among NAD's Adventist Christian Fellowship (ACF), Lake Union, Indiana Conference and the Bloomington Church, resulted in 100 new student relationships with one baptism, new Bible studies, and four Life Groups which form a continuing spiritual community. MORE    The Soquel Camp Meeting, hosted by the Central California Conference, is known for several things,including the annual evangelism offering. This year it totaled over $1 million. MORE    Kettering College will begin offering a new healthcare management major for students who are interested in pursuing a career in business in the healthcare industry. The three-year, full-time course of study is equivalent to a four-year degree. Classes will begin in August 2016.  MORE   Adventist University of Health Sciences Renews Educational Partnership, Receives Accreditation for DPT ABC2 Storm Team School Visit! $8 million Centura Health urgent care facility planned to open in 2017 Shawnee Mission Medical Center’s missions work gets $1 million gift  Florida Hospital Fish Memorial taps new CEO Castle Rock Adventist expands birthing facility Christmas behind bars Florida Hospital Apopka Pours Foundation for New Campus Journey to Bethlehem, a live Nativity scene, returns to Meridian this week  SWAU Chamber Singers perform at Rotary The Journey approved for new tower  Adventist Medical Center-Selma Adds ICU Adventist Health System Selects athenahealth to Support and Enhance Physician Care Southern Moves Up in U.S. News & World Report Rankings     Register for the Tour de Youth "The Big Easy"  bicycling tour before Dec. 31, and get $350 off with code TDY350. MORE. Like Tour de Youth on Facebook.    Begin the year with prayer. The NAD Day of Prayer for 2016 is January 2. Sermons on prayer by Pastor Pavel Goia are available on the NAD Prayer Ministries website. Pastor Goia will also deliver the Jan. 2, Day of Prayer sermon, "Getting Personal with God," which will be aired on HOPE Channel-Church at 11 a.m. ET/PT. Make 2016 the year of Houses Of Hope Everywhere, because HOPE Heals!   Watch "Life on the Line," Loma Linda University Health’s national TV show which will air nationwide on WORLD Channel in January on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. ET. “Life on the Line” is an inspiring look into Loma Linda's mission to further the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ. MORE    Orlando, Fla. is the place to be in January. Take an emotional health break and register for the 2016 NAD Emotional Wellness Summit (Jan. 13-17). The Wyndham Orlando Resort International Drive Hotel summit block is nearly full. Hotel registration ends on December 21. MORE       The 2016 NAD Calendar of Offerings, as approved by the 2015 Year-end Meeting, is now posted on the NAD website. Updated resources and helpful links for the 2016 Calendar of Special Days will be added as they become available from the respective sponsoring departments throughout the year.    Adventist Christian Fellowship / Public Campus Ministries (PCM) is one of our best resources. It is estimated that over 80% of Adventist young people attend non-Adventist colleges and universities. Many of these risk getting disconnected with the church during their tertiary education if efforts are not made to engage them. To find these young people, connect them to their nearest church, encourage them in their faith, and deploy them as co-workers with Christ are equally important aspects of PCM. Read about the Michigan Conference PCM.     “My company trusted me with a $6 million dollar decision, but my church doesn't even trust me with a key to the door.” Comment by a young adult made to Nina Lim which she shared with committee members at the North American Division's 2015 Year-end Meeting  [In the photo: Nina Lim]   For Sharing!  Did you know God has given us guidelines for living well? When given the proper tools, and when we assign them to our everyday living, hope can become a reality that a change in behavior is possible. Our behavior tells a lot about what we are, who we are, and whose we are. Christ is like our great Guidance Counselor. He has given us tools for change in our behavior because He wants us to live well. These tools, or guidelines, assist us to be responsible and develop disciplines for healthful living, outward reforms, and opportunities to live according to the Spirit of God through the Holy Scriptures...  MORE Watch the 90: second video on Vimeo.  People want to know what Seventh-day Adventists believe. Each topic on the My Way to Jesus website links to a video, an invitation to study the Bible, the Find-a-Church Directory, a link for kids to My Place with Jesus, a place to send prayer requests, and more. You can easily post the videos and information on your church website and/or share the updates from the My Way to Jesus Facebook page. Learn how.   December 17, 2015 NAD Initiative for 2016: Compassion and Hope   Part of the Transformational Evangelism Building Block   Apr. 16, 17, Day of Hope and Compassion The 2nd weekend of every month will automatically be a Compassion Weekend. Plan for it every month throughout the year to do acts of compassion, especially on these weekends, but better yet, every day.  Days of Compassion: January 9/10 February 13/14 March 12/13 April 9/10 May 14/15 June 11/12 July 9/10 August 13/14 September 10/11 October 8/9 November 12/13 December 10/11 Learn about funding for a Compassion Model Church in each conference.       Special Days   January Focus: Friendship Evangelism Jan. 2, Day of Prayer Jan. 17-23, Religious Liberty Week February Focus: Family Life Feb. 6-27, Black History Month Feb. 13, Christian Marriage Sabbath Feb. 13, Health Ministries Sabbath Feb. 13-20, Christian Home and Marriage Week Feb. 20, Christian Parenting Sabbath Offerings   January Offerings Jan. 23, Religious Liberty February Offerings Feb. 13, Adventist Television Ministries   Helpful Special Day Websites and Resources Sample Offertory Readings (in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French)   2016: Jan. 2, NAD Day of Prayer, via Hope Channel Church Jan. 13-17, Emotional Wellness Summit Feb. 12, Marriage Vows: Living the Commitment  Feb. 17-20, Just Claim It Youth Prayer Conference Feb. 19-20, Making Love Last - Married Couples' Retreat Feb. 24-28, GAiN - Global Adventist Internet Network Conference Mar. 26, Safety Sabbath Apr. 2-4, SONscreen Film Festival Apr. 2-9, La Voz de la Esperanza NET via  Esperanza TV (in Spanish) Apr. 3-8, Tour de Youth, "The Big Easy" Apr. 16, 17, Day of Hope and Compassion Apr. 18-21, Nonprofit Leadership Convention, Session 1 Apr. 24-27, HR Conference & Secretariat Council, Minneapolis, Minn. Apr. 27-30, Your Best Pathway to Health/Los Angeles   Apr. 29 - May 1, Oregon Men's Summit May13-16, World Congress for Deaf & Deaf-Blind July 21-23, Adventist Conference on Family Research and Practice Aug. 3-6, ASI 2016 Convention Sept. 7-10, Adventist Community Services Convention, Gladstone, Ore. Sept. 28-Oct., Health Summit Canada Oct. 10-13, Nonprofit Leadership Convention, Session 2 Oct. 13-15, Society of Adventist Communicators Convention Nov. 18-19, HE SAID GO Missions Conference 2017: Jan. 8-11, 2017 - Adventist Ministries Convention, Tucson, AZ   Adventist World/ NAD Edition December, 2015   NAD Feature: Washing Dirty Feet; p. 30 NAD News: Church Leaders Meet to Worship and Plan; Baptists Use Adventist Bible Lessons; Adventists in North American Make Prayer a Priority, p. 11 NAD Update: NAD Year-end Meeting Accepts Report about Human Sexuality; NAD Launches Website for General Public, p. 14; A Turning Point in North America, p. 35 NAD Perspective: When the President Prayed, p.17     Daily Prayer Guide Month of December, 2015:   Pray for the Southwestern Union, which includes 572 churches and 112,460 members.          Dec. 20-26 – This coming week, please pray for the Texico Conference with 71 churches and 12,095 members.   Dec. 27 - Jan. 2 –  This week, please pray for the Bermuda Conference, with 11 churches and 3,914 members. Month of January 2016: Pray for the Atlantic Union, with 579 churches and 116,252 members.  Jan. 3-9 – This coming week, please pray for the Greater New York Conference with 154 churches and 24,448  members, and for the New York Conference with 60 churches and 5,596 members. Download the 2016 NAD Prayer Calendar Guide   Share This Newsletter

Bible plus Spirit of Prophecy Reading Plan 4th Quarter, 2015 Southern-Africa Indian Ocean Division Watch DVD Youth & Adult Mission Quarterly Children's Magazine   Hope Channel DIRECTV ch. 368 Glorystar ch. 104 Hope Church Channel Esperanza TV    follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Archived NewsPoints with printable PDFs © 2015 North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904 Dan Weber, communication director, Julio Muñoz, associate director Lynetta Murdoch, sr. editorial assistant Email: newspoints@nad.adventist.org | Website: www.nadadventist.org/newspoints