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The Local Church - The Hope of the World

I love the statement, “the local church is the hope of the world.” I strongly believe that God has chosen to do His work through you and me—His church. Are you aware the Bible Society is running a campaign titled, Jesus All About Life (JAAL)? The JAAL television campaign encourages people to seek for themselves the truth of the Bible and more particularly, who Jesus is and what He actually said. The hope is that people will commit to learning about Jesus by attending a local church.

As Adventists we should always look for opportunities to share our faith and talk about the One who is working in our lives. The possibilities that can be leveraged through JAAL are enormous. The campaign will open doors for spiritual conversations, raise the profile of Jesus and His church. It will also mean you and I need to be ready to welcome seekers into our church communities as they grow in faith.

The JAAL campaign is simple. Starting 15 September and continuing for six weeks, the Bible Society will be running an advertising campaign that includes TV, print, billboard, radio and banners. The advertisement talks about the relevance of Jesus to everyday life and offers a follow-up guide and directs people to a website. Each local church is encouraged to strategise, organise and pray about ways that can bring the person of Jesus in a relevant way to their community.

In Sydney, the Adventist Media Network will be running a TV campaign alongside the JAAL advertising offering a free viewing of our “Who Is Jesus” DVD. This DVD is being rebranded to link in with the JAAL campaign, letterbox cards offering the DVD will also be available. Your church is being encouraged to pray and think about ways you can promote the JAAL message during the campaign. Ideas might include a sermon series, JAAL small group, art displays or service projects.

Be creative and come up with ways you can lift Jesus up. Our communities need to be reminded of the life changing power of Jesus. “We are very enthusiastic about the Jesus All About Life campaign and have signed up all our congregations and schools,” says Pr David Blanch, president, Greater Sydney Conference. “Any evangelistic focus on Jesus is immediately attractive to the Seventh-day Adventist church and its mission. We love the message this campaign promotes in the community and we are very keen to do what we can as a denomination to promote the relevance of Jesus to everyday life. We have a high regard for the work of the Bible Society and know that working with them will be a positive experience for our congregations while delivering an important message to the people of Sydney.”

Why not take this opportunity to pray and think how to link people to Jesus. How do you impact the hurting, poor, unloved or disconnected people in your community? Jesus All About Life needs to be more than just a six week campaign. Allowing Jesus to work in and through your life is what life is all about. Pr Pablo Lillo Director of Communication

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