Oregon 2024 Camp meeting suspended because of financial crisis faced by the conference. The Oregon Conference announced it on its website. watch video for more details.
There are a number of unique and unprecedented circumstances at play in the Oregon Conference this year. The conference pays for the healthcare of its employees, and healthcare expenses have doubled this year. That alone is enough to sink 2024 camp meeting. Additionally, among conferences in America, Oregon has the lowest percentage of attending members, and the lowest number of attendees per pastor. Oregon also supports the 2nd highest number of students from non tithing families. Oregon is the least churched state in the country and that applies to ALL denominations. Additionally, the income gap between the cities and rural districts is significant and most SDA churches are in rural districts. Despite some comments here, none of this is shameful or a disgrace. There is no scandal, no fraud, no gross mismanagement. It's a simple matter of economics. It is hard to do church in Oregon. Camp meetings are a primary component of God's ordained mission for the Seventh-day Adventist church. As such, He who knows the end from the beginning, inspired a church in Bend to start a new event --Central Oregon Camp Meeting. This decision was made before the Oregon Conference announced their cancellation. This new camp meeting is not conference sponsored. Area members are funding. It's a lot of work and a lot of money for a single church but they have answered the call and God will provide what is needed.
y can't they use the method we use here in Africa( Zambia)? especially to my local church, leaders They just give us the goals for each family.. eg my family will buy a 10 kg rice etc... that's how we manage some of us...
Thanks for sharing this information. I know evils that have come into our Church but we are sometimes so quick to condemn and think the worst of every situation. Let’s err on the side of grace, empathy, and compassion even in the midst of exposing those evils. May the Lord bless and restore this conference as the members and leaders surrender themselves faithfully to Him. God bless!
Our church in Washington state is apart of the Oregon conference and they just announced that yesterday during Sabbath services. Our head elder said it would have cost $400,000 for the camp meeting and they didn't have the funding or something.
We are really living in the end times. The pastors in the Caribbean work so very hard while those in the US dilly dally with the tithes money in the conferences.Shame on all of them
Our church system has been top-heavy for decades, including each state in Australia, which has a conference president, secretary treasurer, and financial advisor. Some 600 kilometres away, the same system applies. The same exists in the USA, stated James Standish some years ago. Time to amalgamate the conference system, union system. Our church is so top-heavy that it follows the Catholiic system with an endless supply of money. Sadly, this is the case, and urgently needs attention.
Who wants to support the SDA Conference that has signed an agreement not to preach the 3 angles messages. Support Ministries that are doing God's work. The SDA Conference is not "The Church". The Conference camp meeting have been an abomination for many years. So no real loss.
I think it goes more than that. The Oregon conference is a very liberal conference. And it could be that some of these churches can better manage to keep out false doctrines if they're not constrained by what the conference says they have to teach. So if they don't have a conference pastor, they're better able to stay to what the Bible and Ellen White says.
There needs to be an investigation because things are being cut in the conference and those in leadership are being paid high salaries. They are not going to sacrifice their salaries, they will let everything fall around them so they can be the last man standing.
They should take a leaf from Africa, to the issue of camp meeting each member does contribute, actually we start right away in January to prepare for it since it isn't abrupt.
America does have a number of smaller, unofficial, member supported camp meetings. But the official Conference camp meetings in America are very large events. They attract thousands of attendees each year. Gatherings of this scale require infrastructure that is beyond the scope of members.
What a DISGRACE for a conference to ask 25 of its pastors to EXIT the ministry. 15 alrready did voluntarily, and another 10 WILL BE FIRED!!!!!! Why? Because of the DEBT the conference is in.... Shame on them!
@@LDFine So? Is Oregon doing the Lord work by this? Why is not the whole conference administrators and staff FIRED? Why not dismantle the administration of the conference, the offices and everything? What a disgrace to have such an organization.... We lost the way!
@@johnapocalipto6000 I think you may have misunderstood my simple question? I only asked if the pastors who no longer have jobs in the Oregon Conference could be hired as pastors in another conference. It's the conference leaders who have control of the purse strings, not the pastors in the Oregon Conference who earn an average base salary of $67,000 annually as of March 2024. Did I misunderstand your reply?
@LDFine well that's the trickle effect, right? Now new graduating pastors will not find a church position because this conference mishandled the finances of the church? So 25 new graduates won't have a job after they studied for 4 years because these pastors that are getting laid off will be taking those positions. No wonder there is a drop in registration for the theology depts of colleges. Hmm. How can this be resolved without taking away positions for us new pastors. 😮
@@kabukizanshin1 I really can't speak with authority on that, but I will share an excerpt from the March 2024 Adventist Review Magazine article by Shane Anderson which states, "...Our Adventist universities in North America have been and are considering offering free tuition to students studying to become pastors and teachers....The reason for the gratis tuition is no secret: North America is facing a serious pastor and teacher shortage..." The article is online if you want to look it up. The title of the article is "Free Cash, Priceless Calling" by Shane Anderson.
Get rid of al the GC and NAD committees and just have serving PASTORS not all these intellectuals All the printing and editors is a waste of money Was of paper and time
We need to be in earnest prayers for those ministers and their families who are negatively impacted by this financial crisis. No matter what our views are on this matter, these are real people who are affected and they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our pastor is one of those fired. He and his family just moved here months ago. He is now unemployed and holding an expensive lease. All housing here is expensive. His wife has a good job but that isn't enough. Not sure what they are going to do. So yeah, thank you for your thoughts.
Brother Lawrence thank you for updating us on what's going on in our Church globally, but I'm requesting you to kindly use another picture instead of using Pastor Ted's picture on every front page of your presentation and yet He was not talked about in the presentation. Thx
Campmeeting in Nebraska is only about 3-4 days and no real good speakers much anymore, like it use to be. I miss those longer better campmeetings. It's a fancy church so I'm sure it still cost alot, but not like in those states. It's sad they were canceled.😢
I don't understand some of the comments, “shame on them”, “don't pay your tithe”, and so on? For example, in my home we have a big evangelism project this year with my conference, only 6 people have donated so far to support the ASI part of the project, only 4% of the found. The project is 2 months away... If nobody don't give money and we have more expenses, that's normal, if we have to cancel things. People don't have any more money, it's inflation and they don't want to donate either. Some people like to bash conferences, but God won't judge us by what the conference has done, but by what we have personnally done to spread the gospel.
Let's get back to church organization,all this will not be a problem. We have a blue print to guide us on such kind of things. Members can carry their own food for the camp meeting if they can't do it per church. It's just for 7 days comn.
Pastors should have a regular job just like the rest of us.. in fact, all positions serving the churches and conferences should be voluntary . the love of money is the root of all evil.
I would agree if all an SDA minister did was preach at the pulpit each Sabbath, but my father was a Seventh-Day Adventist pastor evangelist for over 45 years and was gone from early morning to into the evening doing God's work of Bible studies in the community, holding regular evangelist seminars, ministering to the sick at homes, hospital, hospices and nursing homes, he was a marriage counselor, officiated at weddings and funerals, spent hours each day studying God's Word and Spirit of Prophecy writings to prepare for his work and teaching others, he helped build community outreach programs to feed hungry children, help with education, ministered to families in their homes in whatever way they needed who had lost children, spouses and other loved ones. He was very much involved with the church board and school board of our private schools to try to bring positive changes. He did much more including continuing education in the ministry so he could serve God to the fullest. Growing up, I usually saw my father only in the evening and often late evenings and Sabbath. Sunday was not always a family day if he was needed in an emergency or for a funeral or wedding. We, as a family helped him as much as we could. His ministry wasn't just the church members, but our entire community such as during a horrific tornado in our town of Jonesboro, Arkansas when he immediately went out after the tornado passed and had destroyed much of our neighborhood (our home was untouched, praise God!) to help rescue people and recover those who had been killed in the tornado's destruction. I was 10 years old and the warning system had failed during that night while most children were in bed asleep and adults retiring for the night. It was one of the deadliest tornadoes in the state and my dad came home with blood on his blue and green plaid shirt and was telling my mother about the heartbreak of seeing children who had died in this catastrophic storm and how he had tried to comfort the mourning parents who survived. So, you see, my father as a true minister of God, had no time to work at a "regular" job. I can't speak for all SDA ministers, but I know there were and are many who are faithful, dedicated, hardworking servants of God who utilized every precious moment God gave them to preach and teach Present Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Three Angels' Messages to this world and to serve the church members, our schools and local communities in whatever capacity God asks them to do. 💚🙏🏻🙂
Perhaps you do not personally know any pastors? It is more than full time job. Furthermore pastors are admonished not to engage in any other work, lest it distract them from the work of the ministry.
I do know that here in Mn; the boarding school was over a hundred thousand in debt. When all this is laid out to the constituency; the conference of course wants money. 75% of the students at the academy were worthy student; meaning they weren’t paying any of their bill!!!! Thats just craziness galore! What happened to kids being required to work??? Where did the work programs go???? A few yrs ago maplewood academy had a Harris pine factory; what happened to that?????? This kind of unaccountable behavior can’t be tolerated by constituents. The conferences are acting no different than government and spending into oblivion! The Mn conference bought a new building inside Mpls area- they said they have more room there but last fall they rented the whole St. Cloud riverside building for a leadership conference!!!!?????? And: the church should not be having its offices in these big corrupt cities .
The letting go of competent of true Godly pastors is so wrong. The SDA organization is a big one and I can't believe that they are just going to tell these pastors and families that they are being let go from the umbrella of the ministry. Unless there is more to the story . Maybe the pastors are being let go for other reasons ? We are in the business of retaining all who wish to serve GOD in truth. So while this story I'm sure is partially true, the pastor part doesn't hold water. And that sadly reflects even more badly on the conference.
The bigger question is why the oregano conference is in a financial crisis 🤔 what says there budget report where is the Lord's money? Plus why do they have so much big title officers 🤔 🙄. Which is more important? If the Camp meetings are in favor for God's glory and Charater building for all youths and those involved then let it go forward for the Lord will provide. However, these leader where is the Money??? Present the books 📚 let the records be examined!
Wrong spirit my brother. Rather pray for the churh, members and it's leadership. This is God's church and I trust him. He will take care of it. Keep praying!!!
Here is my take. I don’t pay tithe and offering to Conferences and churches that are in apostasy. Churches that are secular, support homosexuality and wearing of jewelry will not get my money and I make a lot of money. Instead I send tithe and offering to non conference church or organizations that support my views. Just maybe others are doing the same as I am doing. To stop slackness you got to hit them financially.
"my money" --it's not your money. It never was your money. Tithe belongs to the Lord. How that money is used is HIS responsibility, not yours. "my views" --I'm not trying to be rude here but our views don't matter. We are called to align with Heaven's point of view. Nowhere is it written to make "jewelry" a test of worthiness.
Gm, @brian 683 may O share this quote with you from the book Testimonies for the Church vol 9 the chapter faithful stewardship section: ( A solemn 0bligation)
Jesus said the harvest is ripe, but the labourers are few. He said we should pray for labourer. The church today is saying the labourers are too many, we do not have money. Christ himself will have to do the reaping.
Deuteronomy 16:16-17 New King James Version (NKJV) “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.
This was pointless to report why not use your platform to do more. Help them raise funds send your RU-vid money to the conference instead using their misfortune to cash in. Stop posting people’s pictures your creating dangerous situations for them.
I like this report. It made me realize that when my conference presents the financial report, that I should pay attention. Maybe it wasn't just the conference. Why didn't church members respond to the financial report? This did not happen overnight.
