The following has been submitted from Rev. Andrew Samuels of both the Miami Seventh Day Baptist Church and the General Secretary of the SDB World Federation:

SDB WORLD FEDERATION BLOG FOR DECEMBER, 2015

I believe we can safely say, the countdown has begun towards the next Session of the SDB World Federation, which will be in Brazil, January 22-28, 2017.

At present, over 50 delegates and observers from almost all of the member conferences of the Federation, have pre-registered to be in attendance. Your continued prayers are requested, as the daily schedule for the Session is being planned, and as we seek to bring all the pieces together for a smooth, God-glorifying, people-edifying experience. We also ask for your prayers that enough funds will be raised to ensure that at least one delegate from each conference is able to travel to Brazil, and that all Session-related expenses will be covered.

We encourage all Seventh Day Baptists around the world to unite in prayer the first full week of 2016, January 3-9. Week of Prayer booklets have been mailed or e-mailed to all our conferences. The meditations will focus on, “The Kingdom Of God Is Like…”, and were written by Rev. Dr. Dale Thorngate, President of the World Federation. Pastor Dale will use that identical theme for the Session in Brazil in 2017. In all the SDB Churches that make up our member conferences, I encourage that a special offering be collected for the Federation at least once during the coming year. That could take place on World Federation Sabbath on January 9, 2016, or on any other convenient date. Our semi-centennial fundraiser also continues in this the 50th. year of the Federation’s existence. This is our goal of raising US$50,000 by asking 1,000 Seventh Day Baptists anywhere in the world to donate the equivalent of $50 each. We are grateful to those who have already donated towards that campaign, and pray that others will take advantage of this giving opportunity.

As the curtain is closed on 2015, it is my prayer that Seventh Day Baptists globally will sense God’s clear direction in 2016, allowing Him to be first in our lives in all things.