Eager to Serve

By Jay Wintermeyer

North Pacific Union assistant to the president for communication and Gleaner editor

You've probably been there, looking around a room full of people who all seem to know each other. They're laughing and chattering, while you stand awkwardly to the side wondering how to fit in. The host walks by with a tray of snacks, and you immediately offer to take over so you finally have something useful to do. "No, no, I've got it," your host replies. Bereft of any way to connect or contribute, you step back into the shadows and wonder why you ever came in the first place. You just want to leave.

Young adults often find themselves in a similar situation at church. American writer and businessman Alvin Toffler penned these words: 

“The secret message communicated to most young people today by the society around them is that they are not needed, that the society will run itself quite nicely until they — at some distant point in the future — will take over the reins. Yet the fact is that the society is not running itself nicely ... because the rest of us need all the energy, brains, imagination, and talent that young people can bring to bear down on our difficulties. For society to attempt to solve its desperate problems without the full participation of even very young people is imbecile.” 

Toffler is known for his works discussing modern technologies, including the digital revolution and the communication revolution. His incisive commentary about our youth is more important in 2021 than ever before. Young people are an indispensable lifeline for society and for our church. 

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is here today because a group of young people, including James and Ellen White, formed a core part of the leadership in the early days when it was formally organized in May 1863. Their energy and talents helped build up a foundation for the fledgling church. 

Ellen White experienced firsthand the power of youth. In later years she would write about their importance in the book Education: “With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Savior might be carried to the whole world!” (p. 271).

More than 150 years later, the Adventist Church is facing a twofold crisis. Young people are leaving the church at the same time the Adventist Church is facing the retirement of more than half its current leadership. 

More than ever before the Adventist Church needs young people. What will the next decade look like? Who is going to take the torch and lead this faith community while we wait for Christ’s promised return?

Abby Alcantara, a junior religion major at Walla Walla University, knows she’s here for a reason. Listening to Abby recount her faith journey, it’s clear to see God’s divine hand at work. Considering all that’s happened in her life, she could have easily ended up in a very different place.

“I shouldn’t be here today,” says Abby. “I know God has brought me to where I am right now.”

Abby is a fourth-generation Adventist. “I’ve always believed what my parents believed,” she says. “What they believed was very foundational for me. It was a good structure for me as a kid growing up. I went to church and sang the songs and read all the stories.”

When Abby’s parents went through a divorce, life took a dark turn. The Sabbath School stories and songs didn’t feel the same. She doesn’t talk much about that time in her life, but one thing is clear: She wishes things had gone differently. She wishes her church would have done things differently.

When she started high school, Abby began to discover some important things about herself and God. She realized God was way more than what her parents had told her. He was a personal God. “My Bible teacher helped us cultivate our spiritual gifts,” says Abby. “He helped us understand that each one of us is unique and different and showed us how God can use those differences in special ways.”

When Abby graduated from high school, she decided to attend a local community college in her hometown in Medford, Oregon. “When I started college,” Abby says, “I fell backward and was out of touch spiritually. I went to church on Saturday, but there wasn’t a connection. The only time I felt a spiritual high was during the summer when I would go to Camp MiVoden for work.” 

When Abby talks about camp, her eyes light up. Camp MiVoden showed her again how God is more than someone you read about in a book. He is someone that can and is working in people’s lives. Being able to witness that through camp ministry for the past four years has been a huge boost for Abby’s spiritual journey. 

“I’ve noticed a huge spiritual turn these past four years,” says Abby. “But during the past two years I’ve realized where my own faith foundation was with God.” 

While Abby grew up in the Adventist Church, she didn’t exactly know why she was a member. “Honestly, I’m still figuring it out," she says now. "I claim Adventism because it is the closest to what I see as Bible truth.”

Over the past four years, Abby’s camp experience has challenged her to find a life calling where she can use what she went through growing up to help others. Her search prompted her to keep reading her Bible and to dig deeper into it. 

“One of the ways God showed up for me recently was how he brought me to Walla Walla University,” says Abby. “It was going to be my last summer at camp and I had plans in place to move on to other things. One day at the camp director, Jeff Wines, came up to me and asked me if I wanted to work for him as an intern. I was so excited because I had always wanted to work for him. Working as an intern at Upper Columbia Conference I was able to keep a job when many of my classmates weren’t able to keep a job because of the pandemic.” 

The job at the conference was a growing experience for Abby. In addition, the finances from the internship allowed her to enroll for religion studies at Walla Walla University.

Over the past two years Abby has grown in her faith journey with God and her church. “Church isn’t just a building,” she says. “… It’s people. When we have a building, we have a hierarchy that comes into play. When we hear the word 'church,' we think of a steeple and bells. For me, church should be a safe place to grow and be open with each other.”

Abby describes her view of church as a place without entrance fees or requirements for people to feel welcome. “I’d love to have a place where you don’t have to put on a mask to appear perfect. I long for a place to be open and real with each other,” she says.

Abby wants to make a difference and serve. When asked about how she and her peers feel about working for God, she says, “I would like to see us be able to lead without fear. We want to help. We want to take action, but we often have to second guess what we’re doing. Are our leaders going to despise us for this? There are leaders who are supportive, but you have to look for them. When we don’t have that support, we get nervous and fearful of getting involved.” 

While the Adventist Church is struggling to keep young people engaged, there are those like Abby. Young eyes see a church they are passionate about, love their faith community and want to make a difference. It’s up to us to encourage them and let them lead. It’s time for the young and old, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to build vibrant, active, and safe place for all whom God sends our way.

This story was adapted from an article that appeared in the March/April 2021 issue of the Gleaner. For the full article, see nwadventists.com/feature/adventism-2021.