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The Year of Grace and Vulnerability

Tens of thousands of new believers have been anchored in their faith through the Adventist Review.

Bill Knott
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See them clearly.

You first noticed them after the Adventurer Club registration a year ago—the nervous thirty-something couple following their irrepressible six-year old, Jacob, into the church fellowship hall after the worship service. From your favorite spot near the dessert table you watched them taking in the scene—new place, new faces, new food, new day of worship.

Amy joined the pastor’s Bible study class in January, followed three weeks later by Arlen—towed to Sabbath School each week by their son’s desire to spend ever more time with his friends. In April, they signed up to help with the Adventurer Club campout, and spent the rainy weekend flipping pancakes and swapping stories with a dozen other parents.

Eight months in, you heard a passing reference to a plan to “join the church.” Two months ago, a date for baptism was announced. And just last Sabbath, streaming wet, Amy and Arlen embraced the pastor in the baptistery—as Jacob beamed with satisfaction from the front row.

Tens of thousands of new believers have been anchored in their new-found faith during their first year of membership by the most trusted voice in this movement: the Adventist Review.

You see them clearly now.

They’re new, and they’re believers—welcomed into the worldwide fellowship of Seventh-day Adventists through the mysterious but wonderful process by which the Spirit still moves in human hearts. And while the hugs are genuinely warm and the friendships quickly forming, this is still the most vulnerable moment for those like Amy and Arlen—and Jacob.

A dozen voices in their families and jobs will question their decisions. Awkward, even painful moments will unfold as they align their lives with Scripture’s teaching about the Sabbath. Older and still powerful connections to other faiths will tempt them back from all the change now flooding through their lives.

It is the Year of Grace and Vulnerability—those crucial first 12 months when new believers either successfully transition into God’s remnant people or slip back into the worlds from which they came.

And you can do something to help.

This is the twentieth year that Adventist Review has turned to its readers and asked them to support the New Believer project—a simple $15 gift to put one full year of this faith-building magazine in the hands of every newly baptized person across North America. You’ve responded with uncommon generosity—with checks and notes and prayers that move our staff to tears as we record your gifts and thank you for your kindness.

Because of you, tens of thousands of new believers have been anchored in their new-found faith during their first year of membership by the most trusted voice in this movement: the Adventist Review.

This year, you can make it even more personal.

For every four new believers whose one-year subscription you sponsor (a $60 gift), you can designate one more individual—a friend, a former member, a child or grandchild, another specific new believer—who will receive 12 months of Adventist Review for free, and year-round access to the most engaging website in the church. The multiples apply: for $120, you can add two names for free; for $500, give us eight. We want to encourage you in well-doing—and make your gift go even further.

If you wish, those whose names you designate will know of your gift when their first copy arrives within six weeks. If you prefer to stay anonymous, we’ll simply say that they are “highly valued by a friend.” The result will be the same—for all like Amy and Arlen, for Jacob laughing through the puzzles in his copy of KidsView that arrives with each month’s issue.

Call at 301-680-6639 to make your gift by credit card. Send your check to: New Believer Project, Adventist Review, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.

You know Amy, Arlen, and Jacob.

Now keep them firmly in mind.

Bill Knott

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