Adventist Education has rolled out 8,000 copies of a special Abide Bible across the South Pacific Division (SPD) designed for all staff in Seventh-day Adventist schools. The two-year project was supported and funded by the SPD and its four union conferences.
The Abide Bible contains extra resources created and compiled by Murray Hunter, Australian Union Conference (AUC) ministerial associate secretary for chaplaincy and media coordinator. Those resources have been specifically developed to support everyone working within Adventist education, he said.
“These resources were designed to support personal time with God and growth in personal relationships with Jesus,” Hunter said. Also, to help “the building of friendship and fellowship among staff within the school by connecting, supporting, and encouraging each other’s spiritual journey; and to act as a guide to confidently share Jesus’ love with others.”
Jacques Calais, Adventist Schools Australia associate national director, expressed his hopes for the initiative, saying, “It is our prayer that the Bibles will be a catalyst to impact every single person within Adventist education and support them to be passionate, committed disciples for Jesus.”
Citing John 15, Calais emphasized the importance of supporting, encouraging, and resourcing staff to “stay connected to the Vine.”
“Our greatest desire is to see every person within Adventist education filled with the joy, peace, love, hope, and love of Jesus. We want to nurture all staff in their walk with Jesus,” Calais said.
According to Calais, the Abide Bible will not just be another Bible. “We want it to become a key component in the spiritual life of our schools and be used as a valued resource to grow a unified and collective heart of all staff to share Jesus with those within their care,” Calais said. He added, “We want them to become an integral part of what happens in and around our schools both personally and corporately.”
At the same time, Calais emphasized, “every single person employed within Adventist education is a front-line minister — whether they be the bus driver or cleaner, deputy or principal, receptionist or canteen supervisor. Each plays a vital role in impacting students for Jesus, and we pay tribute to everyone within Adventist education for their incredible ministry and service,” he said.
The original version of this story was posted by Adventist Record.
