Arvin Pirness | The Voice of Zion August 2024 - News & Notes Article --
During these summer months, much work is being done in the areas of work God has shown to us. Mission work continues through services arranged in many localities here and abroad. Special yearly services bring believers together to festively gather around God’s Word. Camps in many places provide places of service, learning and fellowship for believers of all ages. God yet gives a time of work, and we thank Him for every blessing.
A few weeks have passed since we experienced the gracious hospitality of the Longview, Wash., congregation, host of the 2024 LLC Summer Services. God blessed these services with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. God provided words of comfort and peace amidst the chaos and confusion of the world. Approximately 3,400 service guests experienced the services in person at the Kelso High School and hundreds experienced it through the service broadcast.
2024 LLC Annual Meeting
Sixty delegates from LLC member congregations met to discuss the work of our church on Friday, July 5. God blessed our meeting with unity of faith and understanding among the delegates – young and old alike. Brothers Steve Laiho from Williston, N.D., and Nate Maki from Alaska were approved to fill the LLC board positions vacated by the retirements of George Koivukangas and Peter Kuopus.
Delegates moved that the LLC will hold summer services on or around the weekend of July 4 going forward. The board and staff of heard many supportive and encouraging comments concerning the work proposed in the 2025 Operating Plan. I heard very clearly to go do the work with faith.
LLC Personnel
We welcome Daniel Kumpula, who has started working at the LLC. Daniel will work in our Mission department. His responsibilities include scheduling of LLC events and camps at our camp centers, supporting member congregation ministers with pastoral resources and supporting area mission committees. We wish God’s blessings for Daniel, his wife Annye and their children.
Camp Notes
At the 2024 confirmation schools this year, 285 students were confirmed. Three confirmation schools were held at Stony Lake, two at Kamp Kipa and one each in the Pacific Northwest and at Prairie Shores and Hasscib Lake Camps.
Camp season is a busy time of the year and it’s also important to emphasize the joys that come from camps, both for those that participate and those that have been asked to serve. We continue to thank God for all His blessings.
Mission Work
Plans are underway for a Ministers Camp to be held in Ghana in early December. We hope that the majority of the 25 ministers who serve throughout Africa will be able to join us in Ghana for this camp to support them in their duties as servants of God’s Word. May God bless these plans!
The believers in Accra, Ghana have been working hard to complete their church facility on a recently purchased parcel of land. The location is much better suited than their previous location. Donations to the Foreign Facilities fund have supported this project.
Communications
More than 20 young adults from around North America are on their way to Finland in August to begin their opisto year. We wish them God’s blessings on their travels and study abroad.
This summer we released a number of new publications. You can look for these at your church bookstore, and most of them are available for order on the LLC website as well. Bible Coloring Book contains 47 coloring pages related to Bible stories, featuring the artwork of Raimo Österberg. God Is So Good is the name of a new music album that features spiritual songs, including several Songs of Zion, sung by children from the Longview, Wash., congregation. There is also a book by the same name that contains the music notation for each song along with colorable illustrations and a brief introduction to each song. The book and CD can be purchased separately or together. The music album is also available on digital platforms. Joyous Wedding Bells is a notebook of vocal music for weddings. This collection contains several songs of Zions and other pieces written to be performed at believing weddings. At your church bookstore you can also look for the 2024 LLC Telephone and Address Directory.
During the Summer Services broadcast, we aired 52 pre-recorded programs, nine live interviews, a pre-recorded interview, three news reports from the service site and about 90 songs from LLC albums. Our total time on air was approximately 42 hours, with about 22 hours broadcasted from our on-site broadcast studio. Over time, much of this programming will be available on our Hearken app. The YouTube broadcast is still available for your viewing and listening on YouTube. We are grateful for the heart to serve and many hours of volunteer labor of believers from across the continent that have been put into the production of all these programs.
Comments