Attendees received warm greetings each night.
Led by BCA’s Bible teacher John Landis, the class members participated by greeting, leading song service, operating audio-visual equipment, and giving the evening sermons.
Landis was at the Michigan camp meeting in the summer of 2024 when he first learned of Pentecost 2025. Pentecost 2025 is a joint initiative by the North American Division (NAD) and the Foundation for Evangelism to encourage church leaders and members in North America to engage in evangelism projects, such as proclamation events, Bible studies and other evangelistic, with the goal of holding at least 3,000 proclamation initiatives division wide in 2025.
Landis knew this would be a wonderful project for his students, so he applied for and received a grant from the NAD for his senior Bible class to conduct the meetings. The students were enthusiastic about the idea, and the planning began.
The first step was to choose a name for the meetings. The title “The Good News Is Better than You Think” was suggested to John by his father, and the students thought it was a perfect match for what they wanted to present. With the grant money, they were able to rent a large room at the Kool Family Community Center across the street from the Battle Creek Tabernacle and also provide nutritious snacks to attendees after each meeting. The five nightly meetings were held April 7 to 11.
The students chose the good news of the gospel as their central theme. Six speakers were asked by Landis to speak on five subjects, and they all eagerly accepted. Each student chose a topic that he or she was particularly interested in - General Good News, Trials, Faith, Forgiveness, and Trust God in All Circumstances, with two speaking on the topic of forgiveness.
The students wrote rough drafts of their presentations, and Mr. Landis worked with them to refine them. To add an individual touch, each student shared a personal testimony of how God had helped them through difficult times, increased their faith, and enabled them to forgive those who had hurt them.
Their many hours of practice paid off in a big way! The large meeting room was full every night; extra chairs had to be added a few of the evenings. The speakers were polished and excited as they shared their good news. On Friday evening after the last meeting, one of the students exclaimed, “I can’t believe the meetings are over already! We were just starting to really get into them!”
While most of the attendees at the meetings were Seventh-day Adventists, there were seven people from the community who also came. Two women who attended came to church at the Battle Creek Tabernacle the Sabbath after the last meeting. Landis invited them to the potluck following the service, and they proceeded to ask him questions about end-time events! As they ate their lunches, he gave them a Bible study on the prophecies of the Bible and how they are being fulfilled.
When asked what he hoped to accomplish by the meetings, Landis replied, “I wanted the kids to have the experience of witnessing for Jesus, to step out of their comfort zones and do something different than they had ever done before. And I also hoped that there would be some visitors from the community who would come and receive a blessing.” He added, “I have to admit that I was a little nervous the first night. But after the meeting started, it was obvious that the Holy Spirit was with the students. The Lord blessed in ways that were beyond my wildest dreams! I am so thankful that He rewarded their hard work.”
Senior presenter Aliyah Bateman stated how much the meetings meant to her, “The experience of speaking for the evangelistic meetings helped me to trust in God through my fear of speaking in front of people. It was also a blessing for me to share my story and bless others as well. God was and is working in my life. He gave me peace when I allowed myself to be used by Him.”
John Landis is hoping that this series of meetings will be the beginning of many witnessing opportunities for the graduating seniors of Battle Creek Academy and for future BCA students.
Charlotte Erickson is communication director for the Battle Creek Tabernacle Church.
