The Personal Ministries department hosted Personal Ministries Day on Sabbath, March 1st, 2003. The theme, "Sowing Seeds of Salvation,” was announced during Sabbath school, where we were blessed with a depiction of the Parable of the Sower.

The entire Sabbath school membership was encouraged to emulate the “Good Ground,” who accepted the seeds of the sower and used those seeds to combat temptation and discouragement. 11:00 o’clock service began with Brother Brathwaite’s reaffirmation of the Personal Ministries department to make Genesis a stronghold in Plainfield and the surrounding communities. Brother Neil Brown followed with a rousing performance of “Faithful to Me,” reminding us of our responsibility to stay as faithful to God’s work as he has been to us. Sister Brenda Leslie delivered the Children’s Story, presenting a message about friendship.

She highlighted the verse, Proverbs 18:24, which states – “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” This message of friendship not only reminded us of Christ’s desire to stick closer to us than even a brother would, but encouraged us to be Christ like in our efforts to participate in the Personal Ministries Department’s efforts to extend brotherly love to all around us. Our worship experienced climaxed with the delivery of the message through Pastor Agustus Ogiste, the Director of Personal Ministries and Sabbath School for the Allegheny East Conference. In keeping with the theme of the day, Pastor Ogiste began his message with a discussion about the entire process for “Sowing Seeds of Salvation.” He reminded us that before reaping a crop, not only must the seeds be sown, but the soil must be prepared. Therefore, we must first prepare our hearts before we can go into the world to try to win souls for Christ. Pastor Ogiste also highlighted Acts Chapter 21, which informs our understanding of the Church’s duties as God’s appointed agency for the salvation of human beings. He reminded us of the story of Nicodemus, which is found in John 3. Confirming that in order for us to sow seeds of salvation, we ourselves must be changed as was Nicodemus, who approached Christ thinking in earthly terms, but was transformed as Christ revealed that he should be thinking in heavenly terms. Overall, Personal Ministries Day at Genesis offered an opportunity for each person present to reaffirm his/her commitment to the work of Jesus Christ – “Sowing Seeds of Salvation” in Plainfield and around the world.