President's Report: Summer is Over; Let's Refocus on Mission!

By David Jamieson

UCC President

When I moved to the Pacific Northwest from British Columbia, I noticed an unusual phenomenon. The rest of the year seemed to pass at a normal rate, but summer just seemed to fly by. 

This summer was no exception, with General Conference Session, our Camp Meeting Convocations, and various other retreats and meetings. GC Session is our world church gathering that occurs every five years. The two delegates for Upper Columbia Conference were Erna Marquez, a member of our executive committee, and myself. I deeply appreciate Erna’s involvement, and I was especially glad to see her selected to serve on the nominating committee. Her presence also brought valuable Hispanic representation to our delegations, reflecting the diversity within our conference family. 

There are a few items that are worth noting from GC Session. Ted Wilson was recognized for his 15 years of leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. “What a privilege it is for all of us to be a part of God’s last-day remnant church proclaiming Christ, His three angels’ messages, and His soon coming,” Wilson said. 

Erton Köhler, GC secretary, was elected as president of the General Conference. I hope that you will join me in prayer for Erton as he takes on this monumental task of leading our global church. 

He said a few things during his first Sabbath sermon that really stuck with me: “Our focus is on a church rising powerfully for mission, but only if mission is the priority of our initiatives, meetings, personnel, and resources.”

Later in his sermon, he said, “We can’t be a church that measures its growth by a simple ABC — Attendance, Buildings, and Cash —but one that is strongly committed to the “D” of Disciple-making.”

It is a reminder of our calling to Serve One More in our church, communities, and neighborhoods. 

John Bradshaw, speaker for It Is Written, gave an inspirational talk about our Adventist logo, which utilizes a cross and an open Bible with a flame emerging from its pages. 

“Our message is so vital, vibrant, and alive that we would best depict it with flames,” said Bradshaw. “This message is going to set the world ablaze. Let us not go soft on the fundamental beliefs. Hold them tight, because Satan wants you to surrender. It is our privilege to let people hear the message of the open Bible set on fire by the Holy Spirit.”

I love the imagery of a message setting the world ablaze!

We are just nearing the final weekend of our Camp Meeting Convocations. This two-year pilot project had a goal to significantly increase attendance and significantly decrease costs. Previously, our camp meeting at Upper Columbia Academy cost more than $200,000 and usually saw attendance between 1,000 to 1,300. So far, we have increased attendance to more than 3,000 at a cost of approximately $30,000. 

At each of these events, there has been a service component for our members to Serve One More in their local communities. It is our hope that we can continue to grow these service projects, both in scope and in impact.

Our administration is now at full strength, with Adam Littell joining us as VP for education and Eric Brown as VP for administration. These two key roles are already putting action plans in place and are working to execute them. 

As the summer winds to a close, our conference is refocusing on mission with several key priorities that we are developing for late 2025 and early 2026. Some of our upcoming initiatives include:

• Church Revitalization

• Mission Center Pilot Project

• Lay Volunteer Training

• Serve One More Initiative

• Kingdom Assignment

Each of these initiatives are very exciting for our conference and will help push mission forward. 

Would you be willing to keep these initiatives in your prayers? It would be a blessing to our pastors, staff, and administration to know that we are all bringing this before God. 

There are many opportunities for everyone to participate in one of these initiatives. As we talk more about these in the coming months, think of ways your church can take part!

David Jamieson

President, Upper Columbia Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

I wanted to share what happened at our recent executive committee in my President's Report with you, along with how God continues to bless in our Conference. We prepared the report as a pdf that will allow you to share it with your church, school, or friends easily. You can view my report by going to news.uccsda.org/president825.