Religion Professors Preach for Pentecost 2025
News
This past fall, 11 teaching faculty from the School of Religion at Southern Adventist University participated locally in the North American Pentecost 2025 initiative.
The revival was a call for Seventh-day Adventists in North America to engage in hometown mission opportunities, with Southern joining more than 5,200 other Adventist schools and churches across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
“We praise God for what resulted from these evangelistic campaigns,” says Greg King, PhD, dean of the School of Religion. “The Spirit was truly at work!”
The local series, entitled “Revelation Today: The Future Unfolding,” highlighted 16 messages focused on end-time prophecies in the books of Daniel and Revelation. Southern professors preached at four Adventist churches in Northeast Georgia over the course of two weeks. Those who spoke included Stephen Bauer, PhD; Matthew Bronson; John Doh, PhD; Eliezer Graterol, PhD; David Hartman, DMin; Michael Hasel, PhD; Esteban Hidalgo, PhD; Greg King, PhD; Douglas Na’a, PhD; Alan Parker, DTh; and Barry Tryon, PhD.
Additionally, Southern students were involved in the series through the Soul-winning And Leadership Training (SALT) program. This university program offers dynamic evangelistic training on campus in partnership with It Is Written. The students connected with community members, invited them to upcoming services, greeted attendees every evening, and participated in worship activities.
“It was really gratifying to see the energy and the enthusiasm of these students from SALT,” says Hartman.
“This is just how evangelism should be done,” agrees King. “Our faculty linking arms with students and joining together with church members—this makes for a winning combination!”
Attendees commented on the friendly atmosphere in the churches and appreciated the enlightening information from the sermons. Those with the most revitalizing experiences chose to be baptized or rebaptized.
“I looked forward to this series for a long time, especially as the culmination of our witnessing efforts in the area,” says Bradley Privat, freshman SALT student. “I was so excited to see community members attending and expressing interest in joining the Adventist church!”
“The meetings showed me what godly public evangelism looks like,” adds Giovanna Burgos, another freshman SALT student. “I could see the power the truths of the Bible can have when they are presented in a Christ-centered way, followed up by the intentional love of Christ-centered people.”
Attendees were not the only ones blessed by the experience. “There is absolutely nothing that revitalizes my heart and my soul like sharing Jesus,” says Hartman. “My purpose statement is ‘to add to the great multitude that will one day stand around God's throne singing eternal praises.’ Every day when I wake up, I pray, ‘Lord, use me to reach somebody today.’ Preaching nightly for this series and seeing people come to a fuller understanding of Jesus is the fulfillment of that prayer.”
Hartman hopes that this series will urge Southern students to witness with boldness. “Our preaching was a model for students on how to be evangelists for the rest of their lives,” he says. “Regardless of major, the real purpose of Southern is to raise up apostles to reach a lost world for Christ.”
The views and opinions of campus guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Southern Adventist University. An individual's or group's invitation to speak or present on campus should not be regarded as a university endorsement of their philosophies and beliefs.
