New Seventh Day Adventist Church In Livingston, Tennessee

Greetings from the beautiful hills of Tennessee! We hope this finds you all “prospering and in health”! I’ve been wanting to share with you all for some time just a bit of what God is doing here in north central Tennessee. About four years ago God led a small group of Adventist Christians to dream and plan…..and finally to begin a Fellowship in Livingston, TN, a small town of about 5,000 where there never before has been a Seventh-day Adventist Church. Our initial group consisted of about 20 plus adults and we met Sabbath by Sabbath in the lobby of my medical office, the Oasis Medical Center.

With the blessing of the Lord our little mission group grew to over 50 charter members when one year ago we were officially recognized as a “Company” – the step just below a “Church” as defined by the organizational structure of the SDA Church. As we were blessed by this growth it quickly became pleasantly clear that we needed more space and we needed it soon. The lobby of the office comfortably holds about 35 people. Often we have people seated in the adjoining office area looking through the windows and/or down the hall. On a recent Sabbath we were blessed with 61 children of God in attendance! Praise the Lord!!

Livingston Seventh Day Adventist Church

And so, in faith, we broke ground last fall on a church building located immediately adjacent to the Medical Center. Our desire and our prayer was and is to build the church debt free. Our need urged us to move forward. It is our goal to begin worshipping in this memorial to the love and goodness and reliability of our Creator God sometime this fall – maybe even by September. And are we debt free? Ah….I wish I could say we were, but that is not the case! Of the total project which is an estimated $500,000 at this point it appears we will have a debt of approximately $300,000. We’re inviting you to join us in the journey; to join us in this mission of sharing the incredibly good news of the love of God and the certainty of His soon return with Overton and surrounding counties.

My initial desire was to send you all a DVD giving you the privilege of experiencing this journey with us. But we can do one better than that! Enjoy it right now at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdUgbuJ40Ns! See for yourself the mission and vision of this little group which desires above all things to be faithful to the mission He has given us. And then I invite you to join us in this journey. This can be done in several ways. You can pray that Jesus Christ be lifted up as never before in this community and the surrounding communities as well! You can just come join us with all of the talents and gifts he has given you to dedicate to His service! (God is starting an evangelistic radio ministry in this area as well. Could you be the one who He is calling to help out with that?) And/or you can send a gift to help fulfill the dream of worshipping in a church debt free this fall!

Changing Lives

This letter is from a missionary from Africa, Martin Kiogora, which our Livingston Fellowship has supported in his mission to become a Seventh Day Adventist pastor. We are so proud of him for completing his studies and devoting his life to spreading the word of God.

"I write to thank you for your continued prayers and support on my behalf. It’s now three years since I first wrote you a letter requesting educational support. You responded positively and gave me your unwavering support for my education and my upkeep. You wrote me letters of encouragement and even prayed for me as a body and as individuals when I got sick. Hardly did I lack anything even when my personal needs were pressing and you were experiencing the effects of recession, still you sacrificed for my needs. I lack the proper words to express my sincere gratitude for these acts of kindness stemming from unselfish love. Your willingness to be used by God has helped me complete my Bachelor’s degree and thus realize my dreams, something I thought I would never achieve owing to my challenging background. This has served to increase my faith and confidence in the promises of God that He will never leave nor yet forsake me. You’ve helped me make history in my family as the first member to acquire a degree and by doing so I have set a precedent for my young brother and my cousin to follow. This achievement means so much to me and also for the course of God here in Kenya. I have acquired skills and techniques for making my ministry and talents more effective. While this is true I realize the techniques and skills of themselves don’t make one effective, but it’s the total surrender to God and dependence on Him that will guarantee me success. It is God who has called me and it Him who will qualify me for His glory. Hence I feel a deep need of God in my life and humbly seek His will and purpose for my life daily. That way my education makes me more humble and a willing vessel to be used of God just like Paul of old who was endowed with intelligence and knowledge yet submitting to God who upbraideth not but gives knowledge liberally. So my training besides honing my skills in the knowledge of the word of God has also opened an avenue for me for a life of devoted and dedicated service to God and man as a minister of the glad tidings of the Cross. I now will move forward believing and trusting that the grace of God is sufficient for me for it will supply all my needs for ministry. I believe God is not yet finished with me and so I keep my eyes and heart wide open for His leadings."