-
News Release: Schools to Shut Down
Schools to Shut Down March 13, 2020 – Last night, Governor Whitmer, directed the closure of all K-12 schools, including public, private, and boarding schools in response to additional confirmed cases of COVID-19. The closures are in effect from March 16 to April 5. The Michigan Conference seeks to comply with any state or federal directives that are…
-
Statement on Coronavirus COVID-19
Statement on Coronavirus (COVID-19) March 12, 2020 – With multiple cases of the coronavirus COVID-19 now confirmed in the state of Michigan and the recent implementation of community mitigation strategies by the state of Michigan, many are concerned about its impact upon our church communities, schools, and families. On Wednesday (March 11), the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. At the current…
-
New Religious Liberty Director
New Religious Liberty Director Andy Im has been appointed to serve as the new director for Religious Liberty for the Michigan Conference, and he looks forward to bringing greater awareness to this important need. Andy’s wife, Laura, who has served as director since 2013, will be the associate director and will continue on as the liaison for religious discrimination…
-
Ministerial Retreat Focuses on Message
Ministerial Retreat Focuses on Message Twice a year Michigan Conference pastors, Bible workers, and their families meet at Camp Au Sable for spiritual study and renewal time, meetings to coordinate ministry for the conference, and some recreation as well. The latest session was held January 27-30, 2020. About 275 workers and their families enjoyed the…
-
Memorial Day Stands for More
Memorial Day Stands for More We often use holidays to point people to Jesus. On Christmas, we remind people about the birth of Jesus. On Easter, we remind people of Jesus’ death on the cross and what He experienced. During Thanksgiving, we stress the importance of counting our blessings that God has provided. Recently I…
-
2019 Pathfinder Fair: “Half Full”
2019 Pathfinder Fair: “Half Full” This year’s Pathfinder Fair had over 1,220 registered attendees representing 53 Pathfinder clubs. The theme for this year’s event was “Half Full,” connoting the importance of staying positive in Jesus. Dr. Ryan Hayes, chemistry professor at Andrews University and keynote speaker, incorporated profound spiritual insights, illustrated through exciting chemistry experiments.…
-
Spiritual Blind Spots
Spiritual Blind Spots How you’re duped into thinking you know something, when you really don’t. Every Christian is ignorant of their ignorance. Put another way, we have blind spots. The world even more so. It’s possible to think you know something but not know it—to see, hear, and read truth; yet see not, hear not and perceive not (Matt.…
-
Chad Bernard New Youth Director
Chad Bernard New Youth Director The Michigan Conference has been assessing the needs and direction of the conference and continues to place special emphasis upon youth ministry. It is no secret that young people are under attack and many are leaving the Adventist faith prior to entering college; and it goes without saying that this…
-
New Secretary for Ministerial
New Secretary for Ministerial For the last six years we have been blessed to have Chelli Ringstaff as administrative assistant in the Ministerial Department. She has been a great blessing to our team, but the Lord has called her to a new position as Adventist Community Services (ACS) / Disaster Response director for the Michigan Conference. We wish…
-
New ACS Director
New ACS Director Chelli Ringstaff was recently voted the new Adventist Community Services (ACS) director by the Michigan Conference executive committee. The position was left vacant with the retirement of Diana Bruch, who had served as ACS director since 2001. Chelli will officially start in January and leave her post as secretary of the Ministerial Department, where she served from…
-
Teacher-Pastor Summit Sets Course
Teacher-Pastor Summit Sets Course Approximately 230 teachers and pastors from the Michigan Conference gathered together at Camp Au Sable this week to attend the Teacher-Minister Summit. The meetings began Sunday evening and concluded late Tuesday morning. President Jim Micheff opened the event and shared the intent of the meetings. “Our purpose in coming together is twofold. First…
-
Press Release: Executive Officers Voted
Press Release: Executive Officers Votes Today, Michigan Conference delegates voted in the Constituency Session to re-elect two of its executive officers—Jim Micheff as president and Justin Ringstaff as executive secretary. Michael Bernard was voted in as the new treasurer. Jim Micheff: Elder Micheff began his ministry pastoring in the Rocky Mountain Conference in 1994. He later…
-
Faithful Little Farmer: An Interview
I arrive at Camp Au Sable on a humid, summer afternoon and walk into the camp store for some ice cream. Moments later I hear my name reverberating from the cheerful and enthusiastic Tammy Micheff. You can’t help but smile. I’m here to write a piece on summer camp, and before long Tammy exclaims, “Mikelle! You’ve got to…
-
By the Numbers
By the Numbers Numbers aren’t everything, but they count for something. Recently, we tallied up the Facebook insights pertaining to camp meeting and discovered a thing or two. The data reveals the broad interest levels that Michigan’s camp meeting had upon Facebook users (mostly Adventist) worldwide. It’s clear people were tuning in to take part in the worship services and…
-
New Associate Superintendent of Schools
New Associate Superintendent of Schools Brian Kittleson graduated from Cedar Lake Academy and has served in Adventist Education since graduating from Union College in 1992 with a B.S. in Business Education and Physical Education. He was hired at Broadview Academy where he initally served as assistant boys dean and PE teacher. He eventually became the head boys…
-
Why Go to Camp Meeting?
Why Camp Meeting? Why should you go to Michigan camp meeting? Well, if you like lots of people; about two-thousand people attend every year. If you’re like me, and don’t like lots of people, don’t worry; I’ve been there lots of times, and I haven’t ever felt overwhelmed. If you love extreme camping, or even just…
-
Hats off to Women’s Retreat
Hats Off to Women’s Retreat I always feel a little awkward visiting the yearly, well-attended Women’s Retreat. About 700 ladies converge over three consecutive weekends in April on the beautiful grounds of Camp Au Sable. This year, I brought along my inquisitive three-year old daughter, Olivia. I tell her, “It’s a church weekend where it’s…
-
Jeremy Hall to Be New Superintendent of Schools
Jeremy Hall to Be New Superintendent of Schools Diane Barlow, superintendent of schools for the Michigan Conference, recently announced she will be retiring at the end of April. She has served as both the associate and superintendent of schools for the past seven years. She and her husband, Marc, will be moving to Tennessee to…
-
Kameron DeVasher New Personal Ministries & Sabbath School Director
Kameron DeVasher New Personal Ministries & Sabbath School Director Elder Kameron DeVasher will serve as the new director for personal ministries and sabbath school for the Michigan Conference. He is no stranger to Michigan and has pastored churches in Muskegon, Fremont, and most recently the Kalamazoo church. He brings a wide range of experience as an evangelist, public speaker,…
-
Wes Peppers Appointed Associate Ministerial Director
Wes Peppers Appointed Associate Ministerial Director Elder Wes Peppers has accepted the invitation to serve as the new associate ministerial director, a position that was vacated when Elder Justin Ringstaff became the executive secretary. Elder Peppers will also continue to serve as evangelism coordinator for the conference. A significant aspect of his responsibilities will comprise the training and…