1 00:00:03,991 --> 00:00:07,427 Adventists in Serbia have made meaningful connections with people 2 00:00:07,428 --> 00:00:08,954 through healthy activities. 3 00:00:09,344 --> 00:00:12,018 Health clubs have drawn a lot of interest from the community. 4 00:00:12,642 --> 00:00:15,089 Groups go hiking, exercise together, 5 00:00:15,342 --> 00:00:18,548 hold health lectures, and conduct cooking demonstrations. 6 00:00:19,235 --> 00:00:20,768 If not for these activities, 7 00:00:20,769 --> 00:00:24,055 it’s likely that the participants might never meet an Adventist 8 00:00:24,344 --> 00:00:26,531 or be exposed to the Adventist message. 9 00:00:26,763 --> 00:00:30,451 Here it’s important to actually build friendships first 10 00:00:30,452 --> 00:00:32,908 and then you can say who you are. 11 00:00:33,491 --> 00:00:37,273 Otherwise they will reject you from the start. 12 00:00:37,927 --> 00:00:40,733 Personal connection is how Jesus ministered 13 00:00:40,734 --> 00:00:42,020 when He was on earth. 14 00:00:42,255 --> 00:00:44,601 So these church members are following His lead 15 00:00:44,602 --> 00:00:47,015 by implementing Christ’s method of ministry. 16 00:00:47,695 --> 00:00:49,915 This is key to building relationships, 17 00:00:50,241 --> 00:00:52,487 especially in the growing cities like Belgrade 18 00:00:52,926 --> 00:00:56,039 where people tend to stay focused on their own busy lives. 19 00:00:56,226 --> 00:00:59,419 This is a community that lives in big buildings. 20 00:00:59,580 --> 00:01:01,766 There are a lot of skyscrapers here 21 00:01:01,767 --> 00:01:04,246 that has a lot of people there. 22 00:01:04,247 --> 00:01:08,417 It’s a very, very big area to actually outreach to. 23 00:01:08,804 --> 00:01:11,251 There are a lot of people who actually live here 24 00:01:11,483 --> 00:01:13,737 and don’t know anything about God. 25 00:01:13,738 --> 00:01:15,345 They are not that religious. 26 00:01:15,346 --> 00:01:18,218 People don’t want to learn and search for God, 27 00:01:18,278 --> 00:01:20,721 because they live in that kind of society. 28 00:01:20,722 --> 00:01:23,355 Now, no one wants to know about God. 29 00:01:23,620 --> 00:01:26,519 So, it’s hard to actually talk about it with people 30 00:01:26,547 --> 00:01:29,979 who don't know or want to know about God. 31 00:01:30,580 --> 00:01:31,980 That’s the challenge here. 32 00:01:32,619 --> 00:01:34,506 I mean, it is a secular country. 33 00:01:34,845 --> 00:01:36,011 Just a few years ago, 34 00:01:36,358 --> 00:01:40,178 the area known as Novi Belgrade had no Adventist church. 35 00:01:40,598 --> 00:01:43,744 Any time church members who lived in this part of the city wanted to gather, 36 00:01:44,168 --> 00:01:46,634 they had to travel far to get to the nearest church. 37 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:52,907 In 2020, 38 00:01:52,908 --> 00:01:56,600 a portion of your 13th Sabbath Offering helped establish a church 39 00:01:56,601 --> 00:01:57,760 in Novi Belgrade! 40 00:01:57,996 --> 00:02:00,236 They were able to get a space with two levels 41 00:02:00,450 --> 00:02:02,936 and are in the process of renovating the lower level 42 00:02:02,937 --> 00:02:05,143 to be an urban center of influence! 43 00:02:07,303 --> 00:02:08,643 It means a lot to us, 44 00:02:08,644 --> 00:02:10,439 because we have our own services, 45 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:11,916 we can invite friends. 46 00:02:13,995 --> 00:02:15,708 The facility is very good, 47 00:02:16,216 --> 00:02:19,816 and we are very grateful to God that it has two levels. 48 00:02:20,710 --> 00:02:22,743 The upper one, where we are now, 49 00:02:23,443 --> 00:02:25,063 where the services are held, 50 00:02:26,710 --> 00:02:27,943 and the lower part, 51 00:02:28,610 --> 00:02:31,229 which is very convenient for various activities. 52 00:02:32,203 --> 00:02:35,016 This is going to be a center of influence, 53 00:02:35,376 --> 00:02:38,090 and we are going to have the health clubs here. 54 00:02:39,167 --> 00:02:42,109 We are going to teach people how to cook healthy food 55 00:02:42,266 --> 00:02:44,639 and maybe some kind of crafts. 56 00:02:44,732 --> 00:02:48,232 There are a lot of people here who like crafts, 57 00:02:48,728 --> 00:02:54,322 like making soaps from healthy ingredients, 58 00:02:54,842 --> 00:03:00,355 as well as decoupage and quilting as well. 59 00:03:00,743 --> 00:03:03,529 Your contributions to the 13th Sabbath Offering 60 00:03:03,530 --> 00:03:05,596 have already been received with gratitude. 61 00:03:06,203 --> 00:03:09,023 The new space feels like home to this congregation, 62 00:03:09,506 --> 00:03:11,520 and hopefully, it will allow them to grow. 63 00:03:13,447 --> 00:03:16,066 I am very grateful to those that helped us, 64 00:03:16,599 --> 00:03:19,419 all the brothers and sisters from all over the world, 65 00:03:20,006 --> 00:03:23,857 because this is a big municipality where we are 66 00:03:23,858 --> 00:03:25,878 and where our church was not. 67 00:03:26,678 --> 00:03:29,813 Believe that we have prayed for over 20 years. 68 00:03:30,327 --> 00:03:32,793 We have prayed to have this church, 69 00:03:33,273 --> 00:03:36,447 and that’s why we are also ready to give our offerings 70 00:03:36,448 --> 00:03:39,080 to those who also need to have their own church. 71 00:03:39,863 --> 00:03:41,830 I have so much gratitude. 72 00:03:42,550 --> 00:03:43,976 Thank you. 73 00:03:46,015 --> 00:03:48,315 I’m grateful to God 74 00:03:48,612 --> 00:03:52,305 that He gave those people the will to actually give, 75 00:03:52,610 --> 00:03:55,443 and that He inspired them to give. 76 00:03:56,006 --> 00:03:59,092 That tells us we actually have to work 77 00:03:59,810 --> 00:04:02,683 and to justify what we already got. 78 00:04:03,010 --> 00:04:05,850 And that we have actually prayed for God 79 00:04:05,851 --> 00:04:10,296 to actually use us where we are to fill this building, 80 00:04:10,741 --> 00:04:13,067 so we have to find another one. 81 00:04:13,487 --> 00:04:14,954 Please pray for this church 82 00:04:14,955 --> 00:04:18,874 as they soon open an urban center of influence in a new part of Belgrade. 83 00:04:19,389 --> 00:04:23,049 Thank you for giving to the 13th Sabbath Offering in 2020 84 00:04:23,386 --> 00:04:26,859 and making this congregation’s dream become reality!