It all started several years ago when two prayer warriors made a decision. They covenanted with God to come to church 30 minutes early every Sabbath to plead with God for more members. The Watertown Seventh-Day Adventist Church was not growing as fast as they had hoped. These prayer warriors firmly believed God had a plan and they wanted to know what it was.
Over time, three new people showed up! These three all came for different reasons but felt they needed to be in church. One was a refugee; one remembered, from their youth, that a grandmother was a Seventh-day Adventist and felt a need to be baptized; and one came after being convicted by watching “The Days of Noah.”
The members got excited! Bible studies began taking place. More people joined the two warriors in prayer after two of the visitors were baptized. More people started attending and now wanted to help with evangelism. One member decided the Lord was leading them to fund a Bible worker, so they gave $20,000. Another person added $6,000 to the fund and a Bible worker was hired.
Meanwhile, Jane Foll, a leader in the Watertown church, laid out a plan to get the total church involved in witnessing. She called it “Ministry Action Plan” or MAP for short. This was not just another church program. The object was to get every member doing what they had a passion to do even if there was no activity like that presently taking place. And everyone meant every one. The young people in the church are NOT the church of the future; they are the church of the present.
The members responded to MAP in diverse ways. The Bible worker needed contacts, so two families pooled resources to sponsor a blanket mailing of the Watertown area inviting residents to send for The Great Controversy. Forty-nine residents responded after much more prayer was offered! One group of adults along with young people went door-to-door with questionnaires asking church neighbors how the church could help them. Prayer was offered at the door and a number of people requested Bible studies. Another group of adults and youth began handing out Glow tracts. The young people designed cards to invite neighbors to a Christmas program, in which they were prominently featured. One member became the featured speaker at a Baptist Women’s’ Retreat, and another began sending out birthday cards.
Sabbath afternoon activities are now being planned around door to door evangelism. The church is also praying for a high-powered radio station. Through the questionnaire, interest in cooking classes and a health seminar were indicated and the church is planning to host these events.
The excitement has been especially contagious with the young people in the church, and several have recently being baptized. The midweek Prayer Meeting attendance has grown from 5-6 to 20-25 with the youth participating in singing, reading and praying. They happily participate in outreach activities and are planning some of their own ministries including disc golf, Lego stop-motion videos, a church newspaper, and posting church services to a YouTube channel. The Pathfinder and Adventurer Clubs have became missionary bands.
The effects of this Ministry Action Plan have not only impacted the Watertown Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Another church in the area heard what was happening and decided to start outreach activities of their own! It is always exciting to see God working and it starts with prayer.
What are the prayer warriors doing now? They are still praying to support the present activities in the church as well as for the students at Wisconsin Academy. But, even more, they are praying for a revival to spread across our Conference, our Union, our Division, and our world. They are thinking big. After all, we have a BIG God!
Steve Mertins, member of Watertown Seventh-Day Adventist Church