From left to right: Carmelo Mercado, Lake Union general vice president and Multicultural Ministries director; Elden Ramirez, Lake Union executive secretary; Ken Denslow, Lake Union president; and Glynn Scott, Lake Union treasurer. | Photos by Katie Fellows
Debbie Michel
March 7, 2024The 37-member committee includes representatives from the five conferences who are tasked with helping to develop and direct the work of the church in the Great Lakes region. Members include local conference administrators, church employees, lay leaders, as well as the presidents of Andrews University and UChicago Medicine AdventHealth.
As president of the Lake Union, Ken Denslow chairs the meeting, which is focused on the day-to-day work, as well as the long-term strategies for fulfilling the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
North American Division Vice President for Multilingual Ministries Minner Labrador Jr. was a special guest and he discussed the booming refugee and immigrant populations across the Division.
Lake Union President Ken Denslow unveiled a joint project with the South Peruvian Union. This comes on the heels of a Jan. 2024 trip to Peru with the conference leadership, Lake Union officers, president of Andrews University and dean of the seminary.
Peruvians are successful evangelists and can share their evangelistic plan. They have an amazing media ministry and can serve as a model for us. They can send evangelists to our cities with large Hispanic populations. They can help us develop lay training programs. We can learn from the way the work is conducted there in South America,
We can help with building through Maranatha International. We can have mission trips and AdventHealth sponsored clinics. Our seminary can develop an exchange student program.
Proposing building parsonages. Pastors earn only $200 a month and so cannot afford rent on the open market. Their parsonages, made from earth and other organic matter, are crumbling. We would like to help fund the cost of new 1,400 sq. ft. homes, which costs just $31,000 to build one.
Lake Union Vice President Carmelo Mercado updated committee members on the prayer conference held March 3 in the Detroit-area. One hundred and twenty people from Michigan and Lake Region conferences convened for prayer ahead of the dental clinic.
Recruitment for the joint dental clinic to be held Sunday, March 10 in Detroit, has exceeded expectation, with 16 dentists and 180 volunteers signed up.
He further shared about the Hispanic work going forward in the Lake Union. Tithe from this ethnic group of 12,800 members is $8.6 million.
A Division-wide initiative called “Growing Together” is underway for reaching second generation Hispanics. One pastor from each of our conferences participated in a training program to formulate best practices for older and younger generations and work together intentionally.
A strategic plan designed to grow the Andrews University Hispanic student population is in place. One area requiring special attention is financing for students wanting to study but facing financial barriers. Plan is to engage Hispanic alumni to inaugurate a scholarship fund.
Support for Esperanza TV is another area of emphasis. Pastors and lay leaders are being encouraged to utilize digital evangelism in their outreach.
Division VP Labrador announced information on a vote taken at the division’s year-end meeting to move funding for emerging and immigrant groups to the unions so unions can manage those funds, with the local conference leadership.
Executive secretary Elden Ramirez delivered membership numbers on the state of the union, showing continued growth. In 2022, membership stood at 88,972 and in 2023, there was an uptick to 89,538.
Additional stats are reflected in the following slides:
The following ordination requests were approved:
Thomas Clark, Samuel Ngala and Anthony Nix from Indiana Conference
Giancarlo de Miranda and Paul Ratsara from Michigan Conference
Carlton Mouzon from Wisconsin Conference
Emeritus Ministerial Credential was voted for retired pastor Derral Reeve of Michigan Conference.
The formation of an advisory group to support Andrews University’s theology and education departments was voted.
“Pentecost 2025” is a NAD initiative to boost public evangelism in churches, companies and groups. Funding will become available to our churches.
As of Dec. 2023:
Tithe $95.2 million, up 9.72% over December 2022. This increase is due to strong tithe across all five conferences, plus an extraordinary tithe received by Illinois Conference of $2.6 million.
Total income $12.7 million, ahead of budget $1.5 million due to actual tithe at 109% versus budget at 95%, also investment income was $320,000 ahead of budget.
Total expenses $10.8 million, under budget by $571,000 due to program expenses lower than budget.
Our operating gain for 2023 was $1.9 million.
With the strong financial performance of 2023 our executive committee voted $575,000 as special appropriations back to the local conferences in 2024.
"We have outstanding academics, amazing student experiences, a beautiful campus but faith is the heart of it all. The spiritual nurturing of our students isn’t just an added benefit of an Adventist Education—it’s the reason for our very existence and we’re committed to that."
This spring semester, eight students led out in the week of prayer and the theme was “activate”—activating your spiritual life They spoke about their involvement in missions here and around the world. Emphasis was also placed on involvement in canvassing plus participation in summer camp ministry.
A faith engagement study of all Adventist colleges and universities in North America revealed 89% of Andrews students are affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, compared to 77% at other institutions. The percentage of students declaring at the end of their first year that they were more committed to the beliefs and values of the Seventh-day Adventist Church was 64%, compared to 48% at other places.
National Center for Educational Statistics compared institution with 31 other institutions (other denominations) of the same size, and Andrews’ tuition was $4,000 less. The retention rate between a student’s first and second year was 82%, compared to 77%. Graduation rates for Black and Hispanic students were higher than other institutions.
Andrews is now recognized as an Hispanic-serving institution since at least 25% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. This opens up new financial opportunities for Hispanic students through government grants and subsidies.
This year marks 150 years since J.N. Andrews and his two children set out as missionaries. This was the beginning of missions in the Seventh-day Adventist church. We are also celebrating 150 years of Battle Creek College, which is now Andrews University. Go to www.andrews.edu/150 for yearlong events listing, plus archival photos and video.
Beginning May 2024, Lamson Hall will undergo a major renovation. The women’s dormitory was erected in 1947, and an addition made in 1967, yet not much has changed. We invite the Lake Union’s help in providing funds and/or dedicating time and skills to partner with Maranatha Volunteer International in making a difference in students' lives. More information is available on at www.andrews.edu
As CEO, Dr. Reed is responsible for overseeing the strategic development and growth of UChicago Medicine AdventHealth, which includes four hospitals in Bolingbrook, Glendale Heights, Hinsdale and La Grange, and more than 50 sites of care. She began her role on Feb. 19. Read more about her appointment here.
You can find more photos from the executive committee meeting here.
Debbie Michel serves as Lake Union Conference Communication director and Lake Union Herald editor.
