This Month's Issue

Story by Janel Haas Ware

Shenandoah Valley Academy’s (SVA) music ministry combines the power of music and the sacredness in the lives of young people who graduate prepared to serve God with their musical talents. One such student is now orchestra director and strings teacher, Kelly Wiedemann (’03), who shares her testimony:

Attending SVA confirmed my life calling as a music teacher. Singing in Shenandoans, the school choir, and playing violin in the string ensemble was fun! The teachers exposed us to many styles of music, and I gained sincere appreciation for traditional church hymns, contemporary praise music, African-American spirituals, classical symphonies and country hoedowns. Teaching a wide variety of music promotes creativity, cultural awareness, tolerance and respect. 

Interview by V. Michelle Bernard

In Grace Outlet, Kris Eckenroth, lead pastor of the Pennsylvania Conference’s Grace Outlet in Reading, shares lessons learned and the story of Grace Outlet, a church plant that strives to dispense the unmerited favor of God. Read our interview with Eckenroth below:

Visitor: What made you want to start Grace Outlet?

Story by Heidi Wetmore

The idea started out as a fun linoleum block printing project. Middle school and high school art teacher, Nancy Rivera, challenged her students to design a Christmas card, then carve the design into a linoleum block, ink it with a roller and finally hand stamp the design onto fine paper. The students personally signed the back of each hand-made Christmas card and intended to give them to special people in their lives.

How does Blue Mountain Academy (BMA) make Jesus real to its students? While on a recent mission trip to Pittsburgh, the BMA seniors befriended a young homeless girl. Pastor John Kent, from the Carnegie Simple (Pa.) church, shared that the girl, Michelle “Shelby” Muyango, had been coming to church intermittently due to a difficult living environment. A bright and insightful young lady, Muyango struggled to be visible to the outside world. During the trip, BMA students took notice of her, and rather than shun her, talked with her, got to know her, ate with her and played volleyball with her.

We asked students at Spencerville Adventist Academy about their relationships with Jesus. We'll add more videos throughout the month.