Pennsylvania Conference | Seventh-day Adventist Church

January 1, 2021: Put God First

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33, KJV).

During my early teenage years, this verse became very special to me. Shortly after my baptism at age 13, my father died, and I was left to navigate life virtually on my own. The local Seventh-day Adventist church became a central part of my life, and I decided to live to please God in all things.

What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? For me it means to make God’s priorities mine and to incorporate the principles of His Word in every aspect of my life.

God Is Faithful

by Burney Culpepper

As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted education throughout Pennsylvania and beyond, the Blue Mountain Academy (BMA) team needed to work on our 2020–21 budget. Not knowing what the year would bring, we based our finances on 80 students. And we prayed, knowing that God is faithful.

Richard Becker Leaves Legacy

Richard Becker impacted the lives of countless BMA students, such as Miguel Couto and Daniel Falcao (pictured), through his generous giving, partnering with families to ensure that tuition was paid.

Story by Tamyra Horst

Richard Becker enjoyed seeing people connect and gather with family, friends and God. This passion fueled his desire to help young people learn and grow at Blue Mountain Academy (BMA) in Hamburg.

Invitations Lead to Baptisms in Church Network

By Tamyra Horst

The Simple Way, a Pittsburgh house church network, is not your typical church. Instead of a building, members meet in homes. There are currently three church groups meeting in Carnegie, Carrick and Ingram. They work together to share the gospel with family and friends in their neighborhoods and at work. Members are intentional in praying and looking for opportunities to connect with and invite people to join them. These simple invitations to worship and study together are changing lives. Just ask Tom, Crystal, Randy, Rick and Karen,who were all recently baptized at The Simple Way.

The Real Miracle of the Lost Phone

Story by Tamyra Horst

After a day on the water, Joshua Plohocky and Rich Winget realized they had lost track of time and soon needed to head downstream quickly to make it off the river before dark.

As they prepared to leave, Plohocky got out of his kayak to remove it from a shallow rocky area. After moving it to deeper water, he slipped while entering the kayak and a little water got into the boat, but quickly got back into the kayak and the two paddled down river.

Before long, Plohocky realized that it was getting increasingly difficult to keep up with Winget and his kayak was feeling very heavy. Winget looked back and noticed the rear of the kayak was sinking. The kayak’s drain hole was sucking in water. Plohocky was paddling with over 100 pounds of water in his boat!