In September, the Sunnyside Church in Portland, Ore., held a special and unique outreach event with a follow up in October. The presentation of Messiah's Mansion Tabernacle and a follow-up series called "Messiah's Mansion — Next Step Group" were very successful following much work, planning and preparation. Tom Stafford coordinated both events and led out in the follow-up series.
Eight Sunnyside volunteers were joined by 26 members from other area churches to help erect Messiah's Mansion on the campus of Portland Adventist Academy. Between Sept. 4–12, nearly 8,000 people took the tour and 500 requested more information.
The outdoor exhibit moved on to Florence, Ore., after the week-long stay in Portland.
The follow-up series concluded on Wednesday evening, Oct. 13. The series featured a scale model of the Sanctuary. The model was built by an Indian craftsmen during the 1940s, who followed detailed drawings by L. L. Huntington, a missionary to South India and long-time pastor in the Oregon Conference.
This model was crafted by Indian craftsmen during the 1940s following detailed drawings by a missionary to South India, L. L. Huntington, also a long-time pastor in the Oregon Conference.
A dozen families from the Sunnyside Church neighborhood viewed the mansion and requested further information. Many of them have been visited and provided with a DVD on the sanctuary story by Shawn Boonstra. The church next hopes to survey the DVD recipients to learn more about their interest and answer as many questions as possible. One pastor from another denomination expressed an interest in having Stafford present the scale-model sanctuary to his parishioners.
Tom Stafford, elder, stands with a model of the Sanctuary.
Guests to Messiah's Mansion see a lifesize replica of the interior of the Mosaic sanctuary.
