Native Ministries Report 2016–2020

By Steve Huey, June 16, 2022

We oversee 17 Native congregations/church groups involved in ministry to Native people. We collaborate with NPUC conferences and the North American Division in finding, recommending and training workers for Native villages/reservations. We hold cross-cultural training seminars for possible workers and churches interested in Native ministry. We promote outreach among Native people and develop resources for workers to use in their ministry.

To bring the gospel of hope and wholeness to our Native American people throughout the North Pacific Union and in collaboration with our constituent conferences and the North American Division Native Ministry Council.

Mission

Fast Facts:

Each conference in the NPUC is now giving attention to Native people groups within its territory.
In addition to the 17 Native church groups, focus is being given to planting two more groups, one in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and one on the Warm Springs Reservation near Madras, Oregon.
We now have three full-time active Native workers, two are in Alaska and one in Oregon.
We have developed a Voice of Prophecy correspondence Bible school with a husband and wife team in Minnesota. They are averaging 70 Bible Studies per week.
We are more than halfway to reaching our goal of producing a 26 DVD discipleship Bible study series called Native New Life. These are seen not only in the NW, but across the North American Division and in many places around the world (Australia, Ukraine, Mongolia, China, Germany, France and now in Africa).

Marella Rudebaugh, administrative assistant

Accomplishments:

Ministry/cross-cultural seminars have been conducted for interested churches such as Poulsbo, WA and Plummer, ID. Another example was a weekend seminar for those working with Native people at Upper Columbia Conference. Other Unions have requested our services.
We established a relationship with ARISE Bible training program, formerly in Jasper, OregonR, to enable interested long-distance workers to take the ARISE course online to strengthen our workers’ ministries. The course is now globally available online.
We have established a relationship with Adventist Frontier Missions in Berrien Springs, Michigan. They voted to help us reach the Assiniboine and Sioux Nations in Poplar, MontanaT. A couple has just begun their ministry there. A Memorandum of Understanding with Washington and Montana conferences is in place with AFM. This is the first project for AFM in America, helping us reach remote and unreached Native people. They have allowed us to send prospective workers to their yearly, three-month summer missionary training program. Five people from the NW graduated in the fall of 2021.
A leadership weekend is held annually in Anchorage, Alaska. It brings in Arctic Mission Adventures leaders for training in various areas of church life, such as how to care for members, addiction recovery, how to lead a church and more.
Nine Native camp meetings throughout the Northwest territory are held each year.
After the first Bible study DVD series — with matching guides on coming to Jesus and learning His great truths — we have been developing and filming a second series called Native New Life. This series focuses on how to live a vibrant life daily with Christ. We are ready to film #19 in the series. Between the two series, our films have won three Grammy Awards and five Telly Awards.
Annually, we hold one evangelistic series/revival series in such places as Bethel, Alaska where there were eight baptisms, and Barrow, Alaska where there were 13 baptisms.
The Baptist Conference of the Midwest has reached out to our department for speaking and training their pastors. Three of the pastors are now keeping the Sabbath. The Native Baptists and Native Adventists have met together for several camp meetings featuring special speaker, Monte Church.
The State of Alaska and the Presbyterian Church of America invited Monte Church to speak in Alaska for their reconciliation ceremony to encourage healing from painful treatment.

Opportunities:

There are deep cultural misunderstandings between White Americans and Native Americans.
While we have a presence in 11 of the 220 Native villages in Alaska, we have plans to reach additional villages. But plans can only be realized with the help of balanced, willing members who answer the call, as well as financial gifts to reach the Arctic Mission Adventures goal.
We need more trained Native pastors.
In the lower states of the NW, there are 49 federally recognized reservations and there is an Adventist presence in 12 of them. The opportunities for service abound.
We support the Alaska Conference’s push to plant more Adventist radio stations in Native villages. In addition, we desire to plant low-power radio stations on reservations in the lower states of the NW.
From time to time, we face challenges with offshoot groups and imbalanced influences. We are quick to confront them as we protect the Adventist message and ministry.

Too daunting of a task? Absolutely not — for we have a God on the move with His leadership and resources! The gospel breaks down every barrier!