Newsletter - Arkansas-Louisiana Conference

news
Jose Inestroza
Page 2
n e w g r o u p f o r m s in l a fay e t t e
Jesus has commanded us to go into the entire
world and tell others about Him. The Lafayette
Seventh-day Adventist Church is excited to have a
part in reaching a new group in our own city – those
who speak Spanish. To accommodate the growing
number of Spanish-speaking people attending each
week, we began to have the sermon translated
live each week from English into Spanish. Soon a
Spanish Sabbath School was formed. Pastor Juan
Fresse, who grew up attending Spanish churches,
is encouraging their dream to someday become the
first Spanish SDA Church in Lafayette.
In June 2010, at a church business meeting,
Stephen Burton and Rebecca Burton
that process was started. The
Lafayette Seventh-day Adventist
Church officially voted into existence
the Lafayette Seventh-day
Adventist Spanish Group. It was
exciting for the group to see the
support offered by the church,
and the church was thrilled to witness
and assist in the first steps
of a church plant.
Right after
the group was
formed, they
were blessed
with the opportunity
to have
Pastor Harif
Cerrano, from
Nicaragua, come do an evangelistic
series for them. At the
end, two people gave their lives
to Christ through baptism! The
group is excited that less than
two months after forming, they
already have two new members
with several others currently in
Bible studies.
As we look toward the future
and continued growth, we know
there will be tough times; yet
we choose to focus on the positive
and see God’s hand working
in our church and in our city. He
brought us together despite our
language barriers, and now as two
groups we can each reach people
that the other could not. We pray
that both groups will continue to
New Superintendent of Schools
We extend a great big welcome to
Stephen Burton who was elected by the
Conference Executive Committee to serve
as the new Superintendent of Schools for
the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference. Burton
is not new to the conference as he has
taught here for the past 25 years – eight
years in Mena, and the past seventeen
years at the Ozark Adventist School in
Gentry, serving as Principal during the last
nine of those years. He began his teaching
career in Santa Anna, Texas following
his graduation from Southwestern Union
College (now Southwestern Adventist University).
Education and ministry to our young
people has been a passion with Mr. Burton
for many years. Besides his emphasis on
classroom teaching, he has been a strong
by Elizabeth Fresse
“He brought us together
despite our language barriers,
and now as two groups
we can each reach people
that the other could not.”
Yensys Ortega
Education and ministry to our young people has been a passion with Mr. Burton for many years.
grow spiritually and
numerically, and
that we will always
treasure our brothers
and sisters in
our hearts, regardless
of our differences.
supporter of outdoor school. Over the past
ten years, Mr. Burton has organized and directed
the outdoor school program at Camp
Yorktown Bay in behalf of the Education Department.
Mr. Burton worked as a carpenter for
five years which lead to his appointment as
an interim ranger at CYB in 1979 for eight
months and a member of the summer camp
staff. It was during that time that he met
Rebecca Gunter who later became his wife.
Rebecca Burton will also work in the Education
Department, serving as office secretary.
Mr. and Mrs. Burton have two adult
children, Julie Bowes, who lives with her
husband, Rodney, in California, and Kevin,
who just moved to give mission service in
Korea.