Area 4 Church Ministry Day: Growing in Mission, Living in Transformation

On Sabbath, 7th February 2026, delegates from churches across Area 4 met at the Gatwick Holiday Inn for a Church Ministry Day, hosted by Pastor Wilson Lagos (Area 4 Coordinator). Ministerial workshops were led by SEC Directors Pastor Kwadwo Kwarteng-Ampofo (Personal Ministries), Pastor Nerine Barrett (Sabbath School and Community Outreach), Pastor Alex Mareniuc (Stewardship), Pastor Kwesi Moore (Ministerial Association), and Pastor Sorin Petrof (Communication & Media). Pastor Kirk Thomas (SEC President) also gave a seminar to all, titled Transformational Missional Leadership: A Leadership Training Seminar.

When Pastor Lagos was asked what he hoped delegates would take back to their churches, he replied:

1 – Conference input

2 – Evangelism plans from now to October

3 – Area 4 fellowship to inspire members to create a trend of baptism

4 – Church planting

5 – Uplifting tithe, offering, and gift aid

6 – Digital map, through the use of social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp

Key Takeaways from the Church Ministries Workshops:

Personal Ministries

• This year we will be looking at how we evangelise to reach the masses, preparing for One Voice 2027

• We must be sending the same message at the same time

• Churches are to be in preparation

• The General Conference will be putting in a substantial fund which will be divisible for each local church to work towards One Voice 2027

Sabbath School

• This is the bedrock of our churches

• Through Sabbath School you should be interacting with each other, as opposed to just turning up to church on Sabbath mornings

• It is the place where we get to be disciples for Christ

Communication

• Key leadership qualities when communicating are:

  • Empathy

  • Clarity (inclusive of content)

  • Consistency

  • Integrity

  • Active listening

• Relationships are to be built through communication

• We must enhance our personal communication style, verbal and non-verbal

Stewardship

• Biblical stewardship challenges us and our lives, and this makes us uncomfortable

• A change in stewardship mindset will help us to thrive

• Stewardship brings order to chaos

• How can we do things with more serious foundations?

Pastor Lagos shared that the area will be hosting another evangelism campaign, Pentecost 2026. With the sharing, we were given a blueprint as to how to prepare for the campaign: preparation to take place February–April, planting to take place May–September, and baptism to be held on 3rd October. Posters for this year’s Pentecost were shared with one delegate from each church.

Pastor Kirk’s seminar looked at counsels from the Bible, counsels from Ellen G. White, the importance of leadership development, the Bible on leadership, servant leadership, and biblical leadership styles. Some key points from Pastor Kirk’s seminar were:

• “Having Christ in our hearts, we will then display love to others.”

• “Churches must understand compassion and love.”

• “Christian leadership is NOT fighting.”

• “The church must not be afraid to trust others with authority.”

Pastor Kwesi also led a whole group seminar on networking, stating that one of our biggest problems in our church is the inequality between sexes. He also shared that proper networking between churches begins with pastors and elders working together. We are to invite Christ into our hearts by spending time with Him. Without Christ in our hearts, we do not follow Him—and thus do not have Him in our churches.

To conclude, Area 4 was richly blessed by our directors from the Conference. Delegates also received updates and overviews from area coordinators in prison ministry, youth ministry, safeguarding, and prayer ministry. They were reminded to take part in supporting each other in different programmes taking place throughout the year.