More than 50 literature evangelists across Australia and New Zealand gathered at Avondale University for the 2022 Literature Ministry summit, themed “Lift Him Up.” It was the first in-person summit since 2019.
“It was an incredible blessing to be able to meet together in person again,” said Brenton Lowe, literature ministry coordinator for Australia and New Zealand. “Including guests and delegate speakers, we had more than 75 people at the event. We also live-streamed morning and afternoon sessions so that those who were unable to attend in person could watch the program online.”
One of the keynote speakers was Pastor Almir Marroni, publishing department director at the General Conference. Other special guests included South Pacific Division president Pastor Glenn Townend, Discipleship and Evangelism Institute director Pastor Gilbert Cangy, Adventist Media CEO Dr Brad Kemp and representatives from the Australian Union Conference and Signs Publishing in Warburton (Victoria).
“It was so lovely to meet many of the literature evangelists (LEs) in person,” said Gayle Fehlberg, admin assistant for the Literature Ministry department at Adventist Media. “I started Summit working with a group of literature evangelists, and by the end of the week, I was working with a group of friends.”
The week-long event included training and workshops, praise services, team-building activities, and networking sessions. An awards night recognised the self-supporting service of LEs and the impact of their ministry. Some significant achievements awarded include Andrew Johnson’s 55 years of service, Joe Paola as the LE of the Year who also prayed with more than 800 people, Emmanuel Higgins’s highest purchases from Signs Publishing and Sone Mariner for Leadership and mentoring young leaders. A special agape feast was held on Friday night, followed by a Sabbath service led by Pastor Townend at the university church.
The summit culminated with a Sabbath afternoon program, where the literature evangelists shared testimonies. A new book produced by Adventist Media called Stories of Faith was also launched, with Dr Kemp saying a prayer of dedication over it.
For South Queensland Conference (SQ) Literature Ministry co-leader Georgia Kenny, the event was a blessing. “It was both inspiring and practical, and a great opportunity to recommit to give my best to this ministry, the ‘work for this time’. It was a privilege to meet, study and pray together with God’s workers from around Australia and New Zealand—and I’m excited to see new recruits for this work in our SQ conference. It was also great to hear from Signs and AUC, as well as others, who make our work as LEs possible,” she said.
“We’re thankful for this opportunity to share the incredible work that is happening in literature ministry,” said Mr Lowe. “The next Summit is planned for November 1 to 4, in Brisbane, Watson Park!”
