Family Ministries Report

Departmental Mission

The Family Ministries Department of the Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventist comprises of Family Life, Men Ministry, Single Ministry & Children Ministry. Our Mission is to equip and strengthen families for time and eternity by providing resources, training, support, and counseling that enhances family relationships. This is done through seminars, premarital, marital and individual counseling sessions on a weekly basis for families that are in need. Our aim is to assist equip and train our local church Family, Men, Single and Children Ministry Leaders and strengthen the families in the local churches.

The Men’s Ministry’s mission is to develop programs to engage men to be effective leaders, spiritually focused, and mentor male youth members to exhibit meaningful spiritual, mental, and emotional growth.

The Single Ministry’s mission is to promote fellowship, professional development, and spiritual edification for single adults.

The Children’s Ministry’s mission is to support and promote children through programs and resources.

Major Accomplishments and Milestones

• Conducted Leadership Trainings for church leaders in Family Ministry, Men’s Ministry, Children’s Ministry and Adventist Single Adult Ministry (ASAM) the first quarter of each year.
• Host and facilitated Prepare and Enrich Program for Pastors and their spouse so that they will be better equipped to provide counseling to church members.
• Provided ongoing free premarital counseling, marriage counseling, and individual counseling on a weekly basis for individuals and families within and outside of our conference territory.
• Visited many churches for Family Life Emphasis Day and Men Ministry Day and conducted seminars/workshops.
• Established and facilitated Couple’s Club in most of the churches we visited
• Presented at Church Retreats
• Organized and facilitated various workshops on marriage relationships, mental health, grief and loss, selfcare and family finances via zoom meetings.
• Two Men’s Retreat at CVL (2021) and Trumbull Marriott (2024) in CT. Our keynote speaker was Dr. Myron Edmonds, and our devotional speaker was Dr Steven Williams
• Established Men’s Support Group in local churches
• Assigned a Single Ministry Coordinator (Lisa Mitchell) to collaborate with single ministry leaders in local churches and assist with single events
• Single Ministry Dept organized a Book Club, Trips, Date Night and Speed Dating events.
• Assigned a Children’s Ministry Leader (Yancy Nurse-Hernandez) to oversee children’s Ministry and assist with children’s events
• Organized yearly Camp Meeting Children’s Church with activities and giveaways
• Organized the Summer Children’s Carnival for all NEC children
• Organized Children’s Ministry trip to Sight & Sound
• Hosted the North American Division Children’s Ministry Department Training for the local Children Ministry Leaders
• Assisted Local Churches with Vacation Bible Schoo

Notable challenges and how they were addressed.

Our leadership over the Family Ministry Dept covered various ministries. Our endeavor is to provide equal attention to each ministry became a challenge when the needs were great in each of the ministries. Accepting this reality and wanting to make sure that each ministry is fully supported and given the attention they needed, we followed God’s direction and decided to assign efficient leaders with experience to work alongside us and fulfill the mission of each ministry.

Strategic goals for the next term.

• Attend more churches to assist in providing tools to enhancing the family relationship
• Increase Men’s Support group in local churches
• Facilitate workshops on the many issues affecting the family unit.
• Establish Couple Ministry in local churches
• Free Counseling Services to NEC members
• Couples Retreat
• Men’s Ministry Retreat
• Single Ministry events to include trips, retreat and establish single clubs in local churches
• Children Ministry will continue to provide activities to engage children, camp meeting children’s church and trips.
• Ongoing training for local church leaders of family, men, single and children ministries.
• Increase VBS in the local churches.
• Address the family related needs of the Hispanic, French, Portuguese and Hindu families within the conference.

We are grateful for the opportunity to have served as the Family Ministries Leaders. This experience has been rewarding and enriching. In out travels across the conference territory, we have encountered many families that have expressed their gratitude for the service of this department. Thank you for your prayers and continued support.

Report submitted by Family Ministries Directors

• Dr Samuel & Andrea Blair, Family Ministries Directors
• Dr Herman &Vernie Charles, Assistant Family Ministries Directors