Christina Norris
Christina Norris
Christina Norris
Christina Norris
Christina Norris
Christina Norris
There is a famous Christmas hymn that says, referring to the occasion of Jesus’s birth in the manger: “The world was wrapped in its quarrels.” The reality is that the world has always been “wrapped in its quarrels.” Life finds us all facing daily challenges that often threaten to rob us of joy, hope, peace, and even health. It is no wonder that, given this reality, the Church is affected and neglects the mission that the Lord Jesus entrusted to us.
And when I say “Church,” I am not referring to the institution, but to the fellowship. We are all absorbed in our personal realities and challenges, busy resolving and facing new hurdles. That is a constant reality. But, when summer arrives, everything becomes more complex: to this reality are added the weather, which invites us to rest from the daily grind, and the end of the school year, which frees children from school loads and rigid schedules. Therefore, proposing a missionary project for the fellowship in the middle of vacation season can be absolute madness. Don’t you think? Nevertheless, God continues to save in the summer!
I love knowing that, for God, all time is favorable for saving. As long as there is a heart that needs His saving grace, it will be available, and the Lord will find a way to pour it out, because nothing is impossible for God. And, when the situation seems most difficult, His power shines even more.
The summer of 2026, aside from experiencing the daily realities mentioned above, was marked by one of the most significant events on the planet: the FIFA World Cup. Every four years, this great tournament gathers the best national teams of the moment and inspires a deep global connection. A clear example was seeing countries without direct participation, such as Bangladesh, turn out in support of Argentina, or other nations cheer for Spain, the team crowned world champion after defeating the defending champion, Argentina, in the final.
Imagine what this World Cup provokes in society, even in North America — a country and region where soccer is gaining more ground every day, driven by the presence of Lionel Messi, considered the best player of recent times, along with other great figures who compete alongside him in North American Major League Soccer. This event generates a massive stir across society. For us, it had the added factor that, on this occasion, it was held in Mexico, Canada, and the United States, where the final phase of the tournament took place.
More than 12 million foreigners were in the stadiums and related venues, such as the “Fan Fests” (this was in North America alone). Millions of people were “wrapped in their quarrels,” trapped in their own conflicts. How could we think that the Church would get involved in an evangelistic program when many of our members in Hispanic churches were immersed in so many things, including this mega sporting event?
But, when God wants to do something, no one can stop Him! In a very special way, certain things were brewing that led us to organize an evangelistic program that defied all logic. Hasn’t Jesus acted like this on many occasions? One day, He ordered jars to be filled with water to make wine at a feast; another day, He told a paralytic to stand up if he wanted to be healed; He led His disciples into a perfect storm and, on another occasion, sent them alone to cross a sea against the wind.
Jesus often did things that defied human logic, so why couldn’t this be one of those times? I am referring to a large-scale evangelistic program uniting all Hispanic churches across two conferences during this summer, to place ourselves in God’s hands and connect more people with the kingdom of grace.
The main activity of our Church in the summer is Camp Meeting. It is a historic event. Adventist Camp Meetings officially began in 1868. The first was held September 1-7, 1868, in Wright, Michigan. The idea arose because many members lived scattered across rural areas, and it was difficult to gather the whole Church for instruction and spiritual strengthening. James and Ellen G. White strongly supported this initiative, and it quickly became an annual tradition in different states.
It is important to mention that Camp Meetings were already popular among Methodists and other Protestant groups since the late 18th and early 19th centuries, especially during the Second Great Awakening. Adventists adopted this format, but with a doctrinal and training emphasis for the Church, including as a primary element the mission we received from the Lord as a prophetic Church.
A typical Camp Meeting included…
- morning, afternoon, and evening preaching,
- systematic Bible studies,
- special meetings for youth and children,
- training for pastors and leaders,
- administrative meetings,
- times of prayer and testimonies,
- baptisms, and
- evangelism for the local community.
The Camp Meeting was like a combination of a spiritual convention, a retreat, and an evangelistic campaign.
What was its purpose?
Adventist leaders saw several main objectives:
- Spiritually strengthen the Church
- Promote unity
- Train leaders
- Evangelize
- Promote health reform
In summary, Adventist Camp Meetings were intended to gather a scattered Church, strengthen its members’ faith, train leaders, and share the Gospel with communities. For decades, they were one of the most effective means to consolidate the identity and mission of the Church, and many of its elements — preaching, training, fellowship, and evangelism — remain present in today’s conventions and Camp Meetings.
This summer, though, we highlighted the mission by directly connecting the Camp Meeting with a prior mid-week evangelistic campaign. The Hispanic Ministries Department of the Southern Union proposed an optional evangelistic plan for interested conferences. This initiative was born as a bold project, a true “summer madness,” motivated by faith that God is still at work and can do the impossible.
The strategy consisted of integrating a half-week of harvest evangelism with Camp Meeting, designating the latter as the stage for celebrating the baptisms obtained during the campaigns in the churches.
This was the plan: A speaker in each local church presented messages of appeal and decision for Christ to those who had already studied the Bible individually or in small groups. Furthermore, in many of the participating congregations, the initiative “Share Your Table, Your Home, and Your Church” was resumed.
When the time came, the mid-week harvest preaching was carried out — a very common practice in South America and Inter-America, where the majority of members in our Hispanic churches in North America come from.
The evangelistic program did not end there. After preaching during the previous week and inviting people who had studied the Bible to join Christ and the Church through holy baptism, participating churches gathered at Camp Meeting over the weekend. The central moment occurred on Sabbath, the day when baptisms were celebrated for those who decided to give their lives to Christ.
The ambitious project sought the participation of many churches from two different sectors. God was good once again, and both the Gulf States Conference and the South Atlantic Conference accepted the challenge. We immediately went to work despite the difficulties: daily routine, summer timing, and the World Cup. But, we trusted that God would not leave us without fruit, as we knew this plan came from Him.
I have no words to express the miracles the Lord worked among us as we returned to the roots of our Church. We made the Camp Meeting a place of gathering, preaching, revival, and, above all, evangelism, as more than 250 souls were baptized at these two events. Thanks to the power of God and the support of the Gulf States and South Atlantic conferences, we were able to see that in working together, all things are possible!
We appreciated the valuable support of the North American Division (NAD) with resources and outstanding speakers for our Camp Meetings, including José Cortés Jr., associate ministerial director, who was in the Gulf States region; and Omar Grieve, pastor, alongside his wife, Nessy, from “La Voz de la Esperanza,” The Voice of Prophecy, who were in the South Atlantic region.
At the same time, we were accompanied at each Camp Meeting by Church administrators. In South Atlantic, we had the presence of Allan Machado, Southern Union executive secretary; Osvaldo Rigacci, NAD Hispanic coordinator; and Axel Orellana, NAD associate director of Esperanza TV.
More than 40 churches participated in each evangelistic event, and we were visited by speakers from South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and North America. Funds were provided by the NAD, the Southern Union, the conferences, and contributions from local churches.
When planning this project, we knew it would be complicated, but we have a God who is not intimidated by complications. We knew we would have to be more united than ever, and the Lord would give us victory. In unofficial conversations, we said that if even a few people were baptized, it would be good and worth the effort.
But, we never expected such a great blessing, as, in the end, we were left with a spiritually strengthened and united Church, and with committed and trained leaders working together with the conferences, Union, and Division. This gave a greater identity to what the Church is — a people preparing for the return of the Lord Jesus and working to hasten His coming.
No matter the season, we believe God continues to save: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved,” John 3:17.
Therefore, we are convinced that, “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history,” 9T 9.4.
That is why we continue preaching, because God continues to save — even in the summer!
Julio Chazarreta is the Hispanic ministries director for the Southern Union Conference.
Southern Union | September 2026
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