Thirteenth Sabbath Program

This quarter we have focused on the Northern Asia-Pacific Division.

Opening Song
“Christ for the World”
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, no. 370

Welcome
Superintendent or Sabbath School teacher

Prayer

Program
“Reaching the Billions in Northern Asia”

Offering

Closing Song
"Soldiers of Christ, Arise"
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, no. 616

Closing Prayer

Participants and Props: Two narrators, six youth to present the projects; six younger children to carry the flags across the platform and hold up the appropriate flag as that country’s project is being presented. If you don’t have enough children to take these parts, ask two more narrators to alternate reading the youth parts. They don’t need to memorize their parts, but they should be familiar enough with the material to present it confidently. (Note that a simplified version of this program appears in the children’s quarterly.)

Narrator 1: The Northern Asia-Pacific Division is made up of six countries. Each presents its own challenges to finishing our God-given mission.

Narrator 2: [Child 1 carries Chinese flag across the platform and stands at the far side.] China, the world’s most populous nation with almost 1.4 billion people, is opening its borders to the world. But with a little more than 400,000 Seventh-day Adventists, only one in every 3,400 Chinese is an Adventist. May God use His children to light the lamps of faith throughout this vast nation.

Narrator 1: [Child 2 carries Japanese flag across the platform and stands next to child 1.] Japan is rich and increased in goods, but most people have never heard of Jesus. The church in Japan has a little more than 15,000 members, one Adventist believer for about every 8,300 people. Most of the believers are elderly, and only a few people are baptized each year. But church growth is occurring among the immigrant population. Pray that the Lord will continue to reach those who have moved to Japan as well as those born in the land of the rising sun.

Narrator 2: [Child 3 carries Mongolian flag across platform.] Mongolia’s first new believers in generations were baptized just over 20 years ago. Most of the country’s 1,600 believers are young people who are eager to share their faith with others. Pray that they will grow strong in faith and mighty in church leadership in one of the oldest cultures in the world.

Narrator 1: [Child 4 carries North Korean flag across platform.] No one knows how many Adventist believers live in North Korea. But the few who have made their way out of this closed nation give reason for hope. Pray that the doors of North Korea will open so that the gospel may flood in and feed hungry hearts with the bread of life.

Narrator 2: [Child 5 carries South Korean flag across platform.] South Korea is the most “Christian” nation in the Northern Asia-Pacific Division. Still, just a third of the population of South Korea professes to be Christians, and about one person in every 250 is a Seventh-day Adventist. But in spite of their best efforts, Adventists still are often misunderstood. Pray for our brothers and sisters in South Korea.

Narrator 1: [Child 6 carries Taiwan’s flag across platform.] Taiwan is a small island off the coast of China. Most of the country’s Adventist members come from the original tribes who live primarily in the hill country. Only one in every 25,000 ethnic Chinese in Taiwan is an Adventist. Pray that God will touch the hearts of the millions of people in Taiwan who need to know Him.

Narrator 2: Today our Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help strengthen the hands of our brothers and sisters in the Northern Asia-Pacific Division by providing some vital tools to lead others to know the hope that Jesus provides, and to encourage those who believe.

Youth 1: [Child holding Japanese flag steps forward and holds the flag high.] A multi-cultural evangelistic center for reaching out to the large immigrant population of Japan.

Youth 2: [Child holding Mongolian flag also steps forward and holds the flag high.] Four additional classrooms and a library for the Adventist school in the capital city of Mongolia. This school is a strong link for bringing families into the church.

Youth 3: [Child holding Korean flag steps forward and holds flag high.] Part of our Thirteenth Sabbath Offering today will help establish an evangelistic training center for youth. Started as the “Pancake Church” plant, this center will continue to nurture and train youth for multi-cultural evangelism.

Youth 4: [Child holding Taiwanese flag steps forward and holds flag high.] One of the most effective ways of reaching people in the cities is through a center of influence. Part of today’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will go to establish or support a daycare for the elderly, after-school programs for children, and a health education program.

Youth 5: [Child holding Chinese flag steps forward and holds flag high.] Several Global Mission Pioneers are working in China to plant churches in 18 large cities that currently have no Adventist presence. Part of today’s offering will be used to help purchase one apartment in each of these cities to be used as a local church and training center.

Youth 6: [Child holding North Korean flag steps forward and holds flag high.] We don’t know how many Christians live in North Korea, but we know there are some. We know from people who have lived there that at least a few of these Christians are Seventh-day Adventists. Life is hard for them. Let’s pray that God will protect and bless His children in this country where Christianity is a foreign religion.

Narrator 1: We can help reach and support the people living in the countries of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division as we pray and give mission offerings. The Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will make a big difference for the young people in South Korea who are eager to share their faith with others, [point to South Korea on a map]; to the immigrants living in Japan [point near Mt. Fuji, Japan]; to the young people studying at the Adventist school in Mongolia [point to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia]; and to the many Chinese who will be blessed through a center of influence or by attending an Adventist house church [point to Taiwan, and China]. Let’s do our part today to share God’s love with our family members in the Northern Asia-Pacific Division.

[Offering]