Under the Southeastern Conference’s 2026 theme, “Higher,” nearly 100 pastors gathered at the Conference Campground in Hawthorne, Florida, February 9–11, for the semi-annual Pastors’ In-Service – a strategic leadership initiative reinforcing renewed commitment to mission-focused alignment, leadership excellence, and pastoral effectiveness across the field.

More than a routine training event, the gathering reflected the Conference’s intentional focus on strengthening pastoral leadership as a critical driver of healthy churches, effective ministry systems, and sustained mission growth.

The gathering provided an intentional space to assess progress across individual churches while affirming pastors’ ongoing work in evangelism – the ministry’s central mandate. It also served as a strategic forum for reflection, alignment, and leadership strengthening.

Workshop sessions and presentations centered on the leadership responsibilities of the pastor. Beyond theological and spiritual guidance, pastors are called to serve as holistic leaders who model healthy, mission-aligned, and administratively sound practices that advance both ministry effectiveness and organizational health.

The program integrated seasons of prayer, worship, and spiritual reflection, ensuring a balanced emphasis on operational training and spiritual renewal.

General sessions included The Pastor’s Role in Financial Stewardship, Transforming Church Culture, and Strategic Administration and Operational Oversight. These sessions equipped pastors with practical tools to strengthen governance, financial accountability, and congregational engagement at the local church level.

Featured keynote presentations included Transforming Church Culture, delivered by Dr. Kleber Gonçalves, Director of Mission Integration Systems and Strategy at AdventHealth, and Tax Talk for the Faithful: Tax Education for Pastors, presented by Pastor Eugene Mason, retired conference treasurer/pastor and clergy tax specialist.

In his closing remarks, Conference President Dr. Michael K. Agyei Owusu framed the training as a strategic investment aligned with the Conference’s value of Healthy Leadership & Management, emphasizing that excellence in leadership and faithful stewardship are essential to cultivating healthy ministry systems and advancing the mission across the field.

With renewed clarity of purpose, the pastoral body was commissioned to lead their congregations toward higher levels of faithfulness and mission impact. Framing the charge within the Conference’s forward trajectory, Conference President Owusu called pastors to remain forward-focused in both mission and personal calling, embracing a spirit of continual growth and faithful pursuit. He urged the assembly to adopt as their watchword the familiar text from Philippians 3:14: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,” leaving the gathering with a shared sense of vision, unity, and renewed commitment to the work

Leaders from the Southeastern Conference’s Haitian churches recently gathered on the campus of Bethel Church in Riviera Beach, Florida, for the annual Haitian Leadership Summit—an intentional space to sharpen leadership skills, strengthen spiritual resolve, and prepare for the year ahead. The Conference’s 2026 theme, Higher, set both the tone and direction of the weekend.

Enthusiasm was evident from the outset. Record attendance across the Conference’s network of Haitian churches filled the campus with energy and expectation. Yet what stood out most was not simply the size of the gathering, but the spirit of unity on display.

As attendees made their way onto Bethel’s grounds, they arrived in pairs and small groups—families, ministry partners, and co-laborers walking together with purpose. Young and old moved side by side, engaged and eager to learn. This was not attendance born of obligation, but of shared commitment and spiritual hunger

As the divine worship hour approached, heartfelt hymns sung in Creole filled the sanctuary, creating an atmosphere of reverence and readiness. The music lifted hearts and prepared minds for the Word.

The message that followed proved both timely and stirring. Dr. Michael Owusu, President of the Southeastern Conference, challenged a packed sanctuary to move Higher in 2026. His appeal rested on three guiding principles: rise higher, believe boldly, and move forward in faith—a call that echoed Paul’s words in Philippians 3:14, pressing toward the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Within the Seventh-day Adventist tradition, gatherings such as these are never ends in themselves. They are moments of recalibration—calling leaders back to Scripture, mission, and faithful service. In the year ahead, moving higher will be measured not by enthusiasm alone, but by transformed leadership, strengthened families, intentional mentoring of youth, and churches more fully engaged in their communities.

As one Haitian pastor reflected, “Toudenkou nou fè konfyans Bondye, li pral mennen nou pi wo.” (As long as we trust God, He will take us higher.)

If the spirit witnessed at Bethel Church is any indication, the Haitian churches of the Southeastern Conference are moving forward into 2026 with renewed faith, unity, and purpose—ready to follow where God leads.

The Southeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists joins communities across our nation in acknowledging the growing anxiety, sorrow, and uncertainty surrounding recent immigration enforcement activities taking place in Minneapolis and other cities.

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