A Generation Searching for God!

AMARILLO, TEX. – On July 22 and 23, 2022, the Southwestern Union Conference, the Texico Conference and the Amarillo Seventh-day Adventist Church came together to host an annual Prayer Conference. This year’s theme was “A Generation Searching for God” and what a blessing it was!

Friday night began with a focus on the young adults with Eric Chavez, Texico Conference Young Adult & Youth Ministries director, presenting a message about our need to communicate with God. 

Sabbath morning continued with Texico Conference Children’s Ministries Director Kathy Clifford and Southwestern Union Children and Sabbath School Ministries Director Sonia Cano helping everyone understand the importance of teaching our children to pray and helping us understand that we must make the young ones a part of our family worship time. 

The main service was led by Carlos Craig, Southwestern Union president. He focused on our need to pray, staying connected to God and remembering that our prayer life keeps us connected to God–and if we are connected to Him, we will be known as the loving and welcoming church. Music and sign language was provided by a team from Houston which added a special blessing to all. 

After lunch the blessings continued. There were breakout sessions with Roderick Bishop, Texas Conference volunteer prayer coordinator, Osvaldo Rigacci, Southwestern Union vice president for multicultural ministries, Rick Mercer, Oklahoma Conference ministerial director and Cindy Mercer, Prayer Ministries coordinator, Carlos Craig, Southwestern Union president, and Letty Craig, Southwestern Union Family, Ministerial Spouses and Women’s Ministries director. 

The union and conferences’ children ministries hosted an eventful weekend for the children. Together, they held children’s church and in the afternoon and set up special stations to help the children to pray. 

But what is a prayer conference without prayer? Not just prayer with each other, but prayer with our community. How can the local church be a center of influence in our community if we do not pray for and with them. 

It is a tradition in the Texico Conference that every prayer conference we host, we have a time that we set aside to hold a “Drive-thru Prayer” session. Fourteen people from the prayer conference, led this year by Morris McPherson, Mount of Blessings Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor, did just that; standing out in the 104 degree heat. People were invited to drive up to the tent and the team would pray with and for them. 

We ended our evening with a message from Tony Anobile, Southwestern Union vice president for church ministries, about passing on our beliefs to future generations. The weekend was truly a blessing, with each of the two hundred plus attendees leaving the two-day meeting knowing that they had truly been blessed. 

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By Bobby Harris, Pastor
Amarillo Church and Tulia Company