On April 22, 2018, the Madoc Seventh-day Adventist Company hosted dinner for the Bancroft community. Held at the Seniors’ Club 580, the dinner was a success, serving 30 community guests. This year the Madoc company has prayerfully decided to focus its evangelistic and outreach efforts on the town of Bancroft. Located in the heart of Ontario, halfway between Toronto and Ottawa, Bancroft has a population of approximately 4,000. Most interestingly, there is no Seventh-day Adventist church presence in the town of Bancroft.
In addition to blanketing Bancroft and surrounding towns with invitations for our Discover Bible School Bible studies and delivering a Great Controversy book to every home, the company decided to host its annual community dinner there as well. The dinner, jointly coordinated by the community services and personal ministries departments, was planned as a way to meet and make friends with the community. Also, this dinner served as a tool to identify the needs of the community to plan future programming for this year.
Prior to the dinner, Madoc company members worked diligently to decorate the venue and prepare a delicious plant-based meal. The favourite of many guests was the plant-based cheesecake dessert made from cashews. Guests were also able to enjoy music sung by the children and also by the company’s dear pastor, Evaldo Vicente. The Spring Community Dinner also featured presentations given by Bancroft Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and North Hastings Children’s Services. Guests and members alike shared that the dinner was a really nice experience. Connections were made, and networking allowed for sharing of contact information.
The two Sundays following the spring dinner, the Madoc company presented two seminars in Bancroft: one on children’s health and the other on healthy aging. Both seminars had community attendance, and the community expressed great appreciation for them.
In the coming weeks, the company also hopes to present a cooking school. Further, plans are being made to host a health expo in September followed by an evangelistic series in Bancroft this fall. Praise the Lord for the work that He is doing in Bancroft! This is definitely an important reminder that all of us have an urgent work to do, to let the light shine forth, to share the hope that we have with people right around us, understanding that we have been equipped to do so regardless of age and experience. “Your voice, your influence, your time—all these are gifts from God and are to be used in winning souls to Christ.”[1] Please continue to keep the town of Bancroft in your prayers.
[1] Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, 9:38.