Dean of the College of Humanities, Behavioural and Social Sciences at Northern Caribbean University (NCU), Dr Vincent Peterkin, is encouraging Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) congregations to put aside funds towards helping members attend Adventist schools.
Speaking at the education summit held at the SDA church in Mandeville on May 4, Peterkin said the fund is important because the membership of the church is primarily drawn from the lower socio-economic strata of society.
“Eighty per cent of our membership comes from the lower socio-economic strata in Jamaica and the rest of the world. And if that is the case, it means that education is hard to come by…people can't finance it all the way. And that is why every church must be able to say, here [is some money], it's a start,” he explained.
He used the Mandeville SDA congregation as an example of the impact an education fund can have at the local church level.
“Every student who goes on to NCU starts off with $50,000 from this church and that is policy. Every student who goes on to high school we assist them. You think we're rich? Because our God owns everything, all that we do is call on Him and say ‘Listen, we have 10 students going off to NCU, we want 10 times 50’ and I'm telling you it comes in,” he said.
He noted that education is key to reducing poverty and that Adventist Christian education in particular prepares people for this life and eternity.
The Sabbath summit capped off Adventist Christian Education (ACE) week which began on April 28. Virtual sessions were held each evening with speakers and topics as follows:
Sunday, April 28
Dr Denton Rhone
Senior pastor, Houston International SDA Church
The Eschatological Value of Adventist Christian Education
Monday, April 29
Dr Tracy-Ann Morgan-Smith
Senior Director, Regulation and Monitoring at ECC/ MOEY; Founder & CEO, STEM Education 4 Children
Early Childhood Development: The Foundation of Adventist Christian Education
Tuesday, April 30
Dr. Nicole Mauzard
Chair, Department of Graduate Education and Leadership, NCU
Differentiated Instructions Unmasked
Wednesday, May 1
Dr John Wesley Taylor V,
President, Andrews University
Accession to the Church: The Role of Adventist Education
Thursday, May 2Pastor Dane Fletcher
Youth Ministries director, Jamaica Union of SDAs
Modern Day Waldensians
Friday, May 3
Dr Violet Cox
Professor of Neurogenic Communication Disorders, Cleveland State University
The Mission of Adventist Christian Education
The theme of the week was ‘Rooted in Faith, Growing in Knowledge’.
During the following week, on May 9, the education department hosted a workshop for early childhood educators and board chairs themed ‘Building Blocks of Early Learning’.
The face-to-face training session was held at the Central Jamaica Conference (CJC) headquarters. The speakers and topics were as follows:
Rox-Anne Mckoy-Chambers
Director, Education and Women’s Ministries, CJC
Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Dr Tracy-Ann Morgan-Smith
Senior Director, Regulation and Monitoring at ECC/ MOEY
1. Understanding Inspection Standards and Registration Process
2. The Board Chairs Steering to Success
Dr Venice Allida
Associate Professor, Department of Graduate Education and Leadership, NCU
Who is the Adventist Teacher?
Virtual Presentations listed above can be viewed here: CJC ACE Week 2024