Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

06/07/2026

To mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Walter Isaacson has written a short book honoring what he identifies as The Greatest Sentence Ever Written: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Believers, responding to Isaacson's nomination, might put forward ringing sentences from the Bible as even worthier candidates for his high praise:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

And we could offer many more.

All of these biblical sentences are 500 years old in the year in which "We hold these truths to be self-evident . . ." is half their age, since all of them trace their heritage to vision-driven, Bible translator and linguistic genius, William Tyndale. In 2026, we celebrate the 500th anniversary of his pioneering and enduring translation of the New Testament from the Greek text into the English language and his printing and dissemination of his translation. This year, we celebrate his 1526 New Testament.

Tyndale's vision was to make the Bible accessible to the "plough boy," to give those whose native language was English, access to the Bible. At the time, the English language was not regarded with respect. It was denigrated as gutter speech, a rough and uncouth language incapable of conveying the truths of Scripture. Tyndale believed differently, arguing that English was especially tuned to convey the Bible's truth. His grand love, though, was people. He believed that they all deserved direct access to the Bible. Those in darkness must see the light! The Word of God for all people!

Slain as a martyr, Tyndale did not live to see the incredible success of his vision. Not only do modern translations of the Bible into English still owe a huge debt to Tyndale, his contributions to the development of the English language and its subsequent success as the central, worldwide language of international communication and commerce are significant and seminal.

Through his translation work and his writing on statecraft, William Tyndale’s impact on the founding of the United States of America and its form of governance are fundamental. So essential, it may be argued, that Isaacson's "Greatest Sentence" would never have been written had Tyndale dismissed his God-given vision and failed to "give God an English voice."

At Gladstone Camp Meeting this year, we will take time to reflect on William Tyndale's story and be inspired by his vision. How might we, 500 years on, be motivated to take up William Tyndale's work and push forward his vision of "The Word for All People"?
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By John McVay

Full article: https://www.oregonadventist.org/news/the-word-for-all-people-gladstone-camp-meeting-2026-william-tyndales-vision

06/04/2026

As we move forward in faith toward this year's camp meeting, we are prayerfully asking for our Oregon Conference family's help in raising $100,000 in contributions to help make camp meeting work as safely and smoothly as possible! We look forward to the faith-building, life-giving fellowship that we’ll experience at Gladstone this summer.

Donate toward our $100,000 goal by visiting Adventist Giving and selecting "Camp Meeting," write Camp Meeting on your church tithe envelope, or follow this link: https://orad.us/orgiving

06/04/2026

06/02/2026

"How is the Oregon Conference doing?"

If you've found yourself asking this or have happened to hear someone else asking, consider reading through the latest town hall reports! From a detailed look at conference finances to statistics on church membership and attendance to plans for education and local church growth, these reports give a birds eye view of the state of the Oregon Conference.

You can find them on our website at: oregonadventist.org/news/oregon-conference-town-halls-wrap-up-reports-available

06/01/2026

We know, you volunteer at Gladstone Camp Meeting just because you love it! But did you know that volunteering pays? No, not in money. In satisfaction. In camaraderie. In food. In camp sites!

Here's how it works: all volunteers are eligible for free meals. Work 1-5 hours? That's a meal! Work 6 or more? That's two!
Free camp sites are also available for volunteers age 21 and up! Ages 18-20 eligible upon approval.

HERE'S THE CATCH - you need to sign up by June 15 for the benefits! Background checks are required for all volunteers, so sign up today to give yourself plenty of time!

https://oregonadventist.churchcenter.com/people/forms/1014203

05/30/2026

Please keep the Bernal family, the Journey Church, and all those in the Kelso-Longview community in your prayers.

Gilbert Bernal, Journey Adventist Church member, in Kelso-Longview, was an electrician with the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company when he was caught in the aftermath of the Longview chemical tank implosion on Tuesday. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has called it “the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history.”

Local news reporters spoke with Pastor Jim John and others about Gilbert’s influence on them and on the larger community.

FOX 12 continues to learn more about the workers who died in the chemical tank implosion at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company in Longview on Tuesday.

05/28/2026

After more than 20 years serving on the grounds of Gladstone Park, Grounds Manager Matt Ballard has retired. “I started here a few years before Matt,” Kevin Smith, Oregon Conference Facilities Manager shared recently. “When he came in he added so much to our team. He came with a ton of experience and a really good heart for ministry.” In the years working together, Kevin developed a strong respect for his coworker and friend, a sentiment shared across the grounds and facilities teams. “I’ve learned a lot of stuff from Matt,” continued Kevin. “He had so much to offer and he was willing to share it – not just with me but with all kinds of people. With anyone he was working with. He’s had an effect on so many young people’s lives because of how he was willing to share and teach them. He was patient with them on their first times doing all kinds of stuff; using tools, learning how to drive things, all kinds of things you really need someone there with you to learn. He’s been a great mentor and someone to bounce ideas off of and get advice from. With Matt retiring officially, we’re just really gonna miss him. There were so many times Matt prayed with me. When my kids were born or other times when we were going through struggles and troubles or he was going through them, we’d pray together. He was there for so many of those big moments, and he was thinking about me. Matt thinks a lot about others. He’s all about making life better for people. It’s why he builds things the way he does, it’s not because it’s fun or cool, it’s because he’s thinking about how everything affects people and how to make life better for them.”

“I really got to know Matt back in early 2012,” said Athena Gray, Oregon Conference events coordinator. “It was a really hard time to come in because there had been a major downsizing of the maintenance crew. I had been a primary teacher, and he was working with high schoolers and college kids as summer workers. It was a new age group for me. The compassion he showed the kids was amazing. In the past it had been mostly college boys working with our team, but as the years went by, we started working with a wider range of ages and more and more girls started to work with us. We started having kids come back and work with us for three, four, five years – my daughter was one of them. Matt has impacted so many lives. I can’t even tell you how many kids he’s taught to drive – and to drive stick! Overall, I think my daughter was with us for seven years, and four of those were year-round. He taught her every tool and every way to use it. She even helped build his garage. He was always very nurturing. He never expected perfection but always encouraged her to strive for more. He’s a great teacher and a spiritual leader. He always taught the kids to look for object lessons in the work they did, even cleaning the bathrooms.” Athena shared how appreciated she felt working with Matt, and that his influence even led to her daughter becoming an electrician. “From trimming the trees to carpentry to welding and making all the fence rails uniform to plumbing and electrical – Matt has done that for this campus. His mark is on everything here.”

“I think I’ve worked for six different treasurers,” Matt shared as we sat together outside on the Gladstone Park campus. “Work is work – it just keeps coming. But it’s the people that make the difference. I’ve really enjoyed working with the summer staff that’s been here, working with the kids. That’s the fun part.” Over the years, Matt has innovated dozens of new systems for operations on the grounds, including cutting down on the amount of labor it takes to set up for big events like camp meeting and implementing better ways to care for the equipment and materials we use. “There are so many little things you can do to make things more efficient and more user-friendly,” he explained. “It’s easy to get so accustomed to how things are that you forget to see it with a visitor’s eyes. You have to learn and teach your kids and your staff to see things with new eyes every time you drive in here – to try to be aware of what people see and what the community experiences as it relates to us.”

Beyond his work on the grounds, Matt has been a Sabbath school teacher, a speaker at many other churches, and a contributing writer for several Adventist publications. He loves the outdoors and observing local wildlife, and has participated in numerous mission trips, as well. “I guess my wish is like many other people’s,” he confided, “and that’s to leave something better for the people behind you. You want to leave a place better than when you got there. The recognition isn’t important; you just want to be able to know that you made a difference and made things better – that you made an impact and weren’t just spinning your wheels.”

As for advice for those picking up the mantle, Matt shared a few thoughts, “You’ve just gotta be flexible. Flexibility, patience, and the willingness to adapt are so important. Don’t get hung up on things, you kind of just have to go with the flow of it and keep moving forward. I don’t know how many times I’ve started something and then gotten a phone call about something else. And you’ve gotta know and understand people. There are always some folks that are not as easy to get along with. We’ve all got different personalities, but that’s just people. And you have to know how to work together.”

We are so grateful for the years of service and care that Matt Ballard has invested into this church family. Though he has officially retired as Grounds Manager, you’ll still catch him working around Gladstone Park a few days a week. Say hi and thank him for the difference he’s made!

By Kaleb Eisele

Full article: https://www.oregonadventist.org/news/saying-goodbye-to-grounds-matt-ballard-retires-after-20-years-on-the-gladstone-campus

05/28/2026

The Oregon Conference team at Gladstone has recently spent a good deal of time celebrating retirements, welcoming new team members, and preparing to bid long-time coworkers farewell.

After more than 40 years of service in three conferences, Steve Hilde will be retiring from his role as Manager of the Adventist Book Center (ABC) at the end of June. We will miss him dearly in our conference and are so thankful for his many years of service! We are also excited to welcome Karen Carlton to the role following Steve’s departure. Karen has over 15 years of management experience, mostly in the denominational education setting. Recently, she served as principal of Amazing Grace Academy in Alaska. For many years, she has seen the ABC manager role as intriguing, and she is now excited to get the chance to step into that role. We look forward to working with her and are so thankful she’s willing to take on the task so shortly before the beginning of camp meeting!

Following Jon Holland’s departure earlier this spring and the subsequent shuffling of staff assignments that took place in the Treasury department, a vacancy was created in our Accounts Payable Clerk position. We are happy to announce that Kim Asij Fry has accepted the call to serve in the role! Kim has spent the past five years working for General Conference Auditing Service (GCAS), auditing conference offices, academies, and other denominational entities. We look forward to working alongside Kim.

In April, Director of Pastoral Ministries, Nate Hellman, announced his acceptance of a pastoral position at the Eastgate Seventh-day Adventist Church in Walla Walla, Washington. Nate has served in our conference for over 18 years! We will sadly bid Nate and his family farewell later this summer.

Also retiring this spring is Gladstone Park grounds manager, Matt Ballard. Matt has served on the grounds team for over 20 years, bringing his wealth of knowledge to improving camp meeting preparation, repairing and renovating buildings across campus, and working hard to make sure the Gladstone grounds are a place of camp meeting joy for many years to come. “Matt has been an invaluable part of our Gladstone Park campus team,” Eric Davis, VP of Finance recently shared. “His problem-solving skills, common sense, strong work ethic and knowledge of our Gladstone Park campus made him an extremely valuable part of our team. Most importantly, though, I know Matt was giving his all for the Lord.” For now, you’ll still have the chance to see him around the grounds as he continues to finish up a project or two part-time.
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In the Education department, a long-time vacant administrative assistant spot has been filled with the hiring of Sofia Ramos, who has started as a part-time administrative assistant. Most recently at Portland Adventist Elementary School (PAES), Sofia will help schools process their testing, assist the associate superintendents, and work with Education financial specialist Cristina Fonseca.

Please keep each of these individuals in your prayers as they transition into their new roles. We so appreciate their contributions to ministry here in the Oregon Conference!

Full article and photos: https://www.oregonadventist.org/news/oregon-conference-staff-sees-retirements-and-new-arrivals-across-campus

05/22/2026

Gladstone Camp Meeting Update: Additional Speakers Announced, International Festival Planned

The countdown to Gladstone Camp Meeting is on and the Oregon Conference team is working hard to finish confirming speakers, plan the week’s special events, and prepare the campgrounds for the thousands of camp meeting-goers that are excitedly planning their camp meeting experiences.

With that in mind, we want to give you an update on how things are coming together this year and what you can expect during the week of July 14-18 on the Gladstone Park campus.

This Year’s Theme‍:

This year’s theme, The Word for All People, celebrates the 500th anniversary of the of the New Testament being printed in English by William Tyndale. Watch for some special performances throughout the week of camp meeting. We’ll learn the story of William Tyndale, why that printed New Testament was important then, and why the story still matters today.

Speakers:

This year’s speaker list is filling out fast now with some great topics planned. Our weekday evening speaker in the Gladstone Pavilion this year will be Pastor Andreas Beccai from the Crosswalk Redlands Church in California. On Sabbath, we will be blessed to hear from NAD President G. Alexander Bryant, who will be sharing for both the Sabbath morning worship service and the evening program. Walla Walla University professor Paul Dybdahl will be doing our Sabbath morning lesson study. This year’s seminar speakers include: Andreas & Cassandre Beccai, Kevin Wilson, Brant Berglin, Kessia Reyne Bennett, Jim John, George Gainer, Katelyn Weakley, Billy Hungate, and Jim Reynolds.

Events:

When it comes to special events, we’re really excited about a few returning events and a couple new ones as well!

Last year, people loved being able to peruse the piles and boxes of used books in air conditioned comfort, and Keeper-of-the-Books, Jim McMurray, loved be able to keep the books safe and protected from elements at night with just the turn of a key, so this year, you’ll once again find the used book sale in Zull Hall.

Other events that are coming back this year include the Family Fun Run on Friday, Thursday’s Education Day, the Blood Drive, Veteran’s Recognition, and the Friday morning Women’s Ministry get-together.

We’ll also enjoy another Sabbath afternoon concert this year. This year’s artist will be musician, speaker, and nurse, Tad Worku. Tad is an amazing artist with an amazing story, and we’re excited to be able to bring him to this year’s camp meeting to weave together music and inspiration.

A new event we’re looking forward to will happen Friday afternoon –– an international festival! So many cultures from across the world call our conference home we thought it was high time we celebrated them! Taking the place of last year’s watermelon feed, the International Festival will showcase some of the foods and music of our churches around the conference. Get ready to experience some great flavors and get to know your fellow church members just a little better!
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Camping at Camp Meeting:

It’s not too late to reserve your campsites for camp meeting! There are still some great spots left and they’ll you put right in the middle of the action for camp meeting week. No driving to and from camp meeting each day, no getting home late at night. Camping during camp meeting week gives you the opportunity to easily attend early morning worships, enjoy late evening talks with friends, and even grab a quick nap after lunch – if needed. You can learn more about camping during camp meeting week and reserve your campsite by visiting www.oregonadventist.org/campsite-reservations.

Volunteering at Camp Meeting:

We gotta be honest –– as the days to camp meeting count down our anxiety is going up! We don’t have enough volunteers signed up for camp meeting yet! We’re especially low in our kids’ areas and our shuttle drivers shifts. Volunteering is fun, flexible, and comes with great perks; like free campsite reservations and meals in the cafeteria! Visit our website (www.oregonadventist.org/volunteer) to learn more about the different volunteer areas and how you can sign up.

It’s going to be a great year to make memories at camp meeting! We look forward to seeing you all July 14-18 in Gladstone, Oregon!

By Krissy Barber

Full article: https://www.oregonadventist.org/news/gladstone-camp-meeting-update-additional-speakers-announced-international-festival-planned

05/21/2026

The Oregon Conference office will be closed on Monday, May 25th, in recognition of Memorial Day.