During the morning worship hour on Sabbath, August 18, 2018, Kelvin Brewster joined the Birmingham Roebuck Church, Birmingham, Ala., by profession of faith. Brewster loves the Lord Jesus, and he is a trained, ordained, lay pastor in the Baptist church with credentials to preach and teach, conduct weddings and funerals, and provide care to church members, as well as to his adopted congregation at the Presbyterian Manor Senior Living Community where he has served for five years. A student of the Bible, Brewster discovered the truth about the seventh-day Sabbath six years ago. Deeply convicted to honor God’s holy day, following the example of Jesus, Brewster began to keep the Sabbath and to share this Bible truth with his friends, family, and others — including the senior pastor of his congregation.
At first the senior pastor stated that he too believed the seventh-day Sabbath truth and that soon he would begin teaching the congregation the importance of keeping the fourth commandment. But, the pastor stated, “The congregation would need to take baby steps toward making the change.”
Neither the teaching nor the change ever occurred. And, as often happens, the senior pastor and many in the congregation, including some of Brewster’s family, began to subtly snub him as a result of his enthusiastic conviction to keep and teach the Sabbath truth.
Brewster has been influential, especially in speaking to his sister and brother-in-law about the importance of the Sabbath. On Facebook he began seeing posts from his sister saying things like, “Happy Sabbath.” On further inquiry, Brewster discovered that his sister and brother-in-law had joined the Adventist Church in Missouri. His sister had beat him to the punch, so to speak, and joined the Church before he did.
God works in mysterious ways!
Brewster knew he must find a Seventh-day Adventist church in Birmingham. In his Google search, he discovered the Birmingham Roebuck Church. The Sabbath he walked into the building, the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart. He knew, he says, that, “This is the church I’ve been looking for.”
“I had the privilege of following up with Kelvin on his conviction about keeping the Sabbath and becoming a member of the Church,” says Randy Mills, pastor. “We spent hours going over the 28 Fundamental Beliefs. When we finished, Brewster simply said, ‘This is what I believe.’”
Mills then gave Brewster the profession of faith certificate to take home and give it more thought. Two weeks later, he returned the signed certificate saying, “I’ve signed it, Pastor Mills. I’m ready to join the Church.” What a wonderful day!
Brewster looks forward now to becoming an active member of the Birmingham Roebuck congregation, using the gifts and calling with which God has blessed him.
Gulf States | October 2018
Comments are closed.