Using Christ\u27s Method: Reshaping Evangelism in Milton Keynes International Seventh-day Adventist Church

Problem Milton Keynes International Seventh-day Adventist Church (MKI) is not able to evangelize its multiethnic/multicultural neighbors. This is because individual members of the church consider evangelism to be an annual event where speakers are invited from abroad to hold two- or three-week campaigns. Despite the high cost involved in this method, few people are baptized and even then, it is difficult to retain the new members. The culprit is the church\u27s inability to connect with its multiethnic and multicultural community because of not using the evangelistic method of Jesus Christ effectively. Method A total of six hours over four Sabbaths were allotted for training the church of the church during the month of February 2022. I sought to create an awareness of the state of evangelism in the minds of the MKI members and how that aligned with the method Jesus employed in His ministry. The training explored how church members could be equipped to engage with the community and people from different cultures and ethnicities. I also sought to devise a means to meet both the physical and the spiritual needs of the people. The participants were led to value the training through learning reflections, an anonymous survey, an interview, and a focus group. The survey was open to all the church members, but only 50 people participated. The interview was limited to 20 people, while the focus group was restricted to eight people who were part of the nucleus of the church. Data was evaluated by employing a qualitative case study research methodology supported by a concise quantitative study. Results The study revealed church members who gave the impression of supporting the initiative to amend the state of evangelism at MKI by using the model and the approach of Jesus Christ to reach their multicultural/multiethnic community. Nevertheless, a known stratagem to carry out this approach which the intervention sought to provide seemed to be lacking. Throughout the training, participants testified to the increase in their awareness of evangelism as a lifestyle, not just an event. They also reported having become much more aware of the difference between the mission of MKI and the mission of God. This was not as obvious before the training, and they saw the need to make improvements to make the church\u27s mission align with the mission of God in every phase. Through a critical, theological reflection, the participants had experiences which were vital for their spirituality and self-awareness as disciples of Christ, and they became cognizant and satisfied in so many ways that they could engage individually in evangelism wherever they might be. Furthermore, transformational learning took place as the participants seemed to adjust their thinking based on the new information provided by the training. Conclusion Considering the participants\u27 learning reflections, their experiences from the training, and the perceived spiritual value, along with the inspiration gained from the training, there is the hope that if the participants continue in this course and implement the tenets gained from this training, evangelism at MKI will be completely transformed for the better. The church will then be utilizing Christ Jesus’ method for their multiethnic/multiethnic community

Household’s awareness and willingness to use renewable energy: a study of Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

This study assesses household’s willingness to use other renewable energy alternatives to meet their households’ energy demand. Interview schedules were used to gather primary data from 400 randomly selected respondents in six communities within the Cape Coast Metropolis. The results showed that hydro-electric power and solar were the most used renewable energy sources. LPG was the second widely used energy source because it was one of the clean energies promoted by the Ghanaian Government. The level of awareness of households’ on renewable energy was low however, most of the respondents indicated their willingness to use alternative renewable energy sources. It is recommended that the Energy Commission should increase households’ awareness that would inform their willingness to use renewable energy

A multi-country cross-sectional study of self-reported sexually transmitted infections among sexually active men in sub-Saharan Africa

Seidu A-A, Ahinkorah BO, Dadzie LK, et al. A multi-country cross-sectional study of self-reported sexually transmitted infections among sexually active men in sub-Saharan Africa. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):1-11.Abstract Background Despite the importance of self-reporting health in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) control, studies on self-reported sexually transmitted infections (SR-STIs) are scanty, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with SR-STIs among sexually active men (SAM) in SSA. Methods Analysis was done based on the current Demographic and Health Survey of 27 countries in SSA conducted between 2010 and 2018. A total of 130,916 SAM were included in the analysis. The outcome variable was SR-STI. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed with a statistical significance set at p &lt; 0.05. Results On the average, the prevalence of STIs among SAM in SSA was 3.8%, which ranged from 13.5% in Liberia to 0.4% in Niger. Sexually-active men aged 25–34 (AOR = 1.77, CI:1.6–1.95) were more likely to report STIs, compared to those aged 45 or more years. Respondents who were working (AOR = 1.24, CI: 1.12–1.38) and those who had their first sex at ages below 20 (AOR = 1.20, CI:1.11–1.29) were more likely to report STIs, compared to those who were not working and those who had their first sex when they were 20 years and above. Also, SAM who were not using condom had higher odds of STIs (AOR = 1.35, CI: 1.25–1.46), compared to those who were using condom. Further, SAM with no comprehensive HIV and AIDS knowledge had higher odds (AOR = 1.43, CI: 1.08–1.22) of STIs, compared to those who reported to have HIV/AIDS knowledge. Conversely, the odds of reporting STIs was lower among residents of rural areas (AOR = 0.93, CI: 0.88–0.99) compared to their counterparts in urban areas, respondents who had no other sexual partner (AOR = 0.32, CI: 0.29–0.35) compared to those who had 2 or more sexual partners excluding their spouses, those who reported not paying for sex (AOR = 0.55, CI: 0.51–0.59) compared to those who paid for sex, and those who did not read newspapers (AOR = 0.93, CI: 0.86–0.99) compared to those who read. Conclusion STIs prevalence across the selected countries in SSA showed distinct cross-country variations. Current findings suggest that STIs intervention priorities must be given across countries with high prevalence. Several socio-demographic factors predicted SR-STIs. To reduce the prevalence of STIs among SAM in SSA, it is prudent to take these factors (e.g., age, condom use, employment status, HIV/AIDS knowledge) into consideration when planning health education and STIs prevention strategies among SAM. </jats:sec