Out of His deep love for humanity, God changes our lives and asks us to move His love into our community and world. We are uniquely positioned at Andrews University to share the story of God’s love from the residence halls to the farthest parts of the earth. We accomplish our mission by engaging people across generations to be disciples of Jesus through the process of Connect. Grow. Serve. Go.
Pioneer Media supports the local ministry needs related to classroom and teaching technology. It also creates content for and manages Pioneer's online presence and produces our broadcast television program.
We have volunteer teams that help you to serve the church and the neighborhood in a variety of ways. The best place to serve is where you’re using your God-given gifts, talents, and passions the most.
Your financial gift helps support ministry here at Pioneer. From local to global ministry, keeping our facility safe and clean, to outreach and family growth activities, it all provides a space to worship, learn, and grow together. We invite you to Give Purposefully, Give Faithfully, and Give Joyfully.
Dwight Nelson served as lead pastor of the Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of Andrews University from 1983 to 2023. During his time at Pioneer he spoke on the “New Perceptions” telecast, taught at the theological seminary and has written books, including The Chosen. He and his wife, Karen, are blessed with two married children and 2 granddaughters.
• American Psychological Association: “This generation is significantly more likely (27 percent) than other generations, including millennials (15 percent) and Gen Xers (13 percent), to report their mental health as fair or poor, the survey found. They are also more likely (37 percent), along with millennials (35 percent), to report they have received treatment or therapy from a mental health professional, compared with 26 percent of Gen Xers, 22 percent of baby boomers and 15 percent of older adults.” (www.apa.org/monitor/2019/01/gen-z)
• APA: “More than nine in 10 Gen Z adults (91 percent) said they have experienced at least one physical or emotional symptom because of stress, such as feeling depressed or sad (58 percent) or lacking interest, motivation or energy (55 percent). Only half of all Gen Zs feel like they do enough to manage their stress.” (Ibid)
• Baby Boomer Plus:
• Alzheimer’s Association: “By 2025, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s dementia is projected to reach 7.1 million — almost a 27 percent increase from the 5.6 million age 65 and older affected in 2019.” (www.alz.org/media/Documents/alzheimers-facts-and-figures-2019-r.pdf)
• Dean and Ayesha Surzai: “While every chronic disease you can think of . . . is in decline, deaths due to Alzheimer’s have increased nearly 87% in the last decade. The next decade could be even worse: 10 percent of people over the age of sixty-five will develop some form of dementia, and people over the age of eighty-five have a 50 percent chance of developing the disease. . . . Alzheimer’s may in fact be America’s third-most deadly disease, behind only heart disease and cancer. The question is no longer if we will develop the disease, but when.” (The Alzheimer’s Solution: A Breakthrough Program to Prevent and Reverse the Symptoms of Cognitive Decline at Every Age 2)
» GOOD NEWS
• Our Depression—Jesus
• Isaiah 53:4
• Psalm 88:1, 14, 18
• Derek Kidner: “There is no sadder prayer in the Psalter. . . . [with] its witness to the possibility of unrelieved suffering as a believer’s earthly lot.” (Psalms 2:316, 319)
• Business Insider: “According to a report analyzing data from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Index, major depression diagnoses are rising at a faster rate for millennials and teens compared with any other age group. Since 2013, millennials have seen a 47% increase in major-depression diagnoses. . . . The most prominent symptom of major depression is ‘a severe and persistent low mood, profound sadness, or a sense of despair,’ according to Harvard Medical School.” (www.businessinsider.com/millennials-mental-health-burnout-lonely-depress...)
• Psalm 22:1-2, 6
• Desire of Ages: “Christ’s agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face. He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.” (694)
• Our Dementia—Jesus
• John 21:18
• Wes Youngberg: “I tend to think of dementia as a temporary cognitive impairment associated with recent exposures to one or more dementogens that collectively cross a threshold level, leading to decreased functionality in judgment, communication, organization, and the normal functions of daily living.” (Memory Makeover: How to Prevent Alzheimer’s and Reverse Cognitive Decline the Natural Way 33)
• Dean and Ayesha Sherzai: “If we had to name a single food that plays the biggest role in the development and progression of Alhzeimer’s, it would be . . . . is one of the most destructive compounds we can ingest, and we’re consuming more of it now than at any other point in human history.” (100)
• Dale Bredesen: “Chronic inflammation [the body’s response to what it perceives is an “attack”] can arise . . . when we regularly ingest inflammation-triggering foods such as sugar. . . . Sugar is like fire, a source of energy but very dangerous. . . . Our bodies recognize sugar as poisonous, and therefore rapidly activate multiple mechanisms to reduce its concentration in our blood and tissues.” (The End of Alzheimer’s: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline 48-49)
• Our Dependence—Jesus .
• Hebrews 2:13
• Ministry of Healing 249: “If in our ignorance we make missteps, the Saviour does not forsake us. We need never feel that we are alone. Angels are our companions. The Comforter that Christ promised to send in His name abides with us. . . . Those who suffer most have most of His sympathy and pity. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and He desires us to lay our perplexities and troubles at His feet and leave them there.”
"I will put my trust in Him"
Offering for December 20, 2025
Pioneer Operating Budget
My then six-year-old son came up to me and said, “Dad, I need a lot of money, and I need to make it fast!” I smiled and inquired, “Why do you need a lot of money quickly?” I didn’t know what my son was thinking of doing with all this fast cash and why he needed the funds so urgently. I thought maybe he wanted to buy a new toy or bike for himself. He said, “Well, Mom’s birthday is coming up and I want to buy a nice gift for her!” That sure cheered my heart, and so I gave him the funds! My son was asking for money, not for selfish reasons but out of love for his mom.
When I think about church offerings, every gift we give should be measured by the unfathomable Gift of heaven. The greatest offering we received from God is Jesus, and there is no way we can measure His love and sacrifice for us. Anything we give would appear as nothing in comparison. “How vain the endeavor to measure with mathematical rules, time, money, and love against a love and sacrifice that is measureless and incomputable!” (Testimonies for the Church, Vol.4, p.119). Let’s return our tithes and offerings in response to the abundance of God’s love for us.
—North American Division Stewardship Ministries
Church Office Holiday Closure: 12/22-12/26 & 12/29-01/02
Please note that the church office will be closed from December 22 to 26 and again from December 29 to January 2 for the holiday season. We will reopen on January 5. Our church services will proceed as always. If you have any announcements, please submit those no later than December 19. Thank you for your understanding. We wish you a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year!
Christmas Blessing Opportunity
Be part of a Christmas blessing this year! Chiang Mai Adventist Academy, which serves primarily Buddhist students from around the country, is looking for a set of Bible story felts to use in teaching the Bible in their Sabbath schools. FARM STEW missionaries will be going to Thailand in January and deliver them. If you have a felt set you would like to donate or would like to donate towards buying a new set, please contact Deby Andvik. (andvik@andrews.edu or call/text 269-277-4145)
Pioneer Women’s Ministries’ Advent devotionals will highlight a few of the promises of Jesus. To receive the “Red Letter Promises” daily devotionals by email for the first 25 days of December, text the word “ADVENT” to 269-281-2345. You can also receive a short daily text message preview of each day's devotional by providing your cell phone number when you register. We pray you will sense the nearness of Jesus during this holy season through these devotionals.
House of Prayer
Pioneer Earlyteen Loft
Please join us for House of Prayer Wednesday evenings at 7pm in the Earliteen Loft for a time of singing, Bible study and prayer.