Saturday, January 27, 2018

A Young Pastor Shares Jesus with the Next Generation

Pastor Danielle Pilgrim


Pastor Danielle Pilgrim, Berean SDA Church, Atlanta
Pastor Danielle Pilgrim, making an offer that is much too good to refuse- forgiveness for your sins, courtesy of Jesus Christ, and the opportunity to spend eternity with Him in heaven.
The journey of a Christian. Pastor. Friend. Mentor. Public Speaker. Community Activist. Community Developer. Story Teller. (These eight descriptive titles  have been culled from Pastor Pilgrim’s TWITTER HOMEPAGE).

The following information has been gathered from several online sources, and is therefore readily accessible to everyone on earth. Danielle Pilgrim is herself also readily accessible. Should you happen to be in the Atlanta area anytime soon, she would be more than happy to be of service.  The service that she specializes in is informing people about Jesus Christ, and of His soon return.

Atlanta is only the most recent of the many milestones that have marked her personal pilgrimage (an unavoidable pun for the majority of her aspiring biographers, including this one). Pastor Pilgrim’s life’s journey is planned in such a way as to eventually arrive, after many intervening trials and temptations, at the same destination that most famous of literary pilgrims, Christian, struggled to reach.  At the end of his fictional trek he is grateful to be admitted to heaven. At the end of this sentence is a link to an 1853 edition of Protestant dissenter John Bunyan’s 1678 allegory THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS.

She has eight fingers, and a World Record.
During a Wednesday night sermonette delivered a few months after her arrival at Berean, one titled “Never Give Up,” Danielle revealed that she was a pretty good sprinter back in high school. Stay the course, Pilgrim!
The Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church YOUTUBE CHANNEL features many aggregate hours of highly polished discourses, homilies, presentations, and prayers by Pastor Pilgrim, going all the way back to the time of her installation on December 19, 2015. This significant milestone is visible starting at time marker 28:30 in the linked video of an EVENT-PACKED SABBATH WORSHIP SERVICE. Here, slightly less polished, but no less presentable, is a link to 89 SECONDS OF IMPROVISED ADVICE by Pastor Pilgrim offered to the youthful congregation of a Sabbath afternoon AYS service held 25 month later.

During her installation at Berean,  some prepared biographical material (“...a very powerful bio,” stated her new supervisor, Fredrick Russell) about the new pastor was read to all by Dr. James Lamb, another pastor on the Berean staff. A  transcription will be provided below the Coat of Arms of Trinidad and Tobago…

“Together We Aspire. Together We Achieve.” The very decorative Coat of Arms of Trinidad and Tobago. The three ships represent the Trinity as well as the three ships of Columbus.
PASTOR DANIELLE, UNVIELED BEFORE HER PRESENT FLOCK, AS READ BY PASTOR JAMES LAMB, PHD-

Danielle Pilgrim is a native of the beautiful twin Island of Trinidad and Tobago. She came to the United States at the age of 14 where she was introduced to the Adventist Church and its message. After attending church services for over a year, she fell in love with Jesus, and decided to express her devotion to God publically through baptism. Her decision to follow Christ brought fierce opposition from a close family member, and subsequently prevented her from following through with her decision. Despite this opposition, at the age of 16, because of her deep love and commitment to Jesus she decided to follow through with her decision and was baptized during a summer evangelistic meeting.

Although Pastor Pilgrim is the only Adventist in her immediate family, she became very active in the mission of the world church. She was an active member of the Youth Preacher’s Core Movement in Brooklyn, New York. For several years she served as a Bible worker and production manager for many evangelistic meetings. In 2008 she took off a year from completing her Bachelor’s degree and served as a Bible worker for one year for the Southeastern Conference at the Waycross and Brunswick churches located in south Georgia.

Elmont Temple SDA Church 682 Elmont Rd. Elmont NY 11003. Tel: (516) 285 5050
Pastor Pilgrim was also an active member at the Elmont Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church in Long Island, New York. While there, she was appointed as the first young female Elder. While at Elmont Temple, she served as the Assistant Personal Ministries Director, Assistant AYS Leader, Sabbath School Teacher, Women’s Ministry Prayer Coordinator, and Pathfinder Instructor. While serving at her local church, she was able to complete her Bachelor’s degree at the City University of New York, of York College. She graduated in the Dean’s List with a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health Education.

Pastor Pilgrim is also a published author. In 2013 she published her first Biblical word search puzzle book. This was a project she had been working on while completing her Master Guide program. This project was designed with the intent of creating a book that is interesting, educational, and fun for young people to learn more of God and the Bible.

Pastor Pilgrim attended the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University to enhance her knowledge for ministry. While in the seminary, she served as an Intern Pastor at the Shiloh Seventh-day Adventist Church in Chicago under the leadership of Pastor Leeroy Coleman. In addition to leading out on Sabbath services and revival, she led out in engaging the church in personal and community outreach.

Pastor: Leeroy Coleman, speaking at the Detroit City Temple SDA Church Sabbath Service on December 16, 2017.
After completing her internship at Shiloh, Pastor Pilgrim then served as one of the Associate Pastors at the Grace Place Church in South Bend, Indiana under the leadership of Dr. Hyveth Williams. At Grace Place Pastor Pilgrim served as the pastor for discipleship and outreach, and led out in a ministry called the Creative Café. Creative Café is a youth and young adult ministry intended to reach the unchurched youth and young adult demographic of the South Bend, Indiana community.

As of last week, praise the Lord, she completed her Masters of Divinity at the seminary, and she is fired up, passionate, energized, and inspired to build up the Kingdom of God. Danielle Pilgrim’s deepest desire is to be used by the Holy Spirit to bring her family and others to Christ. It is also her deepest aspiration to equip the church for the purpose of soul-winning, and to usher in the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.



At the conclusion of these remarks, South Atlantic Conference President William Winston offered additional remarks regarding the most recent reemergence of a recurrent controversy within the ranks of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as to whether women should, or should not be allowed to preach. A provision that would have enabled local divisions and conferences to decide for themselves about this issue had just been voted down at the General Conference of the church held in San Antonio.  But the concept of women in ministry is important, so he encouraged the pastor to ignore detractors both inside and outside the walls of her new church home, and to simply “…shake the dust off your feet, and move on.”

 President Winston’s initial interview with her while she was still attending the theological seminary had impressed him with her quality both as a person and as a pastor. The Northeastern Conference had hoped to lock her in upon graduation, but she had graciously declined, awaiting the fulfillment of a promise made to her by the South Atlantic Conference through its minister plenipotentiary, Elder William (a man so smooth that butter would not melt in his mouth, and, providentially, chief of a conference that yet remains uncompromised by scandal). As was the case with the legendary first president of the “regional” South Atlantic Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Harold D. Singleton, its most recent leader William Winston is also a “good people-picker.”

Pastor Pilgrim at the “Holy Desk”
THE VERY CONCISE BEREAN WEBSITE BIO-

Danielle Pilgrim is a native of the beautiful twin Island of Trinidad and Tobago. She is a recent graduate of the Seventh-Day Theological Seminary of Andrews University where she earned her MDiv degree. Along with sharing the gospel through preaching, she is passionate about discipleship and evangelism.

THE PASTOR’S CURRICULUM VITAE, COPIED FROM LINKED IN





SOME MISSING LOGOS FOR DANIELLE’S EMPLOYERS TO PLACE ON LINKED IN, SHOULD THEY CHOOSE TO BECOME LINKED
South Atlantic
The Grace Place
Shiloh
Helping Hands
PILGRIM’S MOSTLY RECYCLED BIO FROM THE 2017 GOSPEL CHOICE AWARDS WEBSITE. SHE RECIEVED AN AWARD FOR YOUTH PASTOR OF THE YEAR AT THIS GALA ANNUAL EVENT-

Danielle Pilgrim is a native of the beautiful twin Island of Trinidad and Tobago [this phrase definitely sound familiar]. She migrated to the United States at the age of 14. At an early age Danielle fell in love with Jesus and accepted him as her personal Savior.

As a teenager, Danielle was an active participant in the Youth Preachers Core Movement in Brooklyn, New York. For several years she served as a community Bible leader and production manager for many evangelistic events. In 2008, Danielle took a year off from completing her bachelor’s and served in two small churches in South Georgia: Waycross and Brunswick. During that season, she had the privilege of leading people to Christ, which only deepened her desire to serve the Lord as a career pastor. When she returned to New York, she was asked to serve in her home church as the first young female Elder.

Founded in 1966, York was the first senior college founded under the newly formed CUNY system. The college is a member-school of Thurgood Marshall College Fund. It is located in Jamaica, Queens, NY.
While serving in her local church, Danielle was able to complete her bachelor’s degree at the City University of New York, York College. She graduated on the dean’s list with a Bachelors of Science degree in Community Health Education.

Danielle is a published author, where in 2013 she published her first Biblical Word Search puzzle book. This project was designed with the intent of creating a book that is interesting, educational, and fun for young people to learn more about God and His Word. In addition she wrote a groundbreaking article in Spectrum magazine called “Church Beyond Walls.”

Pastor Pilgrim has always been convinced that God called her to pastoral ministry, and as such, she applied and was accepted into the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University to enhance her gifts and knowledge in preparation for full time ministry. While at the seminary, Danielle was very active in ministry: she served as an intern pastor at the Shiloh Seventh-day Adventist Church Chicago, serving in multiple capacities in that large congregation.

Dr. Williams holds the distinction of being the first non-Episcopalian to receive the prestigious Fellowship from the Episcopal College of Preachers, National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.  A groundbreaker, like Barry Black!
After completing her internship at the Shiloh church, Pastor Pilgrim then served as one of the associate pastors at the Grace Place Church in South Bend, Indiana, under the leadership of Dr. Hyveth Williams. At the Grace Place, Pastor Pilgrim served as the Pastor for Discipleship and Outreach. She also served as the leader for the Youth & Young Adult ministry- titled the Creative Café- , which specifically targeted unchurched youth and young adults in the South Bend community.
Danielle completed her Masters in Divinity December 2015, and was assigned as the Youth and Discipleship Pastor of the Berean Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. She made an immediate impact on the congregation and the youth of the church as a result of her passion and total engagement in both the church and broader Atlanta community.

Pastor Pilgrim started at Berean the first annual teen girls retreat, inaugurated a creative process of engaging youth in community service, begin a youth discipleship class, and facilitated high impact youth Worship services. She was also instrumental in restarting a mentoring program for young teen males. As part of her Discipleship ministry, Danielle has also put in place at Berean a new member integration process that connects [transitions would have been a better choice] new members smoothly into the life of the church.

The logo for the 2017 iteration of Pastor Pilgrim’s noble annual effort to preclude youth from perpetrating an all-too-common youthful folly. It has been recently modified. See below for a clarifying image…
The inspiration for the preceding 2016 Purity Camp logo. Proctor & Gamble may have had issues with having been associated with an unabashedly Christian endeavor. See below for a second clarifying image…
Proctor & Gamble is a very image-conscious enterprise, primarily due to the enormous flap concerning their old corporate logo. Ellen G. White excoriated the spiritually degenerate era that P&G was founded in.
During the summer of 2017, Danielle directed the churches annual Purity Camp, a camp geared to help young people make healthy sexual choices based on a Biblical and moral foundation.
Pastor Pilgrim is fired up, passionate, energized and inspired to build up of the kingdom of God. Pastor Pilgrim’s deepest desire is to be used by the Holy Spirit to bring as many people as possible to Christ.

Finally, Danielle also has an emerging passion for community engagement beyond the church walls, having already launched her a Non Profit organization call “Happy Feet” which focuses on providing foot products for homeless and underprivileged people.

A screenshot of an archived PDF of the Dec. 2017 edition of Southern Tidings, house organ of the Southern Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. SAC is now headquartered in their old building on Memorial Drive, Atlanta, GA, US of A.
AN ARTICLE ABOUT PASTOR PILGRIM BY FREDERICK BUSSEY FROM THE DECEMBER 2017 EDITION OF SOUTHERN TIDINGS

This Pilgrim’s Journey: How One Pastor Breaks Down Barriers and Breaks New Ground
If you’d asked a young Danielle Pilgrim growing up on the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago whether she could envision herself becoming a pastor, the answer, more than likely, would have been an emphatic “No!” followed by a hearty laugh. Life, however, has a way of taking us places that we never imagined. After moving to the United States at the age of 14, she was introduced to the Adventist faith a few years later. Today, not only is she still active in the Church, but she is an associate pastor at one of the most recognized churches in North America, Atlanta Berean in Atlanta, Georgia. Recently, she became an award-winning pastor too.

Pilgrim was recognized as the Youth Pastor of the Year at the 23rd Annual Gospel Choice Awards in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 25, 2017. This prestigious honor has been bestowed upon many other leaders of note, and Pilgrim joins a long list of luminaries in ministry. In attendance were her fellow pastoral staff members, including Fredrick Russell, senior pastor; her family; and many members of the Berean congregation.

Pastor Pilgrim warmly embraces a warm member of her present church, the second largest non-institutional SDA congregation in the entire world. The biggest is in China, and it happens to be led by a lady!
Pilgrim is a powerhouse in ministry, having already accomplished much in such a short period of time. A published author, she has written a biblical word search puzzle book, in addition to several thought pieces, like the article “Church Beyond Walls” in Spectrum Magazine, that have caused a shift in thinking for thousands. She has served in pastoral leadership in churches in Chicago, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana. She especially enjoyed serving as the youth and young adult ministries leader in South Bend.

Prior to receiving her master of divinity degree from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, Pilgrim received her bachelor of science in community health education from City University in New York. This informs her passion for taking the impact of the Church beyond the four walls of the building, and making it felt where it matters most- where the people truly live. She has created several initiatives to effect the change needed in communities, and joined forces with others who are actively working to make a difference.

Gladhanding.
Famous architect (famous to other architects, at any rate) John Portman (left) and Caesar Mitchell (right) at an affair. Mitchell is a good sport, but probably not too pleased to have just lost his race for mayor of the ATL!
One example is the Atlanta Berean summer program, Purity Camp, which she is rebranding and broadening to Youth Leadership Camp. She and her team are extending the two-week program to a month-long initiative, and expanding the topics beyond sexual purity to empowerment, self-awareness, and a host of other subjects that will help the young people in the community to be well-rounded and rooted in a more solid foundation. Caesar Mitchell, Atlanta City Council president, was the 2017 Purity Camp guest speaker.

Pilgrim has also launched her own foundation, Happy Feet, which seeks to provide relief for individuals who are homeless and in need of clean/new shoes and socks. Pilgrim is also an active leader in The And Campaign, a non-denominational community organization that seeks to bridge the divide between social justice advocacy and faith-based groups.



“We have a calling to do so much more than feed the sheep that are already within the fold,” Pilgrim says. “Our commitment to spreading the Gospel means showing up in places where the Light of Jesus seldom shines. It means doing things to expose the Heart of Christ that makes us vulnerable and transparent. It means being as authentic in our service as we are in our worship. That means being real Christians, and showing real love to real people in the real world!”



With a name like Pilgrim, is it any wonder that she is a groundbreaking trailblazer in her own right? Her primary determination is simply to take Jesus where He isn’t, so that He can be fully represented and fully known for Who He is. Whether winning souls or winning awards, Pilgrim is all in for God’s Kingdom!

Frederick Bussey is the communication director at Berean Church in Atlanta, Georgia.



VALIANTLY ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT PARADIGMS: PASTOR PILGRIM’S JULY 24, 2015 ARTICLE IN SPECTRUM MAGAZINE

A Church Beyond Walls: A Call to Surrender

“Now let’s get back to the mission of our church.” This has been one of the most repeated phrases among Seventh-day Adventists following the 2015 General Conference decision regarding women’s ordination. This phrase suggests that because we have been deeply engaged in study and discussion on women’s ordination, that this has caused us to lose focus on our mission of reaching the lost.
While our theologians have been in deep study and our church members engaged in heated debate, our attentions have been misguided from pursing our mission. And although we had tabled this discussion for several years, its reappearance distracted us from our Divine mandate found in Matthew 18:19-20. Or so the theory goes.

We disregard the fact that on any given Sabbath or weekday (whether in the heat of a women’s ordination debate or not), less than half of our church bodies participate in consistent community outreach. The truth is, our decline in being mission-focused has not been a result of the discussion on women’s ordination or because of any other agenda item that has arrested our attention. The decline in fulfilling our mission is a result of us not being totally surrendered and “living with a self of indebtedness to Christ in regard to every unsaved soul” (Oswald Chambers, “My Utmost for His Highest”). The fulfilling of our mission has never been contingent on the items on our church board agenda; neither has it been stopped by laws signed by legislators. The fulfilling of our mission has been and is dependent on our complete surrender to the will of our Savior.



In Romans 12:1, Paul urged his audience to “present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” This is translated in other versions as, “spiritual service of worship.” To present ourselves as sacrifices means surrendering the right to ourselves to God. This means that we no longer hold possession of our will, but God replaces our will with His own.

We know that it is God’s will that we live mature and holy lives (Matt 5:48, Rom 12:1). But beyond His desire for us to live purely, God’s ultimate will is that all men and women be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4, Rom 10:13).

The prevailing questions as stated by Paul (and I paraphrase here) are, “How then can men call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). As Christians, our primary calling is to preach and proclaim the gospel of God. In “My Utmost for His Highest,” Oswald Chambers writes pertaining to Paul, that “he was recklessly abandoned, totally surrendered, and separated by God for one purpose – to proclaim the gospel of God.”



I am convinced based upon the word of God that our congregations are graying, our youth are leaving, and our engagement in mission is declining because we have not surrendered our wills, biases, perspectives, and ideologies to God. The fact remains that the call to surrender precedes the call to revival and reformation. It is only by daily surrendering our wills that our churches can be revived, our communities survive, and our mission thrive.

We are misguided when we think that attending church services is enough; when we think singing in the choir is enough; when we think that taking positions in the church to serve each other is enough; when we think passing out tracks once a month is enough. The call to surrender is the call to take our worship beyond the church walls. It is the appeal to make our hearts God’s home, our minds His mind, and our hands and feet His instruments.



Our intentions – as good as they may be – are not enough when our immediate non-believing families, co-workers and surrounding church communities are dying as a result of being disconnected from their Savior’s love. We cannot take pride in the fact that our church is different and peculiar because, as one pastor said, “If our difference isn’t making a difference then we are just being weird.” Ellen G. White, in “Desire of Ages,” states in reference to the children of Israel, “they hoarded the living manna, and it had turned to corruption. The religion which they tried to shut up to themselves became an offense. They robbed God of His glory, and defrauded the world by a counterfeit of the gospel. They refused to surrender themselves to God for the salvation of the world, and they became agents of Satan for its destruction.”

Is it possible that we are following in the footsteps of Israel? We certainly cannot discount that as a worldwide church we have exerted a lot of effort to feed the poor. We have also created many programs and processes to reach the lost. But, there comes a time when we have to ask ourselves the very daunting question, “am I doing enough?”



It is evident that God uses our programs and ministries as conduits to reach the lost but is it enough? I believe that God is waiting for all of us collectively, but even more so, he is waiting for each one of us individually to recklessly abandon ourselves to Him so that he can do for the world what he has done for us. It is when we surrender ourselves completely to him that he can use our lives and not just our programs to “bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for captives and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Isaiah 61:1-2). This is the idea of a church beyond walls, where those that make up the body of Christ are daily surrendered to God and take a piece of heaven with them wherever they go. This is our mission: constant worship through total surrender. Our daily lives bearing testament to a wonderful Savior.

It was this type of reckless abandonment that embodied the life of the disciples and the first century church. There were distractions, yet they fulfilled their mission. There were introductions of false doctrines yet they were still persistent. They studied their bibles daily, they witnessed faithfully, and they baptized thousands consistently. They were truly a church beyond walls and their lives were the epitome of mission. God is calling women and men, boys and girls, preachers and laymen, to consistently fulfill the mission of our church. So today I invite you to join me in answering the call put forth by Chambers of daily surrender; abandoning your will for God’s will, and “living with a self of indebtedness to Christ in regard to every unsaved soul.”



Danielle Pilgrim is [was] a student at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary on the Campus of Andrews University.

THE ADMINISTRATOR’S INEXPERT MINI-BIO OF FRESHLY-MINTED PASTOR PILGRIM FROM DECEMBER 20, 2015-

Pastor Pilgrim is a native of Trinidad and Tobago. Her family relocated to the States when she was 14, where she was introduced to Adventism. She was discouraged from becoming an Adventist by a close family member, but eventually made the commitment when she was 16. She was active in missionary work at her new church, and spent a year (2008) as a Bible Worker in Waycross, Georgia. I seem to recall President Winston mentioning that she was an Elder at her church in Brooklyn while still very young, a kind of prodigy. She was also heavily involved with the Pathfinders. She received a BS in Community Health Education from the City University of New York. She is the published author of an educational puzzle book. She commenced attendance at Andrews University. While a seminarian, she interned at Shiloh Adventist Church in Chicago, and also served at the Grace Place in South Bend, Indiana. Just last week she completed her Masters of Divinity.

Seen at right- Danielle Pilgrim, Master Guide
An impassioned and anecdotal testimony which effectively synopsized the pastor’s eventful past, and her ultimate salvation was offered to the attendees of the 1/24/2018 Wednesday night prayer meeting at the church she is currently attached to. This attachment is mutual. She revealed that her arrival in cold New York at age fourteen was an unwelcome contrast to the tropical environment she had become accustomed to. As noted elsewhere, her decision to become a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church did not meet with the approval of one of her closest of kin, but her decision to devote her life to Christ is, without doubt, well-pleasing to her Creator and Redeemer. The religious environment of her early childhood was steeped in misinterpretations of Old Testament customs that are antithetical to patterns that Christ advocated, but she has fully emerged from this clouded past into a sunlit present. The glory of the Lord reflects from her bright visage to such an extent that all who encounter her are similarly brightened. Pastor Pilgrim’s mid-youth was passed in the United States most precariously, as she was not yet an bona fide American citizen. Nevertheless, she managed to advance both her works and education to their present remarkable state. She is now an official citizen. Donald Trump might not approve of this pattern, but God is not such a myopic distinguisher of persons as is our President. The Lord has big plans in store for Danielle, and for you and I as well, if only we have the faith of Jesus, and keep the commandments of God.

Tuscan Capitols.
The entry portico of Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, Atlanta, a temporary layover for flyers en route to the hereafter…

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