Nathan Cranson – Montrose, Colorado … The Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church in Montrose, Colorado, was very blessed to have Nathaniel Gamble, Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) Religious Liberty and Public Affairs director, as a guest speaker, June 8.
Gamble gave a powerful and informative sermon concerning the biblical basis for the concept of Liberty of Conscience at the Sabbath worship service. He also assured the congregation that he was happy to help anyone that needed assistance with Religious Liberty issues and that they could reach out to him directly.
The previous evening, Gamble shared a short message concerning how religious liberty can be used as a tool for evangelism. “I was surprised at how many people came out. We had about 60 people show up,” he remarked.
Gamble then opened it up for a period of questions that lasted for nearly two hours. At one point, he asked if everyone was ready to close the meeting, but the questions just kept pouring in: “[The attendees] were very open with their questions and concerns, but they were also very amicable even when there were a few disagreements. There were a few times that we weren’t going to see eye to eye, but everyone was very kind and very warm and welcoming. It was just a pleasure to be there throughout the whole weekend.”
The attending audience asked a range of questions concerning Christian Nationalism, religious liberty, and evangelism. They found Gamble’s answers to be honest and informative.
When asked what the main topics of discussion at the session were, Gamble commented, “The first line of questions [from the audience] was basically church freedom. There was Covid, there was vaccination, there was masking, there was social distancing. They were shutting down churches. So, ‘what do I do in this situation if it happens again?’”
“The second line of questioning was really about Christian nationalism but also about how to be a good neighbor,” he continued. “It wasn’t ‘is Christian nationalism good or bad?’ It was ‘what is it and is there an alternative to it?’ And there comes in that good neighbor part. Lots of people ask questions about evangelism and outreach in in light of religious freedoms, but they also ask, ‘how do I be a good part of my community?’”
The Montrose Church looks forward to having Gamble back again sometime soon. “It was truly a reach and meaningful time!” remarked Nathan Cranson, lead pastor at Montrose Church. “A special thank you to Nathaniel for being willing to make the drive to the other side of the mountains to share the knowledge and wisdom God has blessed him with. The Montrose Church highly recommends inviting Nathaniel Gamble to speak at your local church sometime soon.”
—Nathan Cranson is lead pastor at the Montrose Seventh-day Church. Photos supplied.
