Briefing Document: Spring Meadows Seventh-day Adventist Church Service Analysis (December 27, 2025)

Executive Summary

The Spring Meadows Seventh-day Adventist Church service on December 27, 2025, served as a reflective transition between the Christmas season and the new year. The central theological message, delivered by Pastor Alex Harter, was titled “Still Rooted: When God Is Growing What We Can’t See.” This sermon used the biblical narrative of the prophet Elijah from 1 Kings 17 to illustrate how faith develops through challenging, often unseen, stages of life, which were metaphorically described as “the ravine,” “the road,” and “the refinery.”

Key activities during the service included the formal welcoming of a new member, Alex Sanchez, through a profession of faith, and the announcement of several upcoming community events, most notably a “Mission Sabbath” scheduled for January 17. A significant portion of the service focused on financial stewardship, with a detailed “Invitation to Give” that directly supported a major church initiative: a three-year, $3.3 million mortgage retirement campaign titled “The Miracle Multiplied.” Concurrently, the church’s financial statement revealed a year-to-date budget shortfall of $58,213.

The service also featured a distinct and memorable children’s story that used the provocative analogy of “cat poop in brownies” to deliver a direct lesson on the corrosive effect of even minor sins like “little fibs” and the importance of absolute honesty.

I. Worship Service Overview

The service, held at the Spring Meadows Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sanford, Florida, was a comprehensive worship experience combining music, prayer, community updates, and a central sermon.

• Date and Context: Sabbath, December 27, 2025. The service occurred after Christmas and before New Year’s Day, with themes of reflection on the past year and preparation for the year to come.
• Key Personnel and Roles:
  • Welcome & Announcements: Eddie & Erika Rivera and Family
  • Profession of Faith: Pastor Alex Harter
  • Prayer & Invitation to Give: Derek Jackson
  • Children’s Story (Kid’s Life): Kathy Ottati
  • Sermon (The Word): Pastor Alex Harter
  • Praise & Worship: Praise Team, led by Reagan White

II. Central Sermon Analysis: “Still Rooted: When God Is Growing What We Can’t See”

Pastor Alex Harter’s sermon explored the theme of spiritual growth during difficult and seemingly unproductive periods, referred to as “winter” seasons. The message was framed around the life of the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 17.

• Core Theme: God cultivates faith in hidden and challenging circumstances, developing a strong root system before allowing visible growth. The past year of 2025 was described as having passed in “ludicrous mode,” leaving many with mixed feelings of gratitude and weariness.
• Biblical Foundation: The sermon centered on Elijah’s journey after announcing a 3.5-year drought to the evil King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.

Key Metaphors and Stages of Growth

Pastor Harter outlined three distinct phases of Elijah’s journey as a model for modern faith development.

1. The Ravine (Brook Cherith): This stage represents a season of hiding, isolation, and total dependence on God. While in the ravine, Elijah was miraculously fed by ravens and given water from the brook.
   • Concept: This “winter” period is not one of failure but of deepening spiritual roots. Pastor Harter emphasized, “Being rooted doesn’t mean we avoid the hard seasons. Being rooted means we survived them.”
   • The Dried Brook: When Elijah’s water source dried up, it was presented not as divine punishment but as a necessary transition to redirect his trust from the means of provision (the brook) to the Provider (God) and to prompt movement.
2. On the Road (to Zarephath): This phase symbolizes a journey of uncomfortable and seemingly illogical transition. God commanded Elijah to travel over 100 miles on foot through hostile territory to Zarephath, Jezebel’s pagan hometown, to be cared for by a poor widow.
   • Concept: Growth often requires navigating frightening or counterintuitive situations. The source of provision is often unexpected so that God receives all the glory. “The path to growth is through uncomfortable territory,” Harter stated.
3. The Refinery (Zarephath): The final stage occurs in Zarephath, a name which means “refinery” in Hebrew. This is a place of intense pressure and heat designed to produce purity and clarity. Elijah’s faith, and that of the widow, was tested when he asked for her last portion of food, which was followed by a divine promise of unending supply.
   • Concept: God uses life’s pressures to purify motives and shape individuals for His purpose. As Harter described it, “A refinery is a place where pressure produces purity, where heat produces clarity.”

• Concluding Analogy: The sermon closed with the analogy of Chinese bamboo, which develops an extensive underground root system for five years before suddenly growing up to 90 feet in a few weeks. This illustrated the necessity of the hidden, “underground work” that occurs during the ravine, road, and refinery phases before powerful, visible growth is possible.

III. Key Themes and Activities

Membership and Community

A significant community moment was the welcoming of Alex Sanchez as a new member by profession of faith. Pastor Harter explained Sanchez’s complex journey, noting his membership had been lost during relocations from Puerto Rico to South Carolina and overseas. His desire to formally join the Spring Meadows family was celebrated by the congregation.

Prayer and Devotion

Derek Jackson led the “Prayer for the People,” basing his remarks on Jeremiah 33:3: “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and I will show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” He framed prayer as a vital channel for a relationship with God, reinforcing its importance with quotes from historical and religious figures:

• Martin Luther: “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than being alive without breathing.”
• Charles H. Spurgeon: “Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscle of omnipotence.”
• Ian Bounds: “Prayer is not learned in the classroom but in the closet.”
• Ellen White: “Prayer is the opening of our hearts to God as to a friend.”

Children’s Ministry (Kid’s Life)

Kathy Ottati delivered a children’s story with a potent moral. The story involved a mother teaching her two children, Sylvia and Jimmy, about the danger of small lies (“fibs”) and unkindness. After observing them fighting and being dishonest, the mother bakes their favorite dessert, brownies, and then tells them she added “just a little bit of cat poop.” When the children react with disgust, she explains that just as a tiny amount of a foul substance ruins the entire batch, a “little bit of lying and a little bit of cheating and a little bit of meanness” ruins one’s whole life. The segment concluded with the memorable admonition to the children: “remember no cat poop in your life.”

IV. Financial and Administrative Focus

Giving and Stewardship

Derek Jackson’s “Invitation to Give” began with a reflection on the disputed authorship of the poem “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” before transitioning to a custom poem he wrote for the service. This poem connected the spirit of post-Christmas giving to the church’s mission, specifically mentioning the goal to remove the “great burden” of the mortgage. This directly introduced the church’s primary capital campaign.

• Campaign: “The Miracle Multiplied”
  • Purpose: Mortgage Retirement Campaign
  • Goal: $3.3 Million
  • Timeline: 3 Years (2025–2028)
  • Scriptural Basis: 2 Corinthians 9:10-11
  • Call to Action: Congregants were directed to a pledge form via a URL and QR code.
• Church Budget Status: The bulletin provided a financial snapshot for the fiscal year (July 2025–June 2026).
  • Period: Pre-Closing Dec 1–26, 2025
  • Year to Date Shortfall: -$58,213

Church Announcements and Upcoming Events

V. Humanitarian and Outreach Efforts

The church is actively engaged in a humanitarian relief effort for Jamaica, which is recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa. The congregation was asked to donate specific essential supplies to be placed in a designated collection box.

• Items Needed: Lanterns, toiletries, diapers, canned tuna, sardines, chicken, and corned beef.

Pastor Alex Harter

Other Sermons In This Series

Rooted in the Word – Pastor Alex Harter

January 04, 2025

The Body and Blood of Christ Provide Eternal Life – Pastor Shane Davis

January 11, 2025

Beginnings Matter – Pastor Jonathan Osorio

January 18, 2025