With Flags and Music, Adventists Point to Jesus Before U.S. Vote

Hundreds of church members reach out to cities in Puerto Rico.

By Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division

Seventh-day Adventists took to the streets of several cities in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico to spread hope for a better future in Jesus ahead of U.S. national elections on Nov. 8.

Hundreds of church members waved white flags, visited homes and businesses, and drove car caravans through neighborhoods in the cities of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey as part of an initiative to point people to Jesus Christ. The event came days before U.S. voters cast ballots for president and other public servants.

“We wanted to mobilize our children, youth, and adults to proclaim Jesus and share with people that even if all the candidates from the traditional political spectrum make promises, there is little they can do to fulfill those promises because there is only Jesus Christ and nothing more,” said Jose Javier Colon, one of main organizers of the initiative called, “Jesus Christ 2016: There Is Nothing More.”

Colon and a fellow lay member, David de Jesus, began the Mission to the Cities initiative during the 2004 election campaign as a way to reach people who did not know anything about God. Mission to the Cities is a program of the Adventist world church aimed at sharing the gospel in the world’s cities.

“We wanted to be creative and involve as many Adventists as possible during the political campaigns that take place every four years in our country,” Colon said.

On the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, political parties take to the streets with colorful banners and share messages through loud speakers on city streets, Colon said. But the Adventists only use white flags and play soft Christian music during demonstration on city streets.

“People welcome us in their homes, stop us on the streets to ask about our campaign, and then team up with us,” de Jesus said.

The driving message is to proclaim Jesus as the only solution for life in Puerto Rico, whose economy is struggling.

“We want all Puerto Rico to draw close to God so that the island can be fixed,” Colon said. “That’s been our purpose in 2004, 2008, 2012, and now this year, 2016.”