Annual Council: 13.6 Million Are Adventist Members; 2,756 Baptized Daily
|
More than one million people joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the year ending June 30, 2004, bringing the total world church membership to 13,663,497. |
|
JOINING THE FAMILY: This baptism in Brazil is typical of the many opportunities the Seventh-day Adventist Church has to welcome new believers. (File Photo by Ray Dabrowski/ANN)
PUBLIC EVANGELISM: Whether in Iceland, as in this photo, or on the other side of the world, public meetings and private group study are used to present Jesus Christ to people, challenging them to accept Him as personal Saviour and Lord. (ANN File Photo)
CONTEMPLATION: Ole Kendel, president of the Adventist Church in Denmark, studies a report. (Photo: Ray Dabrowski/ANN)
More than one million people joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the year ending June 30, 2004, bringing the total world church membership to 13,663,497.
On average, 2,756 new Adventists are baptized daily, with 13 congregations formed in the same 24 hour period. There is one Adventist for every 468 people in the world today, down from one for every 490 people a year ago. If current trends continue, it's projected that there will be one Adventist for every 100 people on Earth by the year 2034, said Bert Haloviak, director of archives and statistics for the church.
"The Lord has been good to His church, and has blessed growth initiatives," said Matthew Bediako, secretary of the world church.
Six of the church's 13 world regions -- Inter-America, South America, East-Central Africa, Southern Africa-Indian Ocean, Southern Asia Pacific and North America -- have memberships of more than 1 million each. The church regions with the largest membership are: Inter-America, with 2.5 million; South America, with 2.345 million; and East-Central Africa with, 2.068 million.
North America, having just climbed back into the million-plus rank over the summer, represents just under 8 percent of worldwide Adventist Church membership. The Seventh-day Adventist Church was founded in the United States, but today is a global movement, with its largest concentration of members in Africa, South America and Asia.
At the same time, the church is revising its membership counts through audits of regional church records and due to departures from the church. Bediako said the church has an average global retention rate of "about 70 percent."
Bediako, who in delivering his report was assisted by secretaries of the church's 13 regions, said, "although we would like to see the retention rate go higher, we need to make sure our figures are accurate." He appealed to the church's regions to complete membership audits "as soon as possible."
He added, "the conservation of the harvest is as important as the reaping of the harvest."
Among areas of strong church growth since the 2003 Annual Council, the afternoon session heard about India, where 114,000 were baptized in the past year, up dramatically from the 15,000 baptisms reported in 1994. In the South Pacific region, evangelistic campaigns in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea have brought thousands into church membership. South America's membership continues to climb through public evangelism and small group Bible study outreaches, while in the Northern Pacific, millions of Bible study invitations were placed in leading Japanese newspapers, leading to thousands of inquiries.
Digg
del.icio.us
reddit
newsvine
Y! MyWeb
ANN World News Bulletin is a review of news and information issued by the Communication department from the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters and released as part of the service of Adventist News Network. It is made available primarily to religious news editors. Our news includes dispatches from the church's international offices and the world headquarters.
Reproduction Requirements:
Reproduction of information in this article is encouraged. When reproducing
this material, in full or in part, the words "Source: Adventist News Network" must
appear under the headline or immediately following the article. The words "Source:
Adventist News Network" must
be given equal prominence to any other source that is also acknowledged.
Ground 7 News Podcast:
Ground 7 News is a review of news and information issued by the Communication Department from the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters and released as part of the service of Adventist News Network. Reproduction of the ANN podcast is encouraged. When rebroadcasting this material, in full or in part, the words "Source: Adventist News Network" must be mentioned before and after the podcast.
ANN
Staff:
Rajmund Dabrowski, director; Ansel Oliver, assistant director; Elizabeth Lechleitner, editorial coordinator; Megan Brauner, editorial assistant. Portuguese translation by Azenilto Brito, Spanish translation by Marcos Paseggi, Italian translation by Vincenzo Annunziata and Lina Ferrara and French translations by Stephanie Elofer.
Top Stories
