Feb. 23, 1999

Silver Spring, Maryland, USA ... [ANN] Global Mission launched a new plan to focus on establishing 14,000 new Seventh-day Adventist churches for the decade.  Finish 14K takes the challenge to plant 1,000 more new churches in the 500 days between February 1999, and the General Conference Session to be held in Toronto in July 2000.

“Finish 14K will help us focus on the bottom line of our mission in the lead-up to the General Conference Session,” says Gary Krause, Communication director for Global Mission.  “Everything Global Mission does has one goal — to share the love of Jesus with those who don’t know Him.”

Global Mission is an initiative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to establish new congregations around the world where there are no Adventists. “Reaching the unreached with hope” has been the task of Global Mission and with this they have established hundreds of congregations in challenging areas.  Much of Global Mission’s resources have been channeled toward the 10/40 window, the area of the world with the most people and the fewest Christians.  The 10/40 window stretches from north-west Africa, through the Middle East, into Asia, and includes 88 countries.  Approximately 60 percent of the world’s population lives in this region. To this date, only nine percent of Adventist members live in the 10/40 window. 

“In many of these countries, any type of evangelism is either illegal or very difficult,” says Krause.  “However, Global Mission has managed to establish hundreds of congregations in this area.”

The majority of new congregations established through Global Mission is a result of the work of pioneers.  Pioneers are lay people who volunteer a year of their time to go into designated areas and start a new congregation.

“Without the commitment and frontline work of lay pioneers, the demographics of the Church would be about the same as they were 10 years ago,” says Jackie Smith, coordinator for Global Mission pioneers.  “With the pioneers, Church membership has experienced unprecedented growth in countries such as India and areas such as Northern Africa and part of Asia where Adventist believers never existed.  As the pioneers continue to work with this kind of dedication, Finish 14K will become a reality.”

According to estimates, Global Mission has planted 13,000 new churches since 1990 and 14,000 new companies.  Companies are new groups of believers yet to be organized into churches.  These estimates show a 50 percent increase from before.

“This is a time for the church to look forward and concentrate on our task, rather than being sidetracked by less important things,” says Mike Ryan, director for Global Mission.  “Amid the turmoil and tensions that touch every part of the world and which, to some, may appear to absorb the church, it’s a time for action.  We’re a Church with a message and a mission for this time.” [Dixil Rodriguez]

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