With a focus on interacting with secular, postmodern people, Seventh-day Adventist mission experts and directors from the church's Global Mission study centers met in early December in Sydney, Australia. They reported on progress and challenges facing the centers and discussed future plans for Adventist relations with other faith communities.
Sydney, Australia
Pastor Matthew Bediako and his wife, Elizabeth, were recently front-page news in "The Mirror," an Accra, Ghana newspaper billed as that nation's "most popular weekly."
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Making a Fresh Start in 2005, both individually and for the Seventh-day Adventist Church family, is the focus of Pastor Jan Paulsen, world church president's New Year's message. What was done in 2004 can't be changed, he notes, but all resolve to do more and better for the Lord in the New Year.
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
India is proving to be a nation where many thousands are interested in the gospel message and the Seventh-day Adventist church pastors, Bible workers and lay members who are sharing it. Tens of thousands are joining the church each year, coming from many parts of this vast, highly populated land whose 1 billion people represent roughly one-sixth of the Earth's population.
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
The People's Republic of China will implement a series of new rules on March 1. 2005, safeguarding religious freedom for those who worship in state-approved churches. The Xinhua News Agency and China Daily newspapers, both official government news sources, reported on these changes.
Beijing, China
They titled it, "Remix," and it is the first group to address emerging church issues in a Seventh-day Adventist context in the South Pacific region of the church. The group gathered at Fox Valley Community Church (FVCC)in Wahroonga, New South Wales, Dec. 8 to 11, and set out to explore faith, community and mission in a postmodern culture.
Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia
A United States Marine Corps court-martial has sentenced a Marine, who came to a belief in non-combatancy shortly after signing a two-year re-enlistment, to seven months in jail, rather than separating him from the military. Observers say this is a highly unusual outcome for such a case, which is usually handled less drastically.
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, United States
Though the journey from concept to reality took 40 years, the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Universidad de Montemorelos in Mexico has completed its quest to open a dental school. They recently held opening ceremonies for the Dr. Lloyd Baum School of Dentistry, with the first freshman class which started training in August.
Montemorelos, Mexico
ADRA Provides Relief Items for Thousands in Philippines Metro Manila, Philippines--Targeting more than 16,000 people affected by three destructive typhoons that hit the Philippines during the past month, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is providing items worth US $43,000 to aid the relief effort. Items provided include food, blankets, clothing, and building materials.
Police returned a seven-year old boy unharmed to his parents just 16 hours after he was kidnapped on Dec. 7. The boy was taken after one of the kidnappers forced his way into the boy's home, on the campus of the Dominican Adventist University in the city of Bonao, capital of Monsenor Nouel province, 56 miles (89 km) from the nation's capital, Santo Domingo.
Monsenor Nouel, Dominican Republic