Secretary's Report
Matthew A Bediako
Annual Council
October 8-14, 2004 ~ Silver Spring, MD
WELCOME!
It is my privilege to welcome each of you to the last Annual Council of the General Conference Executive Committee of the quinquennium.
A special welcome goes to the presidents of Botswana Union Mission and the Central Brazil Union Conference. These two new unions were inaugurated on January 15, 2004 and May 4, 2004 respectively.
We also want to congratulate the Zambia Union Conference for a change in status—from union mission to union conference.
Since this is the last Annual Council before the 58th Session at St Louis, we will be discussing many of the agenda items that will go to make up the agenda for the Session. This Annual Council is extremely important.
ATTENDANCE
Again, let me remind you of the importance of attending ALL the business sessions of this Council. We have seen great improvement in attendance.
It is our hope that we will have 100% at the upcoming General Conference Session, to avoid the embarrassment at the last Session. To achieve this goal, ADCOM has recommended that there will be no business session on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 6, 2005 to enable all delegates to visit the exhibitions. We have sent word to all the divisions and organizations not to assign any accredited delegate to be in charge of any booth.
VISAS
As you are aware, the US Immigration Service’s regulations and requirements have changed since 9-11-2001. Some of you have written to indicate that it may be impossible for accredited delegates to secure a visa in order to attend the Session.
I want to thank the division secretaries for their work in getting the names of the appointed delegates to us on time. We have found some incomplete information and
irregularities and have asked the divisions concerned to help us get all the information needed as soon as possible.
Our plan is to send the approved list to each consulate where you will apply for a visa.
It is our hope that by November 1, invitation letters will be at your division offices. We were planning to give them to you by the end of these meetings, but we have been advised that these letters are to be signed personally and notarized. We will do our best to get them out as soon as possible.
GROWTH
The Lord has been good to His Church and has blessed growth initiatives, namely—Go One Million, Sow 1 Billion, and Year of Evangelism. The initial results of these activities are very encouraging.
For the second time, we are reporting a baptism of 1,006,492 souls who have joined the Church of God. On the average, 2,756 souls are baptized daily. This brings the world membership to 13, 663,497.
The members of the Millennia Club are:
Inter-America 2,504,422
South America 2,345,555
East-Central Africa 2,068,322
Southern Africa-Indian Ocean 1,765,578
Southern Asia Pacific 1,120,163
At the end of the second quarter, June 30, the North American Division’s membership was 998,450. This is only 1,550 short of a million. But I am happy to announce to you that the North American Division’s membership has now reached the one million mark.
MEMBERSHIP RETENTION
I would like to call your attention to the high number of people who are reported as lost or dropped. For example, at the last 2003 Annual Council, 958,804 joined the church through baptisms or by profession of faith. The net growth was 561,524 which means 397,280 of them left. This year 1,006,492 people joined the church, but the net membership is 508,259. That means 498,233 have already left.
It is true that some of the divisions have had a membership audit, but it is still very high. The statistical report will give us the gains and losses for the past five years for each division. You will see that our average retention rate is about 70%.
Although we would like to see the retention rate go higher, we need to make sure our figures are accurate. I am appealing to the divisions who have not done a membership audit to do so as soon as possible. Remember, the conservation of the harvest is as important as the reaping of the harvest.
Let us go and look for those who have left us and bring them back to the fold.
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NORTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC DIVISION
This division continues to advance the cause of God throughout its territory.
Mongolia – Under the leadership of Elder Dale Tunnell, the field is growing by leaps and bounds. As of June 20, 2004, the membership stands at 607 with 20 congregations. Most of these have been established through the efforts of Global Mission, 1,000 Missionary Movement, and Gospel Outreach volunteers. The plan is to organize a total of three churches and four companies by the end of 2004.
ADRA Mongolia continues to support development and relief in the country. Some innovative projects include well restoration, adventure-based learning, chicken farming, reintegration of school drop-outs, and teaching sign language to the deaf.
Japan – Seventh-day Adventists in Japan are experiencing phenomenal results after taking a unique approach to Sow 1 Billion. Based on studies indicating that the Japanese are the most prolific newspaper readers in the world, a plan emerged to print in newspapers the Sow 1 Billion invitation to study the Bible with them. The advertisement ran in 14 newspapers, including two that are exclusively for children and teens. This was the first time in Japan that a potential reading audience of 35 million had ever seen a message from the church. As a result, the number of Bible study requests has increased from 135 in 2003 to 1,100 in 2004.
The 140 church-based Bible schools in the Japan Union are doing everything possible to meet the rising demand. In May 2004, the first printing of Bibles at Japan Publishing Press took place. Three thousand copies were sold out immediately. The Union also printed five million Sow 1 Billion brochures for personal distribution by members.
Korea – The Korean Union centennial celebration will be held on November 5 and 6, 2004. As a monument to the commemoration, the Korea Publishing House is printing the 12-volume set of the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary in the Korean language.
The Korean Union continues to send pastors and their families to Japan as intradivision workers to plant churches. The plan is to send another five families to Taiwan.
ADRA Korea sent 26,000 garments to North Korean victims of the train explosion which occurred on April 22, 2004. About 100,000 units of soybean drink valued at $28,300 were sent to the victims near the northern border of China. This was sponsored by church members in Korea.
The Seventh-day Adventist language schools continue to grow. This year there are 37 schools with 44,000 students and about 700 teachers—both expatriate and national. During the past year 1,000 people have been baptized through this program.
Taiwan – The fire of evangelism has been ignited in this mission. Under President Robert Folkenberg, Jr., 51 evangelistic meetings will be conducted before the end of the year.
A conference candidacy survey team has made a recommendation to the division for the mission to become a conference.
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EAST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION
In spite of the challenges of political instabilities, wars, droughts, illiteracy, and economic declines, God’s mighty hand has not been short in His work.
The membership of the East-Central Africa Division stands at 2,044,567. That is an increase of 37,023. There is anticipation of higher baptisms for the third and fourth quarters. Officers and departmental personnel on every level of the church have either finished or are still conducting, evangelistic meetings.
Sow 1 Billion – The program was launched in Tanzania by the General Conference president last November and since then our members have been knocking on doors with materials to pass out. To date, five million tracts have been distributed throughout the division. Over 150,000 Bible studies are being conducted.
Over 3,000 baptisms have been recorded by the six institutions of higher learning within the division. These are the results of Week of Spiritual Emphasis and outreach programs.
The women in the East-Central Africa Division are heavily engaged in public evangelism, which has resulted in 700 baptisms.
Ethiopia – The Lord continues to work miracles in Ethiopia. Evangelistic campaigns and revival meetings are going on. There are now thirteen churches in Addis Ababa. This is a new day in Ethiopia.
Rwanda - Two mission fields in Rwanda have applied for conference status.
Division Office – The East-Central Africa Division office project is progressing well and it is hoped the contractor will be able to fulfill the March 2005 deadline.
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SOUTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC DIVISION
We have received the following report from the Southern Asia-Pacific Division.
Philippines - Evangelism and church growth continue to figure prominently in the three Philippine unions. Membership of the three unions is about 900,000 and comprises 75% of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division membership of 1.2 million. Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the beginning of Adventist work in the Philippines. Preparations are underway to mark the special occasion--notably the series of simultaneous evangelistic meetings to be held throughout the country.
The centennial celebration of the three Philippine unions highlights the imbalanced distribution of membership in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division. The two Indonesian unions have about 200,000 members and the rest of the division membership are scattered among the remaining 16 countries. In other words, 92% of membership is concentrated in only two countries and about 8% are found in 16 countries. The lopsided membership distribution is a cause of concern and demands rethinking of our current strategic plan. We feel that more of our resources, both human and financial, should be directed to these 16 countries, most of which are located in the 10/40 Window.
Vietnam - Vietnam has remained a Communist country since the unification between north and south Vietnam in 1975. The government acknowledges the presence of the Adventist Church in the country but official recognition has yet to be given. The membership in Vietnam numbers about 7,000. Since the country “turned red” some 30 years ago, ministerial training has not been permitted by the government. Outsiders are also not allowed to teach or conduct training classes to pastors or ministerial students in the country. Recently, however, the government has given permission to the church for limited ministerial training in Ho Chi Min City. We praise the Lord for this new development which will undoubtedly infuse much needed new blood to the ailing ministerial work force in Vietnam.
Bangladesh – This country has been a major subject of prayers in August when monsoon rains and unprecedented flooding ravaged the country. Two thirds of the country was under water and 30 million people were displaced. Our college was not spared either. The school’s income-generating projects such as the vegetable gardens, rice plantation, orange orchard, and fish ponds were wiped out. They need our prayers.
Thailand – Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country, has been resistant to the gospel. Unbeknown to us, however, the Lord has quietly worked in the background-- moving upon the hearts of the Thais. Last year a group of Sunday-keeping churches decided to become Seventh-day Adventists after about ten of their pastors were baptized into the Adventist church. This year another 85 Sunday churches are poised to convert to Adventism as well!
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EURO-AFRICA DIVISION
At the end of the second quarter, the membership of the Euro-Africa Division was 171,076. This represents many faithful brothers and sisters living and hoping for the second coming of Christ.
It is a joy to realize for the first time that all the unions recorded a net increase.
For the Year of Evangelism, some countries within the division have held nationwide evangelistic meetings.
Romania had 136 guest evangelists from the western world. One hundred fifty Romanian young people conducted evangelistic series with great success. In Bulgaria, over 20 evangelistic meetings were held.
These activities within the division also attracted more of our young people to participate in mission outreach in the three Africa divisions and in Inter-America.
Theological schools in Europe have included in their curriculum, Practical Evangelism for both abroad and at home.
In Portugal, the town authorities of Loule invited the Seventh-day Adventist Church to come with their youth and young adults to deliver programs for the town’s 11th missionary summer youth camp. This was done because the role model is very much appreciated. With a health expo, youth actions, and an hourly children’s program in the town square, people were attracted and new friends were made. In the evening, those interested were invited to attend evangelistic meetings.
An increasing number of young people and adults are looking for opportunities for volunteer service. This year they have volunteered for ADRA, community education, as well as evangelistic missionary services.
Finally, a great challenge in the Euro-Africa Division is to be able to keep up with the possibilities opening in the Muslim countries. There are needs for trained personnel who can communicate with these people and for suitable materials to put in their hands.
New ways and structures are needed to be able to respond promptly to requests to study the Bible.
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WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION
The quinquennium evangelistic program of the division, called Blow the Trumpet, is sounding louder in the 10-40 Window countries of the West-Central Africa Division territory.
Niger - Niger is a country with about 95% of the population being Muslims. In 1994, Pastor Elie Weick went to the capital city of Niamey to hold an evangelistic meeting. He was attacked by the people and was almost killed. Today, with the help of ADRA, God has opened the door and a company has been established in Niamey with a church building and 14 precious souls.
Chad - Chad is another 10-40 Window territory. The division staff selected the country as the targeted project. The first group has already finished their meetings and the Lord blessed with 138 souls. The second group is conducting their meetings right now, and the third group will have their meetings in November. It is anticipated that many souls will be won for the kingdom of God.
Benin - The country of Benin is known as the world-wide kingdom of voodoo. Pastor Gabriel Boakye-Dankwa, the division evangelist, conducted meetings in Cotonou, the capital city, last December. Two hundred fifty-seven souls were won for the kingdom of God.
Nigeria - Pastor Luka Daniel, the division president, chose to blow his trumpet in the city of Kaduna, North Nigeria. This is the city where Christians and Muslims clash almost every day and many lives have been lost. In spite of the threat to kill him, the Lord protected and at the end of the meetings, 115 precious souls were baptized.
In November of last year, Pastor Don Schneider, president of the North American Division, conducted a successful satellite campaign at Aba, East Nigeria. More than 12,000 souls were baptized.
Ghana - With the help of guest evangelists, students, and staff of universities and colleges from North America, 70 evangelistic campaigns were conducted in the months of August and September, resulting in the baptism of over 7,600 souls.
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SOUTH PACIFIC DIVISION
The division leaders have met their own challenge to participate in at least one evangelistic program this year. The leaders issued the challenge to church members during the launching of the Year of Evangelism last November.
Solomon Islands - Pastor Laurie Evans, president of the division, joined the division ministerial secretary to present a three-week evangelistic series in the capital of the Solomon Islands. The governor-general of the island opened and closed the meetings. Over 4,000 people attended each meeting and 1,500 responded to a call for baptism.
Papua New Guinea -The division executive secretary, Dr Barry Oliver, returned to New Britain New Ireland Mission in Papua New Guinea, where he had previously served as president of the mission. His meetings drew about 4,000 people to each of the meetings. The powerful public address system enabled the inmates of a correctional service center, located about a kilometer away, to hear the messages. Thirty of the inmates joined 1,200 others in making a decision for baptism at the end of the meetings.
The number of Adventists in Papua New Guinea may increase dramatically this year, thanks to members of the Church’s Institute of Public Evangelism.
Australia and New Zealand - The Australian and New Zealand based ministers accepted invitations to conduct meetings. More than 2,000 people have requested baptism as a result of these meetings. In line with the 2003 Annual Council action, these pastors took more than 1,500 Bibles with them. These were donated by their home churches. They are also providing financial support to 15 church members who are doing a follow-up meeting for these interests.
Kids Light Up Your World - This is an initiative to enable children to have opportunity to make a commitment to Jesus Christ during the Year of Evangelism. The children have a program to reach other children in their communities. Kids Light Up Your World aims to encourage local churches to pray for unchurched children, revitalize children’s Bible study, and organize evangelistic programs for the children.
Light Up Australia - This is another initiative for the church members in Australia. It is a challenge to conduct 1,000 Prophecy Seminars across the nation this year. Light Up Australia is to challenge members to run seminars in their homes and work places.
The church is also challenging each Adventist school to run seminars for over 4,000 non-Adventist students who attend our schools. The first Sabbath of every month is a focus on prayer for the success of the program. CDs containing Power Point slides of the Prophecy Seminar are being offered free to members.
About 150 indigenous Australians have attended Prophecy Seminar training sessions. The goal is for the indigenous Adventist to conduct 50 Prophecy Seminars this year.
Adventists in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea have taken the Year of Evangelism very seriously. Their goal is to conduct 1,000 evangelistic meetings this year. The first three months of this year were set aside for prayer. They have already conducted about 700.
The Adventist Professionals Association is sponsoring 109 missionaries to previously unentered areas. More than 340 people have been baptized as a result of this initiative.
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SOUTH AMERICAN DIVISION
The ten South American Division unions have worked, and continue to work, under the motto Integrated Evangelism. The objective of this program is to integrate all of the Church’s effort and resources to fulfill the mission of the Church in a three-stage process:
- PLANTING: During this period, the churches are to pray for their family members, neighbors, and friends through the plan of intercessory prayer; asking the Lord to touch the hearts of these individuals. They are also to share the truth with them through the Bible study plan.
- CULTIVATING: During this period, the small groups, Bible instructors, and the church in general work with their interested individuals, using Bible study courses covering the doctrines for about three to four months.
- REAPING: This is a special week in which the churches prepare for a week of reaping. Individuals who have already made a decision are invited to the local church, stadium, or big hall for a reaping program.
Following are some of the results:
Peru Union -The Union’s reaping campaign was held from July 4 to 18, with the involvement of all the fields within the union under the theme Caravan of Hope. This massive mobilization included more than 1,000 preaching centers where the message of Jesus was heard by thousands of people. At the end of the meetings, 37,300 souls were baptized. There are more people getting ready for another mass baptism. Pastor Alejandro Bullon participated in four of the nine union fields.
Bolivia Union - Under the theme Hope is Jesus, the Bolivia Union held its reaping campaign at a national level from September 11 to18 in a stadium. Nightly attendance was about 35,000. The program was directed by Pastor Bullon. His messages were broadcast live via satellite to the entire Bolivian country. It is expected that about 17,000 people will be baptized.
Chile Union -The union is preparing a reaping campaign on a national level next quarter. This massive mobilization will be unprecedented for the country. The message will be broadcast on an open TV channel. In addition, 260 preaching sites will receive the broadcast.
The rest of the unions are preparing to hold their meetings.
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SOUTHERN ASIA DIVISION
God has abundantly blessed the labors of pastors, evangelists, hundreds of lay members, and Global Mission pioneers. A total of 114,863 new believers joined the remnant church through baptism during the year under review. We praise God for the marvelous increase in the growth of the Church in the Southern Asia Division.
East Central India Union - With financial assistance by the McNeilus family, ASI, and Maranatha Volunteers, the tuition-free school for the blind in Bobbili has new facilities. The school has 100 students now, but it is expected to reach 300 soon.
After the dedication service, one could see the expression and smiles of these children as they entered their rooms and touched their first bed, mattress, and pillow. They had never had these before. The school provides computer courses for the blind children.
A Complete Baptist Church Joins Adventist Church in Northeast India Union – Two years ago two Global Mission Volunteers and the area pastor visited a village in the Northeast India Union. They had heard that there were some Christians in this village. During the visit, they went from house to house, meeting the people and
praying for the families. Three families showed great interest in their visit and asked them to come back. They indicated that it had been a long time since they had a visit from their Baptist pastor. They expressed the desire to have Bible studies. The Global Mission Volunteers went back to the village and started Bible studies with the people. When they found out the truth about Sabbath from the Bible, they decided to keep the Bible Sabbath. As a result, about 14 people are ready for baptism. This will be the whole Baptist church.
Church Growth in Gujarat – The state of Gujarat is one of the well-developed areas in India. However, the people of the state experienced the worst disturbance in 2002. Thousands of innocent people fell victim to the worst command to kill. This was a setback to the gospel work. However, the division has chosen Gujarat as one of the priority places where it hopes Maranatha will be able to help build churches. The doors are wide open in Gujarat today, in spite of much opposition to the work the division is doing. It is believed that nothing will stabilize the work in Gujarat more than to see that a simple church is built in each of the villages where there are new members. In fact, as is usually the case, the membership increases as soon as the church is built and this brings calls from many surrounding villages for gospel workers to teach our message. The division appreciates what Maranatha has done in building hundreds of churches in other parts of India, thus putting the work in those areas on a very solid foundation.
During the past four years, membership in Gujarat has reached 15,000 of which nearly two thirds are members worshipping in new congregations where churches are badly needed. In order to capitalize on the opportunities in Gujarat, a new region is being formed this year to open up work in the Sarashtra area.
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EURO-ASIA DIVISION
Ukrainian Union Conference - The Euro-Asia Division mid-year meetings were held in the city of Chernovtsy from May 14 to 22. It was planned to have business meetings during the day. In the evenings, all the leaders attending the mid-year meetings conducted revival programs in the 36 churches. But before these meetings, the church members had conducted Bible studies in these churches and prepared the people for the reaping meetings. Over 150 souls were baptized as a result of these meetings.
Southern Union Conference - On May 27, 2004, the pastor of the Adventist Church in Turkmenistan received a telephone call from the Ministry of Justice requesting the submission of documents for the registration of the Adventist Church. A certificate has already been issued.
Moldova Union Conference - Five years ago there were only nine Pathfinders in Moldova, but there are now 100 Master Guides. Each one has a number of Pathfinder groups. Because of great interest in the churches, a Pathfinder Congress was held in Moldova. Many seminars were conducted to prepare the youth to work for other young people.
East Russian Union - Evangelistic meetings conducted in the city of Barnaul resulted in establishing two new churches—one with 100 members and the other, 130 members. The first church, which was organized a long time ago, has only 70 members. A miracle took place to enable a couple to hear the Adventist message.
The family was from a town not far away from Barnaul. Their car broke down and they could not find the parts to repair the vehicle. While they were at the mechanic’s place, they heard about the meetings. They attended the first meeting and became interested. It would be three weeks until the car would be ready. They attended the meetings every night until the end of the campaign. The family was baptized and now they have gone to their town as missionaries.
The members of the church prayed for a musician to join the church so they could have music.
Four days before the close of the meetings, a lady who was a member of a charismatic group came to the meetings. The message she heard reminded her of a book she had bought some years back. She decided to be baptized and now the church has a musician.
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TRANS-EUROPEAN DIVISION
The Trans-European Division focuses on evangelism, discipleship, and church planting through all available avenues. This division is one of the most diverse divisions in the world and the Church is implementing various approaches in its effort to make a difference in all the fields. The effort has resulted in a net growth of its membership by 5.32% since last Annual Council.
British Union – As part of the evangelistic strategy of the union, the LIFEdevelopment.info was launched with cooperation from the division. It is a program intended to create a “lifestyle” that results in friendship evangelism, targeting the post-modern mindset. Accompanying the LIFEdevelopment.info program is the LIFE.info magazine. It has been enthusiastically received by the public. The manager of a well-known hotel in England purchased 200 copies to place them in rooms and lounges of the hotel. A London church ordered 4,000 copies to distribute in their immediate community.
On January 1 of this year, a commercial satellite started to beam the Adventist message to European homes alongside BBC World and Europ News.
The Church’s Hope Channel is now available on the Hotbird Satellite with a potential audience of over 30 million in Europe, Middle East, and North Africa.
Sudan – One thousand people join the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sudan every year. That is 2.75 per day. Until recently, there was only one trained Sudanese pastor to serve 6,000 church members.
On January 30, 2004, a new pastoral training center was opened at Arua, Uganda for the Church in South Sudan. The center is situated just 45 minutes from the southern Sudanese border and is strategically located on the compound for the regional headquarters of the South Sudan Mission. The goal for the training center is to provide a structured education for the pastors. It is a six- to eight-year program which combines intensive instruction and still allows the pastors to continue their work in the field.
On June 14, an aircraft, loaded with 35 metric tons of relief items, including blankets, food, tents and medicine, arrived at Makjar Refugee Camp in Darfur. The aid was provided by ADRA and nine other organizations.
The escalating humanitarian and security crises in Darfur has resulted in the destruction of several of our churches and Global Mission Centers.
In spite of their difficulties and constant threat to personal security, our members are eagerly gathering for worship services in the evenings when the sun goes down.
Pakistan Union – Through ADRA funding, Karachi Adventist Hospital has been able to refurbish the hostel for the nursing students as well as part of the hospital.
The first Youth Congress in Pakistan since 1967 was held at the Adventist Seminary in Farooqabad, February 20-22, 2004. More than 500 Adventist youth attended.
Iraq – In the midst of continual lawlessness and a degree of ambiguity about what the future holds for all religious minorities in Iraq, a new Adventist church was dedicated on November 1, 2003 in Mosul. This town is considered the cradle of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Iraq, as it was where the first church was established in March 1923. Later on, because of civil conflict in the area, the membership moved to Baghdad. The leadership of the church is anxious to open more churches in the area as opportunities arise.
On September 10, a car bomb exploded outside the Adventist Church in Baghdad. As there were no services in progress at the time, nobody was injured.
Unfortunately, it appears to have been a deliberate attack on the Church. This is the second time the church has sustained bomb damage within a year.
European Youth Congress – More than 3,000 youth took part in the European Youth Congress held in Poland, August 4-8, 2004. The theme Time 4 Action, was a call for young people to commit themselves to the Lord. The youth came from 30 different countries, representing a variety of cultures and languages of Europe—yet they were unified in both purpose and action.
Mission Camp in Hungary – Over 1,000 people participated in this year’s mission camp held in Hungary. It is the sixth year this major training and spiritual event has been conducted. One of the main emphases this year was church planting. The participants attended a wide range of workshops to develop skills in sharing their faith.
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NORTH AMERICAN DIVISION
The next of the division’s series of Net Evangelism programs is the Net 2004, Experience the Power thrust. It began on October 2, and is being broadcast live to more than 500 locations throughout the division from Miracle Temple in Baltimore. The evangelist is Dr Walter Pearson, speaker-director of the Breath of Life Television Ministries.
The Faith on Fire North American Division Pathfinder Camporee attracted more than 30,000 attendees—twice the population of its host city Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Don Schneider, the division president, was in attendance. He made an offer to the Pathfinders: “Pray with a stranger, and I’ll offer you a trading pin.” He was mobbed frequently by praying Pathfinders.
Pacific Union Youth Rush Megabook Program – The Pacific Union Youth Rush is one of the fastest growing youth ministries in the Union. When the ministry started seven years ago, there were a handful of students involved. Today, there are 250-300 students placing over 100,000 truth-filled books in homes during summer and winter. Sixty-five to seventy percent of their sales of over a million dollars is available for Christian education.
But this is only the beginning. Students survey customers for Bible study interests. After that, student Bible workers follow up with Bible studies. This has resulted in baptisms.
Arizona Project – Exciting things continue to happen in the Arizona Conference. All the Spanish churches are involved in Mega-Arizona, a thrust to baptize hundreds of people. These dedicated pastors and enthusiastic lay people are holding 900 DVD meetings in homes. On October 16-23, there will be a huge reaping campaign to be held in the gymnasium of a local community college.
Northwest Native America Breakthrough – Years of prayerful dreams, thousands of volunteer hours, and a $20,000 appropriation from the division are
beginning to pay off in a cutting edge Adventist ministry to the Native Americans. A new nature-themed church and multipurpose center has been completed. It houses a vibrant church body with weekly services. It has quickly become a center of focus for the Native people on the reservation.
Missions Abroad Program – The ten hospitals in the Columbia Union have, through the union’s Mission Abroad program, reached out to help other Adventist hospitals around the world. Physicians, nurses, and hospital administrators have donated their skills and knowledge to strengthen delivery of medical care and improve hospital managements. Hospitals in India, Trinidad, Guyana, Venezuela, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Lesotho have been assisted.
Special Evangelistic Efforts and Initiatives – Special evangelistic efforts and initiatives are being put forward by the Greater New York Conference to reach the diverse ethnic groups in New York City. Beyond reaching those who speak English, Spanish, and French, international evangelistic efforts are being employed to reach Jews, Muslims, Filipinos, Indio-Pakistanis, and Russians. Let us continue to pray for these initiatives.
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SOUTHERN AFRICA-INDIA OCEAN DIVISION
Organizational Growth – The division officially organized its eighth union on January 15, when the Botswana Union Mission was established with headquarters in Gaborone, the capital. It is comprised of the North and South Fields, with a total membership of 23,805. This new union covers a vast territory, but with a relatively small population of 1,600,000, among whom are the bushmen of the arid Kalahari region.
During August 12-15, the Zambia Union was officially organized as a union conference. It is the third union conference in the division and the fourth one on the continent of Africa. It is also the largest union in the division with a membership of 441,746 and a growth rate of 7.25%. According to the 2003 statistics, baptisms and accessions through profession of faith were up by 15.12% over the previous year. One out of 22.6 Zambians is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
In January of this year, Angola’s North-East Mission was established, since the North Mission membership was too large for adequate care and proper management. The headquarters is located in the port city of Nampula.
Division Advisories – Three departments have successfully completed their advisories.
The Health Ministries Advisory was held in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The theme was Our Health Message: Empowered to Accomplish Its Mission. One of the
main outcomes was the proposal to establish a new Division Health System Governance and Management Structure.
The PARL Department conducted a highly successful and well-attended advisory from March 9 to 12. The advisory brought together a number of Adventists serving in high profile positions in all the countries of the division…
- From Angola, the third vice-president of the National Assembly is a dedicated Sabbath School teacher
- From the country of Botswana, a number of Cabinet members and 10 members of Parliament are Adventists
- In Malawi, the country’s chief justice and two judges are staunch Adventists.
More than 80 educational administrators came together on May 19 and 20 for the Education Advisory, under the theme Independent, Invaluable, Indispensable.
Uppermost in the discussions was the need for the schools to operate independently of state funding and control wherever possible, and to foster a division-wide move towards greater self-reliance and self-support among educational institutions.
Festival of the Laity - A highlight of the division calendar for 2004 was the Festival of the Laity held in Zambia. Five hundred delegates attended. The goal was to provide training in various methods of personal and public evangelism. Progress reports were given on initiatives such as Go One Million, Sow 1 Billion, and the Year of Evangelism 2004. During these meetings, the elected staff of the division made a personal commitment to conduct a campaign this year. Already a number of the staff has finished their meetings and the Lord has blessed with many baptisms.
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INTER-AMERICAN DIVISION
With the theme, Living His Life, 1,500 youth, laity and pastors from the Inter-American Division met in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from June 22-26, 2004 to participate in the “First Evangeliving Symposium.”
The objectives reached were:
- To consult, inspire, integrate, and train the youth and laity attending the symposium to live and share the gospel in a permanent Christian climate.
- To compile the impressions of the people attending in relation to their vision for the contemporary Seventh-day Adventist Church
- To introduce innovative methods to evangelize and consolidate the new believers.
- To facilitate the reproduction of this symposium and its objectives in each union of the Inter-American Division territory.
The program was made up of inspiring messages by youth, laity, and pastors; interactive seminars; reports from all the unions on “Evangeliving”; time for praise, musical groups; feedback forum; service projects for the community and a model as a replica of this event.
On Sabbath, June 26, Pastor Jan Paulsen, General Conference President, invited more than 12,000 Adventist members who met at the Palacio de los Deportes (Sports Arena), to let their light so shine and to live their faith—projecting the transforming power of the gospel in their lives and actions.
God is providing the necessary means for the preaching of the Word in a shocking way and with the speed needed for these times in which we are living.
The Venezuela-Antilles Union was blessed with a miracle from the Lord. The Venezuelan government granted the Seventh-day Adventist Church five regional television channels through which the preaching of the Word is done 24 hours a day. A great part of the Venezuelan territory is being covered through these television channels with the preaching of the Third Angel’s Message.
Also, the union administrators signed a contract to present the message through an inter-cable channel. In this manner, 80% of the Venezuelan territory is being reached through television in the Venezuela-Antilles Union.
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INTERDIVISION PERSONNEL DEPARTURES
In your agenda book, you will find the statistics regarding interdivision employees, appointees, and volunteers.
1. Current Calls as of September 1, 2004
You will notice the sections titled, Conference and Mission Organizations, Educational Organizations, Medical Organizations, and Publishing. Beside each division in these categories listed, you will find the number of current calls adding to a total of 71 for employees and 311 for volunteers.
2. Departure for Interdivision Service Around the World – 2003
Out of a total of 684, there were 142 new appointees and 542 furloughees and optional annual leaves.
3. Division Source for Interdivision Personnel – December 31, 2003
This table tells from which division they have come or from which division they have gone to work.
4. Current Interdivision Employees from Divisions Other Than North America – December 31, 2003
The records indicate that 577 interdivision employees came from divisions other than North America.
5. Current Interdivision Employees from North America
The table gives a figure of 447 interdivision employees from North America who are serving in other divisions. I am happy to report that the North American Division also has 111 employees from other divisions. This means that all the divisions are making contributions in the interdivision venture and today we can actually say “from everywhere to everywhere.”
6. Division Source for Adventist Volunteers - December 31, 2003
This table reveals that 1,863 volunteers went out to serve the world Church. Three divisions—South Pacific Division, North American Division, and the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division—are the major contributors.
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