Andrews University Holds Annual Adventist Family Research Conference

Understanding Diverse Families was the theme of the 2024 event.

August 11, 2024 | Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States | Sara Hamstra, Andrews University

The annual Adventist Conference on Family Research and Practice was held at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University (AU) in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States, July 18–20. The focus for this year’s conference was “Understanding Diverse Families” and included keynote speakers Elaine and Willie Oliver and Arlyn Drew.

This year, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was held in person, with participants from around the world attending both on campus and online. John Wesley Taylor V, AU president, gave the official welcome, acknowledging that God not only created family but also diversity. He challenged attendees with the task of studying and understanding both. In a video presentation, Ted N. C. Wilson, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, offered a warm welcome to participants and encouraged them to help families build on the principles of God’s Word for greater relationship health and to be powerful witnesses for the truth.

Wagner Kuhn, associate dean of the Seminary, also brought greetings via video, welcoming participants to the Seminary and commending them for their important work on behalf of families.

Program director Jasmine Fraser, professor and director of the doctoral program in Discipleship in Lifespan Education at the Seminary, explained that the conference is a combined effort of the Seminary, the AU School of Social Work, the Institute for Prevention of Addictions, the North American Division Department of Family Ministries, and the General Conference Department of Family Ministries.

The conference was created in the summer of 1975 by John and Millie Youngberg, professors in the School of Education at Andrews University, with the intention of building stronger and healthier families in the context of the church, providing professionals with “the opportunity to be exposed to best practice strategies and research in the areas of family ministries, family studies, family counseling/therapy, social work and psychology in order to enhance ministry to families in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and beyond.”

The first set of keynote presentations came from Elaine and Willie Oliver, the General Conference directors of Family Ministries. The Olivers have shared experience leading marriage conferences and relationship seminars and hosting leadership training conferences in Family Ministries around the world. Willie Oliver holds degrees in theology, pastoral counseling, and sociology, and Elaine Oliver has degrees in clinical mental health counseling, counseling psychology, higher education, and educational psychology. Their presentation, titled “The Demography of Difference: Challenges and Opportunities for Ministry to Families,” addressed the global reality of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and by definition the demography of difference among families in the church, posing challenges to effective ministry, since one size does not fit all, and there is a need to be mindful of these differences. They also noted that while God’s ideal for marriage and family relationships has not changed, family types and structures in the modern world are constantly changing—including the rising rates of intercultural marriages, single parent families, blended families, childless couples, multigenerational households, immigration and transnational families, same-sex partnerships, families experiencing neurodivergence, and variations due to socioeconomic factors.

The Olivers shared the need to be mindful of the “two hands approach” to family ministries in the church. This approach is based on the “understanding that Scripture holds in tension God’s divine ideals on one hand, and the reality of human brokenness on the other hand,” Elaine Oliver explained. She emphasized that each individual or family’s unique experiences contribute to who they are today and advocated for approaching family ministries with understanding, grace, and compassion, without setting aside the ideals God established in Eden.

The afternoon consisted of smaller breakout sessions. Discussion topics included the development of children’s growth mindsets, challenges and opportunities of multigenerational households, family communication patterns and youth mental health, divine attachment theory, narrative discipleship, premarital education, love marriages and arranged marriages in biblical and sociocultural contexts, and trauma-informed communication in family practice. The breakout session presenters included faculty from the Seminary and the School of Social Work, chaplains, counselors, pastors, the director of Family Ministries for the Italian Union of Churches Conference, and clinical trauma specialists.

The second set of keynote presentations came from Arlyn Drew, adjunct professor of systematic theology and Christian philosophy at the Seminary. Drew holds degrees in medicine, business administration, and theology. Her presentations addressed different family structures found both today and in the Old Testament, with the titles “You Are Not Alone: The Single Parent Family of Hagar and Ishmael,” “Never Give Up: The Hybrid Family of Judah and Tamar,” and “The Covenant Family: The Test of Abraham and Isaac.” Drew’s presentations brought out the reality that diverse families are not a contemporary phenomenon, but rather one that has been with the human family for millennia.

The 2025 Adventist Conference on Family Research and Practice is scheduled for July 17-19 at Seminary Chapel on the campus of Andrews University under the theme: Celebrating Creation: Marriage, Family, and the Sabbath, the weekend following the next General Conference Session being held in St. Louis, Missouri.