The End of an Era

The last issue of Adventist World

June 30, 2025 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Merle Poirier, Adventist Review

If you receive our print issue, you are holding in your hand the last issue of Adventist World. Just let that sink in a bit. Even though I’ve known this day was coming, it’s still difficult for me to write, let alone read. I, of all the present staff in the Adventist Review office, am the only one who worked with Adventist World at its conception and continues now to its last day. The publication would have turned 20 this year, so you can understand my sadness in this moment.

I recently attended the memorial service of a friend. Her husband gave her eulogy, a heartfelt expression of their life together, emphasizing the loss of his dearly beloved. One expects to grieve the passing of such a person. Yet my home church burned less than a year ago, and I’ve been amazed at the sorrow that comes with losing a building. And now I, along with my colleagues, face the loss of a publication. Again I find this odd sense of grief.

In the Beginning

The idea of Adventist World was introduced by former General Conference (GC) president Jan Paulsen. It was at a time when there was a void of Adventist resources in certain parts of the world. Where there is a vacuum, something or someone will step in to fill the gap, so there was concern that the understanding of Adventist theology was being compromised. The solution was a publication that would go around the Adventist world, uniting members in truth, news, features, and stories. While this wasn’t a new idea in Adventist Review history, the scope of it was. Jan Paulsen placed it in the lap of William (Bill) G. Johnsson, then editor of the Adventist Review.

Bill Johnsson was excited and enthusiastic, but quickly became overwhelmed. He was already leading the Adventist Review, and it was a GC Session year involving hours of detail and preparation. On one day when he was feeling uncharacteristically gloomy, I offered to step in and assist. Thus, my beginning with Adventist World included, at the very start, mocking up the first issue with colleague Kim Maran in order to “sell” the idea to division presidents. Now looking back almost 20 years, I believe four distinct individuals can be credited with where Adventist World is today.

Those Who Made a Difference

Bill Knott, then associate editor, stepped in to also assist Johnsson in meetings, working with publishing houses, getting bids, and developing a distribution plan—probably the biggest challenge of all. We knew how to create a magazine, edit, design, and print it, but how do you deliver it around the world when there is no system to receive it? For example, one area used bicycles as the transportation of choice. The appeal of mission and spreading the gospel in that image is strong until you realize that the cyclist was picking up, not a few copies, but hundreds! Without Bill’s patience, negotiations, and understanding, Adventist World may not have had the positive start it did.

Roy Adams became Adventist World’s first protector and nurturer. A meticulous, detailed, and conscientious editor, Roy made sure that Adventist World was balanced and international in its scope, again not an easy feat by a staff that at the time was largely North American-based. Roy kept the fledgling paper together. He had a world map brought in, placing a pin in areas where stories or news was shared within the publication. It was an immediate picture of how we served the world. Where there was an imbalance or gap, Roy made sure stories were found from that region. He can be credited with bringing balance, impartiality, and insight in discovering how to reach all members.

Enter Claude Richli in 2007 under the editorship of Bill Knott. One of Bill’s goals was to make the staff more international. Claude certainly contributed, having worked in several other divisions and speaking at least five languages. But more important was the energy Claude brought to the team. He had a keen sense of numbers, which, when placed into a staff that was all about words, brought new perspective. He was persuasive, full of ideas, and saw potential in Adventist World that had yet to be tapped. Claude’s skills coupled with Roy’s carefulness was about to take the publication to places yet to be seen—literally.

I used to manage the distribution, which involved pages of a spreadsheet containing countries, addresses, managers, and more. Claude zoomed around the world in rapid fashion, and I used to tease him, saying that where most people collected souvenirs, Claude collected countries and languages. During Claude’s time in our office, he took the number of languages from four to 21! We brought in a team of translators, whom I also managed. The first languages negotiated were Spanish, French, and Portuguese. While this seemed straightforward, it wasn’t. Claude navigated the challenge of selecting translators who would be accepted worldwide. I’ve worked with the same group of about 20 translators for nearly 18 years, all strongly committed to making this publication accessible to every member around the world.

It was Claude who discovered distribution issues as he visited. It was Claude who helped those who were mired down in how to receive the magazines or distribute them. It was Claude who developed the idea of a quarterly publication called Adventist World Digest for those who couldn’t afford to print the full monthly magazine. It was Claude who discovered that in Africa the magazine went far beyond what was intended. The African divisions were some of the most enthusiastic recipients of Adventist World, taking it to a whole new level. While it was intended for members, they shared it everywhere. One could walk into a doctor’s office, an auto repair shop, a hotel, or other non-Adventist location and find a stack of Adventist World copies for the taking. They used them in evangelistic meetings and Bible studies. We soon learned, through letters, of Adventist World magazines impressions.

Last, but not least, is Gerald Klingbeil. I won’t go into detail, because you can read his own words on page 21, but when he arrived in 2009, he became the next protector of Adventist World. We, in the office, would frequently hear him reference it as “my baby.” And that’s exactly how he treated it. A father of three daughters, he added a fourth with this publication. He brought new insights not only because of his German heritage but also from having lived all over the world, bringing a wealth of global experience. He educated the staff to think internationally and not only in English. He brought a passion for helping writers find their voice in the church, expanding our author list into many different countries. He looked specifically for ways to bring relevant biblical insights, including deepening the understanding of the Adventist Fundamental Beliefs. During Gerald’s time Adventist World achieved brand recognition. It became what Jan Paulson desired—a unifying tool recognized by members around the world.

A Fond Farewell

Perhaps you can now understand why I might be sad as we reach the close. But when one is a person of faith and a follower of God, while times might be disheartening, we can never remain there long, because we know who is in charge. Adventist World’s race may be run, but it has done something that no other publication in our history has accomplished—established a worldwide path. Now that race will be taken up by its sister publication, Adventist Review. Where Adventist Review has largely been restricted to North America, it will now serve the world on the same path Adventist World ran. The individuals who started Adventist World did not work in vain. They only helped make the streams of light deeper and clearer.

Farewell, my publication friend. It’s been a privilege to have a front-row seat to watch you unite more than 23 million Adventists worldwide.