Adventist President Urges Mission Leaders to Advance with Boldness

Erton Köhler, president of the General Conference, encourages delegates to embrace Bible-centered mission across cultures and unreached communities.

May 29, 2026 | Port of Spain, Trinidad | Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News

Pastor Erton Köhler, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, challenged church leaders, pastors, missionaries, and lay members across the Inter-American Division (IAD) to move forward “with boldness” in fulfilling God’s mission during a devotional message on May 29, at the University of Southern Caribbean, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobabo.

Speaking during a devotional segment at the Intercultural Mission Church Planting Summit, Köhler praised the IAD’s long-standing commitment to evangelism and church growth while encouraging the more than 300 delegates to deepen their focus on intercultural and global mission.

“Inter-American Division is known as a division that is very focused on evangelism,” Köhler said. “But now, I’m glad to see growing among the leaders and members a stronger commitment to multicultural mission and the need to reach all the world.”

Köhler thanked summit organizers and university leaders for hosting the event and reaffirmed the General Conference’s commitment to supporting the Inter-American Division in preparing missionaries and leaders for cross-cultural mission outreach.

The visit marked Köhler’s first trip to Trinidad and Tobago as president of the General Conference.

“We are here to serve you,” he said. “We are here to support you and work together with you to help prepare the church to reach the world,” he said.

Throughout his message, Köhler emphasized that Seventh-day Adventists are “people of the Book,” called not only to read and preach Scripture, but also to live it. He centered his devotional on Revelation 14 and the Three Angels’ Messages, describing them as the final message entrusted to the church to prepare the world for Christ’s return.

“This is not a message of condemnation,” Köhler said. “This is a message of opportunity—the message that can prepare the world for the Second Coming of Jesus.”

Referring to the repeated expression “with a loud voice” found throughout Revelation 14 and 18, Köhler explained that the phrase represents the spirit of boldness the church must embrace in mission today.

“The Three Angels’ Messages are a call for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to be bold in preparing this world for the Second Coming of Jesus,” he said.

Köhler outlined four areas where the church must demonstrate boldness: faith, courage, investment, and mission initiatives.

“The Lord is calling us to be bold in faith,” Köhler said. “What is impossible for us, the Lord can do through us.”

He also challenged delegates not to fear difficult mission territories, secular societies, or cultural barriers.

“The Lord is calling us to make big plans for mission,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to face mission challenges because the Lord goes with you.”

Addressing church treasurers and administrators present at the summit, Köhler emphasized that the church must continue investing heavily in mission, trusting that God will provide needed resources.

“In the Seventh-day Adventist Church, money follows the mission—not the mission following the money,” Köhler said. “Let us be bold in investing for God’s cause.”

Köhler also highlighted major initiatives currently shaping the world church and the Inter-American Division, including OneVoice27, the coordinated evangelistic communication movement leading into 2027, and the IAD’s multiplication initiative encouraging every church to plant a new church within the next five years.

“The Inter-American Division is dreaming to send more missionaries to the world,” Köhler said. “We are not talking only about growth. We are talking about multiplication.”

Speaking about OneVoice27, Köhler described the initiative as a bold evangelistic movement designed to mobilize members to proclaim Jesus through digital media, broadcasting, publications, and personal witness across the region and beyond.

Köhler also shared testimony from a country where the Adventist Church has no official presence but where local believers are already gathering and studying the Bible together, illustrating how God continues opening doors in unexpected places.

“What the Lord is telling us is: ‘Please, be bold. Don’t be afraid,’” Köhler said. “Organize bold projects and move forward in God’s name, trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Köhler encouraged delegates to trust that God can work through the church in even the most difficult areas of the world.

“Let us go beyond the ordinary,” he said. “Let us do great things for God and expect great things from God.”

Köhler made with a direct appeal for leaders and members to recommit themselves to mission.

“We have a clear mission, a clear call, and a clear commitment,” Köhler prayed.

The four-day Intercultural Mission Church Planting Summit has featured seminars, worship services, and training sessions focused on intercultural evangelism, urban ministry, and outreach among unreached people groups across Inter-America.