The following message is addressed to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America by Abner De los Santos, president of the Inter-American Division. — IAD News Staff
August 7, 2026 | Miami, Florida, United States | Abner De los Santos, president of the Inter-American Division
Our reason for being: every church giving life to another church. Throughout Inter-America, the goal for the next five years is simple: every church, a church in five years.
It may sound like an enormous challenge, but when we think about God’s dreams, we know that with God all things are possible. He brought the church into being and established it to reproduce, and He has special plans for Inter-America.
Every Church, a Church is an Inter-American initiative. As you know, we are participating in three initiatives in Inter-America. One is OneVoice27, a global church initiative. Another, designed especially for Inter-America, is Impact 2028. The third is Every Church, a Church. Both OneVoice27 and Impact 2028 are connected to the Every Church, a Church initiative.
What does this initiative really mean? What is God’s dream for Inter-America during these five years? I am convinced that if we understand God’s will for Inter-America and are willing to walk according to that will, God will pour out abundant blessings on His people during this five-year period and beyond.
Today, we will talk about what this initiative really means.
Let me begin by saying that the challenge we face as pastors and church leaders is mobilizing most of the church to become involved in fulfilling the mission. Some of you have heard me say before that I see this as our real challenge: mobilizing the majority of the church.
When we look at the church, we find that participation in fulfilling the mission is approximately 20 percent. The other 80 percent come each Sabbath, sit in church, and return home without becoming further involved in achieving the local church’s objectives or carrying out its work.
This means we face a major challenge: reversing that formula. With God’s help, we hope that participation will rise beyond 80 percent, because the ideal is for 100 percent of our members to become involved in fulfilling the mission. We are living Mission for Everyone.
Four pillars support our strategic plan: Communion with God, Identity in Christ, Unity in the Spirit for Service, and Mission for Everyone. Our Every Church, a Church initiative speaks to the need for healthy churches. A healthy church reproduces, and that is the point I want to emphasize in the next few minutes.
One of the clearest signs of life is reproduction. Healthy trees produce fruit, healthy families grow, and healthy organisms reproduce…
Watch the full message here: