Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico…[IAD Staff]
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Mexico inaugurated a new mission office in the southeast corner of Mexico earlier this month. Headquarterd in Chetumal, the Quintana Roo Mission became the seventh church field in the region. The new office was formed out of the Mayab Conference territory.
“Rapid growth, the maturity of the membership of this field, and the travel diffculties to reach this remote area made it necessary to bring administration closer to the church,” says Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America.
Pastor Leito, who was present at the inauguration of the new mission office, said Chetumal was chosen because it is one of the cities with the highest concentration of members in Quintana Roo.
The mission will also serve the cities of Playa del Carmen and Cancun.
He added that the “Quintana Roo Mission is financially solid, the membership is committed to preaching the Advent message, and are very involved in the affairs of the church.”
“It is remarkable, but there are scores of high level government officials in the church in this mission,” said Leito. The chief justice and former president of the human rights commission for the state of Quintana Roo is a church elder, according to Leito. He said there are also senators and representatives, business people, professionals, professors and others who are very active in the life of the church, he said.
During the inauguration, Pastor Leito challenged the membership and workers of this new field to work and pray in order to convert the mission into a conference at their next session four years from now.
There are more than 245,000 Seventh-day Adventists in the South Mexican Union worshiping in 841 churches.