October 10, 2008 Manila, Luzon, Philippines…ANN Staff
The Seventh-day Adventist Church's “message of hope” and commitment to scripture marked the opening of the denomination's fall business session, Annual Council, in Manila, Friday, October 10.
Seventh-day Adventist Church President Jan Paulsen greeted more than 300 meeting delegates and hundreds of church member guests from Manila during a live broadcast from the Philippines International Conventions Center at the start of the meeting, which runs through October 15.
“We are one global family,” Paulsen said. “This is why we plan together. This is why we spend quality time in deciding an agenda and using our resources in accomplishing what God has in mind for His church.”
Paulsen said the meeting's theme, Mission of Hope, stood in contrast to media reports where there often “doesn't seem to be a lot of hope.”
“We have a message of hope, for we have God's message to communicate to the world,” Paulsen said. “In obedience to God we will do all we can to be his instruments and to be faithful in what he has called us to do. Your leadership is committed to serve the church and the Lord to the best of our ability.”
Opening Friday evening's worship, Mark Finley, the church's vice president for global evangelism and witness, pointed to the importance of Bible study in the life of Christians, another recurring theme throughout the meeting.
On Saturday, it's expected that some 15,000 Adventists from the Metro Manila area will witness the launching of the church's initiative, Follow the Bible, a specially produced Bible in 66 different languages. The initiative, intended to rekindle the daily need for connection with the Bible, will travel to six continents and culminate at the next world congress in Atlanta, Georgia, United States in 2010.
Annual Council is attended by the church's full Executive Committee voting body, and is the only meeting in which church policy is voted. Up for discussion are topics ranging from the church's structure to the appropriation of its funds, as well as progress made in the church's mission efforts and its global AIDS ministry.
The church holds Annual Council in a location outside North America every five years. Paulsen noted that Annual Council was last held in Manila 27 years ago.
More than 600,000 Adventists live in the Philippines.
