A high-level committee consisting of world and regional officers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church voted on Oct. 6 for a document detailing actions to be taken in response to certain entities of the world church that are not in compliance with an action voted on by more than 2,000 representatives of the 19.5 million-member denomination at its most recent General Conference Session held in San Antonio, Texas from July 2-11, 2015.
Hiring Seventh-day Adventist teachers to work at Adventist educational institutions may not only further the church’s mission, but it is also becoming a legal imperative to minimize lawsuits, a lawyer said. Adventist schools can help shield themselves from litigation linked to homosexuality and other controversial social issues by hiring committed Adventist teachers and making sure that the views of current employees align with the church’s mission, said Jon Daggett, an Adventist lawyer with the Hiroshima Daggett law firm, who has represented the church in California courts.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America is still in the process of assessing the damaging effects of Hurricane Matthew which tore through Haiti, Cuba, and The Bahamas this week. No deaths among Seventh-day Adventists have been reported yet, said Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America, who has been in daily telephone contact with top leaders in Haiti, Cuba, and The Bahamas as well as several other Caribbean islands.
Seventh-day Adventist leaders will declare that Adventist education is key to the fulfillment of the church’s mission to share the gospel and propose a 29th Fundamental Belief on education during a three-day conference that opens Wednesday evening at the world church’s headquarters. The suggested addition to the current 28 Fundamental Beliefs, which would describe the biblical basis for Adventist education, is among a raft of plans for Adventist education that are to be presented to world church leaders at the LEAD conference in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church around the world will mobilize thousands of its Adventist students who study in public campuses and professionals during a special weekend event coined as Global Public Campus Ministries (PCM) Weekend, October 14-16, 2016. The Global PCM Weekend aims to connect and involve students, academic and professionals in mission and service in their universities, home churches, and communities. It is the first time such joint event is organized by PCM Ministries around the world church.
The police officer narrowly escaped the wheels of a car when a robbery suspect tried to run over him. A broken leg, scars, and bruises from his close call still ache from the experience. Several days after the accident, his wife asked for a divorce. So the police officer drove into the parking lot at Mountainside Seventh-day Adventist Church in Decatur, Georgia, where he pulled his car close to waiting members and asked, “Can someone pray with me?”
Natalia Gherman, Moldova’s candidate for the post of United Nations secretary-general, praised the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s global commitment to health care, education, and humanitarian assistance during a visit to the world church’s headquarters near Washington. Gherman said faith-based organizations such as the Adventist Church could play a major role in promoting peace, development, and human rights around the world.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Inter-American Health Food Company (IAHFC) launched a new magazine last week designed to promote a healthy lifestyle among church leaders and members across the territory. The 28-page magazine, called “+Wellness,” is the first one ever published by IAHFC and the church’s health food ministry department and was distributed to church members, health food company managers and employees, institutions and clients across eight countries, said Ramon Adolfo Ruiz, health food ministry director for the church in Inter-America and editor of the publication.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Guatemala is investing in hundreds of communicators to reach the entire country with the message of hope and salvation. More than 500 Adventist communicators from across local churches, radio stations met on September 24, 2016, to learn about the church’s communication initiatives, its corporate image, media productions, generating and sharing content, and becoming the kind of creative disciples who invest their time and talents to move toward reaching millions of people with the gospel.
Hacksaw Ridge,” a film about Desmond Doss’ extraordinary faith and service during World War II, is not a Seventh-day Adventist movie. But it is likely to thrust Adventism into the spotlight worldwide.
General Conference Secretariat has released two documents about church governance and unity that are to be considered by church leadership at the Annual Council business meeting in October. The main document, titled “A Study of Church Governance and Unity,” is a 50-page analysis of references from the Bible, the writings of Adventist Church cofounder Ellen G. White, and Adventist Church history as relating to policy and unity.
As the world’s political leaders gathered earlier this month for the G20 Economic Summit in Hangzhou, China, an international group of religious scholars met in Beijing to consider how religion can help foster international dialogue and problem-solving. Ganoune Diop, director of public affairs and religious liberty for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was invited to address the group of some 40 scholars and religious leaders. He told the group that before talking about our differences, we must first recognize shared human values.