The Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary has approved a document on homosexuality that it hopes will “clearly set forth what Scripture teaches concerning homosexual practices and offer guidelines on how to interact with persons of same-sex orientation.” The 21-page document, titled “An Understanding of the Biblical View on Homosexual Practice and Pastoral Care,” was approved in a unanimous vote Friday after six months of preparation.
In 1960, around 54 percent of all Seventh-day Adventists lived in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Today, church membership in the so-called Global South has reached 16.9 million, or 92 percent of the world church membership.
Ted N.C. Wilson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, challenged every one of the church’s 18.5 million members to win souls for heaven by following the example of the sower in a parable by Jesus. Wilson, speaking in a Sabbath sermon that serves as his annual world pastoral address, used his 71-minute message to emphasize a new initiative called Total Member Involvement as a top priority of the church.
A powerful hurricane badly damaged or destroyed at least six Seventh-day Adventist churches in The Bahamas, local church leaders said as they struggled to assess the destruction and account for church members a week after the Caribbean disaster. Hurricane Joaquin flooded buildings and ripped off roofs amid two days of fierce winds of up to 140 miles an hour (225 kilometers per hour) on Oct. 1 and 2.
More than 6,000 children in south central Mexico received backpacks full of school supplies days before the new school year began, thanks to the local Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and thousands of Seventh-day Adventist church members in the region. The initiative, coordinated by ADRA’s office in the Inter-Oceanic Mexican union, involved thousands of church members contributing funds on Sabbaths in May to ensure that needy children would have the basic supplies to begin their school year.
Justin Torossian may be best known for being the great-great-great-grandson of James and Ellen White, cofounders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But the 29-year-old pastor studying at Andrews University spoke humbly about his prominent family tree, saying in an e-mail interview that Ellen G. White correctly wrote in Christ’s Object Lessons: “Christ recognized no virtue in lineage. He taught that spiritual connection supersedes all natural connection” (p. 268).
One hundred and twenty-five Seventh-day Adventists, groups, churches and organizations were recognized for exemplary service during the 125th Anniversary Celebration of Adventism in Jamaica, this past weekend. The event drew thousands of church members to the Seventh-day Adventist Conference Centre in Montego Bay, on Oct. 3, 2015.
The election of a last batch of Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders to five-year terms is expected to dominate the weeklong Annual Council, which opens Wednesday evening and is the church’s first major business meeting since the General Conference Session in San Antonio last summer. The Annual Council, an Oct. 7-14 gathering of several hundred church leaders from around the world in the Adventist Church’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, starts with a two-day LEAD conference that will focus on sharing the gospel across various cultures.
Over 500 children from the communities Philipsburg, St. Maarten, took part in a first-of-its-kind Children’s Expo organized by Seventh-day Adventist churches across the Caribbean Island last month. The initiative, themed “Healthy Me”, attracted youngsters and their parents for free medical screenings and activities in an effort to bring awareness to obesity, poor nutrition, and other juvenile health problems, said Margaret Peters, children’s ministries director for the church in the North Caribbean Conference.
Three Angels Broadcasting Network announced Monday that it has raised more than $400,000 for Seventh-day Adventist schools in three months, putting it on course to achieve its goal of contributing $3 million to Adventist education by the end of next year. 3ABN, an independent Adventist media organization based in West Frankfort, Illinois, raised the funds as part of its “Triple Your Donation Value” Adventist Education program.
A Seventh-day Adventist mother was among those killed in a shooting rampage that targeted Christians at a community college in the U.S. state of Oregon, her pastor said Friday. Sarena Moore, 44, a college student and member of the Grants Pass Seventh-day Adventist Church, died along with at least eight other people in the attack by a lone gunman on Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, on Thursday.
Ted N.C. Wilson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, launched his own Twitter and Facebook accounts on Thursday in an effort to better communicate the church’s activities directly to members and other people. Wilson said he would use his Twitter account — @pastortedwilson — and his Facebook page — facebook.com/pastortedwilson — to share his personal prayers, favorite Bible and Spirit of Prophecy materials, information about his current outreach activities, and photos and news from his travels.