Kyoshin Ahn, North American Division (NAD) executive secretary, presented the Secretary's Report during the division's Annual Council. The report examined the state of the church in North America; analyzed vital signs of church health, such as baptism, attendance, and pastoral staffing; and shared how God is using ministries under the secretariat office to advance His mission.
Membership trends reveal growth, losses, and financial faithfulness
At the end of this year's third quarter, the NAD reported 1.33 million church members, representing a net increase of 12,608 members, Ahn said.
He noted a steady upward trend in membership over the past four years as the division recovered from operational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahn also reported that the NAD had a total of 43,052 added members, averaging 118 per day in 2025. After accounting for membership transfers, he said, baptisms represented the largest share of these additions at 48 per cent.
The division also reported a net gain of around 2,000 members through transfers in 2025 with 28,000 transferring in and 26,000 transferring out.
Ahn stressed the importance of maintaining accurate membership records through the official transfer process. He warned against recording the transfer of members through professions of faith because bypassing the transfer process "undermines the integrity of our global church records."
He then shifted his focus to membership losses. "Any responsible stewardship of the church records demands that we look at both sides of the ledgers. We must confront our losses."
In 2025, the NAD reported a total membership loss of 15,759 across three categories: death, missing members, and members dropped from the books.
Examining NAD membership trends over the past 41 years, Ahn reported that while 1.5 million people joined the church, 533,450 were categorized as dropped or missing. The net loss rate during this period was 33 per cent.
“That means more than three out of every 10 believers who joined our families are slipping through our fingers,” said Ahn. “These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. They are sons, they are daughters, and they are neighbors, and they are friends. This reality beckons us to pay closer attention to how we nurture and retain our new members.”
Ahn also highlighted long-term membership growth and financial faithfulness. Over the past 45 years, the NAD recorded an average annual net growth rate of 1.8 per cent, while the tithe growth rate average each year was 3.94 per cent. During the same period, inflation averaged approximately 3 per cent annually, with prices rising by nearly 300 per cent cumulatively.
“We praise God for the sacrificial faithfulness of our members,” he said.
A snapshot of NAD membership
Forty-seven per cent of NAD members are aged 30–59 and 31 per cent are over age 60, Ahn reported. The median and mean age of the church in the NAD is 49. As the database only reflects baptized members, children under 12 years old represent about 1 per cent of members.
Members located in Bermuda, Canada, Guam-Micronesia Mission, and the United States worship in 6,761 congregations, including 5,876 churches and 885 companies.
Ahn positioned the NAD within the context of the global church, which has more than 24 million members.
“The North American Division represents 5.4 per cent of that global family. We have been growing steadily, though not as rapidly as we had hoped. Some of our sister divisions have witnessed rapid growth, but our mission footprint remains essential.”
Baptisms reach highest level since 2009
“In 2025, we celebrated 34,653 baptisms, our highest single-year baptism total since 2009,” Ahn stated. The NAD also recorded approximately 8,400 professions of faith.
In 2009, Ahn reported, the NAD led a dedicated year of evangelism that drove baptism totals to more than 41,000. He attributed the strong baptismal numbers in 2025, totaling approximately 43,000 baptisms, to the NAD Pentecost 2025 evangelism initiative and momentum from the 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee.
“We give glory to God for every soul who entered the waters of baptism,” Ahn said.
Ahn reported that from 2008–2025, youth aged 10–19 led the NAD in baptisms, averaging 8,200 annually. “Our investment in children, Pathfinders, and youth ministry remains our most fertile mission field,” he asserted.
In what Ahn described as a surprising find, young adults aged 20–39 also accounted for a significant number of baptisms, averaging 6,680 annually during the same period.
“This [result] reinforces our need to empower [members of] this group to be leaders in the local church,” Ahn said.
Baptismal survey points to the power of personal connections
Ahn expressed the NAD Secretariat's desire to think beyond baptismal numbers and to recognize the stories behind them. Ahn introduced Michael Campbell, NAD director of Archives, Statistics, and Research, who shared the results of a research survey on baptism and retention.
Campbell reported receiving survey responses from 705 pastors from across the NAD territory. When asked which outreach methods best contributed to baptisms, the leading responses were personal invitations (69 per cent) and Bible study groups (58 per cent). Public evangelistic campaigns (39 per cent) and Pentecost 2025 outreach (32 per cent) were also considered effective. Campbell noted that outreach methods may overlap and should be viewed as complementary.
Similarly, when asked why people joined their church, pastors most commonly cited the community atmosphere (30 per cent) and personal invitations (23 per cent).
Concerning retention, while 69 per cent of pastors described new members as involved or very involved in church activities, only 52 per cent rated their follow-up methods as effective or very effective. Small groups were the most commonly reported follow-up method at 59 per cent, followed by discipleship classes (40 per cent) and mentorship programs (32 per cent).
Campbell identified equipping members to invite others, providing accessible Bible studies, and surrounding new believers with spiritual support as priorities for local churches and members. He also said the findings suggested that “there is a genuine need to give each new believer an identifiable person who will walk alongside them.”
Vital signs of the church in North America
Ahn then introduced Brian Ford, eAdventist membership services director, to “take the pulse” of the church in North America.
Ford likened monitoring church health to a medical checkup. The “vital signs” church leaders typically check are membership growth, baptisms, and tithe. Ford emphasized attendance as another essential measure.
Currently, two-thirds of NAD congregations track attendance through eAdventist. eAdventist provides attendance ratios to help churches monitor growth and retention. For example, a church with 100 members and 40 members who attend every week has a ratio of 40 per cent.
Ford said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, most churches within the NAD territory had attendance ratios in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. After five years of recovery, the majority remain in the 20s, 30s, and 40s.
Attendance trends, along with baptismal growth, are major factors in categorizing congregations as declining, growing, plateauing, or multiplying. Ford shared that in 2025, slightly more than half of NAD churches were classified as declining, more than a third as growing, just under a sixth as plateauing, and 1 per cent as multiplying.
Ford further explained that a church is considered declining if it records no baptisms in the past year or its attendance drops by more than 2 per cent. Even churches baptizing new members are categorized as declining if their attendance decreases by more than 2 per cent.
“What surprised us [NAD eAdventist offices] was that almost one-third of our declining churches are in this situation,” Ford said, underscoring that some congregations continue baptizing new members even as overall attendance declines.
Ford encouraged church leaders to monitor attendance to gain a more comprehensive and accurate picture of congregational health, while affirming that “each church can flourish regardless of size, age, ethnicity, or location.”
Empowering the Laity for Greater Impact
Following Ford's presentation, Ahn reinforced the long-term challenge of one-third of declining churches “celebrating baptisms at the front, [while] their total weekly attendance is quietly shrinking out the back.” Then, he began reporting on the pastor-to-member ratio.
The baseline pastor-to-member ratio across the NAD is one pastor per every 329 members. When volunteer lay pastors are factored in, however, that ratio drops to one pastor per 294 members. In one large conference, the ratio improved from one pastor per 433 members to one per 279 when volunteer lay pastors were included.
Ahn encouraged delegates to consider the potential of lay leadership in helping advance the mission. “We stand at a structural crossroads. Changing demographics and economic shifts encourage us—or even dictate us—to re-examine how we deploy, how we support, and how we equip our pastoral teams alongside an empowered laity.”
Mission: the beating heart of Secretariat
Ahn introduced the next section of his report by stating that beyond the statistics, “The beating heart of the secretarial work is mission.” The mission strategy of secretariat ministries rests on three pillars: 1) equip people for service; 2) sustain them while in the field; and 3) plant new communities of faith among the unreached.
Ernest Hernandez, director of Adventist Volunteer Service (AVS) (formerly the Office of Volunteer Ministries), highlighted opportunities for individuals to serve both within the division territory and internationally. He reported that more than 350 long-term volunteers and an estimated 11,000 short-term volunteers have served internationally this year.
Hernandez also spoke about Sharing the Adventure Reading Starts (STARS), a growing NAD tutoring and mentoring initiative developed in partnership with Adventist Community Services, which operates in roughly 16 locations across 11 states and Bermuda. The program helps hundreds of children in at-risk communities.
Hernandez concluded with the testimony of Kyla Kneese, a student missionary serving in the Marshall Islands, who shared the lessons “amazing, chaotic” students had taught her about loyalty, forgiveness, and love. “I might be the teacher, but these kids are giving me the best education of my life,” she said.
Orna Garnett, director of NAD Missionary Services, shared how her department supports more than 95 missionary families serving within and beyond North America.
“We help the church prepare missionaries well, support them while they serve, and we welcome them back home because while an assignment may end, the mission continues,” she said. Garnett noted that, following discussions on tithe parity, Missionary Services had assumed responsibilities previously administered by the General Conference on behalf of the NAD.
Garnett shared the testimonies of two missionaries, including David Bakunzi, who, with his family, serves in one of Canada’s most remote communities in Iqaluit, Nunavut. “Coming here to do ministry in this part requires a lot of listening, a lot of learning, and humility,” Bakunzi said in a video testimony.
Through a weekly soup kitchen, an Adventurers Club, and other outreach activities, the Bakunzis have built relationships and gained acceptance within the local Inuit community.
Another story featured Nick Walters, a medical doctor serving in Thailand. While Walters shared about the miracle of seeing lives saved, he emphasized that his work has become a means of sharing his faith, aided by his ability to speak Thai.
“Any opportunity to meet and talk to people has now become my mission, rather than just being a doctor seeing sick patients,” Walters said.
Gabriela Phillips, director of NAD Adventist Mission, spoke to continued efforts to reach three groups within the division’s territory: the post-Christian and secular communities, growing urban populations, and diaspora communities from the 10/40 Window.
Phillips said her department’s role is to help church leaders identify underserved populations, develop mission projects, and access funding and additional resources through partnership with the General Conference and NAD Ministerial departments.
Her report featured the testimony of a young man named Drake Johnson, who has struggled with demonic oppression from childhood. He cried out to God for help one day and felt God’s presence in the room. As a teen, he met an Adventist named Obed. After years of friendship, he agreed to a Bible study and was baptized. Today, he is involved in ministry as a Bible worker and church plant associate. His story illustrated the power of personal relationships in reaching the unchurched.
In closing, Ahn reiterated that “the role of the division secretary extends far beyond administrative logistics and statistical records. Mission is the reason for our existence.”
He reminded delegates that God’s mission began long before the creation of the world and that the church is invited to participate in His work. “God is the author and finisher of His mission. He started His mission, and He will finish it. . . . May God continue to guide and bless our mission here in [the] North American Division territory.”
Following the presentation, delegates briefly discussed Indigenous outreach, attendance tracking, and baptismal trends among youth and young adults before voting to receive the report.
The original article was published on the North American Division news site.
