“In the ledger of Heaven, statistics are not cold administrative numbers. Every digit represents a soul, every graph tells a story of divine grace, and every table reflects a church laboring in the harvest field.”
With those words, Inter-American Division (IAD) executive secretary Pierre Caporal set the tone for the Secretariat Report to more than 200 Executive Committee members during IAD's Annual Council on November 2, in Bogotá, Colombia.
Presented under the theme “One Voice, One Harvest: Counting Souls, Living the Mission,” the report highlighted an increase in baptisms alongside declining recorded membership and concerns about youth church attendance, underscoring the need for stronger discipleship, member retention, and pastoral care across IAD's 25 unions.
Caporal emphasized that “the Working Policy is one of the glues that keep the church organization united,” pointing to the importance of shared principles and coordinated mission across the territory.
Drawing on the Apostle Paul’s call to glorify God “with one mind and one voice” in Romans 15:5-6, Caporal recalled IAD’s founding in Balboa, Panama, in 1922, when church pioneers faced the challenge of uniting a territory separated by vast oceans, differing colonial languages, and political borders.
“Human wisdom suggested that unity across the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America was impossible,” Caporal said. “Yet, bound by one blessed hope, our forefathers chose to speak with one voice.”
That shared commitment to unity and mission, he noted, laid the foundation for more than a century of church growth. From 9,017 members at its founding, the division grew to 68,166 by 1972 and surpassed two million in 2000. Today, it has more than 3.7 million members across 25 unions and more than 25,600 congregations.
Evangelistic gains amid membership declines
Against the backdrop of long-term growth, the latest membership figures revealed a more complex picture.
Janelle Scantlebury-Smith, IAD associate secretary, presented statistics comparing the third quarters of 2025 and 2026, highlighting evangelistic gains alongside challenges in membership retention.
Baptisms increased from 37,591 to 48,997, while re-baptisms rose from 6,072 to 7,137. Professions of faith also increased, from 1,079 to 1,455. Together, the three categories represented an increase of nearly 29 per cent in accessions, from approximately 44,700 to 57,600.
Despite those gains, recorded membership across IAD's 25 unions declined by 59,608, or approximately 1.58 per cent. Thirteen unions registered increases, while 12 reported decreases.
“If accessions are increasing, why are we simultaneously seeing an overall decline in recorded membership?” Scantlebury-Smith asked.
She reported that membership losses and removals decreased by 55 per cent, from 82,157 to 36,768, but cautioned that the reduction largely reflected fewer administrative adjustments rather than necessarily improved retention.
The figures, she said, should prompt administrators to examine not only how many people are joining the church, but how effectively it is caring for those already on its membership rolls. As of the third quarter of 2026, IAD had a recorded membership of 3,714,687.
Youth attendance raises concern
Young people ages 16 to 35 account for more than 35 per cent of IAD’s recorded membership, according to the data.
The report identified 991,421 members in that age group, but only 169,894, approximately 17 per cent, were classified as attending church regularly.
The remaining 821,527, or 83 per cent, were recorded in other attendance categories. Scantlebury-Smith cautioned that the figures do not necessarily indicate that all are inactive, since some may attend elsewhere or have membership classifications awaiting updates.
She called for a careful review to establish their status and identify opportunities for pastoral care.
Baptisms through Adventurer, Pathfinder, and Master Guide clubs also declined by 16.5 per cent in a sample of nine unions, falling from 16,583 in 2025 to 13,851 in 2026. Pathfinders recorded the largest decrease, at 24.4 per cent. The sample did not represent the entire division.
“Are they engaged? Are we discipling them? And are we mobilizing them for mission?” she asked.
Strengthening membership care and accountability
IAD undersecretary Álvaro Niño reported progress in the General Membership Review (GER), an initiative designed to identify members who have become disconnected from their congregations and provide opportunities for restoration.
Niño reported a 68.6 per cent increase in member classifications compared with the previous year, emphasizing that the review should serve as a strategy for pastoral care rather than simply correcting membership records.
He also highlighted ongoing evaluations and professional development for secretarial personnel, as well as the centennial of the General Conference Working Policy, which has helped guide organizational unity and administrative practice.
As of September, the Adventist Church Management System (ACMS) contained approximately 3.5 million member records, with 86.7 per cent of congregations registering activity in the system, underscoring the need for continued training and more complete reporting.
The report also noted progress on the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, with 380 of the 461 documents assigned to the division completed.
Mission initiatives engage young volunteers
Samuel Telemaque, IAD Adventist Mission director, highlighted cross-cultural initiatives to reach communities with limited Adventist presence while engaging young adults in missionary service.
He cited an intercultural church-planting summit held in Trinidad and Tobago earlier this year that equipped participants to minister to secular, indigenous, Muslim, and other communities.
Telemaque reported that 75 young volunteers from 14 unions established 10 congregations during a 10-day mission initiative in French Guiana following six months of preparation.
“Fifty-two souls were baptized, and the new churches are continuing to add new members,” he said.
He added that 40 volunteers had since begun planting churches among difficult-to-reach populations, underscoring the initiative’s impact on youth engagement.
“That’s a wonderful way of retention and conservation,” Telemaque said, emphasizing the role of missionary service in strengthening young people’s connection to the church.
He also highlighted partnerships for intercultural mission training and expanded volunteer opportunities across the division.
Strategic direction in 2027
Concluding the report, Caporal outlined the Secretariat’s priorities for the remainder of the 2025–2030 quinquennium, including missionary mobilization, secretarial training, church planting, discipleship, membership review, and digital transformation.
Targets include training 200 church planters, mobilizing 200 volunteers by 2030, establishing post-baptismal classes in 80 per cent of churches, and increasing the two-year retention rate from 60 to 80 per cent.
Caporal also called for full ACMS integration across the division's 25 unions and stronger coordination between administrative work and evangelism.
He emphasized that membership reviews should focus on identifying, visiting, and reclaiming disconnected members rather than simply removing names from church records.
Leaders urge youth engagement and pastoral care
Following the report, Executive Committee members raised concerns about youth engagement and the need for stronger pastoral care.
Daniel Torreblanca, IAD Youth Ministries director, questioned whether young people, who make up a significant share of the division’s membership, are adequately represented in church leadership and decision-making.
He expressed concern about young people losing their connection with local congregations after transitioning from Pathfinder clubs to university, particularly those attending non-Adventist institutions.
Torreblanca called for greater investment in Public Campus Ministries and more intentional support during that transition.
“Are we being relevant to the youth?” he asked. “The world is moving very fast.” He urged leaders to respond with more than programs. “We need answers. And we need a commitment.”
Kamila Soto, a rotating lay representative from the West Venezuela Union Mission, highlighted missionary service as a means of strengthening youth engagement. Drawing on the French Guiana initiative, she said volunteers who initially viewed the experience as an opportunity to travel returned with a deeper sense of mission. She urged union leaders to expand opportunities for young people to serve locally and internationally.
IAD president Abner De los Santos acknowledged the challenges while emphasizing that many young people remain actively involved in church life.
“We have to walk together with them,” he said, calling for sustained support.
General Conference associate secretary Gerson Santos acknowledged concerns about youth disengagement but pointed to increased baptisms and rebaptisms as encouraging signs of evangelistic growth. He also commended the secretarial office's efforts to strengthen professionalism through training and evaluations, emphasizing the importance of accurate records in providing pastoral care.
“If we do not classify the members, we do not know where they are. We cannot take care of them,” Santos said, stressing that membership reviews should focus on identifying and restoring members rather than simply removing names from church records.
He also called for reconciling discrepancies between ACMS data and official statistical reports to improve accuracy and member care.
Echoing that concern, IAD Ministerial secretary Josney Rodríguez cautioned that an abundance of church programs and events can divert attention from nurturing members and supporting their spiritual growth.
“We need to continue remembering that we are pastors,” Rodríguez said, urging leaders to prioritize personal attention and spiritual care over activities and numerical growth.
José Bouchot, president of the Chiapas Mexican Union, urged leaders to strengthen youth discipleship and retention by making evangelism central to existing ministries, including Pathfinder clubs and camporees.
He cited a recent Pathfinder camporee in Chiapas that resulted in approximately 1,000 baptisms, with young people and their counselors actively involved in bringing candidates to Christ. Bouchot emphasized that youth gatherings should celebrate ongoing missionary efforts rather than serve as isolated events.
Luis Aguillón, executive secretary of the El Salvador Union Mission, recommended including longer-term retention measurements in future reports, while IAD Stewardship director Roberto Herrera emphasized strengthening local congregations to nurture members amid continued church growth.
IAD Stewardship director Roberto Herrera likewise emphasized strengthening local congregations as places where members can develop spiritually, noting that rapid church growth brings an equally important responsibility to nurture those who join.
Closing the discussion, De los Santos thanked Caporal and the Secretariat team, along with union and local field secretaries, for their efforts to provide a clearer picture of the church’s growth, challenges, and priorities for advancing its mission.
The executive committee voted to formally accept the Secretariat’s report.
The original article was published on the Inter-American Division news site.
