The South American Division (SAD) Annual Council received the Secretariat Report on November 4. Presented by Edward Heidinger, SAD executive secretary, the report highlighted the historical connection between the denomination's growth and involvement with transnational missions.
Heidinger stressed that the Adventist presence in South America began slowly. In 1887, the first Adventist Church mission works brought together 25 new members in the absence of an organized church.
How immigration affected the Adventist movement in SAD
In South America, the migratory flow was decisive to the church's very existence in the region. A study by Haller Schünemann shows that, between 1870 and 1914, European immigrants who converted in the United States returned to their home countries to spread Adventism. In a second phase, between the end of World War One and 1980, migration from the countryside to cities in Latin America and Asia generated rapid growth in urban centers.
Schünemann stated that "another pattern that we found in the insertion of the SDA church was that of the missions in Latin America, especially in the southern cone region. . . . Argentina and Brazil received a large number of European immigrants . . . in all countries, the insertion of the SDA church took place through immigrants."
Adventism in South America on a global scale
In May 1863, the General Conference (GC) was officially organized in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. It was only between 1887 and 1888 that SAD first appeared in the minutes and in the Adventist Yearbook, where it was designated as a mission.
In 1889, the GC created the Committee on Foreign Missions, responsible for work outside the United States and Canada. It was voted to prepare missionaries to serve in the South American region, and a year later, Swiss pioneer Albert Vuilleumier was appointed to work in Argentina.
In 1891, Elwin Winthrop Snyder (1865-1919) was sent to the South American territory as a missionary. With Clair Nowlen (1865-1961) and Augustus Baer Stauffer (1859-1926), Snyder formed a trio of missionaries who, through the sale of books, traveled to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay to preach the gospel.
According to the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists (ESDA), they arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 10, 1891. With little knowledge of Spanish and few English speakers around, they decided to cross the Río de la Plata and look for immigrants living in the neighboring country, Argentina.
Beginning of mission in Brazil and Argentina
Between 1892 and 1894, the South American territory received more attention from Adventist leadership. In 1894, the creation of the administrative region known as the Brazil and Argentina Mission consolidated evangelism in the area. On April 13 of that year, American pastor Frank Westphal (1858-1944) was appointed as the first Adventist ordained minister to serve in the Southern Cone of the Americas.
Growth of Adventism in South America
According to Heidinger's report, in 1903 the South American Union already existed, comprising Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands. There were three administrative headquarters, known as camps, 17 ordained ministers, 34 churches, and 1,145 members, with tithes totaling $US5,100.
In 1911, with the expansion of Adventism, the Brazilian Union was created. Recently separated from the South American Union, the new headquarters had seven fields, 10 ordained ministers, 30 churches, and 1,004 members. In 1914, the Inca Union-Mission was established in Peru.
In 1916, the SAD was officially constituted. At the time, there were three unions, 50 ordained ministers, 111 churches, and 5,876 members.
The SAD Executive Committee approved the Secretariat Report.
The original article was published on the South American Division news site.
References:
ENCYCLOPEDIA of Seventh-day Adventists. Silver Spring, MD: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (2020–. Available at: https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/. Accessed on: 1 nov. 2026.
SCHÜNEMANN, Haller Elinar Stach. The role of immigrations in the growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Estudos de Religiosa, São Bernardo do Campo, v. 23, n. 37, p. 146-170, jul./dez. 2009.
WHITE, Ellen G. Testimonies for the Church. v. 6. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1901. p. 27. Available at: https://egwwritings.org/?ref=en_6T.27.1.
