Nearly 1,700 Seventh-day Adventist lay people met in Columbus, Ohio, United States, August 7 to 10, to focus on lay mission in the home, workplace, and community.
Nearly 1,700 Seventh-day Adventist lay people met in Columbus, Ohio, United States, August 7 to 10, to focus on lay mission in the home, workplace, and community.
The 55th annual Adventist-Laymen’s Services and Industries convention brought together nearly 300 exhibitors representing health, education, humanitarian work, publishing, and mission outreach. The event also hosted professional seminars, meetings, worship services, and promoted youth involvement in mission.
“Finding God and finding salvation was never meant to be a difficult matter,” said Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the Adventist world church, to the more than 3,000 gathered during the Sabbath, or Saturday, afternoon program. “Being the church is not a complicated thing, either. It’s there to tell people about Jesus Christ,” he continued. “We are all together in this. We are, all together, the church. I want to thank you, ASI, for your focus, and strength, your intensity, and commitment to the mission that we share.”
Paulsen also commented on the involvement of young people in ASI. “ASI is empowering young people to be fully involved in evangelism,” he said.
According to its mission statement, ASI exists to “provide challenge, nurture, and experience in sharing Christ in the marketplace, as well as support for the Global Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”
During each convention, ASI members are updated on ASI-sponsored projects around the world, and how their offerings from the previous convention have been used. Sabbath morning Merilee McNeilus reported on an ASI-funded initiative in Myanmar, where in the past year more than 375 projects—including 180 churches and 125 elementary schools—have been completed. “That’s more than a project a day,” she said. “This is your ASI offerings at work!”
Funding from last year’s convention also helped purchase 200 home churches in 12 countries of the former Soviet Union. Peter Koolik, a building contractor from Brisbane, Australia, who’s helping to coordinate this project, said that nearly 300 Global Mission pioneers are currently leading out in their own church services in areas where, just one year ago, there were no Adventists.
During the Columbus event, ASI members gave some $2.5 million in a single offering to fund international mission projects.
“It’s fun and inspiring to be a participant in ASI’s ‘can-do-it’ culture,” said Ron Christman, ASI’s new secretary-treasurer elect.
ASI activities were broadcast live by Three Angels Broadcasting Network, a lay Adventist satellite television network based in Thompsonville, Illinois. Highlights from the event will also be featured on Adventist Television Network during the soon-coming Adventist NewsLine, a production of Adventist News Network.
ASI was established in 1947 by Adventist health care workers, but expanded in the 1970s to include other business people and professionals.
