Thirteen years after a global strategy document outlined key challenge areas for church outreach, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has recorded significant progress in meeting those objectives, the church's Office of Global Mission reports.
Thirteen years after a global strategy document outlined key challenge areas for church outreach, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has recorded significant progress in meeting those objectives, the church’s Office of Global Mission reports.
“We praise God for what has been achieved through this ministry,” says Michael Ryan, Global Mission director. “Millions of people have hope for the future and a new reason to live.”
The 1990 report identified five areas of greatest challenge: India, the Middle East, Russia, China, and the growing urban areas of the world.
In India, for example, the Adventist Church has grown from 171,000 members in 1990 to more than 573,000 at the end of 2001. Global Mission pioneers—lay volunteers who work as missionaries within their own country or culture group—have started new congregations in hundreds of new areas in India, and a significant part of the church’s membership growth has occurred in the northern part of the country.
China’s 1.3 billion people live in an officially atheistic nation; however, church work is allowed within certain parameters. The estimated number of Adventists in China in 1990 was just over 108,000; today, more than 311,000 are members.
The 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union opened the way for a new era of Christian outreach in that part of the world. From less than 40,000 members in 1990, more than 140,000 people are now Seventh-day Adventist Christians in that region.
The Office of Global Mission reports that while the Middle East remains a challenging area for Christian mission, one that calls for much sensitivity and prayer, official statistics are encouraging. In 1990, there were 5,643 Adventists, officially, in the Middle East. By the end of 2001, that number had grown to 13,617. Many projects in the region have been pioneered, but they cannot be disclosed publicly.
One area of great encouragement is Israel, where there has been unprecedented growth. Thirteen years ago, there were only 90 Adventists in the country; today, there are more than 1,200, and church members are publicly admired for their honesty and hard work. (See ANN, Feb. 13, 2003, http://www.adventist.org/news/data/2003/01/1044990764/index.html.en for details.)
Urban areas of the world are identified as another challenge for the church. These metropolitan areas have seen increased outreach activities in recent years. Whether in Australia, Western Europe, North America or Thailand, church leaders and laity are finding new ways to begin congregations in cities, while a new Global Mission study center for secular/postmodern outreach is being established.
These, and other church programs, are fulfilling the church’s mission, based on the call of Jesus Christ of bringing the gospel to all peoples, and making disciples of all nations, say Global Mission leaders. More information on the Seventh-day Adventist Global Mission programs can be found online at
http://www.global-mission.org
