On Thursday, July 1, Dr Anthony WagenerSmith and Dr Kayle B. de Waal were voted to serve as Evangelism and Mission Coordinator, and Disciple Making Coordinator respectively.

The appointment of these two new roles within the Trans-European Division (TED) will help the Division further the key objectives of the Strategic Framework voted by the TED Executive Committee in May 2021. The Framework includes a strong emphasis on Adventist identity, evangelism, mission and disciple-making.

“Now, more so than for many years, is the right time to share the Adventist message of wholeness and hope in Jesus,” states TED President Raafat Kamal. “In light of the viral pandemic, economic upheaval, resurgent nationalism, and a post-Christian worldview that offers no hope for the future, we have an opportunity to present our unique biblical end-time message of hope.” 

WagenerSmith holds a doctorate degree from Fuller Theological Seminary specializing in missional church planting. He currently serves as Associate Director at the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI) as well as Assistant Professor in Practical and Applied Theology at Andrews Adventist Theological Seminary. He is a church planter at heart, with vast experience in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, including a parachute church plant, Compass Community, in a low socio-economic area that then experienced growth by multiplying mission-focused home groups and empowering volunteer lay-pastors.

Mission Coordination in equipping and training will be a major part of WagenerSmith’s new role. This includes mentoring, coordinating and evaluating the development of church planting, house churches, evangelism, Centers of Influence, Mission to the Cities, Total Member Involvement (TMI), entering new territories, reaching people groups while developing and supporting new, innovative approaches and programmes. He will also be responsible for establishing five training outreach centers strategically positioned across the 22 countries of the Division, and directing the newly established TED branch of the GC Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission.

As outlined in the TED Strategic Framework, he will also take a lead in developing mission initiatives for what are, in effect, the TED’s mission fields where there is minimal Adventist presence despite a keen sense of mission: Albania, Bosnia, Cyprus, Greece, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro.

De Waal holds a doctorate degree in New Testament with focus on church growth from the University of Auckland. He currently serves as Master of Arts Course Convenor and Senior Lecturer in New Testament at Avondale University College, Australia. He has vast experience in pastoral, evangelistic mentoring, as well as academic and research leadership. 

Among a list of responsibilities including coordinating the work of the new TED Adventist Disciple-Makers Institute (ADM) and developing a disciple-making practicum, he will work in synergy with the TED unions and attached fields as well as Newbold College and the four union seminaries in Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Serbia to support practical training components for the seminaries relating to placement, internship and continued education for pastors; and training for elders, ‘front-line strikers’ and church members working in tandem with the Evangelism and Mission Coordinator.

“As we prayerfully worked through a shortlist of names, it suddenly struck us that these two individuals, working together with our other staff and our field leaderships, could seriously enhance our training, mission growth and discipleship skills at every level,” Kamal states.

Field presidents across the Division agreed and current TED directors and officers unanimously supported the proposal in the 1 July TED Administrative Committee vote. 

Their appointment is part of the continuing process of selecting the best team to work with the needs outlined in the Strategic Framework. The plan is for the team to be completed by TED Year-End Meetings in November 2021.

As the Administrative Committee concluded, Kamal re-emphasized the challenge to all leaders and members across the TED. “Christ’s mission is to seek and to save the lost. He is asking us to join him as He leads us empowered by the Holy Spirit.

This article was originally published on the Trans-European Division’s news site