The Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America has created a new Adventist Volunteer Ministry Network aimed at mobilizing volunteers of all ages for community service. Church administrators voted the changes June 6, and appointed Jose Rojas, currently serving as youth ministries director, to head up the new department.

Don Schneider, president of the Adventist Church in North America, says the structural changes were an inevitable result of the huge growth in volunteer-based services over the past few years. More than 52,000 volunteers now serve in the Adventist Youth Service Network, an organization developed by Rojas. “Rojas was so good at the volunteer business and grew it so big that we had to make a change,” says Schneider.

Wednesday’s vote also marks the completion of a move to bring all areas of youth ministry under one department. James Black, an associate director in the office of youth ministry, replaces Rojas as youth ministries director. He will be responsible for overseeing the North American church’s work with youth ages six to 19. The Office of Youth Ministry coordinates the Adventurer and Pathfinder mentoring clubs for an estimated 60,000 Adventist children, and 68 summer camp programs for pre-teens and teenagers.

“Youth are our greatest resource and serving others is our noblest calling,” says Debra Brill, a vice president for the Adventist Church in North America. Brill called the administration’s actions “a sign of continued commitment by Seventh-day Adventists to change the world through service-driven outreach.”