Nearly three-quarters of a million Seventh-day Adventists in the Philippines were able to hear Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the world church, during his four-day visit to the central and southern regions of the country.
Nearly three-quarters of a million Seventh-day Adventists in the Philippines were able to hear Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the world church, during his four-day visit to the central and southern regions of the country.
Paulsen, who arrived March 13, toured the volatile area of Mindanao which is often engulfed with regional conflicts. Full media coverage awaited him in both areas of the country.
In Cebu City, Central Philippines, Paulsen addressed 5,000 members who gathered at the Adventist secondary school auditorium. In his remarks, he called on them to continue finding ways to continue strengthening their unity, enhancing their growth, and making the quality of life evident in their individual lives.
A news conference attended by more than 30 media representatives preceded the Cebu City event. Responding on how the church sees the impending war in Iraq, Paulsen said, “We do not know what the next week, next month, or the next year will look like. But as a Christian, as a believer in God, I know that men make plans but the Lord has His own plans, and He has a wonderful capacity to unmake plans that do not suit what He has in mind. So I am a man of faith and therefore I go into the future full of hope and with assurance in my heart.”
The next day, March 14, Paulsen traveled to Mindanao Island to visit Mountain View College, where he was met by thousands of church members. After the welcome program, he spent 40 minutes in a question-and-answer session with the media. On Sabbath he delivered a message to more than 30,000 church members who traveled from all corners of the island to attend a family congress.
In this war-torn island of Mindanao, Pastor Paulsen’s message of hope to the 500,000 members in the Southern Philippines buoyed everyone’s spirit, church leaders said.
“Love makes the difference,” Paulsen emphasized, as he talked on the role of the home in this present age. Featured live on television at Gateway TV 25, he was not only heard by thousands attending the family congress at Mountain View College, but also by those in homes, cities and towns in Central Mindanao.
Pastor Paulsen left Mountain View College March 16 to visit the Adventist Church headquarters for the Southern Asia-Pacific region.
With more than 900,000 members worshipping in nearly 6,000 congregations, the Philippines is noted for one of the larger Adventist communities in any one nation.