Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders voted a strategic plan April 18 that will help chart the future course of the Adventist Church worldwide.
Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders voted a strategic plan April 18 that will help chart the future course of the Adventist Church worldwide. The plan identifies three core values—quality of life, unity, and growth—as strategic issues the church must address in order to move forward in mission and be prepared for future challenges. In adopting the plan, leaders emphasized that it is much more than just an administrative roadmap; rather, the plan affirms the vital role of every church member in defining the church’s identity and participating in its mission.
“This plan is about moving forward together,” said Gerry Karst, a general vice president of the Adventist Church who presented the document to members of the church’s executive committee. “It is about gathering the resources and creative energy already in the church, and maximizing momentum and potential as we head in the same direction.”
“[The strategic plan] emphasizes the three core values that should be at the very center of the work of the church,” said Adventist Church President Jan Paulsen.
“Quality of personal and church life,” the first strategic value, reflects the church’s mission in “nurturing its members in preparation for the soon return of Jesus Christ.” It emphasizes the importance of corporate worship, regular Bible study, and the active, enthusiastic participation of all church members in the life of the church and in outreach in their local communities.
The second strategic value of “unity” reflects the identity of the Adventist Church as an international community of faith, operating within a single administrative framework, and united by a faith that transcends barriers of language and culture.
Finally, the value of “growth” expresses the church’s overarching commitment to evangelism and witness; to fostering a “positive impact of the Adventist Church within a community;” and to “the transmission of the church’s legacy and mission to succeeding generations.”
The document calls for a commitment to these three values, which will permeate every aspect of the day-to-day functioning of the Adventist Church, impacting how decisions are made, how finances are used, and how leaders—from church pastors to division presidents—go about setting priorities and making plans.
“This strategic plan is not just about what can be done, but what must be done as we look toward the tremendous challenges of the future,” said Michael Ryan, assistant to the General Conference president for strategic planning and director of the church’s Global Mission initiative.
“By 2010, it is likely that the Adventist Church will have between 26 and 27 million members,” he added. “We need to consider all the ramifications of that, especially in the area of quality of life–-the ability to nurture these members, including providing church buildings, adequate training for leaders, and staffing for church institutions. And this must all be done within the context of the mission of the Adventist Church, which is to take our distinctive message of hope to a world that needs to hear it.”
Although dealing with specific issues, the plan is also flexible, capable of being adapted to different contexts in which the Adventist Church operates around the world, Paulsen explained. The plan is “not so broad that it becomes diffused, nor is so narrow that it becomes restrictive,” he said.
Ryan stressed that the various regions of the world church will “put their own face” on the plan, so that it works “within their own cultures and contexts.”
“The strategic plan paints the broad strokes,” he said. “But the day-to-day ‘how-to’ will be decided at the local levels.”
Paulsen also noted that the plan must be more than just a guide to church leaders; it will only gain life as it is embraced, with enthusiasm and commitment, by church members, pastors, church workers, and all levels of church administration.
“This document casts a vision in relation to strategic issues and identifies anticipated results,” said Ryan. “But it represents just the beginning of a process.” By adopting the strategic plan, world church leaders committed themselves to an ongoing process of intentional, targeted use of church resources and to regular reporting and review of results. The plan will be adapted and implemented in each of the church’s 12 administrative regions, or divisions.
The strategic plan was adopted unanimously by members of the executive committee after two hours of discussion, which included the passage of a number of amendments to the wording of the document.
The Adventist Church’s executive committee, which is meeting April 18 and 19 at the Adventist Church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, brings together the church’s top leadership, including administrators, pastors, and lay people, to review progress, consider challenges, and make plans for the Adventist Church worldwide.
