Reaching out to the growing population and world communities, as well as bringing in new members were the chief subjects of the Sunday morning (Oct. 9) Annual Council meetings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s leadership.

“Everything we do is about mission,” said Michael L. Ryan, a general vice president of the world Adventist church, who was one of a series of speakers briefing leaders on “Tell the World,” a vision for how the Gospel of Jesus will be shared by the church over the next five years.

Pastor Lowell C. Cooper, also a general vice president, added, “Our sense of unity is also achieved and realized as we engage our energies in a bold and defining purpose,” in which he said the purpose of “Tell the World” was to “[engage] the membership in sharing the gospel with every person by 2010.”

The “Tell the World” vision is aimed to set the tone for the church’s mission for 2005-2010, and includes seven areas of particular emphasis for the church. Over the course of the next five years, Adventists will be encouraged to help members in terms of spiritual growth, increasing the percentage of members spending time in Bible study and prayer; community involvement; challenging five million Adventists to reach at least one person for Jesus and bring them into God’s family; plant and establish congregations in more than 27 large cites worldwide; plant and nurture 20,000 new congregations in unentered areas; create 400,000 evangelistic events during the period; and involve the church’s media ministries, print, radio, television and the Internet, to reach every person worldwide with the Gospel.

World church president Pastor Jan Paulsen noted that “Tell the World” is “a vision, not a program. There will be many, many initiatives around the world in various areas that will communicate Christ to the people in the areas where you live.”

As a concept, “Tell the World” is a phrase that resonates in church history. William Miller, a Baptist preacher whose studies in Bible prophecy led the foundation for the movement later known as Seventh-day Adventists, said in 1838 that the call to “Go and tell the world of their danger” was a thought “continually ringing in my ears.” More than 100 mentions of the phrase “tell the world” have been found in early Adventist church papers, said Bert Haloviak, archivist for the world church.

Pastor Mark Finley, a world church general vice president, said “Tell the World” was “a vision of a praying church, a caring church, a witnessing church. It is a vision of witnessing to the community, a vision of planting churches in new areas.”

“God,” Finley added, “had only one Son, and He was an evangelist.”

Finley, who previously was speaker/director of “It Is Written,” a television outreach, said the church’s media ministries must “go beyond traditional boundaries” in working together to get the message out. Pastor Benjamin Schoun, president of Adventist World Radio, echoed his comments.

“We can stand in one place, and talk to the world,” Schoun said. “If we work together, and back each other up, if we plan together for an overall global strategy, rather than each organization trying to do it all themselves ... it is indeed conceivable, realistic and do-able that God is leading us to give every human being a chance to hear the Gospel.”

Responding to Pastor Paulsen’s call to take ownership of the “Tell the World” vision, numerous presidents of world church regions stepped forward and affirmed their support, including Pastors Don Schneider, North America; Ulrich Frikart, Euro-Africa; Jairong Lee, Northern Asia-Pacific; Israel Leito, Inter-America; Geoffrey Mbwana, East-Central Africa; Alberto Gulfan, Southern Asia-Pacific; D. Ronald Watts, Southern Asia; and Paul Ratsara, Southern Africa-Indian Ocean region. Representatives from other regions, as well as the church ministries also voiced support for the effort.

According to Ted N.C. Wilson, a general vice president of the Adventist Church, the idea of urban outreach is one where Adventists can respond.

“I think that the time is coming now that the church can be galvanized in such a way to focus on the large urban areas of the world. ...The cities have to be our number one priority,”  said Wilson, who once was a church pastor in the New York City area.

B. Lyn Behrens, president and chief executive officer of Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center, said she was grateful for having institutions, particularly health centers, included in the “Tell the World” vision.

“Illness levels society; it hits rich and poor, and across all cases and ethnic groups,” Behrens said. “It ploughs the soil of every individual’s heart and prepares the soil for the Gospel. ... [Health care centers] truly are places where people can and should find God.”

And Rajmund Dabrowski, communication director of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, told the assembly that the church’s communication department ministry is ready to help bring the vision to the world membership.

“Now, all we said, and more, needs to reach our [church] pews,” he said. A communication coordinating committee will bring together the church’s delivery systems, media and related departments—including Adventist Review, Adventist Television Network, Adventist World Radio, the Office of Global Mission, Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Sabbath School/Personal Ministries, Ministry magazine, Adventist News Network and publishing services ministries together—to achieve this communication goal.

“It is our intent to develop an all-out plan of public relations, news delivery, media relations, an online presence and publishing to deliver information, provide inspiration, motivation and training,” Dabrowski told delegates.

Responding to the numerous positive responses, Pastor Paulsen closed the morning session with prayer, saying to the Lord that “Our agenda is the one You have given to us. We are committed to do our utmost to finish the mission entrusted to us.”