Thousands of ordained church elders throughout the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Inter-American Division (IAD) will have the opportunity to baptize new believers on February 22, 2025, across thousands of congregations.

The baptismal event will highlight the intense evangelistic activities carried out over the past several months, thanks to the efforts of leaders and members committed to spreading the gospel across the IAD’s 25 unions, or major church regions.

“There is so much excitement everywhere in Inter-America as church elders will have the opportunity to baptize new souls into the kingdom,” said Josney Rodríguez, Ministerial Association secretary of the IAD. “This is a special moment where church elders, who have worked closely in preparing candidates for baptism, can share the joy of baptizing alongside pastors.”

This will be the second time the IAD has held territory-wide baptisms in one day by selected ordained church elders. The first historic event took place in September 2013.

Rodríguez explained that the baptismal event serves a dual purpose: to strengthen missionary work across the territory and to recognize the critical role church elders play by offering them the opportunity to baptize.

“Ever since the church was founded, church elders, along with pastors, have taken on responsibilities to advance the work of God,” Rodríguez said. “In Inter-America, the ministry of the church elder is of crucial importance. A church pastor in the territory typically oversees six churches, and in some cases, they could manage 10, 12, or even 30 congregations in certain parts of the IAD. This makes the ministry of church elders indispensable.”

According to the Adventist Church manual, Rodríguez, who oversees the ongoing training certifications of more than 40,000 church elders in the IAD, explained that ordained elders can officiate certain responsibilities, including baby dedications, anointing the sick, and baptisms, when authorized or when a minister is unavailable.

In recent weeks, local field administrators have been authorizing hundreds of church elders to prepare for what the IAD has referred to as the grand baptisms, made possible by the joint efforts of active churches engaged in Bible studies, small group ministries, evangelistic campaigns, and more.

To commemorate the event across the IAD said Rodríguez, a special live online program will take place in Tabasco, Mexico, on Sabbath, February 22, 2025.

Hundreds of baptisms will be held during the live morning service, which will conclude with spiritual messages and recognition of church elders featuring leaders from the Adventist General Conference, the Inter-American Division, and the Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union.

The program will also feature highlights from baptisms taking place throughout the IAD union territory.

The original article was published on the Inter-American Division website.