Michael Kaminski, secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Russia and central Asia, reported on October 31 that the church in the region has grown by some 14 percent over the past year, bringing total membership to 135,688. Kaminski also told delegates to the annual year-end gathering of church leaders that an estimated 10,700 members had left the church in the same period, highlighting the need to provide better nurture and spiritual care for all church members. 

Church administrators reported at the meeting that 145 new church buildings had been built, with 47 still in progress, due to the “Hands Across the World” program—a Global Mission church-building project, which was supported by offerings given by Adventists worldwide. 

Lowell Cooper, a general vice president of the Adventist world church, represented the church’s General Conference at the meeting and says he was “impressed by the skill, commitment, and rapport of the leadership team” in the Euro-Asia region.