A new plan for worldwide distribution of 2 million books by one of the church’s founders, Ellen G. White, was voted by delegates Oct. 11 at the Adventist Church’s Annual Council meetings.

A document outlining the project says the need arises out of an apparent decline in readership of these volumes, despite a continuing belief in their importance for the church today. Seventh-day Adventists refer to the writings of Ellen G. White as the “Spirit of Prophecy.”

“It is also widely acknowledged, both within and outside of Adventism, that the Spirit of Prophecy has been—and continues to be—primarily responsible for the church’s remarkable theological and administrative unity worldwide. The church needs to nurture this historical and ongoing spiritual influence,” the document states.

Ten books have been chosen to be included in the set, which will be distributed over a five-year period and financed by the church’s world headquarters, regional and local administrative offices around the world. The goal is for each Adventist family to have a set of the books. It was also suggested that each family who receives a set of these books would pay a fraction of the cost.

“There are also study guides along with the books, which is the key to the project,” Ted Wilson, a vice president of the world church, told Annual Council attendees. “We hope to have CD-ROMs ... and [local] organizations may put them on the Internet as well.” Translation and coordination of distribution to the local administrative office will be the responsibility of each church division, or region.

After the church’s regions have looked at the project, called “Connecting With Jesus,” the final plan will be presented in April 2005 to church leaders at Spring Meeting. “We feel that with the great challenge of evangelizing the world and nurturing church members in understanding what has driven the church in the past and what must drive it in future ... this is absolutely crucial,” Wilson said.