The first Seventh-day Adventist curriculum framework for sexuality education was released this week by the family ministries department of the church’s world headquarters.

The concepts detailed in the framework were developed by the World Commission on Human Sexuality, convened at the church’s world headquarters in 1997. Suggestions from Adventist professionals with expertise in sexuality were incorporated.

“In the past we’ve produced a lot of resources without thinking about the overall message,” says Karen Flowers, co-director of family ministries for the Adventist Church. “Now we’ve had a wide base of input, and this is the framework of what we want to say about these issues.”

“Its release could not be more timely in terms of the strategic goals of the world church,” Flowers continues. “Sexuality education is no longer a luxury; it’s a matter of life or death due to the HIV/AIDS crisis.

“The local church has a responsibility to use its avenues to convey these issues—not to bypass parents, but to help them,” Flowers says.

Each union, or local office of the church, will receive the curriculum and decide how it can best be implemented in their own area.

Flowers says this represents a big step beyond a one-size-fits-all program approach. The curriculum guides set the stage for the formation of interdepartmental task forces at the local level. “If you live in Russia or the Philippines or in Bolivia, you know how to best convey this,” says Flowers. “People will know how to implement this best locally.”

This is the first of 11 curriculum frameworks to be released. The topics range from marriage and parenting to interpersonal relationships and Biblical foundations.

The curriculum is being mailed to department directors at every union—family ministries, health ministries, women’s ministries, chaplaincy, education departments, children’s and youth ministries, and pastors’ spouses.