Seventh-day Adventist leaders in South America, meeting last month in Brazil, reaffirmed their commitment to the concept of “integrated evangelism,” a program that promotes greater cooperation between all church departments and institutions in sharing Christianity.

“I want to express my gratitude for this vision where we are united around one program and not only united by a motto,” stated Melchor Ferreyra, president of the Adventist Church in Peru. Franz Rios, president of Bolivia Adventist University, said, “I am happy because the church expects its institutions do their part in evangelism. We are going to fulfill our mission.”

The extraordinary growth rate of the Adventist Church in the state of Piauí, Brazil, over the past year has been attributed to the integrated evangelism approach. At the beginning of 2001, there were 4,700 Adventist Church members in the city of Teresina, the capital of Piauí. In the past 10 months, however, 1,800 people have joined the Adventist Church in Teresina and 430 more in Timon, a neighboring city.

“Joining forces within the strategy of integrated evangelism is the secret of our advance,” says Helder Roger, president of the Adventist Church in the Northeast region. He thanked all those who participated in the evangelism campaign, saying, “It was touching to see the cooperation of everyone.” He said the program united the efforts of church members, theology students, pastors, administrators, the Northeast Theological Seminary, and the Brazil Voice of Prophecy team.

A number of international church leaders also attended the South American meetings, including: Robert Rawson, treasurer of the Adventist world church; Larry Colburn, assistant to the world church president; associate secretary Vernon Parmenter; and Victor Shepherd, Latin-American manager of Adventist World Radio.