Adventist News Network

Survey of Adventist ‘opinions, attitudes and spiritual life patterns’ coming to local churches

2012-02-24T16:23:24+00:00

Major research project to guide church’s strategic planning; a farewell to operating on ‘hunches’

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Elizabeth Lechleitner/ANN

More than 60 percent of Seventh-day Adventists worldwide are women. Less than 40 percent of American Adventists study their Bible once a week.

Regularly cited at Adventist board meetings and business sessions, these and other so-called church statistics are not actually known to be factual. Many familiar “facts” might better be classified as “anecdotes, hunches and instincts,” says Adventist researcher David Trim.

Church researchers say a major survey of the opinions, attitudes and spiritual life patterns of Adventists worldwide will help shape more effective ministry and mission. [photo: iStockphoto]

Trim, who directs the world church’s Office of Archives, Statistics and Research, wants to see anecdotal evidence replaced by “actual data.” Beginning this year, his office will oversee a major research project to survey the opinions, attitudes and spiritual life patterns of Adventist pastors, church members, institutional employees and college and university professors worldwide.

“We need to know what is actually happening in the church, not just what we’d like to be happening,” Trim says. That knowledge can equip church leaders to use money and resources more judiciously and effectively, he says.

“We’re doing this because we want to do ministry and mission better. We want to be better stewards of what God has given to us, and we want to be more effective in discipling and winning souls,” Trim says.

It wasn’t until last year that top church officials first voted to establish an ongoing budget for Adventist research meant to inform the church’s strategic plan. Previously, Adventist research was conducted sporadically, with limited focus and funding, and almost exclusively in North America, Trim says.

This time around, the plan is for a “rigorous” survey carried out in each of the church’s 13 world divisions, Trim says. Using the new research budget, his office has contracted with research teams at Adventist universities in North America, Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia. Each team has demonstrated research “expertise and experience,” Trim says. While much of the anonymous polling will take place this year, some surveys may continue into early 2013, with full results due back at world church headquarters by June of 2013.

Survey questions will go beyond age, gender, ethnicity and other statistics-based research to ask about attitudes and opinions on spiritual life, fundamental beliefs and values, church leadership, Adventist institutions and fellow members, among other topics.

“The Adventist Church is committed to a strategic planning process that provides direction based on a body of evidence,” says Michael L. Ryan, a world church general vice president and vice-chair of the church’s Strategic Planning and Budgeting Committee.

“All strategic planning is really only for one reason: How do we better advance the mission?” Ryan says.

Adventist researcher David Trim wants to see “actual data” replace “anecdotes, hunches and instincts” about the church. Here, Trim reviews files in the Office of Archives, Statistics and Research, which he directs at world church headquarters. [ANN file photo]

How beneficial the results are depends largely upon whether Adventists worldwide fully engage in the survey, Trim says. There’s no way to track survey results back to individual respondents, so researchers are hoping members will feel confident in giving honest answers -- “not what you think we’d like to hear,” he says.

“We understand that people will not always be doing what we wish they were doing. We understand that people are not necessarily believing what we want them to believe. And we understand that often they won’t be feeling very happy with us,” Trim says. “There’s going to be what will be perceived as bad news. But we want to know this so we can do a better job.”

In some cases, survey results might spur church leaders to launch programs that would “modify our behavior and practices,” Trim says. Other results may prompt better communication between leaders and members.

“If people are unhappy with an area that’s fundamental to our faith, then we can educate and explain to members why this is essential,” Trim says.

While he expects that much of the research will be published by Adventist scholars, Trim says some of it will remain confidential.

“My hope is that in fact we would not only get answers to really important questions, but -- as a side product -- we would also increase the research capacity of the church,” Trim says.

Many Adventist researchers have demonstrated that they can produce “good, rigorous research,” and Trim is keen to see them given “time and space” to benefit the church.

“I think at times we have made decisions based on who can give the best speech at a [church business meeting]. Somebody who gets up and has a burden on his heart and says, ‘Brethren, I feel we should do thus and so,’ and he’s eloquent, he’s impassioned, and he uses all the right Adventist buzzwords and everybody says, ‘Amen, vote the money.’ And often nobody asks, ‘Is this really reflecting a need wider than this one person’s perception?’” Trim says.

More and better Adventist research will equip leadership to use church money and resources in the best possible way rather than the most immediately appealing way, Trim says.

He also hopes the church’s growing commitment to research will help boost member confidence in Adventist leadership. They’ll know that research is steering leadership toward better informed decision-making and, ultimately, better methods of spreading the Adventist hope.

Church leaders expect the first wave of surveys to begin by the end of April.

Remembrance: Soper edited temperance magazine Listen for 30 years

2012-02-24T15:04:35+00:00

Interviewed first ladies, entertainers and athletes promoting temperate lifestyle

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Ansel Oliver/ANN

Francis A. Soper was the longtime editor of Listen magazine, the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s temperance outreach that advocated a drug-free lifestyle for youth and profiled celebrities who promoted the cause.

Listen magazine Editor Francis A. Soper (right) interviews radio broadcast legend Paul Harvey. Soper also landed interviews with famous entertainers, athletes and U.S. first ladies during his 30 years editing the Adventist Church's temperance magazine. [photo courtesy Ford family]

Soper, who died January 17 at age 93, edited the magazine for 30 years, the longest-serving editor in the magazine’s history. As editor from 1954 to 1984, he interviewed and featured celebrity entertainers and athletes – from singer Johnny Cash to Olympic figure skater Peggy Flemming. He also landed interviews with United States first ladies Betty Ford and Nancy Reagan.

The magazine, which launched in 1948 and ceased publication last year, was the church’s public voice of drug and alcohol prevention in the community and published in an era before cigarette packets carried warning labels. Listen included teaching materials and was used in high school classrooms around the U.S.

As editor, Soper later held the title of Associate Director of what was then known as the Temperance department at the Adventist Church’s world headquarters.

Colleagues described Soper as a gentle personality but firm in his editorial requirements.

“He was iconic editor. Listen was Soper and Soper was Listen,” said Stoy Proctor, former associate director of the Adventist world church’s Health Ministries department. “He was dogged in trying to make it the best magazine.”

Soper grew up in Minnesota and graduated from Pacific Union College in Angwin, California. In 1942 he landed a job as a copy editor with the denomination’s Pacific Press Publishing Association, then located in Mountain View, California. He later became an assistant editor of several publications before becoming associate editor of Listen in 1952 and editor two years later.

“He really loved getting to know these professionals in music and sports who made a real effort to be an example to the teenage generation they were performing for,” said his daughter Lois Ford.

Soper was preceded in death by his daughter Lori in 2007 and his wife Eunice in 2009. Survivors include Lois Ford and grandsons Timothy and David Ford.

Safe churches a priority for Adventist Risk Management

2012-02-21T15:57:02+00:00

With ‘Child Protection Plan,’ local leaders can better protect kids

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Elizabeth Lechleitner/ANN

A new child protection program from the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s risk management organization is galvanizing the church’s ongoing efforts to shield minors from abuse and misconduct.

Through training for adults and children, as well as background screening for employees and volunteers who work closely with minors, Adventist Risk Management’s Child Protection Plan equips local leaders to make the church a safe place, says ARM Vice President and Chief Risk Management Officer Arthur Blinci.

Adventist Risk Management’s new child protection program backs up church guidelines on child abuse with practical methods of training and screening employees and volunteers who work closely with minors. [photo: iStockphoto]

“It’s part of our mission to help protect the ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” says Blinci, citing Children’s Ministries, Youth Ministries, Pathfinders and Adventurers as a “core component” of that mission. “Faith-based communities have a moral, ethical and legal responsibility to protect children from harm when they’re in our care,” he says.

The church has made significant strides toward achieving that goal. In North America, many church employees and volunteers are mandated reporters, Blinci says. This means they have a legal obligation to report abuse or allegations of abuse that occur within the church setting. By 2003, the church’s North American Division had drafted protocol for dealing with sexual misconduct and child abuse. Late last year, the division voted a new child protection policy mandating that every level of church administration implement a training and screening program for volunteers.

The Adventist world church has also been proactive about writing guidelines and voting policies to protect minors. Indeed, at the church’s General Conference Session in 2010, delegates voted to add to the Church Manual specific language guiding the appointment of church employees and volunteers who work closely with minors. They agreed that adults leading out in Pathfinders, Vacation Bible School, Children’s Ministries and Sabbath School programs “must meet church and legal standards and requirements, such as background checks or certification.”

Still, Blinci says that policies, guidelines and good intentions only go so far. Adventist Risk Management routinely handles a couple dozen cases of child abuse every year and has spent some $30 million on indemnity cases over the past two decades. Many U.S. states have open statutes of limitations, allowing older claims of abuse to be raised and litigated.

What the church needs are tools and resources to put in the hands of local church administrators and leaders, he says.

“We’ve heard for so many years from church members, ‘How do we do it?” Blinci says.

Now Adventist Risk Management is providing an answer. Through a partnership with Shield The Vulnerable, the organization’s new Child Protection Plan offers online training for adults on addressing abuse, neglect, predators, bullying, boundaries and respect. It also provides age-appropriate information for children on recognizing and reporting abuse.

Shield The Vulnerable -- a California-based service provider that frequently works with faith-based, non-profit organizations -- also offers background screening for employees and volunteers as a “critical” line of defense, Blinci says.

ARM Vice President and Chief Risk Management Officer Arthur Blinci wants to put tools and resources in the hands of local church leaders. A partnership with Shield The Vulnerable equips them to better protect children, he says. [photo courtesy ARM]

“So often, especially on the volunteer side, there’s typically no screening. You want to volunteer for Children’s Ministries? Great, come on, we can use you,” he says. “Now, when potential volunteers know before they even apply that you’re going to run a criminal background check, if they have a propensity, they’re not even going to volunteer.”

While creating the Child Protection Plan, ARM discovered that the church’s Lake Union Conference had already partnered with Shield The Vulnerable and piloted its training and screening programs in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and a portion of Minnesota.

Blinci expects all 59 of the North American Division’s conferences will follow suit in the coming months. Through Shield The Vulnerable, a conference or other administrative unit creates an account that tracks progress as they train volunteers and perform background screenings. “It goes all the way down to the local church and school level,” he says.

ARM resource kits for local churches include PowerPoint presentations, a video clip, a sample child protection policy and reference information.

While North American Division policy doesn’t mandate the use of Shield The Vulnerable, it does require some type of training and screening. “There are other ways a conference may choose to do their own training and orientation, but they have to do something,” Blinci says.

“Abuse of children is not only prevalent in society, but is also occurring within our churches,” says Phyllis Washington, Children’s Ministries director for the North American Division. “By recognizing that the problem exists in our congregations, we are taking a crucial step toward providing a safe environment, restoring trust, promoting healing and ultimately preventing child abuse.”

While the Shield The Vulnerable program may not fully apply to the world church due to differences in reporting laws, some of its elements are universally relevant and can be tailored to fit local needs, Blinci says.

“The goal is to protect our kids, which are the greatest resources we have. Hopefully now there are no excuses.”

Click here to download Child Protection Plan resources and references from Adventist Risk Management.

The One Project makes Jesus center of theology

2012-02-17T19:54:42+00:00

Gathering of 700 Jesus seekers grew from meeting of five friends in 2010

2012, Seattle, Washington, United States
Ansel Oliver/ANN

The annual gathering of The One Project has its roots in Japhet De Oliveira’s 2009 cancer diagnosis, which he says was a wake-up call.

Japhet De Oliveira at The One Project in Seattle on February 13. He and four other pastors met in 2010 for spiritual support, which was the beginning of the annual gathering. [photo: Delwin Finch]

With the threat of a worsening sickness looming over him, De Oliveira met with a support group for two days in a Denver hotel in 2010. He and four fellow pastors revealed and examined issues in their lives. Now, his cancer in remission, De Oliveira has seen that small group grow into an annual gathering of hundreds of Seventh-day Adventists seeking to reconnect with Jesus in their personal and corporate worship.

This year’s gathering of The One Project on February 13 and 14 brought more than 700 people to Seattle for conversations on practical applications of Jesus’ ministry in their own lives, churches and communities. De Oliveira hopes it’s an environment where people can honestly look at their own priorities, examine the core of Christianity, and promote Jesus in their theology as Seventh-day Adventists.

For some, it’s a place to challenge and even question one’s own beliefs.

“We’re trying to create a safe place to say Jesus is the center of our church and always has been,” said De Oliveira, chaplain for missions at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. He's especially looking to support those who may become frustrated with the church.

“We love our church. I really do believe that God has called the Seventh-day Adventist Church and I’m tired of losing people when we work so hard to bring them in,” he said.

Lisa Clark Diller, chair of the Department of History at Southern Adventist University, reads from the Bible at The One Project in Seattle, February 14. “I was born into a Seventh-day Adventist home, an environment where we knew Adventists were ‘right’. Since then, I’ve learned the wisdom of having Jesus and being right,” she said. [photo: Darren Heslop]

The One Project is short on programming and long on discussions. De Oliveira says the event format grew out of his wish to make a gathering similar to the best part of the numerous conferences he attends each year – talking with people individually. A small stage is set in the middle of a banquet room and speakers are allowed 20 minutes to present. The event is then geared toward the 40 minutes of discussion at each table following the speaker.

“I go to so many conferences and so many meetings and honestly the best part is meeting with someone over lunch,” De Oliveira said. “We didn’t want to have another event that’s packed with programming all day.”

The gathering is also short on exhibitors. The only ones allowed are publishers.

“By reading people will learn and change and transform their lives,” De Oliveira said.

Sam Leonor, senior chaplain at La Sierra University, highlighted the 1888 meeting of the Adventist world church body at General Conference Session in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when leaders discussed righteousness by faith. “From that meeting in 1888, Adventists emerged re-focused on Jesus: crucified, living, and coming again," Leonor said.

Dr. David Kim, a family practice physician from Atlanta, said The One Project gathering was long overdue. “I grew up in a legalistic Adventist culture where the three R's dominated – rules, regulations, and rituals. Missing was the biggest R of Christianity – a relationship with Jesus.”

Sam Leonor, senior chaplain at La Sierra University, at The One Project in Seattle on February 14. He referenced the 1888 General Conference Session in Minneapolis, saying, “From that meeting, Adventists emerged re-focused on Jesus: crucified, living, and coming again." [photo: Delwin Finch]

The original meeting in Denver in July of 2010 brought the five pastors together for support and soul searching. De Oliveira admits he had “sort of lost [his] way," focusing on success as a pastor and not caring enough for his family or health. “I would only read the Bible to prepare sermons,” he said.

The original five were De Oliveira; Leonor; Alex Bryan, pastor of Walla Walla University Church; Tim Gillespie, young adult pastor at Loma Linda Church; and Terry Swenson, senior chaplain at Loma Linda University.

It was a real honest conversation,” De Oliveira said. “Some crying and a lot of praying. We said, ‘let’s do this at least once a year.’”

The group agreed to meet annually to focus on Jesus. Each invited friends for a similar meeting the following year in Atlanta. More than 170 people showed up.

For that 2011 gathering in Atlanta, participants may not have fully understood what they were coming to, De Oliveira said. They were each asked to read the four gospels and the book Desire of Ages, authored by Adventist Church co-founder Ellen G. White. The invitation then was simply, “Come have a two-day conversation about Jesus.”

The conversation continues later this year in Australia and Denmark, and next year in Chicago. For more information, visit: the1project.org.

—additional reporting by Bernadine Delafield and Suzanne Ocsai

North America retracts “commissioned” ministers as top leader candidates

2012-02-14T18:04:49+00:00

Division president acknowledges administration crossed policy

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Ansel Oliver/ANN

The president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s North American Division apologized to the division’s Executive Committee for some inadvertent oversteps in policy in the division’s quest to allow commissioned ministers – including women – to serve as top leaders of local administrative units of the denomination.

The acknowledgement from division President Dan Jackson came in a January 31 letter following the results of the administration’s own policy review of its actions at its Year-End Meetings in 2010 and 2011.

Officers from the Adventist Church’s North American Division apologized in a letter last month to Executive Committee members for an inadvertent misstep in policy regarding commissioned ministers. Here, division President Dan Jackson, left, with Secretary G. Alexander Bryant at division Year-End Meeting in October. [ANN file photo]

The review determined that the division had acted beyond its authority in modifying its Working Policy to include commissioned ministers as candidates for presidents of local conferences.

That policy discussion began in 2009, under previous presidents of both the division and the General Conference world headquarters.

In his letter, Jackson wrote that the division had continued to discuss the matter and operated under an incorrect “assumption” of the extent of its authority within its territory.

Jackson stated that the division “takes full responsibility for failing to do sufficient research into the constitutional issues that impacted our decisions. In bringing this matter to the floor in 2010 and 2011 we were doing so under the assumption that the North American Division had a constituency separate and distinct from the General Conference. Unfortunately, we were wrong and we sincerely apologize.”

The first page of the General Conference Constitution states, “Each division of the General Conference is authorized to carry out responsibilities in the territory assigned to it. …In order to carry the authority of the General Conference, the actions of division committees shall, of necessity, be in harmony with and complementary to the decisions of the General Conference in Session, and the actions of the General Conference Executive Committee between Sessions.”

Still, some church leaders both in North America and at the General Conference say the recent discussion highlights a need for a clearer definition of a division’s delegated authority.

Indeed, the General Conference is already moving on the matter. Last month, administration requested a group to review governance documents outlining the General Conference and division relationships, said Lowell Cooper, a vice president of the General Conference. That group will later offer a decision concerning whether additional clarity is needed, Cooper said.

Each of the 13 divisions function as extensions of the General Conference. Divisions do not have their own constituencies, constitutions or bylaws. However, within division territories, unions – which are comprised of conferences – each have their own constituencies.

In an interview, Jackson said the North American Division would continue to promote equality of men and women in leadership positions. He said ordination is “a separate issue” and would not be addressed at this time.

“We have no intention of dropping the consensus of the North American church that we need to empower our women of God who are called to be pastors and leaders,” Jackson said. “We will not move away from this, but we will not cross policy again.”

The Adventist Church currently allows only ordained ministers to serve as conference presidents. In 2005, the world church voted for this distinction to also apply to the denomination’s president.

The “commissioned” ministers credential was authorized by the General Conference Executive Committee in 1987. In 1994, the Executive Committee delineated positions that could receive such credentials – typically treasurers, principals, directors, university presidents, hospital CEOs, and others not on an ordination track. That move also granted the title to associate pastoral care givers, including women.

General Conference policy and model constitutions for unions and conferences state that a president shall be an “ordained” minister of experience. The North American Division’s change of its own policy in 2010 was intended to expand this statement to read “ordained/commissioned.”

In his letter, Jackson stated that 107 of the division’s roughly 4,000 ministers are women. He also stated his support for women commissioned ministers, citing the division’s women clergy conference in Berrien Springs, Michigan, April 23 to 26.

The North American Division includes Bermuda, Canada, the French possession of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the United States, and the Pacific islands comprising the denomination’s Guam-Micronesia Mission.

click HERE to see a pdf version of the letter.

Remembrance: Persuasive bookseller Ramirez, 93, was first Hispanic GC director

2012-02-14T17:06:12+00:00

Led Publishing department from 1980-’85

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Ansel Oliver/ANN

Louis A. Ramirez was such a bold and effective salesman that he could sell religious literature to other Christian ministers who had denounced Seventh-day Adventist literature from their own pulpits.

Louis A. Ramirez was elected director of the Adventist Church’s Publishing department in 1980 at General Conference Session in Dallas, making him the first Hispanic director at the world headquarters. At right, Bender L. Archbold, president of Inter-America Division, gives Ramirez a high-five. [photos courtesy Ramirez family]

Ramirez, who died February 6 at age 93, grew the door-to-door literature sales ministry throughout Latin America in the 1960s and ‘70s and went on to become Publishing director and the first Hispanic departmental director at the Adventist world church headquarters. He held the position from 1980 to 1985.

Door-to-door literature sales flourished under his tenure as Publishing director for the Inter-American Division, said Hilda Matar-Montero, who served as his secretary in the 1970s.

When visiting Adventist colleges with fellow division officers, Ramirez preferred to stay in the dorm with students and take a few out selling door-to-door. A persuasive seller, in the 1960s Ramirez had about half of the Costa Rican Adventist vocational school students working as literature evangelists, then known as colporteurs. He would often sell to busy shopkeepers whom students thought were sure to reject him.

“He was an outstanding gentleman,” said Armando Miranda, a general vice president of the Adventist world church. “He was a persuasive, dynamic person and at the same time very kind.”

Ramirez had a knack for sales throughout life. He launched Jacuzzi Universal’s export business by convincing his reluctant boss to let him sell in Mexico, later returning with more orders than the company could fill. During World War II he was drafted into the U.S. Army and got out of a deployment to Japan by convincing his commanding officer to let him launch a radio show to entertain and support wounded troops on base at Buckley Field in Colorado.

He joined the Adventist Church in 1952 at age 34, having been exposed to the church by Adventist friends, missionaries, and, of course, its literature.

Ramirez was born into a Catholic family in 1918 in the Northern California city of Richmond. He was the only child of a railway worker who had fled the Mexican revolution. Their home, which had no plumbing, would shake when trains passed by 50 feet away.

Ramirez grew up speaking Spanish and became bilingual after entering school at age six. He was an avid reader and took several night classes in foreign trade and banking from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a local celebrity in the Bay Area as a host of a bilingual show on KRE radio.

Ramirez in an undated photo at Montemorelos University in Mexico. He would often forgo special accommodations for church officers to stay in the dorm among the students and colporteurs he mentored.

It was an Army buddy, Kenneth Holland – who would later become editor of the denomination’s Signs of the Times magazine – who first introduced Ramirez to the Adventist Church. Ramirez had him conduct chapel services on the radio at Buckley Field.

Ramirez worked for Jacuzzi from 1940 to 1958, having helped establish factories in Mexico and Argentina, where he would occasionally meet Adventist missionaries, including David Baasch. Aboard a Pan American flight in 1948 he met an Adventist who gave him a subscription to Adventist magazines. Ramirez’s wife, Virginia, read Signs of the Times and joined the church in 1950. He followed two years later, baptized by Lawrence Maxwell, a longtime denominational editor.

Ramirez continued to work for Jacuzzi and did colporteuring work in Northern California before being called in 1959 to serve as Publishing director for the Central American Union, based in Costa Rica. He was ordained as a minister there in 1963.

He was appointed associate Publishing director of the Inter-American Division in 1968 and director in 1972, a position he held until elected to serve at the world headquarters.

In a 1980 article in Publishing Digest, he said, “I am convinced that prior training and experience in business as a layman, the study of the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy, plus the good example and counsel of dear Christian friends have been among God’s means to prepare me for service in the literature ministry.”

In retirement Ramirez worked with the Pacific Union’s Public Affairs and Religious Liberty department and then moved to live with his son in McAllen, Texas.

His wife preceded him in death in 2002, as well as his daughter, Martina, in 2007. Ramirez is survived by his son Luis, daughter Loretta, and four grandchildren.

His son Luis, a retired art professor, said his father still made his mark selling after retirement. Bible publishing company C. D. Stampley hired him as a consultant to develop a bilingual edition. He sold so many Bibles in Los Angeles that his bosses told him to ease up. The other companies were upset, his son recalls.

“Dad was really a dynamo. He was my best friend.”

Research shows that relationships are the best form of evangelism

2012-02-08T14:Feb:thZ

It’s a church soul-winning program that doesn’t cost money

2012, Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States
S. Joseph Kidder

Research offers insight into who is the most effective evangelist to take the gospel to your friends and relatives. The answer might surprise you.

It’s you.

A 2004 survey of Seventh-day Adventists in North America showed that most people who joined the church did so because of a friend or relative.

So if relationships are the most effective form of evangelism and ministry, our denomination, then, should focus on developing disciples and teaching relationship-based ministry. This doesn’t cost much money, just an open heart. It’s about authentic relationships, not programs.

I travel around the world training people in evangelism and church growth. I usually begin my seminars by asking the question, “Who is the most effective evangelist?” I always get the same predictable answers – names of TV evangelists: Doug Batchelor, Walter Pearson, Mark Finley, Alejandro Bullòn, Dwight Nelson, etc.

But then when I ask how people come to the Lord and the church, I get wildly different answers. Most seminar participants agree that 90 percent of the people in the church are there because of felt needs. Others insist that visitation brings in another 60 percent. Still others say that the pastor brings in at least 40 percent to 60 percent. Many more believe that public evangelism brings in 50 percent to 90 percent.

That’s why the survey results nearby are such a surprise to many people. Nearly 60 percent of people joined the church because of a friend or relative.

The survey was sent to a sample of Adventist congregations in North America to be given to attending members on a certain Sabbath. Those surveyed were asked how they were brought into the church. Results are in the nearby chart (respondents could pick more than one, so the percentages total more than 100).

It is clear from this survey that the most effective means of evangelism is relationship-based. This study is consistent with all similar studies done in this area.

Christian researchers Win Arn and Thom S. Rainer both agree that friendship is God’s preferred means of reaching people (see their respective books “The Master’s Plan for Making Disciples” and “Surprising Insights from the Unchurched and Proven Ways to Reach Them”).

The implications are universal in its scope. Remarkably, the results are the same whether I’m traveling in Asia, Africa, North America, Central America or South America, Europe or Australia: Most people come to the Lord through the influence of a web of relationships and friendship.

When people in my seminars see this research that is when people get the “Aha!” moment. They start saying “Well, yes; my mom had the most influence on my religious experience,” or “My neighbor took me to Sabbath school when I was a little girl.” Another person might say, “My grandmother was an Adventist and she prayed for me for years. Finally, I decided to take God seriously.” Someone else remembers that it was a co-worker that invited him to church so many years ago.

The figure I usually hear for the influence of moms, dads, friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers is usually between 70 percent and 95 percent.

It is obvious from both the formal research and the informal data collected in these groups that the most effective evangelist in the world is the one who takes personal interest in us and shares Jesus in a holistic and attractive way.

The absolutely most effective way of reaching people for the Gospel is through personal influence. So what does God do? He takes full-time ministers and disguises them as teachers, police officers, construction workers and nurses. He gives them the necessary gifts, passions, credentials, and then He assigns them to schools, police departments, construction sites and clinics everywhere. Like salt from a saltshaker, God scatters His fulltime ministers everywhere to suit His flavor.

We are all ambassadors of the Gospel. We are all full-time ministers.

—Dr. S. Joseph Kidder is a professor Christian ministry at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States. This Commentary is an adapted excerpt from his recent book “The Big Four: Secrets to a Thriving Church Family” (Review and Herald, 2011).

Church Chat: Mission volunteers needed

2012-02-07T16:50:42+00:00

North American Division’s numbers are down, but Thomas says NAD can get its groove back; growth of missions in other divisions

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Ansel Oliver/ANN

The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s North American Division still sends more overseas volunteers than any of the denomination’s 12 other world divisions. But its numbers are in retreat.

Last year was the first time that overseas volunteers coming from North America were fewer than all the other divisions combined. In 2008, North America sent 443 volunteers, which was then about 59 percent of the denomination’s world total. Last year that number had dropped to 341, or 48 percent of the total number of newly processed volunteers.

John Thomas is director of the Adventist Volunteers program based at the denomination’s world headquarters. He says there is a need for more volunteers, as well as a need for more local church administrative units to apply to have volunteers. [photo: Ansel Oliver]

The trend highlights both the gradual decline of numbers of North American volunteers and the growth of mission programs in other divisions, such as South America and South Pacific.

There are currently 1,323 Adventist volunteers serving in 84 countries. Volunteers typically spend a year or two serving in Adventist schools, clinics and mission outposts worldwide.

Adventist Volunteer Service Director John Thomas says there is still a huge need for volunteers.

Thomas, 59, who also serves as an associate secretary of the Adventist Church world headquarters, is also trying to let more locations know they can arrange to get volunteers. Doing so would draw more volunteers overall.

Just back from a 26-day trip to Africa to check on mission projects and promote volunteer programs, Thomas met with ANN in his office. The long-time academy principal and missionary discussed trends and challenges, as well as how North America can get its numbers back up to its peak. Edited excerpts:

Adventist News Network: What kinds of trends are you seeing?

John Thomas: There’s a big interest in volunteers coming out of Central South America who don’t have conversational English. So it’s a matter of finding locations where they can go, especially Portuguese-speaking, because there are a limited number of Portuguese-speaking areas around the world. Unfortunately Brazil is predominantly Portuguese. Argentina is very bilingual, even many of their schools systems use both Spanish and English. Brazil is locked into Portuguese, which is limiting their younger generation’s ability to integrate into the world.

ANN: Why do you feel the numbers from North America are so significant?

Thomas: Its volunteers are very valuable because they’re useful, by which I mean they come from an educational system that is so diverse. They’re taught a variety of subjects and skills, which can make them more adaptable. And right now the number of volunteers from [North America] are actually half of what they were not long ago. In 2004, North America had 471 volunteers processed that year. In 2011 they had 341. So North America’s numbers seem to be going down while the rest of the world is on its way up.

ANN: So what can the church do?

Thomas: More promotion. When you look at the recent figures and see that North America’s numbers have gone from the 400s to the 200s, it indicates that there needs to be a vigorous promotion of the volunteer program within the division. When I see and hear what’s being done in other divisions, particularly South America and South Pacific where the volunteer programs receive a very high profile within the Adventist network, there is work to be done in North America.

ANN: Full disclosure, I was a student missionary in Micronesia. At orientation in Hawaii it seemed that Walla Walla [University in Washington] had sent more volunteers than any other college or university. Why do you think that was?

Thomas: Some campuses have developed their own network of support for generating interest in the Guam-Micronesia Mission. Not just Walla Walla but also Union [College in Nebraska] and Southern [Adventist University in Tennessee]. They have active personnel within their chaplains office who develop and promote volunteering. And their numbers show it.

ANN: What types of volunteers are you talking about?

Thomas: Many are college students. Others are adults and even many retirees. Overall these are volunteers going abroad for a year or two. Some even extend their term of service. But we’re not talking about week-long short-term mission trips or a long-term [inter-division employee] for five years.

ANN: Where are the big needs now?

Thomas: Guam-Micronesia Mission is about 40 people short of what they would like right now for their network of schools. There have been a few bad experiences, and even some tragedies, including the well-publicized death of Kirsten [Wolcott]. Volunteers who go there or anywhere should stay within the established guidelines at the mission or institution and that will reduce the likelihood of something bad happening to them. There’s a big need for nursing instructor volunteers, educators, accountants, doctors and information technology people. We also need new locations that can accommodate non-English-speaking volunteers. Every place I go in the world I encourage church leaders to set up more locations for volunteers. That doesn’t mean they’ll all get filled, but the more location options we have will be better. The interesting thing is that the easiest places to fill are places with the most difficult living conditions. Take Bere Adventist Hospital in Chad in Northern Africa – it’s hot, there’s no Internet, there’s nothing.

ANN: Why do people want to go those difficult locations?

Thomas: I don’t think I’ve put my hand on it. Maybe they see it as the ultimate service opportunity. And there’s a high percentage of those who serve who come back and finish college or professional school and then head back out into the mission field.

ANN: The other day you mentioned there are particularly a lot of young women on the waiting list to serve. Why is that?

Thomas: We haven’t examined it, per se, so I’m only guessing here, but I think a lot of young adult females in developed countries recognize that the lifestyle they are wrapped in right now can be detrimental to them and they feel an urge to go someplace where they can break away from all those things and, as it were, start again. I think the girls are a little more ready to be of service for the needy and get more meaning out of life. The guys tend to want to go to a place that’s adventuresome.

ANN: What type of person does it take to be a student missionary or an overseas volunteer?

Thomas: Really, it’s any person who’s willing to go and be adaptable. That’s key. The types of people who go are so different. It’s simply a person who’s willing to make a decision to do it. Everyone who goes comes back changed. Go online to our website Adventistvolunteers.org and fill out an application.

Jamaica PM commends Adventist contributions to society

2012-02-06T17:14:33+00:00

Church’s focus on education, national development noted during meeting with Wilson

2012, Kingston, Jamaica
Nigel Coke/ANN staff

Seventh-day Adventist world church President Ted N. C. Wilson met with top Jamaican national leaders during a recent tour of the island nation to promote the church’s Revival and Reformation initiative.

Wilson, his wife Nancy and local Adventist Church officials paid a courtesy call to Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Governor General Sir Patrick Allen. The visit coincided with the island nation’s 50th anniversary of independence.

Adventist world church President Ted N. C. Wilson greets Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller in Kingston on February 3. The two leaders discussed the role of the Adventist Church in the country and prayed together. [photo: Nigel Coke]

Miller commended the church’s contributions to education and national development in the country. “The Seventh-day Adventist Church plays such an important role and has been doing a wonderful job in Jamaica,” she said.

There are some 270,000 Adventists worshipping at more than 650 churches in Jamaica. Church officials in the country estimate that about one in every eleven people there is an Adventist.
Wilson told the prime minister that he hopes the church in Jamaica continues to meet the “high Biblical standard of service to others and service to God.”

“We want to be seen as an integral part of society. We want Seventh-day Adventists to be known as people who truly and genuinely fulfill the ministry of Jesus,” he said, citing education, health outreach, social programs and spiritual guidance.

Before praying with the prime minister for the government and people of Jamaica, Wilson read Micah 6:8, which he said provides a formula for leadership. The Old Testament verse cites justice, mercy and humility as goals worth striving for.

While in the Caribbean, Wilson also toured Haiti. Two years after a devastating earthquake, Adventists there continue to rebuild churches and schools with the help of Maranatha Volunteers International, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency and the offerings of church members worldwide.

Wilson addressed the media, offered church members a message of hope and encouragement, and visited church institutions, including Haiti Adventist University. More than 25,000 displaced persons found refuge there after the earthquake.

Click here to watch a video report of Wilson’s visit to Haiti.

Former Adventist world church President Jan Paulsen receives civilian honor

2012-02-03T14:58:28+00:00

Norwegian ‘Order of Merit’ recognizes ‘service for the good of humanity’

2012, Royse, Norway
Tor Tjeransen/ANN staff

Former world church President Jan Paulsen’s home country of Norway is recognizing the veteran church administrator for his “service for the good of humanity.”

Paulsen was recently appointed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit, one of the country’s highest civilian honors. In an announcement, Norway’s Royal Palace stated that King Harald V appointed Paulsen for “meritorious” humanitarian work.

Former Adventist world church President Jan Paulsen was recently appointed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit for his humanitarian service. [ANN file photo by Robert East]

Paulsen said the recognition came as a surprise. “It warms my heart that the accolade came with the recognition, ‘service for the good of humanity,’ for that is what the life of Christian service is all about,” he said.

Paulsen will receive the insignia of the order at a presentation ceremony expected later this year, officials said.

The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit was established by King Olav V in 1985 and is conferred on foreign and Norwegian nationals as a reward for “outstanding service in the interest of Norway.”

“It is a great honor for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Norway that the global service of Dr. Paulsen has been recognized in this way,” said Reidar Kvinge, president of the Adventist Church in Norway.

Paulsen served as Adventist world church president from 1999 until 2010. He began his ministerial service in 1953 in Norway and later held educational and leadership positions in Ghana and Nigeria. From 1976 to 1980, Paulsen served as principal of church-run Newbold College in England, which houses the main theological faculty of the church’s Trans-European Division. For twelve years, Paulsen helmed the church’s Trans-European Division, headquartered in St. Albans, England.

Throughout his career, Paulsen prioritized the furthering of higher education in Africa and was instrumental in shaping the humanitarian response of the Adventist Church to the AIDS pandemic.

Remembrance: Monnier, 59, leaves legacy of mission service

2012-02-01T21:21:54+00:00

Stints in Brazil, Bolivia, Bangladesh; Colleagues remember his generosity, strong faith

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Corrado Cozzi/Teresa Costello/ANN staff

Eric Monnier, 59, a Seventh-day Adventist missionary whose work spurred church growth in South America in the 1970s and 80s, died January 22 in Collonges-sous-Salève, France, following a battle with cancer.

Monnier’s mission career spanned 35 years and two continents. He held several church leadership positions in South America before accepting a call to oversee church operations in Bangladesh.

Eric Monnier’s missionary service along the Amazon River supported Adventist Church growth and development in the region. Monnier later oversaw church operations in Bangladesh. [photo courtesy Euro-Africa Division]

In 1976, Monnier and his wife, Françoise, accepted a call to work along the Amazon River. The couple spent three years helming the Luzeiro XIV (“torch” in Portuguese), a mission boat on which Eric served as pilot and mechanic. Monnier preached sermons, built churches and conducted training. Françoise, a nurse, helped attend to medical needs. One figure stands out in the couple’s travel log -- they extracted 32,000 teeth.

A pastor, educator and administrator, Monnier followed in the footsteps of his father, Samuel, who after decades of service in the mission field was appointed to several church leadership positions.

Born in Paris, France in 1952, Monnier was raised in a missionary family. He spent grade school in Martinique and Haiti and high school in Brazil and France.

Monnier graduated from Adventist University of France (Campus Adventiste du Salève) with degrees in theology, education and business administration. Later, during a furlough from missionary service, he earned a master of divinity degree from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University.

After nineteen years of work in Brazil, Monnier was elected president of the church’s Bolivia Union. In 2007, Monnier accepted a call to serve as president of the church’s Bangladesh Union Mission. Colleagues there remember his humor, enthusiasm and generosity.

“If you want to know who Pastor Monnier was, you’ll find it explained in Matthew 5:39-42. Both he and his wife always tried to give, give, give,” said Sweetie Ritchil, treasurer for the Bangladesh Union Mission. “Much of the furniture in the office and even the computers came from their generosity. I have never seen such an attitude of ‘What can I do for others?’ rather than ‘What can I receive?’”

Southern Asia-Pacific Division President Alberto Gulfan remembers Monnier’s conviction. “He died in the strongest faith and assurance of Christ’s second coming -- a message which he so boldly and courageously shared in the countries where he served as a missionary,” Gulfan said.

Monnier is survived by is wife, Françoise; the couple’s children, Valerie and Gabriel; a grandchild, Emily; his mother, Yvonne; a brother, Yves; and a sister: Elisabeth Van Bignoot.

U.S. Surgeon General commends Adventist focus on holistic well-being

2012-01-31T15:24:01+00:00

Nation needs shift from ‘disease and illness to wellness and prevention,’ Benjamin says

2012, Orlando, Florida, United States
Elizabeth Lechleitner, with reporting by Rainey Park

In a show of solidarity with hundreds of Seventh-day Adventist health professionals, health ministry leaders and pastors from North America this week, United States Surgeon General Regina Benjamin advocated a “holistic approach” to well-being.

“If we really want to change and reform healthcare in this country, we need to prevent people from getting sick in the first place,” Benjamin said during her January 28 keynote address at the North American Division’s Health Summit in Orlando.

U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin praised the Adventist Church’s focus on holistic well-being during the North American Division’s Health Summit this week in Orlando, Florida. [photo: Rainey Park]

Benjamin, who helms the National Prevention Council established through U.S. President Barack Obama’s health reform act, said the administration’s vision is to change the nation’s healthcare system “from a focus on disease and illness to a focus on wellness and prevention.”

“Health does not occur in the doctor’s office or hospital alone,” Benjamin said. “Health occurs where we live, where we learn, where we work, where we play and where we pray.”

The surgeon general commended the Adventist Church’s ability to marshal widespread support and participation among its members. She noted the similarities between the church’s InStep for Life program and U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign, a national initiative to fight the epidemic of childhood obesity. With InStep for Life’s added element of faith, the program has “inspired congregations and communities nationwide,” Benjamin said.

“I continue to be impressed by the innovative thinking that’s going on in the Seventh-day Adventist Church to make health something you live, and not just something you hope for,” she said.

The denomination is among some 50 other faith and community organizations that pledged in 2010 to support Let’s Move! Last year, Adventists at hundreds of churches, schools and hospitals nationwide participated in Let’s Move! Day by logging steps toward a goal of one million collective miles of physical activity.

Church members were able to double that goal and reach two million miles in 2011, said Katia Reinert, director of Health Ministries for the North American Division. Adventists in North America also planted more than 100 new vegetable gardens and farmers markets last year. For low-income families who struggle to feed their children over the summer months, church members also helped establish feeding sites at Vacation Bible Schools and other church events.

Adventists in North America planted community gardens and established farmers markets this year toward the region’s goal of increasing access to affordable healthy food. [photo courtesy North America Division]

The Adventist Church in North America will in 2012 continue to focus on increasing physical activity among Adventists and community members and improving access to affordable healthy foods, Reinert said.

“It is our hope that every Adventist church will become a center for health in the community by using our resources to motivate people to experience a full abundant life and by improving the health and well-being of children, families and communities across North America,” she said.

With obesity rates doubling in adults and more than tripling in children since 1980, the need to raise awareness is more urgent than ever, health professionals said. Research indicates that more than 20 million U.S. children under the age of five are now overweight.

Obesity is often the “underlying cause” of heart disease, cancer and hypertension, and is the “number one risk factor” for Type 2 Diabetes, said Dr. Albert Reece, dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland.

“We are now number one in the world with regard to obesity,” Reece said. “The United States wishes to be and likes to be number one in everything, but this is not one area that we can be proud of.”

Adventist world church President Ted N.C. Wilson, who holds a master’s degree in public health from the church’s Loma Linda University, commended health summit organizers for bringing a spiritual perspective to health and well-being.

“These kinds of events and those that focus on the healthful way of living that points us to the Master Physician are vitally important for God’s church,” Wilson said.

The North America Division Health Summit runs through February 5.

First Adventist fundraising handbook to guide church building projects

2012-01-31T15:20:39+00:00

Historic ministry to schools, hospitals now available for local congregations

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Elizabeth Lechleitner/ANN

A local congregation decides to build a church fellowship hall, but doesn’t secure adequate funding beforehand, assuming “the money will come once we get going.” It’s a familiar scenario, and one Seventh-day Adventist philanthropy experts are hoping a new fundraising guide will help local church leaders avoid.

“If you believe the Lord will bless later for the money to come, you can also believe the Lord will bless right now and bring it,” said Nikolaus Satelmajer, who wrote and edited “Successful Fundraising: A Guide for Local Churches” with Lilya Wagner, director of the church’s Philanthropic Service for Institutions (PSI).

Adventist philanthropy leaders say a new handbook for local congregations covers industry best practices in fundraising from a Christian stewardship perspective. [graphic courtesy AdventSource]

As its name implies, the department has historically served the fundraising needs of the church’s educational and healthcare institutions. But today, PSI is fielding more and more requests from local congregations. As multi-million dollar building and capital projects become routine, fundraising is an increasingly complex endeavor, Satelmajer said.

“While there are countless how-to volumes, I wanted something customized for Adventist campaigns and projects,” Wagner said. “It was challenging but also satisfying to take the best experiences and practices in my field and adapt them to the needs of [Adventist] leaders.”

“Successful Fundraising: A Guide for Local Churches” (AdventSource) is the first such handbook written and edited by Adventist philanthropy leaders.

The handbook will serve as a springboard to any fundraising project, with advice and formulas on advance planning, structuring a capital campaign, stewardship principles and avoiding debt fatigue, Satelmajer said.

While the handbook specifically targets a North American audience, its principles will apply worldwide, he said. One chapter explores Ellen G. White’s approach to fundraising. The Adventist Church co-founder was a key figure in fundraising for many of the early church’s healthcare and educational institutions. A study of her methods indicates that she believed in asking for donations, especially from those she knew well and from potential donors outside of church membership.

“You have to get to know the person, and you have to present them with a case -- Here’s what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. It’s not enough to say, ‘We’re building a new church, will you give us money?’” he said.

Another key principle is getting the entire church behind a project before moving forward, Satelmajer said. With church-wide support, a building project can unify a congregation around a single goal, but when the majority of members are reluctant, a project “can really damage the relationships in the church,” he said.

“We spend quite a bit of time developing this idea -- How do you make it a church project, and not just a project of three or four enthusiastic people who commit $100,000 and say the other million will surely come,” Satelmajer said.

“Successful Fundraising: A Guide for Local Churches” is available through AdventSource as a first resources for local pastors and lay leaders. PSI is encouraging those who purchase the handbook to contact the department for further support, including advice, referrals to local resources and -- in some cases -- a site visit.

“PSI can answer some questions and provide some advice over the phone and will do their best to send someone qualified to work with the congregation,” Wagner said.

ADRA Thailand vocational training lends refugees new future

2012-01-31T15:12:54+00:00

Project is path to self-sufficiency; One refugee opens home hair salon

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
ADRA Thailand/Christina Zaiback/ANN staff

Refugees striving to make ends meet in Thailand are finding new skills training and employment opportunities, thanks to an Adventist Development and Relief Agency project in the country.

When Na Aye Yin and her family fled her home country of Myanmar to a refugee camp in Thailand, they were disappointed to learn that they would not benefit from a Thai government program that assists refugees.

Na Aye Yin recently opened a hair salon in her home after receiving vocational training from ADRA Thailand. She and her husband now provide free hair cuts to unemployed refugees in their community. [photo: ADRA Thailand]

Meanwhile, Na Aye Yin heard about an ADRA project called ‘Vocational Training for Refugees from Myanmar’ that offered classes in vocational skills to refugee camp residents. Classes included sewing, welding, elderly and childcare, basic auto mechanics, cooking and hair styling.

After completing the initial class in hair styling, Na Aye Yin enrolled for further study through training conducted by the Thai Vocational College, which partners with ADRA Thailand.

Equipped with new skills, Na Aye Yin opened a hair salon in her bamboo house. The success of her fledgling business convinced her husband to study hair styling as well.

Not only have the couple become self-sufficient through their shop, they are working together to provide free services for unemployed refugees in the community.

“We want to help others. It gives us greater happiness in our hearts,” said Na Aye Yin.

The vocational training program is allowing marginalized groups to become financially stable and integrate into Thai society, ADRA officials said.

Myanmar’s farming, fishing community benefits from region's first Adventist health expo

2012-01-24T13:39:08+00:00

Site of Cyclone Nargis now sees ADRA development projects, wellness education

2012, Labutta, Delta, Myanmar
Maung Maung Myo Chan/ANN staff

Members of southern Myanmar’s farming and fishing communities are learning to prevent and treat hypertension, diabetes and other disease.

A four-day health expo conducted by the church’s Health Ministries and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Myanmar recently drew more than 1,500 attendees and was a first for the Adventist Church in the Irrawaddy Delta region.

An Adventist Health Ministries volunteer takes a blood pressure reading during the church’s first health expo in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta region this month. Volunteers discovered that less than half of community members diagnosed with hypertension know how to treat the condition. [photo: ADRA Myanmar]

Church officials there report that efforts paid off and community members flocked to hear health lectures and receive free medical screenings and consultations. Staff discovered that while 60 percent of those screened had been diagnosed with hypertension, few understood what high blood pressure is or how to treat it.

Local authorities, who were at first reluctant to let the church host a health expo, changed their minds after observing community members leave with newfound health and lifestyle knowledge, church leaders said.

“[The authorities] started to understand the program,” said Dr. Htwe Lay, Adventist Health Ministries director for Myanmar. “Not only did they fully support the health program, they also asked us to conduct more of this in other neighboring areas in the future.”

Comprised of nearly 700 villages, Myanmar’s Labutta region was the country’s hardest hit region when Cyclone Nargis made landfall in 2008. ADRA Myanmar has been active in the region since then, implementing rehabilitation and development projects and addressing health, livelihoods, water hygiene, sanitation and food security concerns.

The region is largely Buddhist, but church leaders hope the health outreach finds traction in the community. Lay said she hopes “the Adventist message will be reached through the health message.”