Adventist Mission
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| Office of Adventist Mission | |
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| Type | Religious/Non-Profit |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Silver Spring, Maryland, USA |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Parent | General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists |
| Subsidiaries | Global Mission |
| Website | www.AdventistMission.org |
Adventist Mission is an office of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's world headquarters. Its main purpose is to provide coordination and funding for the Seventh-day Adventist Church's worldwide mission work.[1] Adventist Mission has coordinators in all 13 regional regional headquarters of the Adventist Church and sponsors work in more than 207 countries.[2]
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[edit] History
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has its roots in mission. Over the years the Protestant denomination has shown a commitment to mission which includes a worldwide humanitarian work, and international volunteer program, satellite television and shortwave radio blanketing the globe, a huge publishing program, thousands of schools, a large network of hospitals and clinics, the Global Mission pioneer program, and hundreds of cross-cultural missionaries.
Through the years, Adventist church members have generously supported mission through their tithes (10% of their income) and mission offerings because they believe the gospel commission. They believe that they're called to help the less fortunate, the poor, the sick, and those who don't know about Jesus.
To meet the Adventist Church's growing need to consolidate its overseas mission activities, Adventist Mission was formed in 2005 at the General Conference World Session held in St. Louis Missouri. This new organization brought Global Mission and the Office of Mission Awareness together so that they can better collaborate on projects and initiatives.[3]
[edit] First Adventist Missionaries
| First Official Adventist Missionary | |
 John Nevins Andrews
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| Born | 1829 Poland, Maine |
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| Died | October 21, 1883 Basel, Switzerland |
| Occupation | First Official Missionary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church |
| Spouse | Angeline Stevens Andrews (1824-1872) |
In 1860 Abram La Rue, a shepherd and woodcutter from California, had an ambition to take the gospel to China. When he wrote to General Conference, they told him that at 65 he was too old. They also said that they didn't have the money to send him. Determined to still go, La Rue negotiated his way onto a ship where he could work his way to Hong Kong. He arrived there in 1888 and began preparing pamphlets for distribution.
Some 14 years later John Nevins Andrews left for Europe in 1874 as the first official Adventist missionary. A former president of the General Conference, the world church's governing body, he set out to organize a group of group of believers in Switzerland.[4] Andrews helped start a publishing house in Switzerland and an Adventist periodical in French, Les Signes des Temps (1876.) Andrews died on Oct. 21, 1883 and is buried in Basel, Switzerland.
[edit] Media
Adventist Mission produces a number of quarterly and yearly promotional material which is used in local congregations to inspire church members to support overseas missions with their personal resources. They include:
- Adventist Mission DVD
- Adventist Mission Magazine for Youth & Adults
- Adventist Mission Magazine for Children
- Adventist Mission Week
[edit] Tell the World
In 2005 Adventist Mission took on promoting the Seventh-day Adventist Church's "Tell the World" initiative. This broad vision is the denominations mission objective through the year 2010. The ultimate goal of "Tell the World" is to provide every person on earth with the chance to know Jesus Christ.
Seven Key Goals:
- Spiritual Growth
- Community Involvement
- Personal Witness
- City Outreach
- Church Planting
- Evangelistic Programming
- Media Ministry
[edit] Hope for Big Cities
Hope for Big Cities focuses on establishing Adventist congregations within the rapidly growing populations of the world’s largest urban areas between 2005 and 2010. Special offerings that will provide seed money for new churches particularly in cities where the Adventist Church is struggling to gain a foothold. At least 25 cities around the world are expected to benefit from this program.[5]
One of these projects is in Abidjan, the commercial and administrative center of Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa. Local church members plan to start a three-phase evangelistic effort in an unentered part of the city. Fewer than 10,000 Adventists live in this nation of nearly 17 million people.
Another project will provide funding to send an evangelist to remote villages in an unnamed country where two years ago a number of Adventist teachers went to start small schools. In addition to teaching reading and writing, the teachers befriended families in the area and taught them about God. Local families were so impressed by the teachers that they asked for an evangelist to come and hold open meetings within their villages, so that the entire community can learn more about God.
[edit] See Also
Adventist Mission homepage - www.AdventistMission.org
Global Mission homepage - www.Global-Mission.org
Seventh-day Adventist Church homepage - www.Adventist.org
[edit] References
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