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Related topics Seventh-day Adventist Church Reaches Church Planting Milestone Currently, Global Mission supports 2,480 church planters, called Global Mission pioneers, who are working to start new groups of believers. “Church plants are just a beginning,” says Umesh Nag, Adventist Mission director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Southern Asia, and a former Global Mission pioneer.
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA – The time it takes for a new Seventh-day Adventist Church to be established dropped below the three-hour mark. According to the General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, a new Adventist church was added every 2.97 hours in 2023. At that rate, a new church is being established approximately every three hours—or eight new churches every day. The last similar milestone was 23 years ago. In 2000 a new Adventist church was added every four hours—six churches a day. “I believe that mission is a miracle, and this growth in church planting represents the miracle that is happening more and more,” said General Conference secretary Erton Köhler. “That is the promise that we received from the Bible that closer to the second coming of Jesus, more and more miracles in mission will happen through the power of the Holy Spirit.” “We praise God that new Adventist churches are being planted faster than ever before,” says Gary Krause, director of the Office of Adventist Mission at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. “But our focus is not on numbers. It’s on wholistic mission, making faithful disciples of Jesus.” The Office of Adventist Mission oversees the church’s Global Mission initiative to start new groups of believers in unentered areas and new people groups. It emphasizes, in particular, church planting in three “Mission Refocus” windows: the 10/40 Window, the Urban Window, and the Post-Christian Window. The 10/40 Window, stretching from northern Africa through the Middle East to Asia, contains some 60 percent of the global population, with most people coming from the major non-Christian religions. The cities are now where the majority of the world’s population lives, and the Post-Christian Window reflects the rapidly growing number of people who claim no religious affiliation, particularly in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. Currently, Global Mission supports 2,480 church planters, called Global Mission pioneers, who are working to start new groups of believers. “Church plants are just a beginning,” says Umesh Nag, Adventist Mission director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Southern Asia, and a former Global Mission pioneer. “They start small, but the goal is to grow them into churches that will plant more churches.” Recently Nag visited a town chosen for a church planting project many years ago. Two Global Mission pioneers were sent to this area where there were no Adventist churches or members. They struggled at first, but eventually they established three churches—one in town and two outside of town. Today, each of these churches has about 125 members and they have started four more churches plus a couple of Adventist schools. One hundred years ago, there were 5,000 Adventist churches around the world. Today, there are some 100,000 churches and church membership has grown to some 23 million Adventists. “Doors are being opened, churches are being planted, and some of them in very challenging places of the world,” Köhler said. “It's a reason to celebrate. It's a reason to renew our confidence in the Lord and our commitment to the mission as well.” Get to know the region More Stories Topics From the front lines of mission—straight to your inbox

Currently, Global Mission supports 2,480 church planters, called Global Mission pioneers, who are working to start new groups of believers. “Church plants are just a beginning,” says Umesh Nag, Adventist Mission director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Southern Asia, and a former Global Mission pioneer.

Seventh-day Adventist Church Reaches Church Planting Milestone

Related topics Telling the World: A Broad Vision to Reach Up, Reach Out, and Reach Across
Over the past five years, Tell the World has been a broad vision, a bold challenge undertaken by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Over the past five years, Tell the World has been a broad vision, a bold challenge undertaken by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The ultimate goal is to provide every person on earth with the chance to know Jesus Christ.
Over the past five years, Tell the World has been a broad vision, a bold challenge undertaken by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The ultimate goal is to provide every person on earth with the chance to know Jesus Christ. More than a program, and more than a slogan, Tell the World is our acceptance of Christ’s commission to spread the gospel to every corner of the world, to each living person. Of course, the goals and challenges of Tell the World are not new to us—they are part of the very fabric of our identity and heritage. They are fundamental to our mission. From its very beginnings, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been a missionary movement. We have committed ourselves to not only make our world a better place in the here and now, but also to prepare people for the world to come. This is our first priority—the very reason our church exists. Now the Church is re-emphasizing the challenge, extending an invitation to each Seventh-day Adventist to be part of this task. Now more than ever, it is time for each of us to become personally involved. The strategic plan for the Seventh-day Adventist Church from 2010 to 2015 focuses on three important values: quality of life, unity, and growth.  QUALITY OF LIFE is a multi-faceted concept that goes to the heart of what it means to be an Adventist believer. For an Adventist, quality of life means first and foremost being sure of belonging to the Lord, finding the rest and assurance of forgiveness, and finding contentment on our life’s journey. UNITY reflects the nature of the church as one family around the world, constantly communicating with one another, constantly sharing, and in that process learning to defer to one another for the good of the One Body of Christ. GROWTH is expressed through evangelism, public witness, and nurturing the personal spiritual growth of believers. Within the strategic plan, one priority will continue to reach out to an area called the 10/40 Window. This term refers to a region in the eastern hemisphere located between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator. This general area of the world is home to the largest populations who also live in deep poverty and experience the lowest quality of life. This is also the hub of the world’s major non-Christian religions. A natural consequence is that this area has the least access to Christian resources. Another important area of emphasis will be reaching out to the big cities of the world. They include huge populations where millions of people are still waiting to hear about Jesus. Take a look at the list of the world’s largest cities, and the ratio of Adventists to population. These daunting tasks will need the prayers, witness, and support of every church member. Tell the World is not simply the responsibility of church administrators. It requires the prayerful consideration of each individual—leaders, pastors, and members. Tell the World should inspire each of us to reach up, reach out, and reach across. We can approach that concept by taking the following steps: REACH UP to God through Bible study, prayer, and reading the Spirit of Prophecy, resulting in revival and faithfulness. REACH OUT to others as a friendly church that puts Christ’s mission first, invites all peoples to fellowship, and makes a difference daily in the community. REACH ACROSS the barriers that threaten to divide us as a family, endeavoring to disciple, nurture, and involve every individual in the life and mission of the church. Church administrators and pastors can work together to facilitate effective networking among church infrastructure, institutions, and lay organizations. They can help to integrate local, regional, and global priorities in mission. Pastors and elders can enable members to understand and celebrate both the local and global identity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Or they can help the members of congregations see themselves as a vital part of their global church community. Individual members can demonstrate their commitment to mission by understanding, living, and communicating the gospel. They can participate in local church fellowship, worship, and service. They can be part of all aspects of mission priorities. Each one of us can do our part by prayerfully considering how we can be involved. We shouldn’t constrain ourselves by worrying about what we can or can’t do. By working together, we can experience a new sense of purpose. Our churches can thrive and grow as others are drawn to the warmth and acceptance they find there. In all that we do, may we constantly reveal God’s grace to those who are looking for Him. Together, we can Tell the World. Get to know the region More Stories Topics From the front lines of mission—straight to your inbox

Over the past five years, Tell the World has been a broad vision, a bold challenge undertaken by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The ultimate goal is to provide every person on earth with the chance to know Jesus Christ.

Telling the World: A Broad Vision to Reach Up, Reach Out, and Reach Across

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