Adventist News Network

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

2012-02-07T16:51:49+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.

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.”

In Nigeria, escalating religious conflict impacts Adventist Church

2012-01-23T19:26:24+00:00

Surge in small group evangelism as security threats thwart public outreach

2012, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Gilbert Weeh/ANN staff

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria is seeing a drop in church attendance and some church closures amid worsening religious conflict in the country.

An upsurge of attacks against Christian churches by the extremist group Boko Haram beginning late last year has led to ongoing sectarian violence between Muslim and Christian groups in northeast Nigeria.

Abuja was among Nigerian cities targeted by a wave of sectarian violence beginning in 2011. A suicide bombing at United Nation’s headquarters in the country’s capital city left 26 people dead last year. [photo: iStockphoto]

Adding to the tumult, the country’s government recently eliminated energy subsidies, doubling the price of gasoline and inciting nationwide strikes and demonstrations. News reports indicate that Nigerians are living in fear of continuing unrest.

Meanwhile, Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called on religious leaders in her country to speak out against the violence, the Guardian reported last week.

“Christian leaders must continue to preach peace and togetherness so that Christians do not retaliate,” Adichie told the Guardian. “Muslim leaders must strongly and repeatedly condemn the violence against Christians and make it clear that Boko Haram does not represent Nigerian Islam,” she said.

The Adventist Church in the country has devoted recent days to fasting and prayer for the ongoing situation. Church administration in the country is encouraging membership to work in small groups and avoid large public religious gatherings. Open air evangelism efforts have been put on hold due to a curfew and the fragile security situation, church officials said.

According to a report by Northeast Nigeria Conference President Bindas Stephen Haruna, the Adventist Church there has not suffered property damage or loss of life. However, some individual members have had their property looted or burned.

“The situation in Northern Nigeria shows how a lack of religious freedom can affect the life of churches, and why we must promote and strongly defend this essential freedom before it is too late,” said John Graz, director for the Adventist world church’s Public Affairs and Religious Liberty.

Church attendance in northeast Nigeria has dropped drastically, leading to church closures in some regions where most members are traveling business people who have returned to their homes. In other churches, pastors have left their congregations for fear of being killed.

The situation has produced a wave of small group evangelism, church leaders said. As Nigerian Adventists funnel their efforts to spread the Adventist hope on a smaller scale, church officials in the country are soliciting the prayers and support of the world church family.

Adventist world church marks 100 years of corporate communication

2012-01-19T23:54:37+00:00

Celebration highlights history of denomination’s public relations; A continuing need for church communication professionals

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
ANN staff

The Seventh-day Adventist world church is celebrating the denomination’s 100 years of public relations ministry this month.

The century anniversary of the first public relations worker for the Adventist Church highlights the denomination’s continued need for journalists and public relations professionals in its administrative offices worldwide.

Adventist world church Communication department Director Williams Costa Jr. addresses a mid-day ceremony in the church headquarters atrium to honor 100 years of corporate communication. In 1912, the denomination launched its first public relations department, then known as the Press Bureau. [photo: Todd Reese]

Church officials today remembered the denomination’s hiring of a Baltimore Sun reporter in 1912 to establish the church’s Press Bureau. The move made the Adventist Church the first Protestant church to organize a formal public relations program.

That reporter, Walter Burgan, served as director of the Press Bureau until his death in 1940. The Press Bureau later evolved into what is today’s Communication department, both at world church headquarters and in local administrative offices globally.

“Just like those church executives 100 years ago, we need to continue to be on the cutting edge of communication trends today,” world church Communication Director Williams Costa told an audience of top church officials and world headquarters’ employees.

“In many parts of the world, we have qualified people getting our message into the news media. We can do even more at all levels of administration worldwide. When we conduct corporate communication effectively, we are better understood by the public and we are closer as a church community globally,” Costa said.

During the January 19 ceremony, church historian David Trim traced the history of Adventist communication ministry. The church’s hiring of Burgan put it at the forefront of religious public relations.

“Today, we would do well to reflect on this decision, examine why [Burgan] was needed, why he in particular was hired, and how reviving this tradition at all levels of the denomination can strengthen our unity and mission,” Trim said.

The hiring of Baltimore Sun reporter Walter Burgan in 1912 made the Adventist Church the first Protestant church to establish formal public relations. [photo courtesy Office of Archives, Statistics and Research]

Throughout the 1940s and 50s, the Adventist Church remained at the helm of religious communication, Trim said. Communication Director J.R. Ferren “worked tirelessly” during the 1940s to convince church administrative offices to hire qualified professionals, and in 1956 Communication Director Howard B. Weeks wrote “Breakthrough: A Public Relations Guidebook for your Church.” A landmark book on religious public relations, it was widely used by Christian denominations at the time as they sought to boost their presence in the public spotlight.

The church’s early forays in public relations were successful largely because church leaders hired qualified professionals to shape the church’s message and image, Trim said.

“Similarly today, if you’re going to do outreach to a Hispanic community, you need to hire someone who speaks Spanish. And it’s the same with other types of outreach – if you’re going to do outreach to media, you need to hire someone who speaks that language and understands that culture,” he said.

Trim noted that even church co-founder Ellen G. White urged early Adventists to capitalize on the press and advertising agencies to “call attention to the work.”

“The character and importance of our work are judged by the efforts made to bring it before the public,” White wrote. “When these efforts are so limited, the impression is given that the message we present is not worthy of notice” (Evangelism, pg. 128).

World church General Vice President Ben Schoun, who offered prayer to close the ceremony, urged church leaders worldwide to integrate their efforts. An emphasis on global communication will strengthen the world church family and support the continued spread of the Adventist hope, he said.

ADRA continues Philippines tropical storm response

2012-01-17T15:43:39+00:00

Adventist relief agency distributing food, water and emergency supplies to thousands

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Christina Zaiback/ANN

Efforts are still underway to assist an estimate 720,000 people in the Philippines affected by tropical storm Washi last month. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is distributing food, safe drinking water and cash cards to purchase emergency supplies of essential items.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency distributed rice and other emergency food supplies to nearly 1,500 families affected by tropical storm Washi last month. [photo courtesy ADRA Philippines]

In cooperation with Global Medic, ADRA Philippines has installed water purification units to provide residents in affected communities with clean water. In addition, ADRA has distributed rice and other food supplies to nearly 1,500 families.

A driver for ADRA Philippines staff remembered the night Washi made landfall on December 16. “When we looked back, to our despair we saw cars being washing away by a strong flash flood … right behind us,” the driver said.

According to the United Nation’s Children’s Fund, tropical storm Washi hit far to the south of the most storm-prone region of the country, sweeping across towns and villages unaccustomed to coping with storms of this strength. Agency reports indicate that nearly 1,500 people were reported dead, with more than 1,000 still missing. More than 50 evacuation centers have been established to house an estimated 54,000 people who lost their homes during flash flooding.

The tropical storm disrupted the predominately Christian nation during the holiday season.

“Families found themselves spending the holiday on … the floor of a basketball court together with other victims, sharing four toilets and getting food sporadically,” said ADRA Philippines Country Director Goran Hansen.

ADRA will continue to monitor the situation. For details, visit adra.org.

U.S. Supreme Court ruling is First Amendment defense, Adventist legal counselors say

2012-01-13T15:37:52+00:00

Landmark decision applies ‘ministerial exception’ to Lutheran schoolteacher

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

Seventh-day Adventist Church legal counselors say a ruling this week by the United States Supreme Court further shields churches from government interference.

In a landmark decision, the nation’s highest court ruled that government cannot question a religious community’s decisions regarding who should teach in its church-run schools.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week ruled that government cannot question a church’s decisions on who will teach at its faith-based schools. Adventist legal counselors say the ruling further cements church-state separation in the country. [photo: Shutterstock]

The unanimous ruling clarifies the role of the “ministerial exception,” which has previously protected churches in the U.S. from undue government and court interference, said Todd McFarland, an associate general counsel for the Adventist world church’s Office of General Counsel.

While lower courts have applied the ministerial exception for decades, this latest ruling marks the first time the Supreme Court has tackled it.

“For the Adventist Church in the U.S., this means courts will not be second-guessing the hiring and firing of our pastors and teachers,” McFarland said, adding that the decision frees the church to make employment decisions without worrying that a “secular judge and jury” might question their motivation.

“We’re pleased with the outcome,” he said.

The January 11 ruling dismisses the retaliation suit of a Lutheran schoolteacher in Michigan. Commissioned minister and teacher Cheryl Perich was fired after a 2004 narcolepsy diagnosis allegedly left her unable to perform her job. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church argued that Perich’s illness and ensuing absences strained the school’s limited staff and budget.

Perich, however, claimed the church was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and threatened to file a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). After the Lutheran Church accused Perich of violating the church’s doctrine of internal conflict resolution, the EEOC sued Hosanna-Tabor for penalizing Perich’s exercise of her rights under the law.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals was convinced, too, after adding up the minutes per day Perich spent on secular and religious duties. They determined Perich spent 45 minutes per day conducting religious activities, such as leading prayer and worship -- not enough to apply the “ministerial exception” to discrimination laws, they ruled.

Applying the exception means courts can’t meddle in a church’s decision to appoint, elect or fire “ministers of the faith,” and, in turn, those ministers can’t sue their churches over most employment disputes.

Adventist Church Associate General Counsel Todd McFarland says church legal counselors are “pleased” with the January 11 ruling. Here, McFarland reviews church policy at the 2010 General Conference World Session. [ANN file photo by Gerry Chudleigh]

The nation’s highest court saw the case differently. Supreme Court justices cited Perich’s ministerial credentials and housing allowance from the church as evidence she acted as a minister of faith. Justices also noted that limiting the ministerial exception to employees “who perform exclusively religious functions” may be impossible, since even ministers handle financial matters, facilities management and other secular duties.

“The exception should apply to any ‘employee’ who leads a religious organization, conducts worship services or important religious ceremonies or rituals, or serves as a messenger or teacher of its faith,” Justice Samuel Alito Jr. wrote in a concurring opinion with Justice Elena Kagan.

The Adventist Church was among many religious organizations that filed an amicus, or “friend of the court” brief in support of the Lutheran-run church school. The church’s support of Hosanna-Tabor cited the value of religious education in membership retention and outlined the history of the ministerial exception, including its foundation in church-state separation, he said.

The Adventist Church’s Office of General Counsel routinely files amicus briefs in cases where it has invested interest, McFarland said. Previous briefs have supported workplace freedom for Sabbath-observers.

In response to their show of support this week for the Supreme Court’s decision, Adventist legal counselors have fielded questions regarding whether the ruling now gives churches the license to “abuse or mistreat” employees, McFarland said.

“The simple answer is obviously ‘No,’” he said, “but it’s true that there are certain church employees -- not all, and certainly not even a majority -- who now have potentially less protection in the courts.”

But Adventist legal counsels don’t want “a jury of 12 people off the street” deciding what church doctrine is and whether a church employee has complied with it, McFarland said.

In a hypothetical case, a pastor close to retirement and fired for “straying from the faith” could argue age discrimination in court and likely find a sympathetic jury, he said.

“The argument that somehow the court can sort out whether a decision is religiously motivated or not is precisely the type of entanglement that requires a separation of church and state,” McFarland said.

Baird honored with lifetime achievement award for anti-tobacco work

2012-01-10T15:33:24+00:00

South African helped ban smoking on airlines in 1980s

2012, Johannesburg, South Africa
Ansel Oliver/ANN

Long since retired, Denis Baird, now 92, was working as a full-time Seventh-day Adventist minister and in 1975 launched what is now South Africa’s National Council Against Smoking, an organization that helped the country in the 1980s to ban smoking on South African Airways domestic flights.

Denis Baird, right, receives the General Conference Health Ministries Medal of Distinction from Associate Health Ministries Director Dr. Peter Landless in a ceremony on December 17 in Johannesburg. Baird’s wife Bridget holds the award.

The Adventist world church last month awarded Baird the General Conference Health Ministries Medal of Distinction for his lifetime of service and promotion of healthful living.

“It’s richly merited. Denis was a pathfinder. Before him, no one was working on tobacco control in South Africa,” said Dr. Yussuf Saloojee, executive director of National Council Against Smoking.

Many health workers say South Africa’s tobacco industry was intertwined with the apartheid government and that going against it meant long shot odds. In 1967, Baird’s angle to challenge tobacco companies was a simple request: tell him the amount of nicotine and tar in their cigarettes.

When companies refused to offer information on ingredients, he contacted what is now the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. Officials there agreed to study the cigarettes and requested 200 samples of each cigarette brand. For the study’s integrity, they needed them delivered personally.

Baird took a flight to Atlanta, his luggage mostly filled with cartons of cigarettes. High above the Atlantic Ocean, he said he remembers having no doubts on the outcome of the study.

“I felt very strongly that it was going to work. We had strong indications that cigarettes in South Africa were very dangerous.” The rate of lung cancer among smokers in South Africa was much higher than in other countries, he said.

Months later the results concurred. Cigarettes in South Africa were found to contain more than double the rates of nicotine and tar than most cigarettes produced in other countries.

The results created an uproar when they were published in 1978 by Dr. Harry Seftel, a professor of medicine at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and a co-founder of the council with Baird.

Baird’s council work was in addition to his job as a full-time local church minister. His ministry career also included posts as a conference president in Rhodesia – now Zimbabwe – and the Cape Conference in South Africa.

Today, some 5.4 million people die annually due to tobacco related illnesses and this figure is projected to increase to more than 8 million a year by the year 2030, church health officials say.

Some countries have shown a steady decrease in smoking, such as the United States and Australia. But smoking is increasing in other parts of the world, including many developing countries, health experts say.

“Unless interventions are put in place and on a wide and broad scale, these statistics are unlikely to improve,” said Dr. Peter Landless, associate Health Ministries director for the Adventist Church.

“The battle will never be won unless current smokers are targeted and assisted to stop smoking,” Landless said. “It is crucial and important to focus on preventing the initiation of tobacco use, but it is equally important to assist people to stop smoking as well as to lobby for tobacco restrictions and control.”

In 2000, the American Cancer Society gave the South Africa Government’s Ministry of Health a Luther Terrey Award for its support of tobacco legislation. The society said smoking rates in 1998 had dropped 30 percent since 1991 because of government efforts, which serve as a model for other low-income countries in dealing with tobacco industries.

“[Baird] is a role model,” said Saloojee. “The foundations were laid by the work that he did.”

Human rights champion Amor was 'great defender of religious freedom'

2012-01-10T15:26:36+00:00

Former UN special rapporteur spoke out against intolerance, repression

2012, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Bettina Krause/ANN

Religious liberty advocates are calling the death of Tunisian human rights lawyer Abdelfattah Amor a great loss for the international religious freedom community.

From left, human rights lawyer Abdelfattah Amor with John Graz, director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, at the 5th International Religious Liberty Association World Congress. Amor was a speaker at the June 2002 event in Manila. [photo courtesy IRLA]

Amor, who served from 1993 to 2004 as the United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, died January 2 following a heart attack.

Amor, a Muslim, was widely acknowledged as one of the world’s foremost advocates of religious freedom for all people of faith. In 1995, he was one of the few UN representatives to visit Iran, and he subsequently issued a groundbreaking report on religious intolerance and repression in that country.

At the time of his death, Amor was a member of the UN Human Rights Committee and had recently been appointed as president of Tunisia’s National Commission for the Investigation of Corruption and Bribery.

Amor “proved himself to be a valued friend of the Adventist Church’s religious freedom work,” said John Graz, director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Seventh-day Adventist world church.

Amor spoke at the denomination’s 4th and 5th world congresses on religious liberty in Rio and Manila, respectively. He visited world church headquarters in Maryland and spoke at Spencerville Adventist Church, also in Maryland.

“On a number of occasions he reported before the UN General Assembly in New York on [the] persecution of Adventists around the world, and his support proved very helpful to us,” said Graz, who last met with Amor last November in Geneva.

“[Amor] was a man of great knowledge, openness, courage and integrity. He had tremendous compassion for all those who suffered discrimination or oppression,” Graz said.

“My deepest sympathy goes to his wife and children,” he added. “They are in our prayers as they mourn their loss.”

Reintroduced law again jeopardizing status of some churches in Hungary

2012-01-09T19:56:35+00:00

Adventist Church’s reapplication for official recognition is pending; No gap expected, religious liberty advocates say

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

The saga of securing official church status in Hungary continues, despite what religious liberty advocates called encouraging news late last year when the Constitutional Court struck down the country’s controversial Law of Churches.

John Graz, director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Adventist world church, monitors the status of church registration in Hungary from the denomination’s headquarters. Church leaders in Europe report that the Seventh-day Adventist Church there will likely regain its official status at the end of February. [photo: Ansel Oliver]

Prior to that ruling, more than 300 minority faiths -- among them the Seventh-day Adventist Church -- were set to lose official legal status in Hungary on January 1, after which they would undergo a reapplication process.

With the New Year, those churches are facing a similar situation.

The country’s Constitutional Court overturned the Law of Churches purely on technical grounds, and on December 30 Hungary’s majority conservative party “easily” reintroduced and passed essentially the same law, effective January 1, said Dwayne Leslie, the Adventist world church’s legislative representative in Washington, D.C.

Hungary’s Parliament claims the law is necessary to weed out businesses or individuals posing as churches just to gain the accompanying rights and privileges. Furthermore, the majority government maintains that the law doesn’t infringe on religious liberty. It doesn’t “forbid” worship according to any faith tradition, Hungary’s minister of state for government communication, Zoltan Kovacs, wrote in a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

Kovacs said the law merely outlines how churches can gain official recognition “if they show themselves to be popular enough.” One condition requires a church to prove a decades-long history in the country and count more than 1,000 members.

The Hungarian government is “making efforts to explain to the international community that this is not a human rights issue,” said Ganoune Diop, the Adventist world church’s representative to the United Nations.

“The situation in Hungary is very complex, and there are several issues at play, from economic to judicial and legislative -- and in front of these issues, religion. The government sees the de-registration of churches as a response, in part, to the tremendous challenges the country is facing,” Diop said.

Some experts have even predicted a further recession on Hungary’s horizon, he added.

“We must voice our concerns over the de-registration of churches, but whatever we say about the situation in Hungary must be prudent and sensitive to the context and sovereignty of Hungary,” Diop said.

Many members of the international religious liberty community maintain that regardless of the country’s internal struggles, the law poses undue challenges for legitimate religious organizations.

“Now we not only have an objective standard of what constitutes a church, but we also need a two-thirds vote of Parliament just to become an official religion, and we think that’s problematic,” Leslie said.

Currently, 82 of the some 300 minority religions de-registered under the latest law have reapplied for official status, among them the Seventh-day Adventist Church, denomination officials in Hungary said.

Religious liberty analysts said provisions of the new law indicate that those churches that have already applied for status will not experience a gap in official recognition. They’ll maintain previous recognition while a decision regarding their ultimate status is pending in Parliament.

Members of Parliament have indicated that they’ll arrive at a decision by the end of February, analysts said. Church leaders in Hungary report that “communication with the government” suggests that the Seventh-day Adventist Church will regain official church status.

“One positive improvement in the new law is that it does not prohibit denominations to use the term ‘church,’ even if they are not accepted by Parliament,” said Ócsai Tamás, president of the church’s Hungarian Union Conference. Churches to which Parliament does not grant official recognition will receive a “religious association” status, he said.

“Hopefully some churches in Hungary -- including the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which has been operating in the country for more than a century -- will have a positive answer [next month],” said John Graz, director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Adventist world church.

“We encourage all believers to pray for religious freedom in Hungary, so our church and others can continue to operate for the good of the nation as in the past,” Graz said.

Top Seventh-day Adventist leadership in Hungary and the church’s Trans-European Division will continue to closely monitor the situation, along with the denomination’s global religious liberty community.