Each October the Seventh-day Adventist Church conducts its Annual Council. This meeting is the full gathering of the General Conference Executive Committee, composed of approximately 300 individuals from around the world. While the majority of individuals who compose this representative body are church administrators, a significant number of other employees, such as pastors and teachers, and lay members also attend.
Looking at the agenda, it is tempting to conclude that most of the items are routine; and one may even question, What do some of those items have to do with the life of the church? In reality, however, these councils focus not only on the current state of the church but its future direction. The meetings start with worship on Friday night, and the wonderful spiritual messages continue throughout the Sabbath. Each of the five days of the meetings starts with worship. After worship on Sunday—the day of the first business session—the first order of business is the reading of the mission statement. This statement reminds us of just why we, as a church, exist.
Reports and more reports
During the Annual Council many reports are presented. The secretary of the General Conference gives statistical reports and the treasurer gives financial reports. These reports consist of much more than facts and figures. The first gives us a good indication as to what is happening around the world with our membership and the second helps us to understand the present reality of finances, fiscal challenges, and how they are being met. During this meeting, various departments and ministries also share what they are accomplishing. As important as these reports are, I want to focus on four items that made a significant impression on me.
More people, more cities
Approximately 50 percent of the world’s population lives in metropolitan areas. Our cities are becoming larger, with some of them having populations that were thought impossible just a few decades ago. What is the church doing in these cities?
During the Annual Council, one individual shared a report that in a certain city the church was serving a million meals on a particular day. Other reports indicated that the church is making specific plans for evangelism in some of the large metropolitan areas. For example, in one city the plans are to develop a congregation near each subway station so that individuals who have to use public transportation will be able to easily travel to the churches.
Do we really have that many members?
What is the world membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Our statistics indicate the baptized membership totals approximately 16 million, but people may ask, Do we really have that many members? I might ask, What is the membership of your conference, union conference, or congregation? The world membership is simply the total of the reports from the local congregations.
Often, we have heard the comment made, How accurate are these membership lists? I am encouraged that reports were shared indicating that a number of world divisions have conducted thorough audits of their membership lists, and now their membership lists more accurately reflect reality. For me, it was encouraging to have this reality check; and now, when I hear membership figures, I can be more certain that they are correct.
More and more church buildings
Seventh-day Adventist congregations, worldwide, worship in a variety of buildings. Some have large wellbuilt facilities and others worship in extremely modest quarters. Several years ago a plan was presented to provide “One-Day Churches”— structures that can be erected in one day and accommodate up to 200 people. In some parts of the world that would not be permitted due to zoning regulations; nevertheless, to many homeless congregations they are a blessing. So far, over 3,100 have been erected.
A visit to China
During the Annual Council, it was mentioned that the General Conference president, Jan Paulsen, visited a number of churches in the People’s Republic of China. What an encouraging report we heard. At a time when we did not have much contact with our members in China, we have discovered that the church has grown significantly. Today, there are hundreds of thriving congregations— ranging from house churches to churches with several thousand members.
While sometimes the reports at Annual Council seem to be routine and not the most exciting, we still receive a blessing when we listen to what is transpiring in God’s church around the world. I was encouraged, and I hope that our readers—whether they are pastors of congregations or leaders of church units—will hold similar meetings in their areas. I have noticed that a number of congregations no longer have what we call year-end business meetings, where reports are shared and plans are discussed. Perhaps it’s time to look again at these meetings and ask ourselves if it would not be good to get together to share what is happening and dream together as to what we can do. Those kinds of dreams God will bless and fulfill.