The Seventh-day Adventist churches in the Himalayan Section celebrated the International Women’s Day of Prayer on March 2, 2024, by organizing various activities for women. All church services on that Saturday (Sabbath) were led by women, making it a special day for emphasizing the significance of prayer in their personal experience. The day’s theme was “Ignite Your Prayer Life,” and organizers invited women to focus on their prayers and deepen their connection with God. It was an opportunity provided by the General Conference Women’s Ministries department “to create a conducive spiritual atmo ..read more

In March, Zaoksky Christian Secondary School, a Seventh-day Adventist school in Zaoksky, in the Tula region of Russia, celebrated its 30th anniversary. In honor of this significant event, the Euro-Asia Division prepared a short article that will offer everyone a glimpse of the school’s history and growth. No one can better help us see everything from the inside than our school’s chaplain, Reuben Dmitrievich Kroytor, with whom we conducted a short interview. Can you please describe in general terms what the path of our school was, how it all began? Where have you come to now? The school began i ..read more

For 15 years, Samoan-born New Zealander Andrew Hoeflich was known citywide as “the guy who beats everybody up” — a bouncer and street fighter. Then, an unexpected Bible study invitation led him back to Jesus — and the calling he’d rejected.  A transformed Hoeflich decided to channel his fighting ability into ministry. Offering free kickboxing classes for mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters in exchange for 30 minutes studying in the Word helped him cultivate “a solid community.” Today, Hoeflich is the community pastor at Papatoetoe Seventh-day Adventist Church in Auckland, New Zeal ..read more

In extraordinary scenes, thousands of people queued for check-ups at a mega health clinic held in Papua New Guinea’s Western Highlands Province, April 16-19. Located at Mount Hagen, the clinic opened on Tuesday with a large welcoming ceremony attended by more than 2,500 people, including the governor of the Western Highlands Province, Wai Rapa. Challenging weather did not deter many residents of Western Island Province from coming to the free mega health clinic in Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea. [Photo: 10,000 Toes Facebook account] Among the health professionals who volunteered their service ..read more

Terry Forde, president and CEO of Adventist HealthCare, headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States, will step down from his role on August 2 to become president and CEO of Health First, headquartered in Brevard County, Florida. Founded in 1907, Adventist HealthCare, is a faith-based, not-for-profit comprehensive health-care system consisting of six owned and managed hospitals and more than 50 facilities offering a full continuum of high-quality care across the greater Washington, D.C., region. Under Forde’s leadership over the past 13 years, Adventist HealthCare has earned national ..read more

The Seventh-day Adventist community in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, welcomed dozens of new members on April 6, at the end of the first week of a two-week evangelism initiative taking place across the island. Among them were 13 members of a family that encompasses three generations, organizers said. The in-person “Journey to Joy” evangelistic series, a joint effort of the General Conference Treasury team, the Caribbean Union Conference, the North Caribbean Conference, and other partners, included four guest speakers at four venues, a free health clinic, and social initiatives. Through the un ..read more

The Australian Union Conference (AUC) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has appointed a new ministerial secretary, Lyndelle Peterson, who is currently serving as associate ministerial secretary along with being Stewardship and Sabbath School departmental director. The appointment comes following the announcement from former ministerial secretary Brendan Pratt that he accepted a call to be the new director of the global mission center for secular and post-Christian mission and associate ministerial secretary for the AUC. Peterson comes with a diverse range of experience, starting out as an in ..read more

More than 50 publishing leaders and special guests gathered in February for the European Tri-Division Publishing Workshop held at Campus Adventiste du Salève — the Adventist university in Collonges-sous-Salève, France. The workshop, intended for exploring best practices and sharing inspiring testimonies, brought together leaders from the Euro-Asia Division (ESD), Inter-European Division (EUD), Trans-European Division (TED), and the Ukrainian Union Conference (UUC) under the theme “It’s Our Time — Today, Not Tomorrow.” According to Almir Marroni, Publishing Ministries director for the General C ..read more

Benjamin F. Reaves, a distinguished Adventist preacher, teacher, author, university president, and health-care mission and ministry leader, who dedicated more than five decades of his life to serving others, passed away on February 1, 2024, at the age of 91. During his rich, decades-long ministry, Reaves served as vice president of mission and ministry at AdventHealth (then Adventist Health System) from 1997 to 2010 under three of the company’s presidents: Mardian Blair, Tom Werner, and Don Jernigan. He also served later as a special advisor to the CEO. “Over the years, Ben was not only a cher ..read more

One of our pivotal beliefs, as Seventh-day Adventists, is that of the second coming of Jesus Christ. It is, indeed, the hope “that burns within our hearts.” And we are not alone. The coming of Christ has been the culmination of hope for all believers down through the ages. In describing that glorious event, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation’ ” (Isa. 25:9). In Psalm 50:3 we read, “Our God shall come, and shall not ..read more