While traveling by plane in Asia my seatmate, who represented a Christian organization, and I began a conversation. After hearing briefly about the worldwide church organization of the Seventh-day Adventists, he stated with obvious envy, "If only we could function as a world church, what strength there would be." This reaction is not uncommon among leaders of other Christian churches and organizations. In this chapter we want to see how the Seventh-day Adventist church is organized to work effectively, how it helps you in your task and how you can contribute to it.

What do you know about the worldwide organization of the Adventist church? How can local churches get involved in mission?

A Global Church

When you look at the Adventist church you are immediately struck by the fact that this is a worldwide church. Instead of being organized in national churches that are independent of each other, Adventists have chosen to stay in a global fellowship of churches that are bound to each other by a common faith and a strong organizational structure. From a handful of people in 1863, the church has developed into a truly worldwide movement of over ten million people. This amazing growth is supported by a church organization both complex and simple at the same time. The complexity comes from the multifaceted work carried on around the world. It involves some 50,000 churches and over 110,000 Sabbath schools, and thousands of institutions engaged in an incredible diversity of services and ministry.

Institutions
Best known are perhaps Adventist health care facilities, the church's educational work, and the ministry of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). The network of 6000 schools operated around the globe is one of the largest church-operated school systems in the world. Add to that orphanages and nursing homes, over 50 publishing houses, 27 food industries and countless other projects and you have indeed an incredibly complex organization.

Departments
Of course there is also the full spectrum of departmental services. These include Sabbath School, personal ministries, youth, children, stewardship, publishing, health/temperance, family, women's ministries and additional ones as well which provide supporting roles in specialty areas for more successful nurture and outreach.

A Simple Structure

At the same time the Adventist church is structured in a simple way. There are only four organizational layers worldwide:

The local church—A family of Adventist members which have been granted status as a local church.

The conference—A family of local churches which has been granted official status as a conference by a union conference or mission.

The union conference—A family of local conferences or missions which has been granted official status as an Adventist union by the General Conference (GC).

The General Conference—A family of unions which has authority when assembled in session.

The General Conference has its headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, and is represented locally through the world divisions.

On June 30, 2000, there were 91 unions, 490 conferences or missions and 47,543 churches organized in 12 divisions. They encompass established work in 204 countries. The divisions and their geographic locations were as follows:

1. African-Indian Ocean Division (AID): Abidjan, Ivory Coast
2. Eastern Africa Division (EAD): Harare, Zimbabwe
3. Euro-Africa Division (EUD): Berne, Switzerland
4. Euro-Asia Division (ESD): Moscow, Russia
5. Inter-American Division (IAD): Miami, Florida
6. North-American Division (NAD): Silver Spring, Maryland
7. Northern-Asia Pacific Division (NSD): Koyang-City, Korea
8. South American Division (SAD): Brasilia, Brazil
9. South Pacific Division (SPD): Wahroonga, Australia
10. Southern Asia Division (SUD): Hosur, India
11. Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD): Silang, Philippines
12. Trans-European Division (TED): St. Albans, England

Support for Mission

But what is the value of this organization that guides the work of the Adventist church around the world? There are actually many.

Facing Global Challenges
The first value of an efficient organizational structure is the church's ability to address global challenges. Despite all efforts in the past, the mission of the Adventist church is far from finished. In chapter one we showed that many millions have never heard the name of Christ. Hundreds of people groups are still completely untouched by the Christian message. Hundreds more have not yet been entered with the Adventist message of Christ's soon return. This challenge demands the mobilization of resources that go far beyond local capacities alone.

Strategizing for World Evangelization
In 1990 the Adventist church created a "think tank" to develop and implement the church's efforts to evangelize the thousands of unreached people groups. This initiative, called Global Mission, has resulted in the mobilization of thousands of Global Mission Pioneers penetrating many new areas and planting of thousands of new churches. In addition, this new vision has influenced churches and organizations at the local levels to take the challenge of unreached population groups in the world seriously and find ways to reach out to them.

Coordinating the World-Wide Enterprise
The General Conference Secretariat is responsible for coordinating the global missionary flow of the church. The members of the Secretariat all have specific responsibilities for calling and sending missionaries and volunteers to specific areas of the world. While the number of career missionaries has not increased during the last few years, the number of short-term missionaries and volunteers has exploded, leading to the establishment of the Adventist Volunteer Center (AVC) at the GC Secretariat which seeks to encourage the further development of opportunities for involvement, for cross-cultural training, and for local church initiatives for worldwide mission. This manual, Passport to Mission, is partly sponsored by AVC which uses it together with the Passport to Mission Video as a primary training resource.

At the beginning of this new century the church is again establishing voluntary mission service, so common in the pioneer days of the Adventist church, as the defining characteristic of the Seventh-day Adventist lifestyle. The diverse structure of the church has the potential to be a great asset in making this vision a reality again by opening up many opportunities for service and bringing mission back to the local church.

The "Call Book"
Each year the General Conference processes hundreds of calls for volunteers. These are now published on the Web making the information easily accessible (www.volunteers.gc.adventist.org). While many of these calls are for teachers in elementary and secondary schools or English-language schools, a significant number of calls are for nonteaching roles. These are great opportunities for service.

How Does This Help You?

In several ways. First of all, because the Adventist church is a global church you have opportunities to serve as a short-term missionary in many parts of the world. Second, it is good to know that your church is concerned about making volunteer service again part of the "normal" way of Adventist life. This is exciting. Third, the church is committed to supporting its volunteers and missionaries. It provides resources and training. And fourth, it provides different platforms for service. The growing number of opportunities in traditional church organizations and supportive ministries is simply amazing.

Training for Mission (Institute of World Mission)
For a number of years the church has prepared missionary families for cross-cultural service through providing pre-departure mission institutes. These institutes teach future missionaries not only how to live in another culture but also how to be effective missionaries. They have proven to be a great help to missionaries. In 1999 this training was made available to all regular GC missionary appointees. Through Passport to Mission the institute's training resources are reaching an even wider circle.

New Opportunities for Mission
One of the great signs of the vitality of Adventist mission is the growing number of mission opportunities available to you. Many colleges today operate student missionary programs. In the United States this program has sponsored and sent out thousands of young adults.

Another indicator of this vitality is the proliferation of "supportive ministries" that train and send out missionaries. Some of them are focusing on pioneer mission work, e.g. Adventist Frontier Missions (AFM) or the 1000 Missionary Movement. Maranatha International sponsors short-term opportunities building schools and churches around the world. Re-Creation Unlimited organizes nature, outdoor and religious activities in state and federal parks in the United States. Outpost Centers, Inc. (OCI) brings together many initiatives providing Christian education, medical care, lifestyle and health education, agricultural and practical training, and disaster relief in over thirty countries. Reach International operates orphanages, schools and youth hostels in countries like India, Burma, Thailand and the Philippines. It is a fascinating list of organizations working with the church to finish the total mission God has given to his church. For details on many of these organizations see the guide to mission opportunities periodically published by the Institute of World Mission.

How You Can Contribute

You understand now how the church is organized to support the worldwide missionary enterprise. You have also seen how all this can help you in your involvement in mission. But the most important question is how you can contribute to the fulfillment of the mission of the Adventist church.

At Home
Remember that mission does not start with an airplane ticket to an exotic place, but in the heart of a believer. To be a missionary means to recognize we are Christ's representatives called to witness of His goodness. So you can become involved in mission right now. There are also specific things you can do to contribute while "at home."

At the very least you can get informed about the missionary needs in the world. Start bringing missions back into the program of your local church. Is the mission report interesting? When was the last time the different departments of the church have adopted a mission project? Why not adopt a people group! You may even do that yourself as a personal project. Collect information about unreached people groups, then select one you will start praying and becoming an advocate for. There are some excellent resources that might help you at the end of this chapter. Several other things you can do are found in chapter 26.

In the Field
As volunteer missionaries you will be a part of some aspect of our church organization. It is most important that you go with a positive attitude towards those you are working with. In the remainder of the book we will help you understand why it is so important to go with the attitude of a learner. Remember that if you desire to bring about change or make a contribution to the organization you work with, you need to communicate thoroughly. Always work in close harmony with the chairperson of your board or committee.

You will discover in various cultures and church settings outside the homeland that there are many different styles of leadership and various approaches which differ from the ones which you are accustomed. In many ways the success of your work has much to do with attitudes and relationships.

The church is excited you are interested in serving as a missionary. It needs your support and involvement. As a member of the global church family you will hopefully find your niche where your gifts and interests can make a difference.

1. How do you feel about the worldwide organization of the Adventist church? What do you think are the strengths of an efficient global church structure for mission?

2. Check out the "call book." It contains many current service opportunities. What kind of ministry would you like to serve in?

3. If you are considering becoming a short-term missionary, try to locate former student missionaries and interview them about their experience.