Adventist Church Planting Sets Record, Spurs Growth
By AT News Team, March 4, 2015: In 2014 Adventists planted 2,446 new congregations, a single-year record, reported the Adventist Review. This is 381 higher than last year, and it “tops the previous record of 2,416 churches in 2002, said David Trim, director of the Adventist Church’s Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research.”
Church planting is credited with fueling a second record, the highest membership growth in a single year—1,167,796 new members. According to the Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, this brings total denominational membership to nearly 18.5 million.
“Countless studies show that church planting is the most effective form of sustained church growth — confirming the testimony of the book of Acts, the counsel of Ellen White, and the Adventist Church’s own history,” the Adventist Review quoted Gary Krause as saying. Krause is director of Adventist Mission, which supports church planting in geographical areas where Adventist congregations are not present.
By the end of 2014, “one out of every 392 people in the global population of 7.238 billion is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, an uptick from one in 393 people in 2013 and one in 459 people a decade earlier in 2004,” reported the Adventist Review.
Ted Wilson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, responded to the statistics: “Praise God for His goodness and blessing! By His grace, the emphasis on Mission to the Cities and comprehensive health ministry will accelerate the accessions [new members] as pastors, administrators, and members allow the Holy Spirit to guide in all that is done.”
Wilson continued, “We give God the glory for all the positive membership statistics. As I see world conditions and understand Biblical prophecy, I am firmly convinced that God is preparing the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the culminating proclamation of the three angels’ messages and the final loud cry.”
G.T. Ng, executive secretary of the denomination, noted the work of those involved in planting. “Obviously pastors have been busy going about the King’s business. Not to forget our unsung heroes, trained and dedicated churches members are toiling behind their pastors, giving their time and means for the kingdom.”
Despite the reported growth, Ng cautioned that the statistical picture is not uniform. “In spite of the upbeat membership growth and outstanding number of newly planted churches, we must be mindful of the slow growth, nongrowth and reclining areas of the world. Great swathes of population are still steeped in traditional religions. They need our continued intercession and encouragement,” he said.
“…nongrowth and reclining areas of the world.” Now that’s some creative description. Such description reminds me of former US Marine Corps General “Chesty” Puller was famous for never using the term “retreat” and described their mass withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir area in Korea as a “retrograde advance.”
They only list the number of new converts and new churches. What is not noted is the percentage loss of members. It would be interesting to see the statistics of the percentage growth and loss by Division. I wonder what the North American Division statistics would show? If the General Conference headquarters would be relocated to the region where Adventists are in the greatest numbers, it should be moved to Brazil.
Until the church books are really cleaned up in NA, there won’t be a true accounting of the membership in the NAD.
I know a lot of people who aren’t SDA anymore, but have never had their names taken off the books.
I think if the SDA church had 600,000 members in the US, that might even be a generous number, this would probably be closer to a true number of members.
I’ve not been a part of Adventism for a long time, but membership count back then wasn’t burdened with much verifiable data, mostly a flexible convenience depending on the benefit desired. Then there were three membership accounts.
(1) “Evangelist count” euphemism for the ephemeral converts left behind by those whistle stopping church salesmen and applied later, with the added inflation of total imaginary numbers conjured and advertised by the GC for national consumption.
(2) Book count, those on the almost-never-purged membership books. I’ve speculated I might still be on the books!
(3) Head count, those who usually came to services.
In spite of my skepticism based on the distant past, I hope things have changed, I have no ill will, only best wishes, that the growth advertised is the real deal.
About the only change I’ve seen in your description is fewer evangelists making those counts.
CFowler-
I conjecture you may be correct in your assessment of NAD.
Pastors, generally, seem to oppose any efforts by their own investigation and that of the many elders at their disposal to determine the true condition of “members” who no longer attend church. I realize the laity also should be involved in visiting those who either cannot or do not attend and show no interest in the church.
This does not mean wholesale removal of names from the *books* but there should be a concerted effort to work with absentee members if they permit it.
Maranatha
It is now, officially, “primary season” for San Antonio.
All aboard the GC-Adventist Review Bankwagon.
How about making some real effort to determine the true situation in the USA?
Develop a questionnaire and get every attending member to contact 3 “lost” or “unaccounted for” members. If a contactee is willing to receive a pastoral visit, assign a deacon or elder to visit them.
Where appropriate, transfer the membership of those attending other churches.
If the local congregation has a SATCOM [sexual accountability and transparency committee] in place, refer those who arose suspicion to them.
Remove from the church rolls those who are really not interested.