Monte Sahlin, Scholar, Pastor, Administrator & Sociologist, Passes to His Rest
2 April 2025 |
Pastor, Mentor, Leader, Professor, Author are just some of the beloved references to Monte Sahlin by those whose lives he touched. These references highlight the career of one of our denomination’s most productive church leaders, pastors and researchers. Dr. Sahlin, 76, passed away peacefully in Kettering, Ohio, April 2, 2025, surrounded by his loving family.
Over more than 60 years in ministry with the Adventist church, Monte began at the Voice of Prophecy developing programs for new generations of radio listeners. Then he became the director of urban ministries in Los Angeles, California, Washington DC, and Boston, Massachusetts, followed by pastoring in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Worthington, Ohio.
Throughout his career Monte spearheaded dozens of inner city projects which are now in their second or third generation, and mentored pastors and community services leaders as they established local and regional programs. His work in the urban areas of the Northeast are chronicled in his book “Mission in Metropolis: The Adventist Movement in the Urban World,” and his many contributions to the work of the church are described in the festschrift book in his honor titled “As One Who Serves: Perspectives on Adventist Mission Ministry to Members, Families and Communities,” both published by the Center for Creative Ministry.
Sahlin then served in the newly formed North American Division (NAD) from 1987-1998 where he led the development of church ministries and began the semi-annual church ministry convention for union and local conference departmental leaders. He particularly enjoyed the transformation of the inner city program and Adventist Community Services into a first-rate professional agency resulting in a network of agencies and programs in many major cities of the U.S. and with a robust national disaster response program in collaboration with the United States government for which they gave him with an Outstanding Public Service Award in 1995.
Sahlin pioneered social research within the Adventist church and the use of survey data in the development of ministries and ministry tools. He directed more than 130 research projects over the last four decades. He authored twenty-six books and more than one hundred research reports and articles over his career. He served as an adjunct professor for Andrews University (who surprised him with an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 2023) and for the Tony Campolo Center for Ministry at Eastern University in Philadelphia. From the NAD, Monte became the Vice President for Ministries for the Columbia Union in Columbia, Maryland from 1999-2007.
Sahlin retired from denominational employment in 2014 after working in the Ohio conference coordinating metropolitan ministries and research and development projects. His ministry continued as executive director for Adventist Today, an independent journalism agency for eight years concluding in 2020. His research and writing continued until just weeks before his death.
Monte is survived by his wife Gretchen, brother Chris, daughters Stephanie, Melissa and Najwa, grandchildren Zeke, Zoe, Alex, and Marco, and many friends and close colleagues. His legacy of service lives on in the lives of his family as well as the many pastors, students, and community services professionals he mentored throughout his career. At his request, his colleagues with the Center for Creative Ministry, an organization whose board he chaired for many years, will continue his important research and publishing activities.
