Annual Report
2017
Great Is Your Faithfulness
Annual Report
2017 CONTENTS
Mission, Values & Priorities
3
From the President
4
Columbia Union At-A-Glance
6
Leadership Team
8
Transitions
9
2017 Highlights
10
Secretariat & Treasury
14
Healthcare & Education
16
Ministries & Services
18
2017 By the Numbers
22
Executive Committee
24
2 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
Mission, Values & Priorities Motto
Education
Experience the Mission
Foster excellence in spiritual
Mission
in Adventist schools and
We encourage members to experience the mission of sharing Jesus Christ’s message of hope and wholeness and preparing people for His soon return.
2016-2021 Priorities
and academic development support programs that promote affordability and increased enrollment
Youth/Young Adults Engage youth and young adults in mission and provide oppor-
The Columbia Union Conference
tunities for partnerships, minis-
will further the work of the
try development and participa-
Seventh-day Adventist Church
tion at all levels of the church
by prioritizing:
Leadership Development
Spiritual Renewal
Maximize the vitality of the
Promote healthy churches by
church by supporting leader-
uniting members through
ship development, promoting
personal and corporate spiritual
effectiveness, assuring equality
revival and active engagement
and highlighting best practice
in ministry
Social Relevance
Evangelism
Embrace opportunities to share
Support initiatives that impact
Christ’s message of hope and
our communities by revealing the
wholeness by addressing issues
love of Christ, inviting people to
that impact today’s society,
accept Christ as their Savior and
encouraging and facilitating
sharing the distinct Seventh-day
dialogue, and seeking solutions
Adventist message of hope and
that promote healing
wholeness
We pray and strive to embrace and embody: Christlikeness – Unity – Respect Excellence – Equality – Integrity – Service experience the mission 3
“ not consumed, because His compassions Through the Lord’s mercies we are
fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23, NKJV
”
FROM THE PRESIDENT I am encouraged by the many ways we can see God moving and working in and through our dedicated members and ministry leaders. As we reflect on God’s faithfulness in 2017, here are three things to know about the Columbia Union Conference and how we continue to experience the mission:
We are loyal • The members of the Columbia Union are committed to God, the work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and fulfilling the mission of Christ in these last days.
• We wholeheartedly embrace God’s Word, the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of our church and the Spirit of Prophecy. • We enthusiastically proclaim the Three Angels’ Messages through evangelism efforts. • We value the unity and fellowship of all believers. • Our membership represents all nations, tongues and people of the world. • We faithfully and sacrificially support the mission of the world church with tithes and mission offerings.
We are growing • We experienced an 18% growth in membership during the last three years and have welcomed more than 10,000 new members to our union family in the last two years. • Our members faithfully and sacrificially gave $133 million in 2017 to advance mission in our union and around the world—a 3.04% increase over 2016.
4 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
• We opened four new schools, and unionwide enrollment grew to nearly 9,000 students. • We opened a new building on the campus of our university and are currently building three new hospitals.
We are serving • Our healthcare networks provided millions of dollars in charity care locally and supported mission projects in more than a dozen other countries. • Thousands of students and volunteer chaperones from our schools participated in service days in their communities and mission trips around the globe. • The doors of our 180 Adventist Community Services centers are open to meet the immediate needs of our communities. In addition, our disaster response teams provided supplies, relief and crisis counseling to people affected by fires in California and hurricanes and flooding in Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. • We individually donate to and corporately sponsor ministries and projects around the world that help to improve quality of life and introduce people to Jesus. While we are extremely grateful for these accomplishments, we also have great needs, the greatest of which, as we seek to fulfill the gospel commission, is to fully reflect Christ’s character in our lives and ministries. Christ’s final instruction to His disciples was to love one another. Our prayer is that we, as part of a worldwide family that is unified in Christ, will strive to love each other and treat each other with the respect and dignity that comes from being sons and daughters of God. Courage,
Dave Weigley, PhD, MBA President
experience the mission 5
20
MILLION
COLUMBIA UNION AT-A-GLANCE
MEMBERS GLOBALLY
Who we are, Where we are, How we serve The Seventh-day Adventist Church, founded in 1863, is a Protestant Christian denomination whose mission is to prepare the world for the second advent of Jesus Christ. With 20 million members in more than 200 countries, and thousands joining daily, it is said to be one of the world’s fastest growing religions.
The Columbia Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists was established in 1907 to coordinate the Church’s work in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. From this office, we connect and provide administrative leadership, governance and support services to eight local conferences, 76 schools, two higher education institutions, two healthcare networks with 12 hospitals, the WGTS 91.9 FM radio ministry that draws more than half a million listeners each week, and numerous community-based ministries. Each year our organizations sponsor dozens of programs and projects that address human need, improve quality of life and introduce people to Jesus.
Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
6 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
PENNSYLVANIA
Cleveland
11 13
OHIO Columbus
3
8
Pittsburgh
7
Newark
2
6
Philadelphia
NEW JERSEY
MARYLAND
Dayton
10
Cincinnati
5
WASHINGTON, D.C.
WEST VIRGINIA
9
Charleston
12
1
4 DELAWARE
Richmond
VIRGINIA
COLUMBIA UNION CONFERENCE TERRITORY 1 2
3
4
5
6
COLUMBIA UNION CONFERENCE ALLEGHENY EAST CONFERENCE
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the District of Columbia and eastern West Virginia
ALLEGHENY WEST CONFERENCE
Ohio, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley area
CHESAPEAKE CONFERENCE
Delaware, Maryland and the eastern edges of Virginia and West Virginia
MOUNTAIN VIEW CONFERENCE
West Virginia and the northwestern Maryland panhandle
7
OHIO CONFERENCE
8
PENNSYLVANIA CONFERENCE
9
POTOMAC CONFERENCE
10
ADVENTIST HEALTHCARE
11
KETTERING ADVENTIST HEALTHCARE
12
WASHINGTON ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY
13
KETTERING COLLEGE
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Virginia, the District of Columbia and a portion of southern Maryland
NEW JERSEY CONFERENCE
New Jersey
experience the mission 7
2016 -2021 LEADERSHIP TEAM
Dave Weigley President
Rob Vandeman Executive Secretary & Ministerial
Emmanuel Asiedu* Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer
Walter Carson VP/General Counsel & PARL Director
Donovan Ross VP for Education
Frank Bondurant Ruben Ramos VP for Ministries VP for Multilingual Ministries Development
Tabita Martinez* Undertreasurer
Harold Greene Director, Information Technology
Curtis Boore Director, Plant Services
*New or promoted leaders
Celeste Ryan Blyden VP for Strategic Communication & Public Relations
H. Candace Nurse* Secretary/Treasurer Columbia Union Revolving Fund
Conference & Institutional Presidents
Mike Hewitt*
Jorge Aguero*
Terry Forde
Fred Manchur
Adventist HealthCare
Kettering Adventist Washington Kettering College HealthCare Adventist University
Weymouth Spence Nate Brandstater
Henry Fordham
William T. Cox, Sr. Rick Remmers
Allegheny East
Allegheny West
Chesapeake
Gary Gibbs*
William Miller
Pennsylvania
Potomac
8 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
Mountain View
New Jersey
Ron Halverson, Jr. Ohio
Transitions Thank you for serving in the Columbia Union
Seth Bardu
for 12 years as Columbia Union treasurer
Larry Boggess
JosĂŠ H. CortĂŠs
retired after 48 years in ministry, 29 in Mountain View Conference, the last 12 as president
retired after 50 years in ministry, 30 in New Jersey Conference, the last 10 as president
Ray Hartwell for 21 years in Pennsylvania Conference, 13 as president
Carol Wright
Tabita Martinez
for 39 years in ministry, 28 as Columbia Union undertreasurer
special thanks for serving as interim treasurer from September through December
Tiffany Brown
for directing the REACH Center for Urban Evangelism, now based at Washington Adventist University
so grateful for your contributions
experience the mission 9
2017 Highlights Pastor Lail Fuentes (left) baptizes Keisha Batlle, who joined the Ohio Conference’s new Columbus Spanish church plant. She was one of 3,158 Hispanic people baptized in 2017 because thousands of Hispanic members shared their faith by giving Bible studies, hosting small groups in their homes, starting church plants and inviting friends to church. They celebrated in December in Ocean City, Maryland, with a festival of evangelism (below) featuring testimonies of conversions, inspiring sermons and more baptisms.
vivangelismo
10 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
May our purpose and goal be to demonstrate God’s love, bring healing to those who hurt, and live together in harmony.
a prayer for charlottesville
William T. Cox Sr. (above, far right), president of Allegheny West Conference, William Miller, president of Potomac Conference and members from their churches, share words of comfort with Susan Bro, whose daughter Heather Heyer was killed in August 2017 while protesting racism and hate in Charlottesville, Virginia. experience the mission 11
13-year-old evangelist After Brian Hernandez, 13, introduced his friend and schoolmate to Jesus and gave him Bible studies, he accepted Jesus and was baptized.
rise up young adult summit More than 300 young adults (below) gathered in Crystal City, Virginia, for a weekend of worship, fellowship and dialogue about how to engage their generation in the life of the church.
12 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
giving back Because members returned a faithful tithe in 2017, the Union Executive Committee voted a tithe reversion of $400,000 to our conferences for mission and evangelism. Union executive officers presented each conference with a check for $50,000.
prioritizing evangelism President Dave Weigley joined other leaders who conducted evangelism efforts as part of a twoyear initiative called “Share the Light, Share the Hope� which involves all eight conferences. This joint effort resulted in more than 10,000 new members joining our church family in the last two years.
experience the mission 13
Secretariat Rob Vandeman, executive secretary, serves as the official record keeper for membership and meeting minutes, etc. He lends administrative support and governance to our conferences, healthcare networks and university boards and committees; chairs them in my absence; and is a frequent presence at our local conference executive committees. He also chairs the Columbia Union K-12 Board of Education and is president and chairman of the board of WGTS 91.9 FM, our radio ministry that reaches more than half a million listeners each week in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area. He reports that as of 2017, there are 145,386 members in the Columbia Union family worshipping in 827 churches and companies.
Membership by Conference Allegheny East
40,794
Allegheny West
10,496
Chesapeake
15,762 2,281
Mountain View
16,720
New Jersey Ohio
11,856
Pennsylvania
11,865
Potomac
35,612
145,386 TOTAL MEMBERSHIP
BAPT ISMS & PROFESSIONS OF FA I TH
2013
4,939
2014 4,492 2015 4,562 2016
4,893
2017 14 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
5,316
Treasury With a background in auditing and accounting, new treasurer Emmanuel Asiedu possesses a wealth of knowledge about managing budgets, accounting processes and working within the financial policies of the church. In addition to managing the tithes and offerings, creating budgets, processing payroll and furnishing financial reports, he sees his office as a resource center for ministry and mission. He reports that Columbia Union members gave $133.9 million in tithe during 2017, a 3.04% increase over 2016. After a thorough audit of our financial statements for 2017, General Conference Auditing Services rendered an unqualified (clean) opinion.
UNIONW IDE T I THE INCOME
Tithe by Conference
133.9 129.9 126.5 122.0
Strong Financial Position ASSETS
$19.4M LIABILITIES
$7.3M
NET ASSETS
$12M
CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
$700K
WORKING CAPITAL
166%
123.6
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 In Millions of Dollars
Allegheny East 25.26% Allegheny West 5.13 Chesapeake 14.75% Mountain View 2.17% New Jersey 9.24% Ohio 8.13% Pennsylvania 8.86% Potomac 26.46%
Tithe by Union
How Tithe Is Used
The Columbia Union retained 9% of the tithe, about $12 million, allocated as follows:
Tithe to NAD/World Church...10% Union Operations/Service.....46% Returned to Conferences.......12% Retirement Expenses.............14% Washington Adventist University................................10% Auditing Expenses....................5% Special Reversion to Conferences..........................3%
Southern 22.51% Pacific 17.67% Columbia 13.12% Atlantic 10.20% North Pacific 9.40% Southwestern 8.45% Lake 7.18% Canada 5.64% Mid America 5.55% NAD/Guam 0.28% experience the mission 15
Healthcare & Education We started building a new 170-bed hospital in White Oak,
Adventist HealthCare
Maryland.
Adventist HealthCare, led by president and CEO Terry Forde and his team, is building a new 170-bed hospital in eastern Montgomery County, Maryland, slated to open in the summer of 2019. The Adventist HealthCare Board (pictured) recently visited the building site of Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center at 12100 Plum Orchard Drive off Route 29 and Cherry Hill Road in White Oak, Maryland. Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center became the first hospital in the Washington, D.C., area to perform minimally invasive total knee replacement using the MAKOPlastyÂŽ robotics system, which is less invasive than traditional joint replacement surgery. And for the seventh consecutive year, Adventist Home Health was named a 2017 HomeCare Elite agency among Medicare-certified home health agencies in the United States.
We celebrated groundbreakings for two new
Kettering Adventist HealthCare
medical centers.
Led by CEO Fred Manchur and his team, this eight-hospital network celebrated ground breakings (pictured) for two new full-service medical centers with emergency departments and medical office buildings. One is located in Middletown, Ohio, and slated to open in July 2018, and the other, in Troy, Ohio, is scheduled to be completed early in 2019. With support from leadership, a number of Kettering’s employees and physicians took the opportunity to participate in mission trips to Honduras, Peru, Guyana, Guatemala, Belize, Ecuador, Haiti, Argentina and the Philippines. They also filled a 53-foot tractor trailer with supplies donated to help the city of Sebring, Florida, recover from Hurricane Irma. In addition, they provided $230,000 worth of personal protection equipment to relief teams who were helping communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey. 16 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
We opened the Boyer Health Professions and Wellness Center.
Washington Adventist University
In September we joined Dr. Weymouth Spence and his team for the opening of the Gail S. and Bruce E. Boyer Health Professions and Wellness Center (pictured). We are so thankful for the Boyers’ $1 million gift that jump-started the $9.7 million building project—the second new building on our campus in recent years. This state-of-the-art, 20,794-square-foot facility includes eight classrooms, two fitness centers, a multipurpose room and five laboratories, and is the new home for WAU’s health professions and science programs. WAU also launched the first Honors College in the Seventh-day Adventist higher education system. Focused on interdisciplinary study, it provides wide-ranging education experiences, including regular opportunities to study abroad in places like Newbold College in the United Kingdom.
Kettering College We celebrated the 50th anniversary of Kettering College. Throughout 2017, president Nate Brandstater and his team celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of Kettering College, which is part of the Kettering Adventist HealthCare network. In 1967 the college welcomed its first class of 100 nursing, radiology and respiratory therapy students. Kettering now offers degrees in eight healthcare specialties to over 800 students annually and has a pass rate of over 90% in state and national licensure board examinations in many programs. The college also just received full accreditation status for its first doctoral program in occupational therapy. The college participated in several charity events to benefit the community, including the annual spring 5K which yielded $10,366 for Good Neighbor House, the Dayton, Ohio-based Adventist Community Services center. They also hosted the first-ever “KC Giving Day” (pictured) which raised $59,170, for scholarships and student assistance programs. experience the mission 17
Ministries & Services
GENERAL COUNSEL This office ensures that the Lord’s work is performed in an orderly and proper manner. The office of vice president and general counsel Walter Carson received a three-year Level A accreditation from the NAD Certification & Accreditation Committee for the Columbia Union’s Trust Services program; assisted local conference bylaw committees in consideration of amendments to governing documents; provided counsel on a number of union boards and committees; and completed online courses on legal issues inherent in bylaw adoption. He counseled individual church members seeking workplace religious accommodations; participated in religious freedom advocacy programs; spoke at local churches in support of church/ state separation; promoted Liberty magazine; and also represented an individual Adventist in a federal EEOC proceeding regarding workplace religious discrimination. He provided parliamentarian services to several conferences and obtained the Professional Registered Parliamentarian credential.
EDUCATION This office nurtures, supports and facilitates excellence in Adventist education. Vice president Donovan Ross reports that within our early childhood, K-12, college and university programs, enrollment grew to 8,859 in 2017. His team collaborates with local conferences and the NAD on curriculum and program development, teacher certification, school accreditation and educational policies for the union’s 76 K-12 schools, 30 early childhood education programs, two higher education institutions and over 600 dedicated educators. In 2017 that included training and mentoring for three new conference superintendents and two new associates; supporting the openings of four new schools in four conferences; and providing training in Differentiated Instruction, the Encounter Bible Program, Crisis Management and creating effective strategic plans. 18 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
MINISTRIES DEVELOPMENT This office partners with our conferences to develop and support innovative ministries that evangelize and transform communities. Vice president Frank Bondurant and our Young Adult Subcommittee hosted a unionwide young adult retreat with more than 300 participants. He also partnered with the NAD to launch a Growing Young Initiative pilot program in Philadelphia with Allegheny East Conference Pastor Marquis Johns. The goal is to train local congregations to effectively reach and engage new generations in the life and ministry of their church. Bondurant also supported 22 teams at our fifth Pathfinder Bible Experience event; facilitated training for 100 local church Pathfinder leaders; coordinated our homeland missions funding initiative; and participated in an evangelism reaping series that yielded six baptisms. In addition to these and other projects, Bondurant provides oversight for seven church ministry areas and the local conference leaders we appointed to serve as union coordinators during this quinquennium, listed on page 20.
MULTILINGUAL MINISTRIES This office partners with conferences to assist and support growth among multilingual communities. Vice president Ruben Ramos collaborates with conference leaders and pastors to empower lay members to become engaged in the mission of the church through friendship evangelism, small group outreach and church planting. During 2017 he participated in 13 weeks of revival that yielded 77 baptisms; focused on relaunching the School of Discipleship to equip lay members to give Bible studies and share their faith; supported efforts by pastors to earn a masters in pastoral ministries; and partnered with conference Hispanic Ministries coordinators to plan and facilitate our second festival of evangelism. During the inspiring weekend, more than 2,500 attendees from across our union rejoiced over the baptisms of 3,158 new members in 2017 and 68 new church plants thus far in this quinquennium.
experience the mission 19
Ministries & Services
COMMUNICATION This office helps to tell the story of how Christ’s mission is being accomplished through our members and ministries. Vice president Celeste Ryan Blyden and her Visitor team partner with 21 organizations in our union—conferences, schools, healthcare networks and ministries—to share news and information through print, web, email, video and social media formats. In addition to publishing 10 issues of the print magazine and our union calendar—mailed to 63,000 households—they produced marketing materials and updated the union’s website. They reported on a number of events and initiatives; coordinated the development of several statements we voted; conducted communication workshops; and began to adopt the new Adventist Identity System for use in our union. Blyden, who serves as editor and publisher of the Visitor and serves on several boards and committees, led the process of developing our union’s priorities; helped organize our response to the violence that erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia; helped our entities work through 26 crisis situations; released her Crisis Boot Camp book in Spanish; and co-hosted a special luncheon to affirm women in church leadership.
Union Ministry Coordinators Volunteer departmental coordinators represent the union at NAD meetings and organize unionwide ministry activities and advisories.
Frank Bondurant Ann Reynolds Children’s ACS/Disaster Response/Young Ministries Adult Ministries
Pam Scheib Pathfinder Bible Experience
20 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
Joseph Khabbaz Public Campus Ministry
Carl Rodriguez Tamyra Horst Union Camporee Women’s and Oshkosh Ministries Camporee
Paulo Macena Youth Ministries
COLUMBIA UNION REVOLVING FUND For 50 years, CURF has provided low-interest funding to our churches, schools and ministries. Emmanuel Asiedu, who has served as secretary/treasurer since 2015 until becoming Union treasurer, says the CURF team helps make ministry possible by providing loans to churches and entities that may not qualify to obtain commercial loans from banks. In 2017 they voted 50 new loans, bringing their total to 306 active loans, with a total loan balance of $112.1 million. At the close of 2017, the CURF Board searched for a new secretary/treasurer to take the helm. After prayerful consideration, they unanimously voted to appoint H. Candace Nurse, who served as treasurer of Allegheny West Conference, to lead the CURF team.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
This team seeks to use technology to enhance and facilitate the mission of the Columbia Union and its ministries. Director Harold Greene and his team help employees at entities across the union use technology effectively. The balance of keeping systems secure with the freedom to get work done requires constant vigilance. In addition to providing daily network, accounting and payroll support, during 2017 they started the process of moving servers for two conferences to new offices; planned and ran the training program for accounting and payroll personnel; set up two-factor authentication in key network logins at the union office; and coordinated training to help 200 users across the Columbia Union detect and manage email spam.
experience the mission 21
2017 By the Numbers
60 YEARS Number of years WGTS 91.9 has been broadcasting hope
6,000 Adventist HealthCare helped bring this many newborns into the world
4,200+ PATIENTS AND STAFF
Attended Adventist HealthCare’s Spiritual Care Department worship services
22 Columbia Union Conference 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
50 1967-2017
Years
Since Kettering College opened
9
Number of countries Kettering staff and physicians visited on mission trips
3.04% Tithe increase over 2016
51 Churches planted
$10,000 After the devastating hurricanes of 2017, our union provided funding for cleaning supplies, personal care kits and to send trained crisis counselors to affected areas
$550K
Funds secured to support local conference and church evangelism, church planting, ministry development and compassion ministries projects
$73 MILLION Amount Adventist HealthCare provided in community benefit and charity care
$2,139,215 WORLD MISSION OFFERINGS FOR 2017
The Columbia Union gave 100% of the funds collected to support mission and ministry initiatives around the world
experience the mission 23
Experience the Mission
columbiaunionadventists.org
2017 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Dave Weigley, Chair Rob Vandeman, Secretary Emmanuel Asiedu, Treasurer INSTITUTIONS Terry Forde, Adventist HealthCare
New Jersey Conference Jorge Aguero, President* Juliana Marson Garci Martinez John F. Pifer II* Ohio Conference
Weymouth Spence, Washington Adventist University
Ron Halverson, Jr., President* Lori Farr* Tim Ko** Vince Waln
K-16 EDUCATION
Pennsylvania Conference
Fred Manchur, Kettering Adventist HealthCare
Donovan Ross* Cynthia Poole* Allegheny East Conference Henry Fordham, President* Gina Brown Milton Brown Marcus Harris* Lewis Miles Marcia Moore** Jose Velasquez Allegheny West Conference William T. Cox Sr., President* Mark Callion Violet Cox Jason Ridley* * Chesapeake Conference Rick Remmers, President* Walter Alonso Denise Isaac Franke Zollman* Mountain View Conference Mike Hewitt, President* Jim Buchanan* Edward Lawaty
Gary Gibbs, President* Andrew Carroll** Tom Hennlein* Dave Richmond Potomac Conference William Miller, President* Renee Battle-Brooks Rodney Cartwright David Dildy Tim Madding* Sanjay Thomas** Sonia Vazquez *
Church Employee, **Young Adult
The 2017 Columbia Union Conference Annual Report was published by Columbia Union Conference Office of Strategic Communication and Public Relations. Editor and Publisher: Celeste Ryan Blyden Content Coordinator: Shirley Rowley Designer: Carla Conway, Proofreader: Lisa Krueger Contributors: Ricardo Bacchus, V. Michelle Bernard, Kelly Butler Coe, Sandra Jones, Jessica Beans, Tom Grant, Christina Keresoma, Doug Walker, James Bartosik, Brian Patrick Tagalog and Leander Tomazeli For free print copies, email srowley@columbiaunion.net or read online at columbiaunion.org/annualreport.