iasd

Reach Up, Reach Out, Reach Across

TELL THE WORLD

Strategic Plan 2010-2015 Seventh-day Adventist Church

PAG E

1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Mission Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

C O N T E N T S

Three Strategic Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Adventist Fast Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Tell the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Reach Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Reach Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Reach Across . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Chart of Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Administrative Initiatives for Mission . . . . . . 14 A Church Family of Resources . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Continuing the Legacy of Faith in Action . . . . 16 My Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

PAG E

2

E

From the Wo r l d C h urch President

llen White describes the church as the “theater of [God’s] grace;” the agency through which He “delights to reveal His power to transform hearts.”* The church, she is saying, occupies a unique position between heaven and earth. Through His church, God displays both His infinite might and His infinite compassion. Through His church, God makes His presence in the world manifest. Through His church, God says to His created beings, “You aren’t alone. I’m here, among you.”

Tell the World is founded on one simple premise: without mission, the concept of church is meaningless. Without mission we are no longer participants in God’s grand theater of grace.

So often we hear calls for “renewal” and “revival” within our church. Do we need renewal? Do we need to feel anew the power of the Holy Spirit? Yes, of course! But this renewal most meaningfully takes place in the setting of mission when the church is busy doing what she was called to do and to be.

The goals and challenges of “Tell the World” are not new to us—they are woven into our identity and heritage; they outline our mission.

We “reach up”—connecting with the Divine Power beyond all imagining, Who tells us who we are and where we are going. We “reach across”— forming bonds of fellowship with those with whom we share our journey; ties of brotherhood and sisterhood that transcend differences of culture or language. And we “reach out”—a reflex driven by our own encounter with God, and by His command to go and make disciples. This is our mission.

As we rededicate ourselves to a life of mission, I pray we will experience a new sense of purpose; that our churches will thrive and grow as others are drawn to the warmth and acceptance they find there; and that, in all we do, we will constantly reveal God’s grace to the world.

Pastor Jan Paulsen, President General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists * Ellen White, Acts of the Apostles (Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press, 1970), 12.

PAG E

1

M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T The mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to make disciples of all people, communicating the everlasting gospel in the context of the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12, leading them to accept Jesus as personal Savior and unite with His remnant Church, discipling them to serve Him as Lord, and preparing them for His soon return.

PAG E

2

T h r e e S t r a t e g i c Va l u e s Our mission statement leads the church to value as strategic issues quality of life, unity and growth.

Quality of Life is a multi-faceted concept that goes to the heart of what it means to be an Adventist believer. For an Adventist, quality of life means first and foremost being sure of belonging to the Lord, finding the rest and assurance of forgiveness; and finding contentment on our life’s journey.

Unity reflects the nature of the church as one family around the world, constantly communicating with one another, constantly sharing, and in that process learning to defer to one another for the good of the One Body of Christ.

Growth is expressed through evangelism, public witness, and nurturing the personal spiritual growth of believers.

PAG E

3

A DV E N T I S T Fa s t Fac t s

Looking Back “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and his teaching in our past history.”

—Ellen G.White, Life Sketches, 196

WORLD Cities (>10 Million People)

22

Unentered Countries and Areas

29

Unentered People Groups (> 100,000)

118

MEMBERS

PAG E

4

Regular Bible Study

51%

Regular Prayer

53%

Witnessing

55%

Involved in Community Service

31%

Returning Tithe

56%

Confident of Salvation

92%

Mission Offerings as a Percent of Tithe

3.5%

Sources: • http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/history/world-population-growth.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population_estimates • http://www.mongabay.com/cities_pop_01.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_areas_by_population#cite_note-0 • Global Survey of Pastors

17,000,000

MEMBERSHIP

congregations

14 million

64,017

60,000

13 million 12 million

11,687,229

50.000

48,933

11 million 10 million

40,000

9 million 8 million

30,000

7 million 6 million

21,555

20,000

5 million

12,975

4 million

3,480,518

3 million

8,924

10,000 1,892

2 million 1,245,125

1 million 15,570 75,767 185,450 1880

1900

1920

1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 (Projected) 2010

504,752 1940

1960

4,541

1980

2000

2010

(Projected)

POPULATION PER MEMBER RATIO (Projected)

2010

405

2000

519

1980 1960 1940 1920 1900 1880

1,268 2,387 4,390 9,889 21,222 89,768 PAG E

5

Global Mission Priorities: R E AC H O U T TO T H E 1 0 / 4 0 W I N D OW

181:1

Adventist Ratio outside the 10/40 Window

1,736:1 Adventist Ratio inside the 10/40 Window

PAG E

6

1 0 / 4 0

W I N D O W

R E AC H O U T TO T H E B I G C I T I E S

953:1

Ratio of Adventists in World’s Largest Cities Beijing Istanbul tokyo mexico city new york mumbai sÃo paulo delhi osaka-kobe Dhaka shanghai manila los angeles kolkata

423:1

Ratio of Adventists Outside World’s Largest Cities

Karachi moscow cairo buenos aires Rio de Janeiro

PAG E

7

Reach Up, Reach Out, Reach Across

TELL THE WORLD REACH UP to God through Bible study, prayer, Adventist Bible study guides, and the Spirit of Prophecy, resulting in revival and faithfulness.

REACH out to others as a friendly church that puts Christ’s mission first, invites all peoples to fellowship and makes a difference daily

I n s p i r i n g e v e ry c h u rc h m e m b e r t o :

in the community.

REACH across the barriers that threaten to divide us as a family, endeavoring to disciple, nurture, and involve every individual in the life and mission of the church.

PAG E

8

Reach Up

to God through Bible study, Adventist Bible study guides, prayer and the Spirit of Prophecy, resulting in revival and faithfulness.

Calling Seventh-day Adventists to: • increase Bible study, prayer and reading the Spirit of Prophecy • increase the number of members who return a faithful tithe and support local and mission offerings • increase involvement in the witness of the church • increase the use of Adventist produced Bible study materials

PAG E

9

Reach OUT

to others as a friendly church that puts Christ’s mission first, invites all peoples to fellowship, and makes a difference daily in the community.

Calling Seventh-day Adventists to: • become involved in the mission of the church • become involved in community projects • increase the number of non-Seventh-day Adventists attending church each week • increase the number of members • support 600,000 evangelism events • establish 25,000 new worship groups • reach a goal of seven million church members winning one person to Christ • increase the ratio of membership to population in urban areas • provide resources for the 10/40 Window (money, people, time) • increase membership and church plants in the 10/40 Window • increase the number of listeners, viewers, and readers reached by Adventist electronic media • support a large global strategy for literature distribution • see that every church adopts a program for growth PAG E

10

R e ac h ac ro s s

the barriers that threaten to divide us as a family, endeavoring to disciple, nurture, and involve every individual in the life and mission of the church.

Calling Seventh-day Adventists to: • improve retention of members • nurture members • increase the percentage of young people involved in the work of the church • increase the percentage of young people retained within the church

PAG E

11

TELL THE WORLD

Quality of Life

r e l at i o n s h i p s

Prayer

Mission statement

resources for action

Power of Holy Spirit Mission Offerings

Unity

Membership Involvement

Growth

PAG E

12

Reach Up • Number of people involved in Bible study, prayer, and reading the Spirit of Prophecy • Percentage returning a faithful tithe and supporting local and mission offerings • Percentage involved in the witness of the church • Percentage giving to mission offerings

Reach out • Percentage involved in the mission of the church • Percentage involved in community projects

Tell the World

• Number of non-Seventh-day Adventists attending church each week • Number of members • 600,000 evangelism events • 25,000 new worship groups

Administrative Initiatives for Mission

• Seven million church members winning one person to Christ • Ratio of membership to population in urban areas • Resources for the 10/40 Window (money, people, time) • Membership and church plants in the 10/40 Window • Number of listeners, viewers, and readers reached by Adventist electronic media • A large global strategy for literature distribution • Every church adopts a program for growth

R e ac h ac ro s s • Retention of members • Nurture of members • Percentage of young people involved in the work of the church • Percentage of young people retained within the church PAG E

13

A d m i n i s t r at i v e I n i t i at i v e s f o r M i s s i o n Persons holding administrative responsibilities anywhere in denominational structure recognize the ever-present responsibility to: • Develop and train leaders for the future • Create a culture of integrity • Model efficient and effective use of structure and resources • Cultivate the spiritual life and theological understanding of the entire Church • Provide relevant witness and service to communities Within the context of these global leadership tasks there are opportunities for particular focus...

pastors and congregations

Administration and pastors • Create/sustain synergy and alignment of administrative and pastoral initiatives in mission.

• Realize integration of local, regional, and global priorities in mission.

• Facilitate effective networking among church infrastructure, institutions, and lay organizations.

• Enable members to understand and celebrate both the local and global identity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

• Ensure that local church planning and programming incorporates local, regional, and global mission priorities.

• Inform and engage local church membership in local, regional, and global mission priorities.

• Provide effective advocacy for and involvement in community service issues.

CHURCH INSTITUTIONS • Continue synergy and alignment of institutions with mission of the church.

• Mutual understanding among church and institutional leaders regarding the mission and roles of institutions.

PAG E

14

Individual Members • Demonstrate commitment to understanding, living, and communicating the gospel.

• Participate in local church fellowship, worship, and service.

• Express support for local, regional, and global mission priorities.

A Church Family of Resources PA S T O R s “We cannot do this without a connection with God.We are not sharing about God with people, we are sharing HIM, and that means we need a living connection with God.” —Scott Manly, pastor, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada.

M

be

em Pa

r

s

o st

H E A LT H W O R K E R S “Medical workers have the privileged oportunity to reach people in extreme necessity, like when facing death, and point them to Jesus as the Physician of physicians and the only Saviour of our bodies and souls.”

rs

c tea

he

rs

e atur Liter

ists ngel

Eva

k er s H ea lt h Wo r D epa r t m en Inst

ME Su Co

m

pp

m

DIA

or

u

itut

n

ti

it

y

ts

—Elmer Ribeyro, missionary doctor, Atoifi Hospital

INSTITUTIONS “There are thousands of students from non-Adventist and non-Christian families studying in our schools and colleges, and we teach them moral education and the children in turn tell their parents and other family members about Jesus.”

—Justus Devadas, president, Spicer Memorial College, Pune, India

MEDIA “You need a means to communicate the gospel to people in this world, and media is often that means: radio, television, publishing, and Internet.”

ions

—Ben Schoun, president, Adventist World Radio

ng se

mi

rv i

ni

ce

st

s

ri

es

S U P P O RT I N G M I N I S T R I E S / L AY P E O P L E “Supporting ministries play a vital role in “Telling theWorld” about our sooncoming Savior. EllenWhite says that “the work” won’t finish until lay members “rally to the work, and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers.” It’s a privilege for supporting ministries, sharing Christ in their marketplace, to be part of this wonderful calling.

—Donna McNeilus, past-president, Adventist Laymen’s Services and Industries

C O M M U N I T Y S E RV I C E S “Community Services is the tangible, visual partnership between God and His church in giving all the opportunity to touch, taste, smell, see, and fully experience a small part of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

—Andrew Clark, executive director, Adventist Community Services-Greater Pittsburgh

PAG E

15

C O N T I N U I N G T H E L E G AC Y O F FA I T H I N AC T I O N 1880

PAG E

16

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

2015

“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and his teaching in our past history.”

—Ellen G.White, Life Sketches, 196

To find out more about the timeline images visit www.AdventistMission.org Photography courtesy of Adventist Mission/Global Mission, Adventist World Radio, British Union Conference Historical Archive, Ellen G. White Estate, General Conference Archives and Statistics, Rajmund Dabrowski/General Conference Communication, Todd Gessele/North Pacific Union, It is Written.

PAG E

17

My Commitment TO C O N T I N U E T H E L E G AC Y

I join my brothers and sisters in a commitment to Tell theWorld: • By reaching up and renewing my own faith • By reaching out and communicating hope to all within my sphere of influence • By reaching across to embrace and protect the unity of the family of faith

SIGNATURE

To get an electronic version of this document visit P A G E TellTheWorld.AdventistMission.org visit

18

v2.3