Who Are the Seventh-day Adventists?

One of the fastest-growing Christian Churches in the world today, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is adding more than one new member by baptism every 50 seconds of every day and organizing five new congregations daily.

Faith

Adventists base their faith on Jesus, the Son of God, brother of all, Savior of the world, and upon His Word, the Bible.

The Bible

Although it was written by God's penmen, the fundamentals of faith and essential truths have been preserved in His Word. The Bible reveals the character of God and His will for the behavior of men and women today and throughout the history of the world.

Creation

Although He is creator of the universe, Christ formed this planet in seven days, including the first man and woman, the environment, and a weekly day for celebration and worship of God. This story is told chronologically at the beginning of the Bible, but supporting references throughout Scripture provide harmony in all of God's Word.

The Sabbath

The seventh-day celebration was created by Jesus to honor His completed work and bring joy to humans. Jesus continued to worship and celebrate the seventh-day Sabbath during his life on Earth, thus obeying the fourth of the Ten Commandments, which begins, "Remember." Adventists focus their Sabbath activities on communication with God, fellowship and worship.

Baptism

Those who choose to commit their lives to God and accept His forgiving power follow the example of Jesus who was immersed in water as a public expression of faith in the supremacy of God over their lives.

The Gospel

God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, to be born of a virgin, grow to manhood while teaching and healing His fellow humans, suffered and gave up His life on a cross, was buried and raised from the dead at the call of His Father. He returned to heaven, where He prepares homes for those who accept His selfless gift. Because of His sinless life, death for the sins of humans, and His awesome resurrection, Jesus has made a way for men and women to live eternally with Him.

The Second Advent

Fulfillment of prophecies and signs recorded in Scripture indicate that Jesus soon will fulfill His promise to return for those who have accepted Him as Savior and Lord of their lives.

Life After Death

The grave is a place of unconsciousness, described in the Bible as people being asleep. When Jesus comes again, there will be a great resurrection of those who have died since the beginning of mankind. Just as He breathed life into the first man and woman, He will awaken the sleepers with new life.

Prophecy

Bible prophecies reveal God's plans for the future, provide meaning for today and hope for people who have chosen to serve God. The future for all time is bright for those awaiting the second coming of Jesus.

Commitments

Relationships are all important—with God, in marriage, the family, throughout the community, around the world and with the environment.

Health

Because the Bible describes people as "the temple of God," Adventists practice temperate and healthy lifestyles. They teach that one should not abuse the body or partake of anything injurious to physical, mental, or emotional health. They abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful drugs. Many Seventh-day Adventists are vegetarians, believing that flesh food and shellfish are better omitted from the ideal diet.

Mission

The mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to proclaim to all peoples 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 to unite with His Church, and nurturing them in preparation for His soon return. This is accomplished through preaching, teaching and healing ministries. The Church is reaching the unreached populations of the Earth through a worldwide Global Mission program.

Global Community

Volunteers serve people at home and in the world's communities through neighborhood centers, on-site disaster areas, and short-term humanitarian and teaching projects around the globe. Church members support organizations like Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA), which provides basic needs like water, food and clothing, and medical care to the world's people and communities in need. The Church has a variety of programs to assist people of any faith who have a desire to overcome eating disorders, smoking, alcoholism, and drug addiction. It provides family life, community service workshops, and youth camps.

Education

In the Church's large educational system, schools like Loma Linda University Medical Center, a teaching hospital in Loma Linda, California, continues to be foremost in infant heart transplants. In 1990, Loma Linda inaugurated the world's first medical application of the proton accelerator to focus a beam of radiation on malignant tumors without dangerously harming healthy tissue.

Communication

Seventh-day Adventists communicate hope by focusing on a quality of life that is complete in Christ. Communication serves the global mission objectives of the Church, and the worldwide family of believers keeps in touch through a variety of media and print methods. The Church facilitates communication on-line through the SDAs On-line forum on the CompuServe Information Service, which offers a rich database for computer users and prepares programming and news for radio, television and satellite broadcasts.

Heritage

The name Seventh-day Adventist highlights two of the distinguishing characteristics of the denomination. Since this world began, men and women have observed the seventh-day Sabbath, and advocates of Jesus' second coming are also well-known in history. Seventh-day Adventists trace their heritage to a mid-19th century revival based on renewed study of Bible prophecies among several Christian groups. The Seventh-day Adventist Church was officially organized in 1863 in Battle Creek, Michigan.