07 June 2022, St Louis, USA [Douglas McCormac]
Whilst the jetlag is well and truly established and the urge to hit the snooze button is very real, the importance of the work carried out at GC Session can sometimes be lost to the apparent monotony of resolutions, constitutional changes, church manual changes and endless reports. But this is far from the truth!
The tone for the day was once again set by the morning worship. Pastor Dwain Esmond, Associate Director of the Ellen G. White Estate, had been given the theme of the Three Angels Messages, and very quickly let us know that the story was not yet complete, and that “if anyone is living in an unfinished story – it is us.”
Pastor Esmond challenged us not to become “post-Jesus” and, that if we are to complete the story, then we need to recognise that “Jesus is the best” and that Christ is to “be the centre and circumference of all our truth.” Esmond went on to ask if we had “the guts to tell the world that its spiritual systems are bankrupt”, and when we “preach the good news, will we preach the bad news…?” Will we preach that the Sabbath is the best, that the law at Sinai is still valid, and that Evangelical support for white supremacy is bankrupt? Will you preach the Three Angels Messages?” Closing as he began, he reminded us that the story is not complete while there are people who have yet to commit their lives to the best part of the story – Jesus Christ, and that the “rest of the story is the spirit filled proclamation of the three Angels’ message, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.’
The first business action of the day was the calibration vote using the online voting portal, ‘Election Buddy’. This is the second time an electronic voting system has been used at the GC, and whilst there have been some teething problems, it has received widespread acceptance and has ensured that those who have not been physically able to join us in St Louis have been able to fully participate in the processes, including voting and asking questions from the floor.
The first report of day was from GC Secretariat and led by Pastor Erton Köhler who spoke of the Secretariat ‘Mission family’, where the heart of mission beats. He reminded delegates that mission informs every aspect of what secretariat does and introduced the three main areas which provide this focus: Data, Mission and People. These three main areas inform the strategic direction, and ultimately all together we can be used to bring Jesus to the whole world.
Past Köhler also reminded us that we cannot afford to waste time, and that we should maximise the resources in our hands – prioritising those resources to connect people with Christ.
Like many of the presentations we have received, Covid has been a major part. Pastors and churches who embraced the opportunities presented by Covid and used technology to reach people for Christ, were particularly commended, and recognition given of pastors who continued to baptise new believers – despite the risks.
Whilst the work of Secretariat is often associated with data, statistics and minutes, the Secretariat family has a much larger reach, and includes not just the traditional technical roles but also Global Mission, the Institute of World Mission, Adventist Volunteer Service, VividFaith.com, a web portal to promote greater missionary engagement at home and across the world.
Dr David Trim the director of the Office of Archives, Statistics and Research, reported that since 2004, there have been over one million ascensions per year with the exception of 2020 which saw the lowest number of baptisms since 1977. Dr Trim also spoke of membership losses, with 2019 seeing over one million living losses – the highest number of losses on record. However, this was in part due to the increased diligence being exercised in reviewing church membership. But the purpose of these reviews is to ensure that no one gets left behind.
Whilst Elder Kohler introduced us to his key team, Pastor Gary Krause, Director of Adventist Mission reported on the work of his department, its purpose, and mission – to increase mission awareness. Since the last session, some 2905 Church planting projects had been approved; cities of the world are our new mission field, and 724 urban projects have been established. Kohler went on to speak of the challenge of reaching believers of other major faiths.
While over the past five years a new church has been organised every 3.8 hours, Elder Kohler spoke passionately about the need for the work of secretariat, and its functions to be focused entirely on mission. If secretariat is all about mission – there is a need to continually evaluate its systems to ensure that it remains remain relevant.
[Photos: Jimmy Botha]
