10 July 2025 | St Louis, USA [Jacques Venter]
The Trans European Division (TED) might be the smallest division in the world by membership numbers, but the fire of the Holy Spirit is burning mightily as members across the TED, by faith, step into new and old spaces to embrace strangers and encounter Jesus.
From a non-alcoholic bar in Oslo to a community choir in Reading. From the revival of Café Church in Copenhagen to a music school for disadvantaged children in London. From a church plant in Greece to a dedicated outreach to youth through Oikos in Finland. These innovative methods, to mention a few, were first presented as part of the TED’s 15-minute video report to the 62nd General Conference Session delegates in St Louis, Missouri, USA, on 9 July.
The Holy Embrace
These are the miracle stories of God’s children in the TED living out their calling as a priesthood of believers; through the daily rhythms of their vocations and voluntary contributions, they are proving to be a blessing in the spaces in which they live and move. It’s the realisation of Ellen White’s call to follow Jesus and use His method. “The poor are to be relieved, the sick cared for, the sorrowing and the bereaved comforted, the ignorant instructed, the inexperienced counselled. We are to weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those that rejoice.”1
Yes, this is the beautiful TED. It is home to exotic holiday destinations, ultra-Christian orthodoxy, as well as post-Christian countries, whilst across the breadth of this division, populist nationalism is on the rise. It’s within this backdrop that Seventh-day Adventists are choosing to embrace first, thereby encountering Jesus in the lives of strangers, as the TED report showed, in unexpected ways.
The theologian and philosopher, Miroslav Volf, says that the secret to seeing Jesus coming to us in the guise of the stranger begins with the will to embrace the stranger. In his book, Exclusion and Embrace, Revised and Updated: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation, Volf defines the will to embrace as “the affirmation of a person’s worth, dignity, and humanity prior to any other judgments we make of the person.”2
The Risk of Embracing Christ’s Method
To me, the TED report demonstrates a willingness to embrace Christ’s method. It’s a reflection of members who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, made a deliberate choice to welcome and extend themselves to others, particularly those who are different or even perceived as enemies. It’s a conscious choice to readjust one’s position and make space for the other, recognising the interconnectedness of our shared status as God’s children.
Each story of embracing the other is not without risk. There is always a possibility of misunderstanding, rejection, or even harm. However, this risk is inherent in love and forgiveness, and because our members are driven first and foremost by Christ’s love for them, their stories of embracing the other reveal to us that the consequence is mutual transformation. By opening ourselves to others, we not only impact the lives of others but also allow ourselves to be changed by these encounters.
Disciple-making is, therefore, a two-way street, an interconnectedness that means both the disciple and disciple-maker encounter Christ and are transformed through that encounter.
What is clear from the TED report is that we can meet strangers in person and digitally. With a new generation of digital evangelists equipped and empowered to share the love of Jesus, they are telling of new miracle encounters with Jesus, with the will to embrace first and then tell the story. What a privilege we have to be a part of this. Therefore, let’s continue to choose to embrace first so that we too can encounter Jesus in the stranger.
Featured image: Stobar, Olso, Norway
- White, E. G., 1905. The Ministry of Healing. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, p.143.
- Volf, M., 2019. Exclusion and Embrace, Revised and Updated: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
