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 World Church: Facing a Climate of Change
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| BY
ANN |
Some 2,600 people join the Seventh-day Adventist Church every
day--that's just about two people per minute. With a current membership
of around 13 million, this means rapid growth--and much change--for the
church worldwide.
In a March 2003 evaluation of how change affects the church today,
Lowell Cooper, vice president of the world church, explained the
realities of an ever-changing worldwide church organization. "Members
of an organization cause change, but they are also caught by changes
over which they have little or no control," he said.
In an interview with Adventist NewsLine on Adventist Television
Network, Cooper says that some change can be anticipated, but some
happens naturally. "Change is inevitable [but] there are some things we
can influence. Church members can affect the quality of spiritual life
at all levels [of the church]." He says that members can also focus on
worldwide church unity and mission.
From a church born on North American soil, Adventists today have an
established presence in 203 out of 228 countries. Is the church
equipped to handle the large influx of new members around the
world--and the diversity that comes with it?
"I think that the Adventist Church, perhaps more than many of the
churches in the world, is set up to deal with diversity because of our
organizational structure," says Roy Adams, an associate editor of the
Adventist Review. "All along the ranks there's training for leadership,
so you can have, over time, trained leaders in every sector of the
church."
In the early days of the church, Cooper says, missionaries went from
its North American roots to Europe. By 1960, the two regions had a
combined total of 43 percent of church membership. As of 2001, that
number was just 11 percent. However, church membership in these areas
has not declined--but the church has grown significantly in many areas
of the world where there were currently few or no members. Missionaries
are no longer coming from North America and Europe alone--they are
coming and going from each of the church's 13 divisions, or
administrative regions.
"Now we have missionaries [going] from everywhere to everywhere," says
Agustin Galicia, associate secretary of the world church. They are also
no longer called "missionaries;" they are called "interdivision
employees."
"In a familiar way we call them 'missionaries' still. But the
nomenclature we use in policy anywhere else is 'interdivision
employees,'" Galicia says.
Cooper points to the areas of the world with great concentration of
Adventist church members. More than one-third of the entire church
membership is in Africa, and another third in Central and South
America. About 19 percent are in Asia, and three percent are in the
South Pacific. With such rapid growth, 25 percent of the current church
membership have been members for less than five years, Cooper says,
which means that a significant portion of the total membership is still
getting oriented to Adventist history, values, lifestyle and
organizational processes.
Another major area of change for the church is resource distribution.
Members are giving differently than they used to, mainly because of the
rapid increase of special purpose entities. These entities have had a
major impact on the worldwide activity of the church, but at the same
time, the shift in giving patterns by members as compared with several
decades earlier presents a challenge to carry on the established work
of the church, Cooper says. "It is relatively easier to find donors for
highly visible and successful evangelism projects than to obtain
systematic support for the training of pastors and local church leaders
needed to serve the newly baptized members...If the historical trend in
such offerings continues, there is likely to be an increasing strain on
the ability of the church to care adequately for new growth."
The church in North America still provides more than half of the total
tithe collected by the world church. In 1960, North America provided 76
percent of the tithe base; in 2001, that number was 60 percent. This
does not reflect comparative faithfulness in stewardship, Cooper says.
"Such information could only be presented fairly within the context of
local economies and currencies."
Despite growth issues and changes over which church members have little
control, members can be intentional about change, say church leaders.
"I think that church members underestimate the influence they can have,
simply by writing letters to the right person...making a point they
want to see changed in the church," says Adams.
"It's only as our church has become more ethnically diverse that the
entire structure, right up and down the line, would be able to really
celebrate this diversity, rather than try to manage it," he continues.
"Just celebrate it [and] let it take root everywhere."
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Email: info@sdasingles.net
Date: 5/1/2003 |
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God's Love
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