ANN Bulletin - March 4, 2008 - unOFFICIAL ADVENTIST FORUM

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do.
And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with
– even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department.
Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently. Romans 14.1: The Message

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#161007 - 03/12/08 04:05 AM ANN Bulletin - March 4, 2008
magilly46 Registered: 10/29/02 Posts: 126 Loc: BC	Seventh-day Adventist Church world headquarters March 4, 2008 In This Issue: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adventists often stay Adventist, Pew survey shows February 28 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States Forty-four percent of Americans, overall, have switched or dropped faith Number of Adventist pastors in Mongolia up 50 percent February 29 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia There are now six United States: Adventist colleges receive national recognition for service February 28 Lincoln, Nebraska, United States Union College, La Sierra University given President's Honor Roll Award; Union receives state legislature resolution -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adventists often stay Adventist, Pew survey shows February 28, 2008 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States ... [ Mark A. Kellner, Adventist Review/ANN ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We need to get serious about mission in a secular, post-denominational America," said Monte Sahlin, director of research for the Ohio Conference. [ANN file photo] Debra Brill, vice president for ministries of the North American Division credits Adventist education with helping to keep young people in the church. [photo: courtesy North American Division] Roughly 60 percent of Americans reared in what it defined as the "Adventist family" of churches, a grouping of Protestants dominated by the Seventh-day Adventist, remain in that family as adults, a landmark survey released February 25 revealed. Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans age 18 and older, the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, compiled by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds that religious affiliation in the U.S. is at once "very diverse and extremely fluid." However, "all Protestant denominational families lose a considerable number of childhood adherents to the ranks of the unaffiliated," the group reported. For the purposes of the study, Pew said, "a 'denominational family' is a set of religious denominations and related congregations with a common historical origin." Along with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the "Adventist family" listed by Pew includes several other churches which grew out of splits and schisms from the Millerite movement and its offshoots. Seventh-day Adventists, however, comprise the overwhelming majority of that grouping; the church's 1 million members in the United States outpace, by several times, the total combined membership of the other groups in that category. At the same time, the percentage of those who say they are not affiliated with any particular religious group or tradition has shot up to 16.1 percent of Americans, a net increase of 8.8 percentage points, according to the survey. "Sizeable numbers of those raised in all religions -- from Catholicism to Protestantism to Judaism -- are currently unaffiliated with any particular religion," the Pew document stated. The number of "unaffiliated" people is almost equal to the 18.1 percent of Americans who claim membership in "mainline" Protestant churches. In addition, the report indicated, "the group that has experienced the greatest net loss by far is the Catholic Church. Overall, 31.4 percent of U.S. adults say that they were raised Catholic. Today, however, only 23.9 percent of adults identify with the Catholic Church, a net loss of 7.5 percentage points." The nonprofit Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life "seeks to promote a deeper understanding of issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs," according to the group's Web site, http://www.pewforum.org. According to a news release from the group, "the survey finds that constant movement characterizes the American religious marketplace, as every major religious group is simultaneously gaining and losing adherents. Those that are growing as a result of religious change are simply gaining new members at a faster rate than they are losing members. Conversely, those that are declining in number because of religious change simply are not attracting enough new members to offset the number of adherents who are leaving those particular faiths." Adventist education -- believed to be one of the largest parochial school systems in the world -- plays a part in helping young people remain in the faith, said Debra Brill, vice president for ministries of the church's North American Division. "Adventists place historic priority on quality religious training for children in a systemic curriculum that spans birth through higher education," Brill said. "This tradition fosters a culture that engages many parents and children in a lifelong affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church." Monte Sahlin, a church growth specialist and director of research for the Ohio Conference, found positive news in the Pew study, as well as items of concern. "This study finds the Seventh-day Adventist share of the population at 0.4 percent and the last major study of this kind [the American Religious Identification Survey in 2001] found it to be 0.3 percent then. Over the past seven years, the Adventist Church in the U.S. has increased its share of the population by one third," Sahlin noted. However, he added, the "potential bad news is the clear evidence of a dropout problem. The 2001 ARIS study found that 73 percent of those reared in the Adventist Church stayed in and that has dropped to 60 percent. The tendency of new generations of Adventists to not bond with our denomination is accelerating." What to do? "The most important thing we can learn from this kind of study is the changing religious landscape within which we must pursue the mission that God has given us," Sahlin said. "The fastest-growing segments are made up of these who opt for no religion and those who join congregations not affiliated with any denomination," he added. "There is little real evangelism occurring, in terms of winning significant portions of nonbelievers and/or the unaffiliated into Bible-based Protestant faith. We need to get serious about mission in a secular, post-denominational America and quit going through the same motions over and over." Number of Adventist pastors in Mongolia up 50 percent February 29, 2008 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia ... [ Rick Kajiura/ANN ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newly ordained ministers Park NoYoung and his wife Le MiJin wearing traditional Mongolian dress, center, and Park SangBum with his wife Park Eu Joo, wearing traditional Korean dress. [photo courtesy Office of Adventist Mission] The number of ordained Seventh-day Adventist pastors in Mongolia rose from four to six with the February 23 ordination of two Korean pastors. Park NoYoung and Park SangBum were ordained to ministry in a dedication service at the Ulaanbaatar Central Church. The two pastors are serving in Mongolia as part of the church's Global Mission initiative and supported by the Pioneer Mission Movement (PMM) program in Northern Asia. The PMM program places Adventist pastors, mostly from Korea, as missionaries in countries within the Northern Asia region. "Let's all work together to fulfill Jesus' mission in the world," Pastor SangBum said, speaking in Mongolian. Church leaders who presided over the service included Paul Kotanko, director of the church in Mongolia, and Nyamdavaa Dovchinsuren, one of two ordained Mongolian Adventist pastors. Today there are some 1,200 church members in Mongolia, up from zero 15 years ago. Adventists from Russia started work in the region in the 1920s and in the 1930s western missionaries started work in Inner Mongolia, now part of China. However, Adventist work in the region came to a standstill in part because of the outbreak of war. The first Adventist Church members in modern Mongolia were baptized in 1993. Four years later the first Adventist church was established with 26 members. United States: Adventist colleges receive national recognition for service February 28, 2008 Lincoln, Nebraska, United States ... [ ANN Staff ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Skau, sophomore international rescue and relief major from Brunswick, Maine, serves as a dental assistant in Peru. Skau is one of 34 Union College students who are volunteering around the world this year through programs affiliated with the school. [photos: courtesy Union College] Ryan Pierson, freshman international rescue and relief major from Gentry, Arkansas, and Sarah Smith, junior nursing major from McMinnville, Oregon, make sandwiches at a local community center where Union College students serve the homeless each Saturday. A college spokesperson said more than 80 percent of students participate in voluntary community service. The Nebraska state legislature this week passed a resolution commending Seventh-day Adventist-owned Union College for accomplishments that include community service and increasing enrollment from around the nation and the globe. Legislative Resolution 248 recognized the college for having received the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction awarded by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The award was received by fewer than 140 schools in the United States. A fellow Adventist institution, La Sierra University, in Riverside, California, also received the award. "While it is nice for our campus to be recognized, the true measure of our success is found in the attitudes of Union College students," said Union College President David Smith. "As our students discover the joy of service, they perpetuate their experience through leading and initiating opportunities for their peers to make a difference." Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. In recent years, more than 80 percent of students have participated in voluntary community service, college spokesperson Jacque Smith said. "College students like those at Union College are tackling the toughest problems in America, demonstrating their compassion, commitment, and creativity by serving as mentors, tutors, health workers, and even engineers," said David Eisner, chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "They represent a renewed spirit of civic engagement fostered by outstanding leadership on caring campuses." Ann Bryant, Union College student chaplain and junior business major, says she enjoys giving other students the power to lead. "I get to empower a lot of people. When I ask someone to lead a project and they worry about doing it correctly, I can tell them, 'It's all right. Do what you can and we'll figure out the best way to do it together.'" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- news.adventist.org ANN World News Bulletin is a review of news and information issued by the Communication department from the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters and released as part of the service of Adventist News Network. It is made available primarily to religious news editors. Our news includes dispatches from the church's international offices and the world headquarters. Reproduction Requirements: Reproduction of information in this article is encouraged. When reproducing this material, in full or in part, the words "Source: Adventist News Network" must appear under the headline or immediately following the article. The words "Source: Adventist News Network" must be given equal prominence to any other source that is also acknowledged. Ground 7 News Podcast: Ground 7 News is a review of news and information issued by the Communication Department from the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters and released as part of the service of Adventist News Network. Reproduction of the ANN podcast is encouraged. When rebroadcasting this material, in full or in part, the words "Source: Adventist News Network" must be mentioned before and after the podcast. ANN Staff: Rajmund Dabrowski, director; Ansel Oliver, assistant director; Taashi Rowe, editorial coordinator; Elizabeth Lechleitner, editorial assistant; Natacha Moorooven, proofreader. Portuguese translation by Azenilto Brito, Spanish translation by Marcos Paseggi, Italian translation by Vincenzo Annunziata and Lina Ferrara and French translations by Stephanie Elofer.
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