News Articles

“I’ve found the cheat code, the thing that makes life worth living – I have Jesus. And I’m privileged to live this life in service to others,” said Akehil Johnson, the North American Division’s Adventist Christian Fellowship (ACF) student association president at the 2023 Adventist Christian Fellowship Institute (ACFI). He continued, “Living in this joy is living like heaven is today.” The institute, held July 25-29, 2023, at the University of Ottawa, brought together 75 campus ministry leaders, pastors, youth and young adult ministry directors, and supporters. Themed “The Good Life; Heaven Now,” as described by Johnson, ACFI encouraged participants to embrace and share the abundant life promised in John 10:10.

Within the three full days of North American Division Educators’ Convention, which ran from Aug. 7-10, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona, were dozens of breakout sessions hosted by experts and educators, each with specific topics for dedicated teachers to enjoy. The five general sessions, however, gathered all 6,000 attendees in one room to listen to dedicated speakers and to worship.

Debra Clements Brill, former vice president for ministries for the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, passed to her rest on August 27, 2023, in Jamaica, Virginia, after an extended illness. She was 71.

With roughly 40 percent of its land covered in forests, Canada is no stranger to annual wildfires, particularly in its western regions. However, 2023 has marked the most devastating wildfire season in recorded Canadian history, spanning east to west and causing significant air quality issues and hazy skies across Canada and the United States. Wildfires have scorched more than 133,000 square kilometers (51,351 square miles) of land, and 200,000 Canadians have had to evacuate their homes. Presently, there are more than 1,000 active fires across Canada. Amid these natural disasters, ADRA Canada has been collaborating with local churches to provide supplies and funding as needed.

On the morning of the fourth and final day of the 2023 NAD Educators' Convention, teachers who would step into classrooms that following week felt anticipation, exhilaration, and appreciation. Nicole C. Mullen set the tone through her music. Then G. Alexander Bryant, president of the NAD, rose to speak. He addressed the teachers, recognizing their oft-overlooked efforts to invest in their students and uphold the tenets of Adventist Education.

This fall the Andrews University Department of Visual Arts, Communication and Design (VACD) welcomes two new faculty members and celebrates two significant role changes.

Jolted from his sleep, it was 3 a.m. on August 8 when a phone call woke Kamil Metz, senior pastor of the Evansville Seventh-day Adventist Church. The caller was Dallas Matthew, one of his members serving this summer as a student literature evangelist on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Dallas's news was grave. He called to report that deadly wildfires had engulfed Lāhainā, the town in Maui that Metz had left the week prior.

From August 8-9, 2023, during the EDTalks segment of the North American Division’s (NAD) 2023 Educators’ Convention, 13 leaders gave their unique take on this prompt: “Leadership. It all comes down to …” In this spin on the popular TEDtalks, music leaders Laura Story and Nicole C. Mullen; education leaders Mario Acosta, Doug Reeves, Tina Boogren, and Toakase Vunileva; Adventist leaders G. Alexander Bryant, Meshach Soli, Carlton P. Byrd, Adam Wamack, David Daniels, and James Standish; and entertainer Taylor Hughes used storytelling to share their leadership lessons.

Adventist Community Services Disaster Response (ACS DR) has joined the relief and recovery efforts in Hawaii; and plans continue to take shape as organizations join hands to support those affected by the wildfires that burned through Lahaina and other parts of Maui this past week. Hawaii Conference ACS director Mark Tamalaa led local efforts by setting up a shelter in Maui, where the most damage has taken place.

Alvin Maurice Kibble, former vice president for the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, passed to his rest on Friday evening, August 11, 2023, in Temecula, California. He was 76.