Kyoshin Ahn, secretary for the North American Division, presented his report during the third day of the 2024 year-end meeting (YEM). The first part of his report was summarized in a separate article, available here. This article will focus on the second part of Ahn’s report, on missions within the NAD, in honor of the 150th anniversary of Adventist missions.

“It is my sincere desire that through this next segment, we can honor the past while collectively inspiring the future,” Ahn explained. He then proceeded to give an overview of the history of Adventist missions, beginning with John Nevins Andrews (after whom Andrews University is named), who traveled to Europe as a single father with his children in 1874 to serve as the first official missionaries of the Adventist Church. 

When Andrews died of tuberculosis at the age of 54 while still in the mission field, Ahn points out that the church’s passion for mission did not die with him. “Instead it spread like wildfire among our pioneers,” he commented.

It did take some time, however, for the church’s mission efforts to move beyond the borders of the continent. According to Adventist missiologists, the call to mission went through four stages, which Ahn outlined, showing that global mission did not begin until 1890.

He then showed a video wherein several NAD leaders gave brief histories of Adventist church mission work within the NAD.

Adventist Expansion to the West

Jorge Ramirez, undersecretary, shared via video the history of Adventist mission work in the western United States. 

Upon hearing a colleague’s dream, which impressed the man to hold tent meetings in California, James White raised $1,000 to purchase a tent and finance passage for two men to travel west and hold evangelistic meetings in Petaluma, California, in 1869. After three years and several camp meetings, the ministers had planted five churches and baptized 130 people.

A new convert took it upon himself to train himself for mission work at Healdsburg College (now Pacific Union College) before working his way to Hawai’i to begin evangelism there. His work yielded nine baptisms. In 1874, James White worked with Adventists in Yountville, California, to raise $19,000 to establish Pacific Press Publishing Association in Oakland, California.

Adventist Expansion to the North

Rohann Wellington, director of professional services and assistant to the vice president for digital media, reported via video on the history of Adventist mission to the northern parts of the continent.

A.C. and D.T. Bourdeau were the first French-speaking Adventist evangelists in French Canada, and began their work in Quebec in 1859. In the early 1900s, D.T. Bourdeau helped start a new conference, a bilingual school, and a church congregation in Quebec

Lay missionaries took the Adventist message to Newfoundland in 1893 and converted two local people, who then helped establish a mission, church school, and the Canadian Union Messenger in 1909.

In 1866, ministers from Oregon traveled to Vancouver, Canada, which led to the establishment of a church in 1890, followed by outreach among the native populations in Alaska. 

Adventist Expansion to the East

Orna Garnett, associate secretary and director of ISE and IDM services, shared the history of the church’s mission to the eastern side of the NAD.

The first authenticated record of mission in Bermuda was from the early 1800s, when several individuals arrived to spread the gospel. Decades later, in 1892, ministers from Minnesota traveled to Bermuda and began canvassing. Their efforts, combined with literature evangelism, built the foundation of converts keeping the Sabbath on the island, and the first Adventist church was built in 1909. It had a membership of 53, with Portuguese being the largest ethnic group.

In 1950, the GC president challenged the global church to double membership during the upcoming quinquennium. Bermuda was the only territory to do this, bringing its total membership from 288 to 607 in less than two years.

Adventist Expansion to the South

Carolyn R. Forrest, associate secretary and director of human relations, reported on the NAD’s mission to the southern part of its territory.

It began with Elbert Lane in Tennessee, who in 1871 became pastor of the first Black Adventist congregation to be organized. Church schools opened soon after in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida, all of which later became institutions of higher education. 

Following an impression from God, Ellen White’s son, Edson, took a team of Adventists with him on a steamboat and floated the Mississippi River, opening schools and a printing press, holding evangelistic meetings, and building up churches along the way.

Charles Kinney, the first Black minister to be ordained by the Adventist church, held many evangelistic meetings, leading to a thriving church in the south.

Continuing NAD Mission Work

“Many men and women left their homes to share the love of Jesus in diverse cultures and challenging environments,” Ahn said. “They did this with willing hearts, joy, and conviction that their efforts would bring us closer to the coming of the Lord.”

He followed this with another video report hosted by Ernesto Hernandez, director of the Office of Volunteer Ministries, offering a glimpse of NAD mission work over the years, including trends from 1901 to 2023, with profiles of various global missionaries from the church’s early years. There are currently 93 families serving as missionaries around the world, including within the NAD. 

According to the video report, there have been 15,000 student missionaries sent out from the NAD over the last 25 years from campuses of higher education, and 60,000 of the church’s young people, from academy through young adult, have engaged in short-term deployments.

Though the NAD’s contribution to missions funding has been significant and consistent, the video report pointed out, the percentage of the world total contribution it represents has dropped dramatically in recent years, demonstrating again the immense growth of the world church.

The video also included an overview of the history of female missionaries in the church. By 1930, women represented two thirds of the missionaries sent abroad from the NAD, which has significantly shaped the church’s impact worldwide.

Following these video reports, Ahn announced that in 2025, through an agreement with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the NAD will assume responsibility for managing missionaries going out from the NAD, something that up to now has been fully managed by the General Conference.

During comments and questions, Bob Folkenberg, president of Southern New England Conference, shared that their conference supports church plants in two locations within the 10/40 window, and that rather than having a negative financial impact, it has increased tithe giving by 12 percent. 

“Our members feel connected to and part of the world church,” he explained. “What a vision it would be if every conference would support a missionary around the world.”

View the full secretary’s report, including videos, on the NAD YEM business session livestream at this link.

— Becky St. Clair is a freelance writer.