News Articles

“In 1976, when I became a chaplain, it was said that I was leaving the ministry,” said Rear Admiral (Ret.) Barry Black, the guest speaker for a special chaplains’ Sabbath at Oakwood University Church on December 2, 2023. He continued, “I was looked upon as leaving the ministry because providing spiritual nourishment in a pluralistic setting of religious diversity was not valued by the church.” The irony of this statement was not lost on the hundreds of chaplains and other guests attending the service launching the chaplains’ track of the Pastoral Evangelism and Leadership Council. “Mercy!” “Wow!” and “My Lord!” echoed through the sanctuary.

In 2023, the North American Division website garnered close to 1.2 million page views. More than 270,000 unique page views were directed to the NAD news page and news articles. The top 10 most-visited news articles for 2023 are listed in this news feature. Click the titles to read the full articles, and enjoy this 2023 North American Division news year-in-review. And enjoy several popular stories from past years that still make the cut in our top 20 — these are listed at the end of our 2023 list.

Launched in New York City, "Connecting to Hope" is a three-month awareness campaign designed to encourage individuals to foster connections with their community, family, friends, and neighbors, as well as to cultivate spiritual connections with God. The campaign's resources serve as a lifeline to combat loneliness, encouraging people to seek support, and proactively connect with those around them. This collaboration between the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America and Hope Channel International features a series of impactful 15-second ads displayed on a digital billboard in New York City's Times Square.

The 2023 North American Division Educators’ Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, was a time of spiritual rejuvenation, learning, and fellowship. Reflecting on the rich, yet somewhat turbulent history of Adventist education, the educators’ convention introduced “Turning Points,” a six-part video series jointly produced by the NAD Office of Education and the Department of Archives, Statistics, and Research. It’s one of the first efforts to produce a film series specifically highlighting the origins of Adventist education.

"During this season, we want to remind you that Immanuel, Jesus, is with you — no matter what you're going through. This time of the year can be so lonely for so many. But the very essence of the season is Immanuel, which says, 'Jesus is not distant. He is near,'" says NAD president G. Alexander Bryant, in the 2023 holiday message he presents to Adventists in North America with wife, Desiree Bryant, who is the NAD Ministerial Spouses director.

The North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (NAD) held the 2023 Leadership Summit at its headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, on November 12. The theme of the day-long event was “Developing Effective Teams.”

“At PELC, you just might experience spontaneous praise syndrome!” said Oakwood University Church pastor Kimberly Mann in her welcome to the 2023 Pastoral Evangelism and Leadership Council (PELC), held on the university campus in Huntsville, Alabama, on December 3-6.

AdventHealth's "week of caring," celebrated Nov. 6-10, included team members from throughout Florida. All told, 1,220 team members volunteered nearly 2,500 hours to lend a hand to 76 community partners.

While it’s natural to mark time by the tragedies and traumas that have marred our lives, we also mark time through triumphs. Wedding days, births, new homes, graduations, new jobs . . . these are some of the points—benchmarks—that give us measures of hope, joy. The sad reality for many of us is that those happy moments aren’t often equal benchmarks in this sinful world. The traumatic seems to win out. But then I think of Jesus and how He has created the best markers to live by.

The North American Division (NAD) Planned Giving and Trust Services (PGTS) ministry recently celebrated the successful conclusion of its largest cohort in years. The 13-week certification program, held at the Arizona Conference of Seventh-day Adventists from November 28 to 30, brought together a record-breaking cohort of 40 individuals.