News Articles

The 2020 Sonscreen Film Festival was on track to be held with new partner CoLab on April 2-5, 2020. But those plans changed the second week of March as novel coronavirus disease closures caused the North American Division (NAD) to cancel the festival that was to be hosted at the Loma Linda University Church in California. By April 13, after weeks filled with long hours reorganizing, shuffling, and creating, the festival moved online. It became the first NAD event to successfully occupy virtual space over a week-long period.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 and the postponement of the 2020 General Conference (GC) Session until May 2021, and the North American Division (NAD) of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church policy that requires the election of NAD vice presidents and department directors be held after a General Conference Session, the North American Division Committee (NADCOM) voted on May 21, 2020, to hold division elections on May 26, 2021, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Daniel R. Jackson, president of the North American Division of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (NAD) and his wife Donna, have announced their intent to retire, effective July 1, 2020. With the postponement of the 2020 General Conference (GC) Session, NAD administration has worked with GC leadership to establish a clear process for the election of the new NAD president in July 2020.

For Pastors Phil and Jan White of the Simi Valley Seventh-day Adventist church in Southern California, the transition from normal church services to live-streaming and online giving was seamless. The church was live-streaming services pre-pandemic, and, for the past eight years, has been using Adventist Giving online. “A small percentage of the membership used adventistgiving.org before, for convenience,” said Pastor Phil White, “and now about 50 percent of our church family is using the service.”

The Navajo people have been disproportionality affected by the deadly coronavirus since the first case was confirmed on the tribal land on March 17, 2020. Navajo Nation has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 per capita in the United States. The principal of the Adventist boarding school that provides a safe haven for its Navajo students, and the native ministries director for the Pacific Union Conference share their realities of serving the marginalized nation within a nation, especially during the coronavirus public health crisis.

The School of Journalism and Communication (SJC) at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee, will host a three-day virtual photo/journalism summer boot camp for high school students from June 15 to 17. The workshop, to be held via Zoom, is designed for students interested in photography, writing, videography, social media, or overall storytelling.

ADRA International has committed $150,000 to support Adventist Community Services (ACS) food pantries in the U.S. to respond to the COVID-19 food relief efforts. "We are grateful for ADRA's commitment to serve and to partner with ACS for this great endeavor," said Sung Kwon, ACS director.

Between April 18-25, 2020, Robert Costa, speaker/director for the It Is Written Spanish language ministry Escrito Está, shared hope with people in Mexico. Under quarantine orders himself, Pastor Costa conducted an online evangelistic series for the North Mexican Union entitled “El poder de la Esperanza” (“The Power of Hope”) from his home. The event was live streamed through Facebook and YouTube. Due to the online platform, other conferences and churches throughout the North America, Central America, and South America, and Western Europe, joined the event. The attendance peaked with 247,000 views opening weekend. 

COVID-19 has affected the number of volunteers, hours of operation, food distribution hours, and other programs at most Adventist Community Services (ACS) locations in North America. This is the reality at the Northeastern Conference (NEC) ACS Center. The food distribution style was changed from “clients choice” to grab-to-go grocery bags (pre-packed bags), and on just one day, April 29, 2020, the NECACS center served 375 families.

Ron felt impressed to hand the woman at the gas pump a GLOW tract. He did and the woman recommitted her life to Jesus, and she joined the Adventist church. But how can we share the message of hope during these uncertain times? What can we do when we are all staying at home and personal contacts with others aren’t as available or encouraged while we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic?