Adventist Volunteer Services

The Adventist Volunteer Service (AVS) plan for the worldwide Church is designed to provide service opportunities for Seventh-day Adventists who want to share in the joy of taking the gospel to the world, matching their talents, gifts, resources, and professional expertise with defined needs. Adventist Volunteer Service believes that we live in a moment where there is no time to waste and we all must do something to share hope. “Time is short. Workers for Christ are needed everywhere. There should be one hundred earnest, faithful laborers in home and foreign mission fields where now there is one.”¹ When opportunities are given to church members, they will have the most fulfilling experience God wishes for His children on earth. As Ellen White says, “the spirit of unselfish labor for others gives depth, stability, and Christlike loveliness to the character and brings peace and happiness to its possessor.”²

Overview

From 1959, the Church had in place a program that allowed students to volunteer for short-term mission service. In 1968, a Youth Challenge Committee, set up to study the needs of Adventist Youth of the day, recommended that a program be set up to also allow non-students to volunteer their time to serve overseas. At Annual Council 1968, the Adventist Volunteer Service Corps (AVSC) was adopted, as an Adventist “Peace Corp” for self-supporting volunteers for overseas service, to be administered by the General Conference Secretariat. The first volunteers were voted by the Appointees Committee in May 1969 and in all, eight volunteers were appointed in the first year of the program. Church papers around the world reported on the creation of AVSC and encouraged members to volunteer for the program, and early feedback from the divisions was positive. In 1972 a new entry was added to the GC Working Policy, titled “Adventist Volunteer Service Corps.” Challenges arose over the years, including how to integrate it into the existing mission structure without confusion about roles and overlapping of efforts. The name of the program and how it was to be administered was changed several times over the years. In 1987, “Corps” was dropped from the name. In 1995 the Office of Volunteerism (soon changed to the Center for Volunteerism) was established to oversee all the Church’s volunteer programs. In 1999 this became the Adventist Volunteer Center, and around 2008, this was changed to its present form of Adventist Volunteer Service. Although, for a number of reasons, it is difficult to be precise about the numbers of volunteers sent by AVS, the GC Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research estimates that between 1975 and 2022, around 44,000 members around the world served the church as overseas volunteers.

Adventist Volunteer Service History Timeline

Beginnings

In October 1967, the General Conference Officers (GCO) appointed a Youth Challenge Committee to “give study to the challenges and needs of present day [sic] SDA youth,” as well as a committee to set up guidelines for college students who had graduated but still wanted to serve overseas, on a self-supporting basis.³

The Youth Challenge Committee met at the GC headquarters on February 27, 1968, to discuss expanding the student missionary program and introducing an Adventist volunteer service corps for laypeople who lay outside the scope of the student missionary program. It was recommended that a new program be set up, to be known as the Adventist Volunteer Service Corps (AVSC), in order to offer “carefully selected non-students eighteen years of age or over” an opportunity to serve as self-supporting overseas volunteers for a period of one to two years. The calling division would be responsible for financing the volunteer’s physical examination, insurance, and food, lodging, local travel, and related expenses while in the field, but no salary would be paid. The volunteer would be financially responsible for their travel, as well as for passports and inoculations.⁴ On October 13, 1968, the GC Committee voted at Annual Council to adopt the plan.⁵

Church papers published reports about Annual Council 1968, noting the creation of new opportunities for self-supporting volunteers to serve in overseas missions. The Review and Herald declared that the Adventist Volunteer Service Corps “should help alleviate the desperate need for medical and technical personnel in overseas institutions.”⁶ The Lake Union Herald proclaimed that “the corps was created to give opportunity to those who wish to support themselves and yet serve their church overseas.”⁷ Union papers continued to print variations of the same notice.⁸

Procedures were developed to integrate the AVSC into the existing missionary program. It was suggested that the Review and Herald, Youth’s Instructor, and union papers publish a list of service opportunities twice a year.

Early Volunteers

The first volunteers confirmed to have been appointed under the AVSC program, voted May 21, 1969, were Carolyn Wells, Mary Elizabeth Cutting, and Margaret Naomi Okamura, “senior nurses at the Loma Linda University School of Nursing,” who were sent to Tokyo for one year,⁹ and on December 4, 1969, the Review and Herald reported that Betsy Cutting, Margaret Okamura, and Carolyn Jo Wells, had departed for their service in Tokyo in September.¹⁰

In all, eight volunteers were voted by the Appointees Committee as AVSC appointees in the first year of the program: six to Japan, one to Costa Rica, and one to Thailand, all on one-year terms.

In 1970, eleven volunteers were sent, on one-year contracts, mostly to South America and the Far East, and 33 were sent in 1971, mainly to the Far East and Africa, for varying lengths of service, from three months to 1–2 years. ¹¹

In April of 1970, GC President Pierson sent a circular letter to the division presidents asking them to comment on the student missionary and AVSC programs in their divisions.¹² The Southern European Division responded that they had set up a division AVSC department and had already sent out six church members, with two more getting ready to leave for Africa. The South American Division was only beginning to enter the program but believed it would be very useful. The Trans-Africa Division had had little experience so far but were “all for the plan.” The Far Eastern Division had limited experience with AVSC but felt that it had been positive so far.¹³

Early Administration

Donald W. Hunter became the first official head of the Adventist Volunteer Service Corps in August 1970, when it was agreed that “D W Hunter will now be assigned general responsibility for the AVSC program,”¹⁴

A new section was added to the GC Working Policy at Annual Council, October 15, 1972, entitled “Adventist Volunteer Service Corps,” codifying the procedures that Secretariat had been using in promoting and processing AVSC. Individuals who wished to serve as overseas volunteers but were not eligible for the Student Missionary Program, could serve with the AVSC program. They would be over eighteen years old, self-supporting, non-students who would work overseas for a period of one to two years. Divisions would send requests for volunteers to the AVSC who would match a volunteer to the request and process the paperwork. The division would be responsible for the costs of a physical examination of the volunteer prior to acceptance, liability insurance for the worker, and a living allowance to cover food, lodging, and local travel expenses. The volunteer would be financially responsible for their passport, visas, necessary inoculations, and a round-trip ticket to the calling division.¹⁵

At that same Annual Council, the GC Committee noted the first loss of an AVSC worker and voted to send condolences to the family of AVSC worker James Wheeker, who was killed October 15 in a motorcycle accident on assignment at Ethiopian Adventist College.¹⁶

Changes and Refinements, 1980s and 1990s

Roy F. Williams took over the AVSC work from Hunter in 1973 and remained with AVS until he retired in 1985.¹⁷ There is no official record of who took over AVS when Williams retired, but between 1985 and 1990, it was Don Roth who presented items relating to volunteers in the Secretariat meetings and wrote up changes to the GC Working Policy, so it is likely that it was he who took responsibility for AVS.

The “corps” was dropped from the AVS name in October 1987, when a policy amendment changed Adventist Volunteer Service Corps to Adventist Volunteer Service.¹⁸

When Don Roth retired in 1990, Larry R. Colburn took over from him. Again, there is no specific mention of responsibility for AVS, but Colburn presented volunteer issues to the Secretariat meetings, so he is the likely candidate.

When the Secretariat Manual was revised in 1990, section P 10 05, “Adventist Volunteer Service,” described the Adventist Volunteer Service as “composed of persons over 30 years of age who volunteer to serve overseas, generally from one to two years. Such volunteers, generally, go at their own expense and serve without salary, but are provided with a living allowance to cover food, lodging, local travel, and related expenses while in the field.”¹⁹

At Annual Council 1995, the Secretary’s Report announced that an Office of Volunteerism was being developed at the General Conference, to give opportunities for “hundreds of young people to be involved in mission. Each division is urged to develop a similar program.”²⁰

A year later, in 1996, it was reported that the Center for Volunteerism (as it was now being called) had been established, under the leadership of D. Ronald Watts, who had previously served as president of the British Columbia Conference in Canada.

In that same year, Adventist Youth Service (AYS), which had taken over management of the Student Missionary program, was transferred to the GC Secretariat Center of Volunteerism,²¹ and in December, it was announced that all processing of volunteers (AVS and AYS) would be transferred to the new Center for Volunteerism early in 1997.²²

In July 1996, Secretariat discussed the creation of a database, to be used by the Center for Volunteerism, “for services rendered by GC Secretariat, YouthNet, GC TRIPS, Health, Treasury, and others within the GC complex.” Two associate secretaries, Lowell C. Cooper and Larry Colburn, were to work together on determining and outlining the type of information that was going to be needed in the database,²³ with a plan for the database work to begin on April 14, 1997.²⁴

Watts was elected president of the Southern Asia Division at Annual Council 1997, and Vernon B. Parmenter was elected as GC Associate Secretary and Director of the Center for Volunteerism to replace him.²⁵

The “Adventist Volunteer Service Procedural Guidelines” for the General Conference Center for Volunteerism were set up in 1998. These stated that the GC Center for Volunteerism “coordinated the world-wide volunteer program of the church, including Global Mission and ADRA volunteers.” They also noted that AVS directors should be appointed in every division and also at union, conference/mission, and college/university levels. The Center for Volunteerism would process requests and assignments with the division AVS Director, not with organizations at other levels. The guidelines outlined procedures for requesting and processing volunteers, including recruitment, screening, finances, orientation, travel, health clearance, insurance, discipline, and support and nurture.²⁶ At Annual Council that year, major revisions to Policy R “Adventist Volunteer Service” were voted and sections referring to Adventist Youth Services were removed entirely; all volunteers were to be processed as AVS appointees.²⁷

The name of the department was changed again in 1999, when “Adventist Volunteer Center” replaced “Center for Volunteerism.”

AVS Since 2000

Parmenter reported in 2000 that over the past three years the Adventist Volunteer Center had “processed 1,355 interdivision volunteers in 1999, a 31 percent increase over 1998 and nearly double the increase seen in the previous year.” He added that other divisions were sending “significant” numbers of volunteers overseas and noted the need for churches to sponsor volunteers’ expenses “so that the financial burden is shifted from the host division to the home division.”²⁸

Associate Secretary Homer Trecartin took over responsibility for the Adventist Volunteer Center on October 12, 2008. Trecartin changed the name of the Adventist Volunteer Center to Adventist Volunteer Service “so there is less confusion.”²⁹ On July 2, 2010, the newly elected Associate Secretary John Thomas took over running the AVS.

John Thomas stepped away from running AVS in 2018, and Elbert Kuhn assumed responsibility.

On January 1, 2023 “VividFaith became the sole “processing platform used to apply for volunteer positions and positions.”³⁰

In the ten years through 2024, the Adventist Volunteer Service (AVS) has expanded its global reach, focusing on mission initiatives that reflect the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s vision of sharing the gospel worldwide. One major development has been the creation of the book Passport to Mission, a resource designed to guide volunteers through cultural immersion, personal preparation, and spiritual growth during their service. This has been complemented by the introduction of online classes through Schools of Mission, enabling volunteers to receive training remotely, regardless of their location.

Conclusion

The global “I Will Go” theme, which began in River Plate, Argentina, with a small group of passionate volunteers, has since become a driving force behind the church’s mission strategy. This theme has inspired countless individuals to step forward and serve. Over the years, groups of volunteers have been deployed to various parts of the world, contributing in areas such as education, media, health, and church planting. These efforts have strengthened communities and furthered the mission of the Adventist Church in under-reached areas, helping to share hope and faith through practical service.

As church members go out and serve for a year or more as volunteers, the experience often transforms their perspective on life; this is equally true for the many young people who serve as student missionaries. Immersed in different cultures and engaged in meaningful service, they begin to reevaluate their priorities and values. The opportunity to work closely with communities in education, media, health, and church planting fosters a deep sense of purpose and connection to the mission of the Adventist Church. Many of these volunteers find that their time in the field influences their career decisions, and they return home with a desire to pursue majors or careers that will allow them to serve the church full-time. Whether it is through pastoral work, healthcare, teaching, or media, these individuals are inspired to use their skills and talents to contribute to the global mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This lasting impact is a testament to the power of service and the potential of young people to make a difference when given the chance to live out their faith in action.

Official Names

Adventist Volunteer Service Corps (1968–1987); Adventist Volunteer Service (1987–1996); Center for Volunteerism (1996–1999); Adventist Volunteer Center (1999–2009); Adventist Volunteer Service (2009–)

Directors of AVSC/AVS

D.W. Hunter (1970–1973); R.F. Williams (1973–1985); Don A. Roth (1985–1990); Larry R. Colburn (1990–1996); D. Ronald Watts (1996–1997); Vernon B. Parmenter (1997–2008); Homer Trecartin (2008­–2010); John H. Thomas (2010–2018); Elbert Kuhn (2018–)

Sources

“Adventist Volunteer Service Corps Approved.” The Youth’s Instructor, December 10, 1968.

“Briefly Stated.” Columbia Union Visitor, December 12, 1968.

“The Church Responds to Its Youth.” ARH, November 28, 1968.

Committee on Appointees, May 21, 1969. Box Min 28. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Eldridge, Paul H. Paul H. Eldridge to R.H. Pierson, April 20, 1970. Box 10506, Folder Student Missionaries – Elder De Booy. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

General Conference Adventist Volunteer Service Department. AVS Folder (red), History of AVS (manila), orange sticky note.

General Conference Committee, October 13, 1968. General Conference Archives. Accessed 2/26/25. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1968-10a.pdf.

General Conference Committee, October 15, 1972. General Conference Archives. Accessed 2/26/2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1972-10a.pdf.

General Conference Committee, October 16, 1972. General Conference Archives. Accessed 2/26/2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1972-10a.pdf.

General Conference Committee, October 12, 1987. General Conference Archives. Accessed 2/26/2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1986-10b.pdf.

General Conference Committee, October 4, 1995. General Conference Archives. Accessed 2/26/2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1995-10a.pdf.

General Conference Committee, October 4, 1996. General Conference Archives. Accessed 2/26/2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1996-10.pdf.

General Conference Committee, October 2, 1997. General Conference Archives. Accessed 2/26/2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1997-10a.pdf.

General Conference Committee, October 5, 1998. General Conference Archives. Accessed 2/26/2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1998-10.pdf.

General Conference Committee, September 27, 2000. General Conference Archives. Accessed 2/26/2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC2000-09-10AC-a.pdf.

General Conference Officers, October 11, 1967. Box 13737, RG 002. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

General Conference Officers, March 11, 1968. Box 13737, RG 002. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

“General News: Adventist Volunteer Service Corps Authorized.” The Atlantic Union Gleaner, January 28, 1969.

Mills, Merle L. Merle L. Mills to R.H. Pierson. April 21, 1970. Box 10506, Folder Student Missionaries – Elder De Booy. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Murray, W.E. W.E. Murray to R.H. Pierson. April 17, 1970. Box 10506, Folder Student Missionaries – Elder De Booy. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

“News Round-Up,” British Advent Messenger, February 14, 1969.

“Newsline: Adventist Laymen May Now Serve Overseas Missions.” Lake Union Herald, December 3, 1968.

Pierson, Robert H. Robert H. Pierson to Division Presidents. April 13, 1970. Box 10397, Folder Circulars. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, August 4, 1970. Box MIN 251, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes-1 1968–1972. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, August 28, 1973. Box MIN 252, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes-1 1973–1976. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, September 16, 1985, 169. [No box no.], Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1985-2. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, September 5, 1990. [No box no.], Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1990–1991. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, March 15,1996. Box MIN 257, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1996. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, July 15, 1996. Box 257, Folder Sec Staff Meeting Minutes 1996. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, August 6, 1996. Box 257, Folder Sec Staff Meeting Minutes 1996. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, December 16, 1996. Box MIN 257, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1996. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, January 6, 1997. Box MIN 257, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1997–2000. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, March 17, 1997. Box MIN 257, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1997–2000. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Secretariat Staff Meeting, July 27, 1998. Box MIN 257, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1997–2000. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

VividFaith. https://www.adventistvolunteers.org/, accessed 8/8/2024.

Webster, F.C. F.C. Webster to R.H. Pierson, April 20, 1970. Box 10506, Folder Student Missionaries – Elder De Booy. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

Wilcox, R.A. R.A. Wilcox to R.H. Pierson. April 21, 1970. Box 10506, Folder Student Missionaries – Elder De Booy. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

White, Ellen G. Evangelism. Washington, DC: Review and Herald Pub. Association, 1946.

White, Ellen G. Testimonies for the Church, Vol 5. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1948.

Notes

1. Ellen G. White, Evangelism, (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Pub. Association, 1946), 22.↩

2. Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol 5, (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1948), 606.↩

3. General Conference Officers, October 11, 1967, 340, Box 13737, RG 002, General Conference Archives.↩

4. General Conference Officers, March 11, 1968, 119–120, Box 13737, RG 002, General Conference Archives.↩

5. General Conference Committee, October 13, 1968, 1167–1168. General Conference Archives. Accessed 2/26/2025. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1968-10a.pdf.↩

6. “The Church Responds to Its Youth,” AR, November 28, 1968, 14.↩

7. “Newsline: Adventist Laymen May Now Serve Overseas Missions,” Lake Union Herald, December 3, 1968, 4.↩

8. “Adventist Volunteer Service Corps Approved,” The Youth’s Instructor, December 10, 1968, 18; “Briefly Stated,” Columbia Union Visitor, December 12, 1968, 2; “General News: Adventist Volunteer Service Corps Authorized,” The Atlantic Union Gleaner, January 28, 1969, 7–8; “News Round-Up,” British Advent Messenger, February 14, 1969, 12.↩

9. “VOTED, To recommend the appointment of Carolyn Wells, RN, Mary Elizabeth Cutting, RN, and Margaret Naomi Okamura, RN, senior nurses at the Loma Linda University School of Nursing, to Tokyo, for one year, on the AVSC plan.” Committee on Appointees, May 21, 1969, 60, Box Min 28, General Conference Archives.↩

10. W.R. Beach, “Answering the Call,” ARH, December 4, 1969, 23.↩

11. Committee on Appointees, Box Min 28, General Conference Archives.↩

12. Robert H. Pierson to Division Presidents, April 13, 1970, Box 10397, Folder Circulars, General Conference Archives.↩

13. Letters replying to R.H. Pierson’s letter of April 13, 1970 to Division Presidents: W.E. Murray to R.H. Pierson, April 17, 1970; R.A. Wilcox to R.H. Pierson, April 21, 1970; Merle L. Mills to R.H. Pierson, April 21, 1970; Paul H. Eldridge to R.H. Pierson, April 20, 1970, Box 10506, Folder Student Missionaries – Elder De Booy, General Conference Archives.↩

14. Secretariat Staff Meeting, August 4, 1970, 31, Box MIN 251, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes-1 1968–1972, General Conference Archives.↩

15. General Conference Committee, October 15, 1972, 1132–1133, General Conference Archives, accessed 2/26/2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1972-10a.pdf.↩

16. General Conference Committee, October 16, 1972, 1151, General Conference Archives, accessed 2/26/2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1972-10a.pdf.↩

17. Secretariat Staff Meeting, August 28, 1973, 53, Box MIN 252, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes-1 1973–1976, General Conference Archives; Secretariat Staff Meeting, September 16, 1985, 169, [no box no.] Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1985-2, General Conference Archives.↩

18. General Conference Committee, October 12, 1987, 494–497, General Conference Archives, accessed 2/26/2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1986-10b.pdf.↩

19. Secretariat Staff Meeting, September 5, 1990, 118, [no box no.] Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1990-1991, General Conference Archives.↩

20. General Conference Committee, October 4, 1995, 266, General Conference Archives, accessed 2/26/2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1995-10a.pdf.↩

21. Secretariat Staff Meeting, March 15,1996, 27–28, Box MIN 257, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1996, General Conference Archives.↩

22. Secretariat Staff Meeting, August 6, 1996, 62, Box 257, Folder Sec Staff Meeting Minutes 1996, General Conference Archives; General Conference Committee, October 4, 1996, 146, General Conference Archives, accessed 2/26/2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1996-10.pdf; Secretariat Staff Meeting, December 16, 1996, 97, Box MIN 257, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1996, General Conference Archives.↩

23. Secretariat Staff Meeting, July 15, 1996, 56, Box 257, Folder Sec Staff Meeting Minutes 1996, General Conference Archives.↩

24. Secretariat Staff Meeting, January 6, 1997, 1, Box MIN 257, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1997-2000, General Conference Archives; Secretariat Staff Meeting, March 17, 1997, 50, Box MIN 257, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1997-2000, General Conference Archives.↩

25. General Conference Committee, October 2, 1997, 96, General Conference Archives, accessed 2/26/2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1997-10a.pdf.↩

26. Secretariat Staff Meeting, July 27, 1998, 68–76, Box MIN 257, Folder Secretarial Staff Meeting Minutes 1997-2000, General Conference Archives.↩

27. General Conference Committee, October 5, 1998, 287–289, General Conference Archives, accessed 2/26/2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1998-10.pdf.↩

28. General Conference Committee, September 27, 2000, 97–98, General Conference Archives, accessed 2/26/2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC2000-09-10AC-a.pdf.↩

29. General Conference Adventist Volunteer Service Department, AVS Folder (red), History of AVS (manila), orange sticky note.↩

30. VividFaith, https://www.adventistvolunteers.org/, accessed 8/8/2024.↩