Global Mission

Global Mission’s purpose is to call the world church to focus on the challenge of the unreached and to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ by planting churches and starting new groups of believers among unreached people groups around the world.¹ Born out of the strategic initiative voted at the 1990 General Conference Session, Global Mission’s wholistic approach follows the example of Jesus as He interacted with people and showed His compassion and love for them before bidding them to “follow Me.” Ellen White refers to this wholistic approach as “Christ’s method alone,” which she writes will bring true success. Global Mission has funded projects resulting in thousands of new churches and small groups, many in previously unentered regions, thanks to the support of generous donors.

Mission and Adventism

Reaching North America

Since its earliest days, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the Great Commission. When the church officially organized in 1863, there were about three thousand five hundred Adventists.² These believers shared the Advent message throughout the United States through Bible studies and publishing pamphlets and magazines. A central principle in Adventism is to “not regard missions as something in addition to the regular work of the church; it is the work of the church.”³

Reaching Other Christians Around the World

The sending of J. N. Andrews as the church’s first official missionary in 1874 highlights the early passion of church members, as does the self-supporting ministry of Abram La Rue, who traveled to Hong Kong from California in 1888 after he was told he was too old to be a missionary. Ellen White wrote extensively about the need to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

As they had in North America, Adventist missionaries around the world first focused on sharing their unique beliefs with Christians of other denominations through Bible study and evangelism. When a small group was established, the new Adventists would share their faith with friends and neighbors, thereby spreading the Advent message. However contact was initiated, the goal was to cultivate relationships to pique interest in the gospel.⁴

Over the decades, Adventists have saved and sacrificed in order to support church mission offerings that funded outreach in their communities and around the world. Through medical work, health ministry, Christian education, and other types of outreach, millions of people around the world have come to know Christ. By 1992, Adventists had a presence in more than 200 countries.⁵

Reaching People Groups of Other Religions

However, in the late 1900s, the church realized it was experiencing “limited success in sharing the gospel with believers of other faiths.”⁶ Additionally, church leaders were discouraged as mission offerings declined over time.⁷ To an extent, some Adventists in North America believed that the Good News had spread to every corner of the earth because Adventist missionaries had entered the majority of countries around the world.⁸ There was increasing pressure to focus on local projects and outreach, to the neglect of mission globally.

Developing a Global Strategy

In the mid-1980s, then President Neal C. Wilson conferred with special assistant Charles Taylor. They discussed the need for a global strategy to refocus and refine the world church’s missionary efforts.⁹ Taylor witnessed firsthand the challenge of cross-cultural mission. He compared using North American-tested outreach techniques in areas such as the Middle East to banging your head against a locked door until someone opened it. It would be better to find the combination to the lock.¹⁰

At the 1986 Annual Council meetings in Brazil, Neal C. Wilson made an appeal for the creation of a committee to address these mission-related concerns. According to the minutes:

The observation was made that many Church members do not appear to truly understand the mission of the church. Particularly is this true of those young people who are several generations removed from the beginning of the prophetic Advent Movement. There is need for improved communication regarding the church mission and for the development of a global strategy to reach the unreached.¹¹

Two days later, the General Conference Committee voted to authorize the General Conference president to “develop a global strategy whereby the Seventh-day Adventist Church can reach the unreached.”¹² The motion advocated for the strategy to include a rearrangement in the usage of financial resources and personnel in order to spread the gospel.

The following year, the Global Strategy Coordinating Committee was appointed to develop the strategy along with a process for implementation.¹³ Representatives from the world divisions met in 1988 for a series of meetings to help them understand the magnitude of the global missional challenge. Attendees concluded that the highest priority areas were the Soviet Union, China, India, and the Muslim world.

In July 1989, more Global Strategy meetings were held, and the divisions reported on progress made toward dissecting their respective regions into segments of one million people. Once the divisions were seen to be moving and organizing, plans for a formal global strategy could move ahead.¹⁴

The Global Strategy document was introduced and approved at Annual Council in 1989¹⁵ and then fully endorsed at the 1990 General Conference Session.¹⁶

The Global Strategy of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as voted, clarified its ambitious purpose: “Following the example of Christ's ministry, the church will witness in every neighborhood, preaching the Good News, serving mankind, developing disciples, and bringing people into meaningful church fellowship.”¹⁷ Outlined in the document were key challenges, such as the sheer number of unreached people groups.

Three objectives were given.

1. “To provide an ongoing awareness program that will acquaint church members with the need of penetrating all people groups with the Seventh-day Adventist message. Penetration takes place through service ministries, proclamation, or permanent presence.

2. To establish an Adventist presence in all people groups where presently there is none. An Adventist presence is defined as an established local congregation. People groups encompass ethnolinguistic, geographic-political, or demographic social units.

3. To foster expansion wherever the church now exists.”¹⁸

Strongly influenced by Charles Taylor’s emphasis on creating new missional approaches relevant to the cultural context, the document also identified the need for study centers to conduct research in approaches to the major non-Christian religions of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism.¹⁹ A goal was set of establishing “a Seventh-day Adventist presence in every population segment of one million as identified at the beginning of the decade 1990--2000” (there were 5,234 segments identified), as well as “a presence in each of 271 languages spoken by one million or more” by the year 2000.²⁰

Global Mission Gets Started

Global Mission, newly established and renamed to sound less business-like, received its first director, Mike Ryan, at the 1990 Annual Council.²¹ He helped divisions strategize on reaching the Global Mission goals for the people groups within their regions. The four divisions without unreached people group segments (as identified at the time) were tasked with growing their established churches and encouraging members to support worldwide mission efforts.

Mike Ryan previously worked as the associate director for education at the Far Eastern Division (now divided into the Northern Asia-Pacific Division and the Southern Asia-Pacific Division) in Singapore. He had already started implementing his division’s response to Global Mission when he was called to be the director at the General Conference; he had also collaborated with Charles Taylor to share data about the population segments within the Far Eastern Division.

In the early days of Global Mission, Charles Taylor offered guidance and was instrumental in creating the long-term vision. He also supported the initiative in technical ways, such as by collecting data by division and drafting maps of areas by need.²²

Annual Sacrifice Offering

The Annual Sacrifice Offering traces back to 1922 when Adventists answered an urgent plea for offerings to support the worldwide missionary program.²³ Originally called the Week of Sacrifice Offering, its name was changed to the Annual Sacrifice Offering in 1963.²⁴ In 1989 the General Conference Committee decided that the Annual Sacrifice Offering would solely support frontline mission.²⁵ In 1994 the portion given to Global Mission increased to 100 percent.²⁶ These funds are only used for frontline mission work starting new groups of believers and planting churches among unreached people groups, as well as for the Global Mission centers.²⁷ In 2019 the worldwide total for the Annual Sacrifice Offering was $4.75 million.²⁸

Move to Adventist Mission

In 2005 Global Mission moved under the purview of the Office of Adventist Mission, which is also responsible for mission offering promotion and awareness within the Adventist Church.²⁹ Gary Krause was appointed director.

Under Adventist Mission, Global Mission has experienced greater visibility in film through Mission Spotlight videos and in print through Mission 360˚ magazine, both of which regularly promote stories of Global Mission pioneers and projects, as well as centers of influence.

Major Global Mission Priorities

Unreached People Groups and Areas

When Global Mission was launched in 1990, there were 30 countries with no Adventist presence.³⁰ By 2020, this number had dropped to 23, representing more than two hundred thirty million people.³¹ During that same time, the total number of countries worldwide increased from 215 to 235.

According to the Joshua Project, there are over seven thousand four hundred unreached people groups and an additional 1,100 who are minimally reached.³² (An “unreached” people group is defined as “less than or equal to five percent Christian Adherent AND less than or equal to two percent Evangelical”³³). Out of 7,111 languages and dialects, Adventist outreach is active in nearly five hundred.³⁴

Unreached people groups typically do not have access to Christian materials, or even the Bible, in their own language. There may be few Christians within their local community or the larger people group. Sometimes there is not a single Christian or Adventist working to reach them because of language or cultural barriers, lack of resources or personnel, or safety concerns.

Increasingly, the major cities of the world (those with more than 1 million people) constitute unreached people groups, particularly as many do not have even one Adventist church or group of believers.

Global Mission works to meet this need by funding projects targeting unreached people groups and unentered areas. The Adventist Church’s divisions, unions, and conferences partner with Global Mission to plan multiyear church-planting initiatives with pioneers and centers of influence. Global Mission pioneers prioritize frontline mission by working within unreached communities, and centers of influence meet needs and provide spaces for people to learn about Jesus outside a traditional church.

10/40 Window

When the Global Strategy document was approved, church leaders knew that the biggest challenges for worldwide mission work were urban areas, other faith traditions, and the population boom in parts of Asia and the Middle East. What they did not have a phrase for was describing the part of the world where all these challenges overlapped. In the 1990s Christian missiologist Luis Bush’s term “10/40 Window” gained popularity among evangelicals for identifying the target mission field.³⁵

The 10/40 Window is “the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude” which has “the majority of the world's Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists” and other unreached people groups.³⁶ A comprehensive list of countries can be found in the Annual Statistical Report and Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, both published annually by the General Conference. Global Mission has focused on the 10/40 Window as an area of great need and prioritized funding projects there and sending pioneers and tentmakers.

This part of the world is even more important because it is home to nearly sixty percent of the world population.³⁷ That number will only grow. Additionally, many of the world’s poorest people live there, and millions have never heard the name of Jesus.³⁸ There are 69 countries in the 10/40 Window, as identified by the General Conference Secretariat.³⁹

For Adventists, the challenge is clear. Outside the 10/40 Window, there is one Adventist for every 136 people; comparatively, within the 10/40 Window, there is only one Adventist for nearly 2,000 people.⁴⁰

Cities

Throughout history there has been a major demographic shift of people moving to large urban areas; in 2007, for the first time over fifty percent of the world population lived in cities.⁴¹ Although the 1989 Global Strategy document noted urban areas as a priority, it was not until 2012 that the Global Mission Urban Center was established (then called the Urban Ministry Center). A more intentional, city-based approach was needed to reach people in cities.

This center provides training, resources, and other support for urban centers of influence (often under the brand Life Hope Centers) in the strategic areas of the metropolises of the world. Of particular focus are cities of at least one million inhabitants. As of 2022, over six hundred cities around the world meet this criterion.

The Global Mission Urban Center is closely connected with the General Conference’s Mission to the Cities initiative, which was also implemented in 2012. Mission to the Cities began with a plan to reach 650 of largest cities worldwide and continues to promote creative outreach methods for urban areas.

Methodology

Christ’s Method of Ministry

Global Mission practices and promotes wholistic outreach in mission, following the model of Jesus Christ, as described by Ellen White: "Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, 'Follow Me.'"⁴²

From pioneers to tentmakers to centers of influence, everything Global Mission does is based on the concept of Christ’s method of ministry. Gary Krause said, “As followers

of Jesus, we cannot be content with just remote-control, from-a-distance, drive-by, short-term mission. We must pray, be humble, and analyze the needs.”⁴³ To be the most effective, frontline mission workers need to integrate into their communities and follow Christ’s example.

Global Mission Pioneer Program

The Global Mission pioneer program was launched in 1994.⁴⁴ It meets the challenge laid out by Ellen White: “The work of God on this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers.”⁴⁵

The program provides funding and support for lay people, called pioneers, working in local communities. Global Mission pioneers typically speak the language of the community they are entering or working in and are familiar with the culture and religion. Often serving for at least one year, they are tasked with following Christ’s method of ministry in order to start new groups of believers and plant churches in unreached areas.⁴⁶ "In many places it was lay people who started the Adventist work, and it will be the lay people who finish it," then director Mike Ryan said.⁴⁷

Pioneers integrate into their communities, meeting needs and building relationships. They often offer Bible studies or literacy courses, conduct literature ministry, lead health seminars, and find other unique, creative ways to serve their neighbors. By following Christ’s method of ministry and showing His love to others, pioneers are able to invite people to accept Jesus as their Savior.⁴⁸

Global Mission presents the advantages of using pioneers to enter unreached areas as “fewer expenses, division ownership, lay participation, long-term contact with people, and an increased number of believers.”⁴⁹

When the pioneer program first launched, Global Mission hoped to have 4,000 pioneer teams working around the world within three years.⁵⁰ Additionally, each division of the Adventist Church planned to have their own pioneer program in place within one year.⁵¹ In 1995 over two thousand six hundred pioneers were reported to be working worldwide.⁵² From 2006 to 2010, Global Mission invested $22 million in nearly 10,000 pioneers and projects in 163 countries.⁵³ In 2015, 1,733 pioneers were working in 104 countries.⁵⁴ The number of pioneers has been fairly steady in recent years.

Global Mission Centers

The Adventist Church has historically grown quickly in many parts of the world, yet this has typically been in places where the gospel has already reached.⁵⁵ Countries that have resisted the spread of Christianity sometimes even have laws prohibiting believers from sharing their faith or holding religious services. In other places differences in culture and worldview can prevent Adventists from effectively sharing their faith.

When the Global Strategy was voted in 1990, it provided the foundation for establishing study centers, which would produce research related to outreach, evangelism, and bridge-building among major non-Christian faiths. The first four were dedicated to Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism. Over time, two additional centers have been added to prioritize urban mission, as well as reach secular/post-Christian populations. Each center is tasked with not only helping Adventists better understand the beliefs, cultures, and worldviews of other major religions or people groups but also helping these other groups understand Adventist beliefs.⁵⁶ The centers produce resources for effective, relationship-focused outreach.

Global Center for Adventist-Muslim Relations

Not long after the Global Strategy was voted, but before Global Mission was established, the Global Centre for Islamic Studies was formed. It was based at Newbold College in the United Kingdom and headed by Borge Schantz.⁵⁷

By the late 1990s, the center had come under Global Mission’s purview. Then director Jerald Whitehouse promoted a “fellowship of faith” with Muslims rather than traditional evangelism methods. This approach should spiritually nurture new believers while allowing them to remain in their cultural context.⁵⁸

Center for East Asian Religions

The Center for East Asian Religions (originally called the Buddhist Study Center) was one of the centers mentioned in the Global Strategy document in 1989, but it was not established until 1993. The center was headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, just 50 meters from a Buddhist seminary. Originally focused solely on building bridges with the Buddhist community, the first director, Clif Maberly, started by inviting local Buddhists to the center to gain mutual understanding of each other’s beliefs.⁵⁹

Over time the scope of the center broadened, and the name was changed. Today the Center for East Asian Religions produces resources for building bridges with Buddhists and practitioners of Taoism, Shintoism, and Confucianism.⁶⁰

Center for South Asian Religions

The Center for South Asian Religions was another center included in the Global Strategy document, although it was initially called the Global Center for Hindu Studies. Initially the center focused on outreach and growth in India. As with the Center for East Asian Religions, its scope changed over time, and the focus shifted to all the South Asian populations scattered across the world. In addition to Hindus, the center produces resources for building bridges with Sikhs and Jains.⁶¹

World Jewish-Adventist Friendship Center

The fourth center identified in the Global Strategy document focused on Judaism. It was established in 1996. The World Jewish-Adventist Friendship Center, as it is known today, helps Adventist church members learn more about the Jewish faith in order to bridge the cultural gap.⁶²

According to former director Richard Elofer, “The closeness and similarities between Adventism and Judaism (Style of life, Sabbath, Messiah, etc.) give them the unique opportunity to generate interfaith dialogue at the highest levels, bringing together Jewish and Adventist leaders and renowned scholars.”⁶³

Center for Secular/Post-Christian Mission

In 2003 Jim Coffin took the lead on the newly created Urban Secular Center. This initial focus on urban ministry shifted slightly to secular and postmodern people groups, as evidenced by the name change to Secular Post-Modern Study Center in 2004.⁶⁴ In 2022 the name changed again to the Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission to reflect the shift in the target people group.

The center produces materials and research to help Adventists “better understand secular and postmodern people and to help them live a real experience with God.”⁶⁵ The Millennial and Gen Z generational cohorts were the focus of the 2018 Reaching Millennial Generations conference. As director, Kleber Goncalves explained, “This is the future of our church…. We need to start building bridges of communication with these generations.”⁶⁶

Global Mission Urban Center

The Global Mission Urban Center was established in 2012 to help the church prioritize mission among people living in cities. Given the significant population boom in cities, innovative approaches to urban outreach are needed. The unique characteristics of city dwellers cannot be simplified to a single language or culture; thus, all methods need to be highly contextualized because of the overlap and mix of people groups within a city.

This center develops resources, conducts research, offers training, and partners with other church entities and institutions to implement strategic urban outreach. A key task is providing support and funding for urban centers of influence to meet specific needs within cities. It is connected with the General Conference’s Mission to the Cities initiative, which crafted a plan to reach 650 of the world’s largest cities, starting in 2012.⁶⁷

Tentmakers Program (Total Employment)

The Global Mission tentmakers program, also known as Total Employment, builds on the concept of a self-supporting missionary. The term “tentmaker” refers to the apostle Paul, who made tents to fund his travels to share the gospel.⁶⁸

These independent missionaries are needed in difficult-to-enter or “closed” countries, especially where traditional forms of outreach are not possible. It may be politically or religiously restricted to talk about Jesus. But tentmakers are able to use their jobs in these closed regions to join a community and naturally share their faith with friends, coworkers, or neighbors. They do the work a traditional missionary cannot. Although tentmakers are not employed by the Church, Global Mission supports them with training and opportunities for spiritual nurture and fellowship.

Centers of Influence

As part of the Global Mission Urban Center and for Mission to the Cities, Global Mission has revived the concept of urban “centers of influence” for frontline mission work. Ellen White wrote about centers of influence, particularly for outreach in cities.⁶⁹ Often these centers are vegetarian or vegan restaurants, juice bars, health clinics, secondhand shops, cafés, and more. They usually have additional meeting space for literacy courses, seminars, cooking classes, Bible studies, church services, or other programs to support the community. Global Mission’s urban centers provide creative opportunities for positive interactions with people with a goal of starting a worshiping group.

Some urban centers of influence fall under the Life Hope Centers branding, but others are started and run independently by local Adventists. All of these centers have the same goal: follow Christ’s method of ministry in order to meet people’s needs and start new groups of believers.

Between 2012 and 2017, Global Mission provided funding for 61 urban centers of influence.⁷⁰

Mission Priority System

Global Mission has worked to develop a more strategic approach to frontline mission work over time. The result is the Mission Priority System, which went online in 2021. This system guides church leaders in identifying people groups within their regions to prioritize for mission efforts. They are able to propose projects, apply for funding, and report results within the database.⁷¹ Projects are evaluated based on how unreached the identified people group is and the strength of the proposal.

The most practical approach to mission must involve prioritizing the people groups least likely to be reached by the gospel without strategic interventions. According to Jeff Scoggins, planning director for Global Mission, “the best metric that reveals whether the church is making progress toward God’s end-goal is the countdown of people groups who remain entirely unreached by the gospel.”⁷²

The Mission Priority System takes the challenge of frontline mission and makes it tangible and measurable. Church leaders can use this tool to not only prioritize mission projects based on least-reached people groups but also to generate comprehensive reports to provide accountability and inspire church members.

Mission Refocus

In 2022 the General Conference Mission Board decided that the church needed to refocus on frontline mission needs. Over the previous few decades, more of the money dedicated to missionaries (called international service employees) was funding administrative positions in educational institutions, medical facilities, and church headquarters. While these roles were necessary and came about naturally to maintain the results of earlier mission work, the money was no longer directly contributing to frontline mission.⁷³ Another factor was the shift in church membership worldwide with the largest growth occurring in what were the previous mission fields. The growth of the church in the Global South and declining membership in the Global North contributed to the need to refocus on mission.

To address this concern, the Mission Refocus matrix aligns resources and personnel to unreached and under-reached people groups using six criteria:

• direct contact mission with the goal of creating new worshiping groups

• 10/40 Window countries and people groups of non-Christian religions

• urban areas of more than one million in population

• postmodern/post-Christian countries and regions

• low Adventist-to-population ratio in countries, regions, or people groups

• high-impact equipping for direct-contact mission⁷⁴

The divisions will work closely with the General Conference to reassign the international service employee budgets so that within five years, 35 percent of the positions funded will meet the criteria, and by 2032, 70 percent will.

Global Mission Statistics

Since 1990, Global Mission has been instrumental in planting thousands of Adventist churches around the world. Between 2015 and 2019, Global Mission contributed about $20 million to nearly 5,500 projects worldwide.⁷⁵

When Global Mission started, worldwide Adventist membership was 6.5 million with about 32,000 churches.⁷⁶ By the end of 2021, membership had grown to nearly twenty-two million with about ninety-five thousand churches.^{77 78}

By 1999, 11,000 new Adventist churches had been established with help by Global Mission. By 2004 Global Mission pioneers had started more than half of the new congregations worldwide.⁷⁹ In 2020, 1,754 pioneers were active.⁸⁰

Current Global Mission statistics are published each year in the General Conference’s Annual Statistical Report.

Looking Forward

Global Mission is the tool by which the Adventist Church strategizes and measures success in frontline mission among unreached people groups. As the end of time approaches, God’s people must maintain the urgency of the call to frontline mission. Global Mission answers that call.

Lists

Directors, Global Mission
Name	Title	Tenure
Michael L. Ryan	executive secretary; general field secretary; general vice president	1990-1996; 1996-2003; 2003-2005
Gary D. Krause	Adventist Mission director	2005-.

Directors, Global Mission Centers
Name	Title	Tenure
A. Ganoune Diop	Study Centers director	2008-2011
Richard E. McEdward	Study Centers director; Global Mission Centers director	2011-2014; 2014-2016
Homer W. Trecartin	Global Mission Centers director	2016-2020
Gregory P. Whitsett	Global Mission Centers director	2022-.

Directors, Global Center for Adventist-Muslim Relations
Name	Center Name (at the time)	Tenure
Borge Schantz	Seventh-day Adventist Global Centre for Islamic Studies (independent of Global Mission); Global Center for Islamic Studies	1989-1993; 1993-1995
Jerald W. Whitehouse	Global Center for Adventist Muslim Relations/Islamic Study Center	1995-2009
Lester P. Merklin Jr.	Global Center for Adventist-Muslim Relations	2009-2014
Petras Bahadur	Global Center for Adventist-Muslim Relations	2015-.

Directors, Center for East Asian Religions
Name	Center Name (at the time)	Tenure
Clifton R. Maberly	Buddhist Study Center	1993-1999
Scott Griswold	Buddhist Study Center; Buddhism Religious Study Center	2002-2004; 2004-2012
Gregory P. Whitsett	Center for East Asian Religions and Traditions; Center for East Asian Religions	2012 to 2013; 2013-2022
Khamsay Phetchareun	Center for East Asian Religions	2022-.

Directors, Center for South Asian Religions
Name	Center Name (at the time)	Tenure
Joseph Skariah	Global Center for Hindu Studies	1993-1995
N. Sharath Chandra	Hindu Study Center	1995 to 1996
Ramesh Yadav Jadhav	Hindu Study Center	1997- 2003
G. R. Mohan Roy	Hinduism Religious Study Center; Hindu Religious Study Center	2004- 2008; 2009
Victor Sam	Hindu Religious Study Center	2010 to 2011
Clifmond Shameerudeen	Hindu Religious Study Center (coordinator); Center for South Asian Religions (coordinator); Center for South Asian Religions (director)	2012-2014; 2015-2017; 2017--.

Directors, World Jewish-Adventist Friendship Center
Name	Center Name (at the time)	Tenure
Mario Veloso (acting)	Jewish Study Center	1996 to 1997
Isaac Poseck	Jewish Study Center	1997-1999
Richard Elofer	Jewish Study Center; World Jewish Friendship Center; World Jewish-Adventist Friendship Center	2000-2002; 2002-2009; 2009-2021
Reinaldo W. Siqueira	World Jewish-Adventist Friendship Center	2021-.

Directors, Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission
Name	Center Name (at the time)	Tenure
James N. Coffin	Urban Secular Center; Secular Post-Modern Study Center; The Center for Secular/Postmodern Mission	2003; 2004 to 2005; 2005 to 2006
Miroslav Pujic	The Center for Secular/Postmodern Mission; Center for Secular and Postmodern Studies	2006-2008; 2008 to 2009
Kleber Gonçalves	Center for Secular and Postmodern Studies; Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission	2011-2022; 2022-.

Directors, Global Mission Urban Center
Name	Center Name (at the time)	Tenure
Gerson P. Santos	Urban Ministry Center	2012-2015
E. Douglas Venn	Urban Ministry Center; Global Mission Urban Center	2016 to 2017; 2017-2022

Current Address

12501 Old Columbia Pike

Silver Spring, Maryland 20904

U.S.A.

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Hacko, Maryellen. “New Matrix to Redistribute Missionary Funding to Territories Unreached by the Gospel.” Adventist News Network. April 22, 2022. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://adventist.news/news/new-matrix-to-redistribute-missionary-funding-to-territories-unreached-by-the-gospel.

Kajiura, Rick. “Vertical Villages.” Mission 360˚ 6, no. 3: 12-13.

Krause, Gary. “Hands and Hearts Touching.” Ministry, April 2006.

Krause, Gary. “Life Hope Centers.” Mission 360˚ 1, no. 1 (April 2013): 10-13.

Krause, Gary. “Treading Urban Ground Like Jesus.” Ministry, May 2013.

McChesney, Andrew. “Europe Takes Spotlight as Adventist Mission Distributes $2 Million.” Adventist Mission. n.d. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://www.adventistmission.org/%E2%80%8Beurope-takes-spotlight-as-adventist-mission-distributes-2-million.

McChesney, Andrew. “U.S. Congregation Gives Record Mission Offering in Pandemic.” Adventist Mission. n.d. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://www.adventistmission.org/us-congregation-gives-record-mission-offering-in-pandemic.

Oliveras, Ricky. “A Life Redirected.” Mission 360˚ 8, no. 4 (November 2020): 4-5.

Pearman, Delbert. “Annual Sacrifice Offering.” Dynamic Steward 16, no. 1 (January-March 2012): 15.

Ryan, Mike, and Gary Krause. “Missions–Global and at Home.” Ministry, November 2001.

Scoggins, Jeff. “Systematizing Mission: Focusing on Counting Down Rather Than Counting Up.” Journal of Adventist Mission Studies 17, no. 2: 68-75.

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Smith, Jackie Ordelheide. “Where Does It All Go?” Adventist Review, November 1995.

Suvankham, Karilyn. “Pray Your Way Around the World.” Mission 360˚ 9, no. 4 (November 2021): 14-15.

Taylor, Charles. “Global Strategy.” Ministry, August 1990.

Trim, D. J. B. “Adventist Church Growth and Mission Since 1863: An Historical-Statistical Analysis.” Journal of Adventist Mission Studies 8, (2012) no. 2: 51-74.

White, Ellen Gould. Testimonies for the Church, vol 7. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1902.

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Notes

1. The following people provided valuable information and feedback for the article: Laurie Falvo (editor Mission 360/Frontline, Office of Adventist Mission), Rick Kajiura (Communication director, Office of Adventist Mission), Gary Krause (GC associate secretary), Michael Ryan (assistant to Pres-Initiatives), and Moraya Truman (at the time of writing of this article, Andrews University student and summer intern at Office of Adventist Mission).↩

2. D. J. B. Trim, “Adventist Church Growth and Mission Since 1863: An Historical-Statistical Analysis,” Journal of Adventist Mission Studies 8, (2012) no. 2: 53.↩

3. “Missions,” in Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, Second Revised Edition, ed. Don F. Neufeld (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996), mmmmlxi-mmmmlxv.↩

4. Harold Butler, “By Everyone to Everywhere,” Ministry, November 1992, 18-19.↩

5. Ibid.↩

6. Laurie Falvo, “Dear Global Mission friends,” Frontline 15, no. 5 (September 2015): 2.↩

7. Gary Krause, “Hands and Hearts Touching,” Ministry, April 2006, 21.↩

8. Reinder Bruinsma, “Adventist Missions in a New Millennium,” Ministry, February 2000, 12.↩

9. Mike Ryan, interview by Kayla Ewert, virtual, December 5, 2022.↩

10. Mike Ryan and Gary Krause, “Missions–Global and at Home,” Ministry, November 2001, 7.↩

11. General Conference Committee [hereafter GCC], October 12, 1986, 406, General Conference Archives, accessed October 5, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1986-10b.pdf.↩

12. GCC, October 14, 1986, 445-446, General Conference Archives, accessed October 5, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1986-10b.pdf.↩

13. GCC, May 21, 1987, 172-174, General Conference Archives, accessed October 5, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1987-05.pdf.↩

14. Mike Ryan, interview by Kayla Ewert, virtual, December 5, 2022.↩

15. GCC, October 10, 1989, 471-482, General Conference Archives, accessed October 5, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1989-10a.pdf.↩

16. GCC, July 5, 1990, 1004, General Conference Archives, accessed October 5, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1990-07.pdf.↩

17. GCC, October 10, 1989, 472, General Conference Archives, accessed October 5, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1989-10a.pdf.↩

18. Ibid., 473.↩

19. Ibid., 481.↩

20. Ibid., 481.↩

21. GCC, October 5, 1990, 378, General Conference Archives, accessed October 5, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1990-10a.pdf.↩

22. Mike Ryan, interview by Kayla Ewert, virtual, December 5, 2022.↩

23. Delbert Pearman, “Annual Sacrifice Offering,” Dynamic Steward 16, no. 1 (January-March 2012): 15.↩

24. GCC, October 18, 1963, 430, General Conference Archives, accessed October 6, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1963-10.pdf.↩

25. GCC, October 12, 1989, 599-600, General Conference Archives, accessed October 6, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1989-10c.pdf.↩

26. GCC, March 30, 1994, 28-29, General Conference Archives, accessed October 6, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1994-03.pdf.↩

27. Delbert Pearman, “Annual Sacrifice Offering,” Dynamic Steward 16, no. 1 (January-March 2012): 15.↩

28. Andrew McChesney, “U.S. Congregation Gives Record Mission Offering in Pandemic,” Adventist Mission, n.d., accessed October 11, 2022, https://www.adventistmission.org/us-congregation-gives-record-mission-offering-in-pandemic.↩

29. “Adventist Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook 2006 (Silver Spring, MD: The General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists, 2006), 25.↩

30. Charles Taylor, “Global Strategy,” Ministry, August 1990, 12.↩

31. “Global Mission,” 2021 Annual Statistical Report, Volume 3: Report of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists’ 2020 Statistics (Silver Spring, MD: Seventh-day Adventist Church), 103.↩

32. “Global Dashboard,” Joshua Project, n.d., accessed October 9, 2022, https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/statistics.↩

33. “Definitions,” Joshua Project, n.d., accessed October 9, 2022, https://joshuaproject.net/help/definitions.↩

34. “Global Mission,” 2021 Annual Statistical Report, Volume 3: Report of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists’ 2020 Statistics (Silver Spring, MD: Seventh-day Adventist Church), 109.↩

35. Hannah de Korte and David Onnekink, “Maps Matter. The 10/40 Window and Missionary Geography,” Exchange 49, no. 2: 110-111.↩

36. “What Is the 10/40 Window?” Joshua Project, n.d., accessed October 9, 2022, https://joshuaproject.net/resources/articles/10_40_window.↩

37. Rick Kajiura, “Vertical Villages,” Mission 360˚ 6, no. 3: 12.↩

38. Alita Byrd, “Global Mission After 20 Years,” Frontline 10, no. 2 (2nd Quarter 2010): 5.↩

39. “Global Mission,” 2021 Annual Statistical Report, Volume 3: Report of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists’ 2020 Statistics (Silver Spring, MD: Seventh-day Adventist Church), 108.↩

40. Fourth Business Meeting, General Conference Session transcript, June 7, 2022, 15, accessed October 11, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCSM/2022/GCST20220607AM.pdf.↩

41. Alita Byrd, “Global Mission After 20 Years,” Frontline 10, no. 2 (2nd Quarter 2010): 5.↩

42. Ellen Gould White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1905), 143.↩

43. Gary Krause, “Treading Urban Ground Like Jesus,” Ministry, May 2013, 7.↩

44. Jackie Ordelheide Smith, “Global Mission Pioneers New Program,” Adventist Review, September 22, 1994, 21.↩

45. Ellen Gould White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9 (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1909), 116.↩

46. “Church Planting,” Global Mission, n.d., accessed October 7, 2022, https://global-mission.org/churchplanting.↩

47. Jackie Ordelheide Smith, “Global Mission Pioneers New Program,” Adventist Review, September 22, 1994, 21.↩

48. Ricky Oliveras, “A Life Redirected,” Mission 360˚ 8, no. 4 (November 2020): 4.↩

49. Jackie Ordelheide Smith, “Global Mission Pioneers New Program,” Adventist Review, September 22, 1994, 21.↩

50. “News Notes,” Lake Union Herald, August 1994, 20.↩

51. Jackie Ordelheide Smith, “Global Mission Pioneers New Program,” Adventist Review, September 22, 1994, 21.↩

52. Jackie Ordelheide Smith, “Where Does It All Go?” Adventist Review, November 1995, 23.↩

53. Alita Byrd, “Global Mission After 20 Years,” Frontline 10, no. 2 (2nd Quarter 2010): 5.↩

54. Laurie Falvo, “Dear Global Mission Friends,” Frontline 15, no. 5 (September 2015): 2.↩

55. Alita Byrd, “Global Mission After 20 Years,” Frontline 10, no. 2 (2nd Quarter 2010): 5.↩

56. Alita Byrd, “Global Mission After 20 Years,” Frontline 10, no. 2 (2nd Quarter 2010): 5.↩

57. GCC, December 7, 1989, 656, General Conference Archives, accessed October 6, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1989-12.pdf.↩

58. Jerald Whitehouse, “Relating to Muslims,” Ministry, October 2001, 29.↩

59. “Buddhist Study Center opens,” Lake Union Herald, March 1993, 16.↩

60. “Welcome,” Global Mission Center for East Asian Religions, n.d., accessed October 7, 2022, https://cear.globalmissioncenters.org.↩

61. “Welcome,” Global Mission Center for South Asian Religions, n.d., accessed October 7, 2022, https://csar.globalmissioncenters.org.↩

62. “Welcome,” World Jewish-Adventist Friendship Center, n.d., accessed October 7, 2022, https://wjafc.globalmissioncenters.org.↩

63. Richard Elofer, “Who We Are,” World Jewish-Adventist Friendship Center, n.d., accessed October 11, 2022, https://jewishadventist-org.netadventist.org/who-we-are.↩

64. “Global Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook 2004 (Silver Spring, MD: The General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists, 2004), 28.↩

65. “What is CSPM?” Global Mission Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission, n.d., accessed October 7, 2022, https://cspm.globalmissioncenters.org.↩

66. Samantha Angeles, “Reaching Millennial Generations,” Lake Union Herald, August 2018, 26.↩

67. GCC, October 9, 2011, 83, General Conference Archives, accessed October 10, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC2011-10AC.pdf.↩

68. “What Is Total Employment?” Global Mission Total Employment, n.d., accessed October 10, 2022, https://te.adventistmission.org.↩

69. Ellen Gould White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7 (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1902), 115.↩

70. Andrew McChesney, “Europe Takes Spotlight as Adventist Mission Distributes $2 Million,” Adventist Mission, n.d., accessed October 11, 2022, https://www.adventistmission.org/%E2%80%8Beurope-takes-spotlight-as-adventist-mission-distributes-2-million.↩

71. Adventist Mission Division Directors Newsletter, August 2021.↩

72. Jeff Scoggins, “Systematizing Mission: Focusing on Counting Down Rather Than Counting Up,” Journal of Adventist Mission Studies 17, no. 2: 74.↩

73. Maryellen Hacko, “New Matrix to Redistribute Missionary Funding to Territories Unreached by the Gospel,” Adventist News Network, April 22, 2022, accessed October 12, 2022, https://adventist.news/news/new-matrix-to-redistribute-missionary-funding-to-territories-unreached-by-the-gospel.↩

74. Fourth Business Meeting, General Conference Session transcript, June 7, 2022, 13, accessed October 11, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCSM/2022/GCST20220607AM.pdf.↩

75. General Conference Treasury Department, “Partnering with God: Our Mission, His Money,” 2022, https://www.gcsession.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Treasurers-Report.pdf.↩

76. Laurie Falvo, “Dear Global Mission friends,” Frontline 15, no. 5 (September 2015): 2.↩

77. “Church Membership by World Divisions,” 2021 Annual Statistical Report, Volume 3: Report of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists’ 2020 Statistics (Silver Spring, MD: Seventh-day Adventist Church), 9.↩

78. “World Summary,” 2022 Annual Statistical Report: New Series, Volume 4 (Silver Spring, MD: Seventh-day Adventist Church), 20.↩

79. GCC, October 10, 2004, 95, General Conference Archives, accessed October 11, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC2004-10AC.pdf.↩

80. “Missionaries,” 2021 Annual Statistical Report, Volume 3: Report of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists’ 2020 Statistics (Silver Spring, MD: Seventh-day Adventist Church), 11.↩