Schneider, Don Carl (1942–2019)

Don Carl Schneider was an Adventist pastor, evangelist, and administrator; he served as the president of the North American Division (NAD) from 2000 to 2010. During his tenure, the NAD surpassed the one-million member mark. Schneider was known for his personable and practical ways for encouraging people to share Jesus throughout his life and ministry.

Early Life

Schneider was born on September 14, 1942, in Merrill, Wisconsin, to Virgil August Otto (1917-1997) and Myrtle Ruth Eleanor Zastrow (1918-1997) Schneider. He had one sibling, Diane Carol Schneider Ketchum, who was three years younger than him. His parents were members of the St. Stephen’s Evangelical and Reformed Congregation. While building the furnace for the nearby Adventist church, he met the head elder and learned about his faith and lifestyle. They had Bible studies the next year, the same set twice due to Virgil’s heavy drinking. The elder’s perseverance led Virgil to attend church services. Soon, the rest of the family joined him. “When our family first became Adventist,” he later recalled when he was seven years old, “things really changed. On that one day, the language cleaned up, the tobacco was gone, the alcohol was gone, and even the meat was gone. It was a dramatic change.”¹ Don was then enrolled at the Merrill Adventist church school where his teacher helped him learn to know Jesus. He briefly lived in Berrien Springs, Michigan, where his family assisted with the development of an Adventist church plant in Dowagiac, with several African American neighbors.

More Early Life and Ministry

Schneider attended Cedar Lake Academy for one year, and then Wisconsin Academy. He started working as a colporteur to raise money so he could attend high school.² Here, a fellow student accused him of being a hypocrite. As he knelt by his bed one night during his senior year, he recommitted his life to Jesus and felt called to become a pastor. During the summers, he continued to colporteur to raise money to attend Wisconsin Academy. On February 7, 1959, he won third place in a student Temperance Oratorical Contest.³ While in academy, Don served as class president, and during his senior year, he was president of the Student Association and senior class president.⁴

Upon his graduation, his parents moved to Helena, Arkansas, to join their parents. That summer, Don conducted evangelistic meetings in Helena, leading to six to ten persons who were preparing for baptism.⁵ Later, that number was revised to 28 individuals who made a commitment to the Lord.⁶ He then went to Southwestern Adventist Junior College, where he participated in the Medical Cadet Corps.⁷ He won a letter-writing campaign by sending out 200 letters to friends and relatives that resulted in raising $815.50 for outreach ministry.⁸ On the first evening of Don’s sophomore year, Don met Marti Connel at a college reception. The two were later wedded soon after graduation on August 30, 1964. Don remained active in college in a variety of activities ranging from weeks of prayer to raising funds to for church projects.⁹ As a theology major, he would often get a carload full of students into his 1951 Chevrolet to speak at some area church. He was outgoing and playful, yet also a very serious-minded, deep thinker. His favorite Bible verse was “whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Col. 3:23).¹⁰ He loved to play basketball, where he developed a saying that you “don’t have to be best, but you must hustle.” He also loved to play the trombone and would perform in the school band. Since Southwestern was a Junior College, Don then went to Union College. Here from September 19-21, 1963, he was one of the featured speakers for the Nebraska Youth Congress.¹¹ During the summers, Don conducted additional evangelistic meetings with his friend Marvin Ponder as the singing evangelist and accompanied on the piano by his sister Diane.¹² He served as junior class president and soon graduated from Union College.

That Fall after graduation, he was sent to Andrews University for one year before returning to pastor the Shreveport District as an assistant pastor (responsible for the Vivian and Minden congregations). In 1966, they moved to pastor the “northern” (Harrison) district in the same conference (Berryville, Mountain Home, Mammoth Spring, Clinton, Mountain View, Oxford Group). Here he learned how to make bricks, one-at-a time and installed the roof as he assisted members in constructing the young congregation’s church building. In another church, Don learned from a retired church worker how to paint the exterior of the church in a “professional” way. It was here that he learned the importance about communicating with members creating a district newsletter, a practice he continued until retirement. Don was ordained at camp meeting on June 15, 1968¹³, and then moved to pastor the Fort Smith District (Bonneville and Plainview) at which time he became a member of the conference committee. Don and Marti had two children: Don Carl (“Little Don” and then later in life “M.D.” as a physician) and Carol Elise.

In 1969, the Schneiders were called to ministry in Minnesota Conference where he pastored the Minneapolis South View Church and regularly held 5-day stop-smoking clinic sat the hospital—averaging one per month. Then in 1970, he was called to Oklahoma Conference as their Youth, Education, Lay Activities (personal ministries), and Communications director. He assisted in helping to build the Horseshoe Canyon Camp with Stan Elmendorf, and often helped lead camps. He also helped hire teachers for church schools and helped local churches reach their ingathering goals. He served briefly in Oregon Conference as Personal Ministries (what was termed Ingathering and Lay Activities) director where he did a research study on why some churches grow and others do not. He followed a series of congregations and then followed pastors and the influence of their leadership looking for measurable leadership characteristics that led to church growth. He worked with the Portland Adventist Community Services facility during which time an Adventist Book Center branch was installed, health classes were conducted, and Thanksgiving and Christmas meals served to the hungry in the community. He then served as Youth director at the Central Union Conference. In this capacity, he organized a union-wide Pathfinder Camporee. It was also while serving at the Union that, on June 20, 1977, he was elected president of the Wyoming Conference (while also serving simultaneously as education and communication director in this small conference).¹⁴ That Fall, he held, simultaneously in one week, four sets of Week of Prayer meetings for students at Mile High Academy, nursing students at Porter Memorial Hospital, students at their elementary school, and members at the Denver South Church.¹⁵ He successively became president in New Jersey (1978-1982), Arkansas Louisiana (1982-1985), Rocky Mountain (1985-1989), and Northern California Conference (1989-1994). He took a special interest in developing young leaders that he felt had future leadership potential within the Adventist Church. At one church meeting, he started a goal of baptizing 10 percent of the membership of the conference as a challenge to his pastors. He also became a delegate for the first time at the 1980 General Conference session held in Dallas, Texas, that voted the statement on 27 Fundamental Beliefs.

In 1994, he became president of the Lake Union Conference, where he served until 2000. While in this capacity, he completed his Master’s Degree in Systematic Theology and Christian Philosophy at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. As union president, with increased administrative responsibilities, he found himself on a significant number of boards for schools and health institutions and other denominational committees. His editorials published in the Lake Union Herald were subsequently edited into the book, One Heart Rejoicing: The Difference Jesus Makes (2001). A. C. McClure, at that time NAD president, asked Schneider to chair the NAD Committee on evangelism, which included a new initiative on Satellite Evangelism that resulted in the Net ’95 and Net ’96 evangelistic meetings, and then was closely involved in the Net ’98 series held nearby at Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of Andrews University.

First Quinquennium as Division President (2000-2005)

At the 2000 General Conference session held in Toronto, Canada, Schneider was elected as the North American Division president.¹⁶ As soon as he realized that his name would be put forward, he bowed his head and rededicated his life to the Lord, knowing that this new challenge was beyond him and that he would need to trust the Lord to be able to do the job for which he had been called.¹⁷ Marti became the Shepherdess director (now part of the NAD Ministerial Spouses Association, then part of NADEI), and then in 2001, Marti added to her responsibilities work through Adventist Mission at the General Conference as director of programs coordinating the NAD Shepherdess, SEEDS Church Planting conferences, and the ChurchWorks conferences. In his first editorial after being elected, he reminded church members that the “body of Christ needs members who” do their best “telling people they meet about Jesus.”¹⁸ He shared a personal story:

Not long ago, a telemarketer called. After I had listened to her sales speech, I engaged her in conversation, inquiring about her work and how she was relating to it. Then I asked if she was a Christian. She said she really didn’t know Jesus. I explained how wonderful it is to be His friend, and I invited her to accept Him as her Friend and Savior. And she did!¹⁹

He called upon the church in North America to plant new churches. “Research tells us that new congregations are more active in bringing people to Jesus than churches that have been established for many years.”²⁰

During his first year as division president, tithe increased by 7.7 percent among the 5,000 churches and approximately 900,000 church members.²¹ Although the church across North America started out with strong metrics, soon after Schneider had to face a major crisis. Tragically, when the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, occurred, Schneider encouraged church members to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus. He asked rhetorically: “How can we make sense of this senselessness? There’s only one way: By understanding the great controversy between Christ and Satan.”²² He afterward observed how New Yorkers are more receptive to the gospel in the wake of this tragedy. Schneider described how Adventist Community Services had worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to respond to this and other disasters. He called for 200 teams to go into New York City to do ministry for a few months at a time. New York City was going to be a strategic priority, and Schneider pledged to personally go and hold evangelistic meetings the following year.²³ Schneider shared at the 2001 Annual Council regarding the terrorist attacks on New York:

Things have changed. Lives have changed. People have changed. Now, what are we going to do about it? I have called our Union and Conference presidents. I told them I was asking for “a lot of money and your best personnel.” Conferences and other organizations are adopting sections of Manhattan. We are giving hope in this time of crisis.²⁴

Schneider continued to challenge the Division to embrace a culture of evangelism. New York City would be divided up into 48 population sectors that conferences across North America were enlisted to help.²⁵ This initiative was presented at the NAD Year-End Meetings held October 28-31, 2001, in Silver Spring, Maryland. “I look around our division, and I say, ‘We must do more for the Lord.’” He added: “You want to have fun? Fun is leading people to the Lord Jesus Christ.”²⁶

Perhaps one of the most significant changes at this same 2001 NAD Year-End Meetings concerned church finances with regard to retirement and remuneration. First, at this meeting it was voted to approve the Regional Conference retirement plan, which came with an agreement to provide $39.4 million from the Regional Conferences to the NAD to cover approximately 500 employees under the old retirement plan and then assume liability for all current regional conference employees. The NAD, in turn, would fund $6 million to help fund the new regional retirement plan. Second, the NAD Fund Administrator Del Johnson noted that unless they did the NAD retirement plan would likely default by 2011, and they decreased their actuarial funding from 14 percent to 8 percent. At the time, the denomination had only $308 million (or approximately three years’ worth of funding) in reserves. The motion passed 156 to 78 in a secret ballot.²⁷ The third matter pertained to the denominational wage scale. At the time, ordained ministers and teachers were paid at 150 percent of the NAD monthly wage factor of $2,240. Now, the wage scale would be set with ordained ministers set at 100 percent, with a monthly wage factor of $3,360. Ministers who supervise a large pastoral staff or have a large membership capped out at 109 percent, and the maximum wage factor percentage for the division president would increase by only nine percent. The major variation would be determined by cost-of-living increases or the consumer price index (CPI), whichever was lower, to help accommodate changes based upon inflation or high cost of living regions of the country.²⁸

As one of the early backers of satellite evangelism, Don Schneider promoted the NET 2002 satellite evangelistic meetings titled The Return featuring Shawn Boonstra (from It Is Written Canada). The six-part series held on Wednesday nights premiered February 23, 2002, and featured a discussion book and study guide. “People get to know Jesus in lots of different ways,” observed Schneider. “A Wednesday-night series like The Return is a great way to help people know about Jesus’ second coming.”²⁹ Don and Marti Schneider personally hosted a table at the Sligo Church at one of the downlink sites. They made a friendship that led to the conversion of a new believer who began to attend church.³⁰ The NET 2002 then had a second part in the fall with a “Revelation Speaks Peace” series live from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The meetings were held at the prestigious Dalhousie University Student Union Building starting October 21 through November 16 for 21 nights (not counting Monday and Thursday evenings with the exception of the opening night).³¹

The strong emphasis on media evangelism contributed to the NAD dedication of a new Adventist Media Center in Simi Valley, California. The new facility, dedicated on February 7, 2002, featured 123,000 square feet with cutting edge studios and technology. Four Adventist media ministries would be located there (La Voz de la Esperanza, Voice of Prophecy, Faith for Today, and It Is Written). “We now have the best facility the Adventist Church has ever had for our media,” stated Schneider at the dedication. “But it isn’t only about this building. It’s not about microphones, lights, and cameras. It’s about lives that will be changed because of what’s happening in this building.”³² Schneider believed the location in southern California was especially valuable because of all the resources for film and media with Hollywood nearby. The Schneiders developed a personal friendship with their makeup artist who they shared a set of the “Conflict of the Ages” series of books by Ellen White.³³

At the 2002 NAD Year-End Meeting, the SDA Church saw a decline from expected tithe increases (from 7.7 percent to 4.3 percent for 2001 tithe). That decline, combined with increased costs from insurance and cost-of-living, meant that it was more difficult to recruit pastors to serve in higher cost-of-living areas. Church leaders voted a 1.1 percent salary increase and to increase copayments and deductibles. The previous year’s wage factor was set at 102 percent for an ordained minister with a remuneration factor of $3,505 to go into effect July 1, 2003.³⁴ The NAD, representing approximately 12 percent of the world church, was predicted to pass the 1 million mark in 2004. Plans were discussed about how to make wage remuneration more equitable, and Schneider focused a wide variety of forms of evangelism. It was argued that the average person brought in through public evangelism cost between $1,500 and $2,000 per baptism, which is “paid back” within six months of the average new members’ paying tithe. Despite this, Adventists were not doing well at reaching the unchurched, a problem faced by many other denominations.³⁵ Soon afterward, Schneider noted the challenge brought about by a drop in the public’s awareness about Seventh-day Adventism.³⁶ Another significant proposal was work on developing a system of background checks to help weed out sexual predators that was to be presented at the following year’s YEM.

Under Schneider’s administration, a shift took place that included not only satellite evangelistic meetings, but also encouraging more regional and pastors and even youth to participate in evangelistic meetings. The next major satellite meeting was the Voice of Prophecy NET 2003 and Discover Bible School was set to happen April 27 through May 24, 2003. The General Conference designated 2004 as the “Year of World Evangelism,” and the NAD accepted this challenge, that every church member around the world should become involved in evangelism. After this, many of the evangelistic meetings tended to involve more individuals participating in conducting these same meetings. Schneider hoped that 2,000 public evangelistic meetings would be held in 2004, with at least 600 of these led by youth. The NAD agreed to provide two million dollars of matching evangelistic funds for conferences that conduct a minimum of 50 evangelistic meetings.³⁷

A major focus of the 2003 NAD Year-End Meetings concerned several important ethical matters. First was the protection of children from abuse, as well as with continued discussion about the remuneration of church employees. A new policy, “Dealing With Offenders,” was approved that required reporting to authorities all cases of theft and fraud in the local church. Additional guidelines were voted that was “critical that ministry to kids is done in a safe environment.” In order to reduce liability, it was necessary to do more than a criminal background check. It was reported that since 1985, $13.7 million had been paid out in lawsuits, making it necessary to put into place better protections for both children and volunteers. The new policies were passed by a majority vote.³⁸ Right after the meetings, Schneider supported the SEEDS South church-planting event held at Cohutta Springs Adventist Center from November 7-9, 2003. He observed that one in every five churches in the NAD had started in the past five years.³⁹

By August 2004, Schneider noted that the denomination had reached the one million mark in North America.⁴⁰ Another important event was the “Faith on Fire” Pathfinder Camporee (August 10-14, 2004) held at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Campgrounds in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Schneider invited the 30,000 youth to pray with someone they did not know and then to come find him to receive a special prayer trading pin.⁴¹ Afterward, it was reported that 130 pastors baptized 290 Pathfinders on the Sabbath of camporee.⁴²

Schneider continued to support various outreach efforts. Walter L. Pearson, Jr., telecast director and speaker for Breath of Life, held a 21-day evangelistic series known as NET 2004 that was uplinked from Baltimore, Maryland, to 1,600 downlink sites around the world. Afterward they baptized 149 people at the host site.⁴³ The 2004 NAD Year-End Meetings were held in Battle Creek, Michigan, at Historic Adventist Village.⁴⁴ Afterwards, in an interview, Schneider acknowledged that although the SDA Church is growing, much of this growth was happening among first-generation immigrants.⁴⁵ Ultimately, the NAD had a tithe increase of 4.8 percent for the year 2004, resulting in $727 million of tithe funds.⁴⁶

Second Term as NAD President (2005-2010)

On July 3, 2005, during the General Conference session held in St. Louis, Missouri, Don Schneider was elected to a second term as NAD president.⁴⁷ Soon afterwards, in an interview about his leadership, he observed the need for church leaders to listen better. He also urged that the church do more to embrace media. “The Seventh-day Adventist Church must find new ways of using media to communicate the gospel, especially in emerging media opportunities like the Internet.”⁴⁸

One of the worst natural disasters was the Katrina Hurricane that hit the Gulf Coast of the United States occurred on August 29, 2005. “The Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America joins with this nation in praying with and for the individuals affected by the disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina,” he remarked in a public statement.⁴⁹ On April 4, 2006, Schneider, with Jan Paulsen, Matthew Bediako, and James D. Standish, met with George W. Bush to discuss religious liberty concerns. Specifically, they discussed the proposed legislation for the Workplace Religious Freedom Act and expressed appreciation for support through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that supported projects by ADRA.⁵⁰

Two major events in 2006 that occurred included the NET 2006 series and a NAD Teachers’ Convention. The first, NET 2006, titled “Revelation Speaks Peace—Unlocking the Signs,” was held in Phoenix, Arizona, from March 10 to April 8. The meetings, coordinated through It Is Written featured speaker/director, Shawn Boonstra. At their conclusion, pastors baptized over 550 people in Phoenix including thousands more across the division.⁵¹ The 2006 NAD K-12 Teachers’ Convention was held August 6-9, 2006, at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Some 6,500 teachers, principals, and other educators attended 370 professional-growth workshops. At the conclusion, Schneider challenged educators in a commitment service the last morning.⁵²

As president, he hosted the Really Living weekly television program at Hope Channel, where he presented the stories of people who were ministering for Jesus and what a difference that makes by discovering what it means to “really live” for God right now. Launched September 8, 2006, he shared “that anyone can experience a state of really living, which is to know Jesus and living for Him.”⁵³ More than 160 separate interviews led to two books titled Really Living (2010, 2011), which were also available on DVD. On March 24, 2007, another major initiative was the kickoff for Esperanza TV (ETV), the official beginning of a dedicated satellite channel, broadcasting 24/7 from North America to Spanish-speaking people through the Western Hemisphere.⁵⁴

At the 2007 NAD Year-End Meeting, church leaders voted to close the last of the military support centers in Frankfurt, Germany. The decision reflected a decision to reallocate the resources from maintaining a little used facility to developing new support systems for Adventist military chaplains.⁵⁵ By late 2008, G. Alexander Bryant reported at the 2008 NAD Year-End Meeting that the SDA Church had indeed topped 1 million members in North America. After a membership audit, 115,000 people were recorded as either deceased or dropped during the previous five years, but despite this, there was a net gain of 70,000 new members. Church leadership had a new and ambitious goal of adding 100,000 new members, with Russell Burrill helping to spearhead this initiative. Soon, there was another major evangelistic outreach for 2009 titled, “Share the Hope.” These meetings would launch January 3, 2009, with a day of prayer and including “reaping” meetings in April and September. “Whenever we invite people to [meet] Jesus, things happen,” remarked Schneider. “Every time we open a church, another person hears about Jesus.”⁵⁶

Major events that occurred in 2009 included the international Pathfinder Camporee and discussions about ordination. On August 11, 2009, Schneider joined 35,000 young people for the “Courage to Stand” Pathfinder camporee in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. During the five-day event Schneider spoke challenging youth to “get to know Jesus better than you’ve ever known Him before.”⁵⁷ At the 2009 Annual Council, debate on the Church Manual revisions centered on whether a conference president “shall” or “should” be an ordained minister. Schneider, along with Pacific Union Conference president, Ricardo Graham, noted that a woman currently serves as a conference executive secretary and would likely be considered as a conference president.⁵⁸ The 2009 NAD Year-End Meetings focused largely on procedural and technical policies and issues. Division leaders voted to wait for the General Conference Executive Committee’s next action on the matter of whether conference president “should” or “shall” be ordained.⁵⁹

On December 30, 2009, Schneider spoke at the Generation of Youth for Christ’s (GYC) eighth annual convention in Louisville, Kentucky. He joined a panel with other denominational leaders. On Sabbath morning, Schneider interviewed three young people and then provided a report from North America.⁶⁰ At one point during the meeting, Schneider listened to a group of young leaders discussing their concerns about Adventist schools, especially La Sierra University, to which he replied: “God loves them,” to which their only response was silence. Schneider had a knack for reaching out to people who were both very liberal and conservative within the Adventist denomination.⁶¹

Schneider presented his second and final report as division president to the 2010 General Conference session held in Atlanta, Georgia. In his report, he emphasized the fact that the division had surpassed the 1 million membership mark and at the time of session membership stood at 1,097,217 with 631 new churches planted and 194,486 people who were baptized.⁶² He reported the major leadership focus was evangelism. This included four major division-wide evangelistic meetings: (a) the 2005 Doug Batchelor (Amazing Facts) evangelistic series held in the General Conference auditorium; (b) 2006 It Is Written “Revelation Speaks Peace” series held in Arizona; (c) Mike Tucker and Faith for Today who presented “Heartquest” in 2007; and (d) Mark Finley launched “Discoveries ‘08” from Orlando, Florida, with a special attention to Bible prophecy. In addition, each year there have been Spanish-language satellite efforts—La Reds—featuring Alejandro Bullón and Jose Cortes. The Quebec Conference also hosted the first French NET event in the fall of 2010, with evangelist Bernard Sauvagnat.⁶³ Church finances, Schneider reported, were somewhat of a roller coaster with the financial dip of 2008 caused by the world economic crisis. Despite this, tithe from North America during the previous quinquennium totaled more than $4.3 billion and $115 million to Sabbath School and mission offerings. He also announced the launch of AdventistGiving, allowing SDA Church members to contribute tithe and offerings online. Adventist Church Connect also made it possible for every Adventist congregation in North America to have its own website.⁶⁴ Afterwards, on June 28, 2010, Schneider was replaced by Daniel R. Jackson as president of the North American Division. Responding to the vote, Schneider stated about his successor: “Jackson is a wonderful Christian whose leadership has demonstrated a commitment to the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”⁶⁵

Retirement, Death, and Legacy

In addition to Schneider’s casting a vision for evangelism, even as division president he remained personally committed to conducting evangelistic meetings. He conducted three international sets of outreach meetings: Estonia (translated into both Estonian and Russian) with two meetings per night, a pan-Africa satellite evangelistic series “Visions for Victory” was broadcast and translated into over a dozen languages from the Enyimba Stadium in Aba, Nigeria (November 2003) to over 1,000 downlink sites.⁶⁶ This series required a technical team that brought with them over 100 cases of equipment to make the satellite feed possible.⁶⁷ Later, it was reported that 19,662 new members came into the Church as a result including more than 3,000 from the main site.⁶⁸ He soon noted how everyone who supported this endeavor was just as much of an evangelist as the person speaking from the pulpit.⁶⁹ “World missions,” he shared early on during his presidency, “continues to be the heartbeat of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”⁷⁰

Another favorite thing that Schneider took particular joy during his leadership was his passion for leading Reformation study tours across Germany and other parts of Europe. Altogether, they led 42 tour groups with pastors and church leaders. At one time, he reflected on stopping by the place where Hitler died and compared his life with Martin Luther. Both had been considered great leaders, but he noted what made the difference in Luther’s life was Jesus.⁷¹ During the tour, the Schneiders would often dress up, and he developed a series of spiritual themes and appeals for those on his tours to rededicate their lives to the Lord. The tours typically would either start in Rome and finish in Berlin, or sometimes have an abbreviated version from Muchen to Berlin.

Schneider was also an emphatic believer in the prophetic writings of Ellen G. White. On March 26, 2004, he supported the opening of an Ellen G. White Estate Research Center at Southwestern Adventist University.⁷² Schneider would serve as chair of the White Estate Board of Trustees beginning in 2008, a role he continued in until 2013. Schneider was known for his prowess in managing committee meetings. He once noted how he attended “a lot of committee meetings—a lot! Some days I attend five or six committees.” He noted three good things (with a sense of humor) about committees: the opportunity to pray, hearing wonderful stories about how God is working through the people of this church, and the benediction.⁷³

In 2010, Marti and Don retired from working at the denominational headquarters where Don became lead pastor and Marti associate pastor of the Denver South Church in Colorado, where he stayed three years. While there, they conducted an evangelistic series with Ron Clouzet. One of his favorite things was to read the Bible in a new translation every year. Upon his retirement, the Schneider’s would read The Desire of Ages at breakfast each morning, with family worship being an important part of their lives together. He felt a special calling to minister to kids, especially pastor’s kids, or to reach out to people who lost a family member.

Don Schneider passed away on May 23, 2019, in Keene, Texas, and is buried in the Keene Cemetery.⁷⁴ On his tombstone is inscribed: “Jesus is my friend… And He’s your friend, too!”⁷⁵

Sources

Battin, Debbie. “Southwestern Adventist University Opens New Adventist Heritage Center.” ARH, May 2004.

Biographical Sketch of Don Carl Schneider. Arkansas-Louisiana Seventh-day Adventist History, accessed May 6, 2025. https://arklasdahistory.org/don-c-schneider/#:~:text=Elder%20Schneider%20passed%20away%20on,a%20“friend%20of%20Jesus.

Dabrowski, Rajmund. “Adventist Leaders Meet U.S. President.” ARH, April 27, 2006.

“Give Them Something to Talk About.” ARH, February 2002.

Kellner, Mark A. “Adventist North American Membership Tops 1 Million: Church Sees Growth, Plans Outreach.” ARH, December 11, 2008.

Maran, Kimberly Luste. “Don C. Schneider, a ‘Friend of Jesus,’ Passes to His Rest, May 26, 2019. https://www.nadadventist.org/news/don-c-schneider-friend-jesus-passes-his-rest.

Medley, Carlos. “NAD Leaders Address Retirement, Remuneration Issues: Committee Votes Regional Retirement Agreement.” ARH, November 22, 2001.

“NAD President Hosts New Hope Channel Program.” ARH, October 26, 2006.

Schneider, Don C. “Ask ‘Em.” ARH, November 2004.

Schneider, Don C. “Church Planting—It’s Not Just Starting New Churches.” ARH, December 2000.

Schneider, Don C. “Going Up?.” ARH, May 2003.

Schneider, Don C. “The Great Controversy: Executive Summary.” ARH, October 2003.

Schneider, Don. “He Stood in Pouring Rain,” ARH, March 11, 2004.

Schneider, Don C. “Her Did What Her Could.” ARH, August 2000.

Schneider, Don C. “I Don’t Want to Ask.” ARH, January 2005.

[Schneider, Don C.] “‘I Just Love Going to Evangelistic Meetings,’ Evangelism—Public and Private—Is High on Don Schneider’s List of Priorities.” ARH, November 2003.

Schneider, Don C. “It’s Called Witnessing.” ARH, February 2003.

Schneider, Don C. “It’s Just My Opinion.” ARH, February 2005.

Schneider, Don C. “It’s Not the Same Without You.” ARH, September 2003.

Schneider, Don C. “My Other Family.” ARH, April 2005.

Schneider, Don C. “Neighbors—The Heart of the Gospel.” ARH, October 31, 2002.

Schneider, Don C. “Is New York City ‘In All the World’?” ARH, November 2001.

Schneider, Don C. “The Numbers Game.” ARH, April 5, 2001.

Schneider, Don C. One Heart Rejoicing: The Difference Jesus Makes. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2001.

Schneider, Don C. “Report of the North American Division: Faithful Stewards of God’s Blessings.” [July 2, 2005] ARH, July 3, 2005.

Schneider, Don. “Report of the North American Division: Five Years of Progress.” ARH, June 27, 2010.

Schneider, Don C. “Talking About Success: The North American Division President Goes on the Record About Priorities and Challenges.” ARH, August 2005.

Schneider, Don C. “Time to Move On.” ARH, August 30, 2001.

Schneider, Don C. “Two Men, One Story.” ARH, March 2004.

Schneider, Don C. “You Don’t Criticize a Bride.” ARH, February 2001.

Schneider, Don C. “We Goofed.” ARH, August 2004.

Schneider, Don C. “What Does It All Mean?” ARH, October 2001.

Schneider, Don C. “What Does It All Mean?” ARH, September 2004.

Schneider, Don C. “What I Learned in Aba.” ARH, February 2004.

Schneider, Don C. “What I Learned in Moorefield.” ARH, April 2004.

Schneider, Don C. “What if Jesus Wore a Mask?” ARH, December 2004.

Schneider, Don C. interview by Stephen Chavez. “Policies and Priorities: Don Schneider, President of the Adventist Church in North America, Talks About the Essential Mission of the Church.” ARH, January 2005.

Schneider, Don C with Ken Wade. Really Living: People Whose Lives Have Been Changed by Jesus. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2010.

Schneider, Don C. with Ken Wade. Really Living 2: More Stories of Lives Changed by Jesus. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2011.

Schneider, Marti. “Nigerian Diary: Team Ministry Brings Evangelistic Results.” ARH.

Schneider, Marti. Oral History Interviews by Michael W. Campbell. January 16, 2025; January 23, 2025; February 6, 2025; February 13, 2025; February 27, 2025; May 18-19, 2025.

Notes

1. Don C. Schneider, “Time to Move On,” ARH, August 30, 2001, 4.↩

2. “Wisconsin” for “Publishing Department,” Lake Union Herald, July 22, 1958, 15.↩

3. “Seven Students Compete in W. A. Temperance Oratorical Contest,” Lake Union Herald, March 3, 1959, 11.↩

4. “Two Seventeen-year-old Youth Conduct Evangelistic Meetings,” The Record, September 7, 1960, 4.↩

5. Ibid.↩

6. This number was first revised to 18-20 in “Youth in the News,” ARH, November 10, 1960, 15; and then it was reported that 28 people were led into the church through this evangelistic series. See “World Leader Praises Southwestern Youth,” The Southwestern Union Record, May 10, 1961, 1.↩

7. “Southwestern Junior College,” The Record, May 8, 1957, 2.↩

8. Altus E. Hayes, “Watch SWJC!” The Record, April 9, 1958, 2.↩

9. Interview with Marti Schneider, May 18-19, 2025.↩

10. Interview with Marti Schneider, February 13, 2025; see also “Inspired Gems” featuring favorite Bible verse and Spirit of Prophecy quotation in ARH, October 23, 1980, 8.↩

11. See advertisement Central Union Reaper, September 10, 1963, 8.↩

12. Lawrence Nelson, “Youth Team Initiates Summer of Thrilling SYF Adventure,” The Youth’s Instructor, December 4, 1962, 18-19.↩

13. “Southwestern Union,” ARH, November 28, 1968, 20.↩

14. W. O. Coe, “New President in Wyoming,” ARH, July 14, 1977, 24.↩

15. “Central Union,” ARH, November 17, 1977, 28.↩

16. “Nominating Committee Report—4,” ARH, July 4, 2000, 31.↩

17. Marti Schneider Oral History.↩

18. Don C. Schneider, “Her Did What Her Could,” ARH, August 2000, 6.↩

19. Ibid.↩

20. Don C. Schneider, “Church Planting—It’s Not Just Starting New Churches,” ARH, December 2000, 6.↩

21. “News Notes,” ARH, March 22, 2001, 21.↩

22. Don C. Schneider, “What Does It All Mean?” ARH, October 2001, 7.↩

23. Don C. Schneider, “Is New York City ‘In All the World’?” ARH, November 2001, 7.↩

24. “Hope in Crisis,” ARH, November 8, 2001, 19.↩

25. George R. Knight, “Another Look at City Mission,” ARH, December 2001, 25-29.↩

26. Carlos Medley, “NAD Leaders Address Retirement, Remuneration Issues: Committee Votes Regional Retirement Agreement,” ARH, November 22, 2001, 17-20.↩

27. Ibid.↩

28. Ibid.↩

29. “Give Them Something to Talk About,” ARH, February 2002, 19.↩

30. Interview with Marti Schneider, February 27, 2025.↩

31. “Coming This Fall,” ARH, July 2002, 24.↩

32. Fred Knopper and Michele Stotz, “Adventist Media Center Dedicated: State-of-the-art Media Facility Now Fully Operational,” ARH, March 2002, 40-43.↩

33. Interview with Marti Schneider, February 27, 2025.↩

34. These updated figures were published in the ARH, December 2003, 41, under the asterisk.↩

35. Linda P. Walton, “NAD Leaders Meet to Discuss Remuneration, Evangelism,” ARH, December 2002, 40-43.↩

36. Don C. Schneider, “It’s Called Witnessing,” ARH, February 2003, 7.↩

37. [Don C. Schneider], “‘I Just Love Going to Evangelistic Meetings,’ Evangelism—Public and Private—Is High on Don Schneider’s List of Priorities,” ARH, November 2003, 25-28.↩

38. Jonathan Gallagher, “Ethics, Child Protection, and Pay Highlight Discussions,” ARH, December 2003, 40-41.↩

39. Jamie Arnall, “400 Attend First SEEDS South Conference,” ARH, February 2004, 42.↩

40. Don C. Schneider, “We Goofed,” ARH, August 2004, 7.↩

41. See story reported in ARH, October 2004, 21.↩

42. Don C. Schneider, “Report of the North American Division: Faithful Stewards of God’s Blessings.” [July 2, 2005] ARH, July 3, 2005, 24.↩

43. Ibid., 23.↩

44. Sandra Blackmer, “NAD Session Delegates Revisit Their Roots: 2004 North American Division Year-end Meeting Report,” ARH, December 2004, 40-42.↩

45. Don C. Schneider interview by Stephen Chavez. “Policies and Priorities: Don Schneider, President of the Adventist Church in North America, Talks About the Essential Mission of the Church,” ARH, January 2005, 34.↩

46. “News Notes,” ARH, April 2005, 44.↩

47. “Nominating Committee Report #3,” ARH, July 5, 2005, 31; “Don Schneider Reelected as NAD President,” ARH, August 2005, 41-42. This latter report states he was re-elected on July 4, but the minutes state he was re-elected on July 3.↩

48. Don C. Schneider, “Talking About Success: The North American Division President Goes on the Record About Priorities and Challenges,” ARH, August 2005, 17.↩

49. Sandra Blackmer, “In the Wake of Katrina: Adventists Respond to Help Survivors,” ARH, September 22, 2005, 18.↩

50. Rajmund Dabrowski, “Adventist Leaders Meet U.S. President,” ARH, April 27, 2006, 18.↩

51. “Net 2006 Reaches the World From Phoenix,” ARH, August 24, 2006, 20.↩

52. Sandra Blackmer, “A Journey to Excellence: More Than 6,500 Educators Congregate in Nashville for the 2006 NAD Teachers’ Convention,” ARH, August 24, 2006, 18-19, 22.↩

53. “NAD President Hosts New Hope Channel Program,” ARH, October 26, 2006, 23.↩

54. Stephen Chavez, “Esperanza TV Launches Hispanic Outreach,” ARH, April 19, 2007, 18-19.↩

55. “Last Adventist Military Support Facility to Close: Ministry to Enlisted Members to Continue Through People, Not Buildings,” ARH, July 17, 2008, 22.↩

56. Mark A. Kellner, “Adventist North American Membership Tops 1 Million: Church Sees Growth, Plans Outreach,” ARH, December 11, 2008, 12.↩

57. Mark A. Kellner, “Camporee Opens with ‘Courage to Stand,’” ARH, August 27, 2009, 14-15.↩

58. Mark A. Kellner, “Church Manual Revisions Move Forward: Questions on Role of Women in Ministry Remain, However,” ARH, November 12, 2009, 11-12.↩

59. Mark A. Kellner, “Division Votes Raft of Procedural, Technical Issues at Year-end Session: Necessary Part of Administrative Business,” ARH, December 10, 2009, 11.↩

60. “Generation of Youth for Christ Takes Louisville by Storm: Evangelism, Service Projects Highlight Event,” ARH, February 11, 2010, 11-12. To listen to the Sabbath morning portion, see the audio recording available at: https://www.audioverse.org/en/teachings/2050/don-schneider-evangelism-focus.↩

61. Interview with Marti Schneider, February 13, 2025.↩

62. Don Schneider, “Report of the North American Division: Five Years of Progress,” ARH, June 27, 2010, 36.↩

63. Ibid.↩

64. Ibid., 38.↩

65. Mark A. Kellner, “New Presidents Elected in North American, East-Central Africa, and Euro-Asia Divisions: Beardsley Heads GC Education; Olivers to GC Family Ministries,” ARH, June 29, 2010, 2-3.↩

66. See Marti Schneider, “Nigerian Diary: Team Ministry Brings Evangelistic Results,” ARH, 40-42.↩

67. Don C. Schneider, “It’s Just My Opinion,” ARH, February 2005, 7.↩

68. Luka T. Daniel, “A Period of Change and Explosive Growth,” ARH, July 7, 2005, 25.↩

69. Don Schneider, “He Stood in Pouring Rain,” ARH, March 11, 2004, 12.↩

70. See feature “World Missions: The Heartbeat of the Adventist Church,” ARH, June 21, 2001, 19.↩

71. Don C. Schneider, “Two Men, One Story,” ARH, March 2004, 7.↩

72. Debbie Battin, “Southwestern Adventist University Opens New Adventist Heritage Center,” ARH, May 2004, 40.↩

73. Don C. Schneider, “The Great Controversy: Executive Summary,” ARH, October 2003, 7.↩

74. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/276867414/don-carl-schneider.↩

75. Ibid.↩