Adventist Review Online | Seventh-day Adventist Church to Unveil Its Strategic Focus

July 3, 2020

Launch events will be live-streamed on July 3-4.

By: Beth Thomas, for Adventist News Network, and Adventist Review

In a special live-streamed event July 3-4, 2020, the Seventh-day Adventist Church will unveil its strategic focus for 2020-2025. The next five years will focus on mission through the Reach the World: I Will Go initiative, church leaders said.

Initially set to launch at the 2020 General Conference Session in Indianapolis, plans for presenting the initiative to the world church had to be adjusted due to the coronavirus pandemic. This will now take place in a weekend celebration, broadcast on Hope Channel, the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Facebook page, and other social media platforms.

I Will Go: An Important Tool

I Will Go is “a tool to help the church be more focused and effective in performing critical tasks. This strategic plan is rooted in the Great Commission found in Matthew 28, which calls Jesus’ followers to go and make disciples of all nations,” according to the initiative website.

Adventist Church president Ted N. C. Wilson said that through this focus, church leaders hope to see “a worldwide, massive involvement of all our church members in their evangelistic and witnessing commitment during these last days of earth’s history.”

The plan was developed by the Future Plans Working Group Strategic Planning and Research Oversight Committee, chaired by Michael Ryan, a former general vice-president of the Adventist Church, after consulting with divisions.

Office of Adventist Mission director Gary Krause offers a concise overview of the initiative focus:

“The plan is summarized in ten key objectives — four mission objectives, three spiritual growth objectives, and three leadership objectives. But another key objective has been added: ‘Holy Spirit Objectives: To be defined as the Holy Spirit leads.’ This is an acknowledgment that although we have made plans as good stewards, we need to be open to the Holy Spirit fine-tuning or adding to our mission priorities.”

According to the Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research director David Trim, almost unprecedented research informed the direction for this new initiative.

Of the surveys given to church members in all 13 divisions in 2018, there were 63,756 responses to questions dealing with personal spiritual practices, the local church environment, and a range of biblical beliefs. This data enables church leaders to get a finger on the pulse of the church and know how to best encourage spiritual growth and commitment, leaders said. 

Research efforts will continue through the next five years to evaluate the plan’s effectiveness and inform the focus for the next quinquennium.

Where and When to Watch

Below is a schedule of the launch events broadcasts:

Friday, July 3, 2020

I Will Go (evening program premiere)
9-10 pm ET / 8-9 pm CT / 7-8 pm MT / 6-7 pm PT

Sabbath Morning, July 4, 2020

Hope at Home: I Will Go (Sabbath premiere)

Sabbath School
Mark Finley: “Why Witness?”

Worship Service
Ted Wilson: “I Will Go”

9:00–11:30 am ET / 8:00–10:30 am CT / 7:00–9:30 am MT / 6:00–8:30 am PT

Sabbath Afternoon, July 4, 2020 (Repeat)

12:00–2:30 pm ET / 11:00 am–1:30 pm CT / 10:00 am–12:30 pm MT / 9:00–11:30 am PT

Sunday Morning, July 5, 2020 (Repeat)

9:00–11:30 am ET / 8:00–10:30 am CT / 7:00–9:30 am MT / 6:00–8:30 am PT

You can watch the launch events broadcasts on Hope Channel, Facebook, or YouTube. 

The original version of this story was posted on the Adventist News Network.

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