Who We Are, How We Serve

The Columbia Union Conference, established in 1907 to coordinate the Seventh-day Adventist Church's work in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, is part of the worldwide Protestant denomination of 23 million members in more than 212 countries. At the union level, we connect and provide administrative leadership, governance and support services to our conferences, schools, health care networks and ministries. Each year, our organizations sponsor programs and projects that address human needs, improve quality of life and introduce people to Jesus. Read our Mission, Values and Priorities.

We Believe

God is love, power, and splendor—and God is a mystery. His ways are far beyond us, but He still reaches out to us. God is infinite yet intimate, three yet one,
all-knowing yet all-forgiving.

Learn More

Chesapeake Conference’s Frederick church partnered with WGTS 91.9 to present the station's Summer Concert Series on its campus in Frederick, Maryland, drawing an estimated 4,500 attendees, the event's largest crowd yet.

Singer-songwriter Blessing Offor headlined the free event, which took place Aug. 29, with gates opening at 5 p.m. and the show starting at 6 p.m. Carly Ann Taylor also performed. Organizers offered ice cream and raffles throughout the evening.

 Jacky Forss and Anthony Ponterio pray during the September 2026 Columbia Union Conference Executive Committee Meeting.

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

The Columbia Union Conference Executive Committee met today at Adventist HealthCare’s headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md. This was the first meeting of the new quinquennium since committee members were voted in at the union’s constituency meeting in May.

 The SVA Farm.

Story by Janel Ware

This summer, Immanuel’s Ground: The Shenandoah Valley Academy (SVA) Farm, supplied 450 pounds of broccoli, as well as beets, cab-bage, kohlrabi, radishes and basil for the Potomac Conference Camp Meeting meals. The vegetables were grown and harvested by students, led by Philip Wiygul, agriculture director. The SVA campus family thanks the agriculture team for their hard work and the delicious results. And a special thanks to the donor family whose vision and generosity make the SVA Farm program possible.

‘Too Many Holes’ To Be Baptized?, Mountain View Conference, Elkins church, Larry Carter

Story by Liz Bailey

Barbara Foster is a lady who knows what she wants and won’t let anything stop her. Knowing her son was a Seventh-day Adventist when he passed away, she decided she wanted what he had. So, one day she walked into the Elkins (W.Va.) church and stated, “I want to be a Seventh-day Adventist.” One of the members gladly started giving her weekly Bible studies.

Image by Fale Llorente Almansa from Pixabay

Story by Cathy Payne, administrative assistant II for the Office of Education at the North American Division.

Sometimes when I picture the Garden of Eden, I imagine God strolling across a green meadow with a happy dog running beside Him, birds singing overhead and butterflies drifting among the flowers. I picture joy, laughter and companionship.