Columbia Union News | Seventh-day Adventist Church

North American Division on Track to Open 300 New Churches This Year

Jose Cortes, Jr. Associate Director of the NAD Ministerial Department, gives an update on the Church Planting movement in the North America Division. The presentation was part of the 2016 Year-End Meeting, held October 27 - November 1, in Silver Spring, MD. ©2016 NAD Comm/Dan Weber

Story by Andrew McChesney/ Adventist Review

Feature: Adventists in the Military

Story by Edwin Manuel Garcia

Before he saved dozens of wounded soldiers on the front lines during World War II, which earned him a Medal of Honor, Seventh-day Adventist combat medic Desmond Doss (pictured below with President Harry Truman) was called a misfit for refusing to carry a weapon, and commanders ostracized him for observing the Sabbath.

Life wasn’t easy for Doss and other Adventists in the U.S. armed forces.

But 70 years later, the military has become a more welcoming institution for Adventists, according to active and retired military personnel within the Columbia Union. This is a marked change from when Doss enlisted as a noncombatant with conscientious objector status.

NAD Executive Committee Votes Motions in Response to Unity in Mission Document

Story by North American Division Communication Staff

Watch the Thursday Evening Fearless Program

Pastor Jonatan Tejel involves Pathfinders as he gives an illustration during the Thrusday evening program during the Fearless Camporee. Photo by Brian Tagalog

More than 3,000 Pathfinders attended "Fearless," the largest camporee in Columbia Union Conference history, October 6 - 9. Watch the October 6 evening program below:

New Staff Joins Visitor Team

Story by Visitor Staff

Ricardo Bacchus (pictured) joined the Visitor staff this week. Bacchus will serve as assistant director of the Columbia Union Conference Communication Department and assistant Visitor editor, coordinating and editing the conference and academy newsletters in each issue. He previously worked at the General Conference, helping to coordinate and edit Elder’s Digest and Collegiate Quarterly.