Following is a brief introduction to one of
the fastest growing Christian Churches in the world today. The worldwide
Seventh-day Adventist Church adds a new member every 48 seconds and organizes
five new congregations every day.
"Seventh-day" refers to
our belief in the Seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday).
"Adventist" refers
to our belief in the second advent or the literal second-coming of Jesus.
We base our faith in God on the
revelation of His character by His Son, Jesus, as shown in the Bible, the
inspired Word of God.
Faith is placing complete trust in
God and accepting His offer of salvation.
The heart of our message is
God's good news of salvation. Jesus' death on the cross provides God's free
gift of eternal life to all those who accept and follow Him.
On the seventh-day Sabbath
(Saturday) we are invited to come together to worship God, our Creator and
Saviour.
Although we do not set
a date for this event, we do look forward to the glorious return of Jesus
Christ as He promised He would.
We operate one of the largest
educational systems in the world. Our worldwide system provides elementary,
secondary, and higher education programs including graduate and post graduate
as well as medical arts.
In
Canada, we operate 67
schools (K-12) with 4000 students and 294 teachers. Among these are Parkview
Adventist Academy (grades 10-12) in Alberta, and Kingsway College (grades
9-OAC) in Ontario, both providing boarding facilities and a work study program.
Canadian University College,
located in Alberta, offers accredited under-graduate degrees and certificated
programs in a number of disciplines.
The Adventist Development
and Relief Agency (
ADRA)
provides practical assistance to the disadvantaged in many countries of the
world, without regard for race, religion or nationality.
ADRA Canada also responds with
needed assistance in times of national disasters as in the 1998 ice-storm that
devastated Eastern Ontario and Quebec.
Many local churches operate
Community Centers that provide food and clothing to those in need. Family life
counselling and other programs are also offered to assist those wishing to
overcome drug addiction and alcohol or tobacco dependence.
The Seventh-day Adventist
Church in North America seeks to enhance the quality of life, both for its
members and for those not part of its fellowship. "Quality of Life" is a
concept that pervades Seventh-day Adventist belief. Adventists teach that no
act, word or deed is too small to be transformed by the grace of God.
Adventists believe that God is concerned with the quality of human life.
Everything--the way we live, think, speak, eat, care for our bodies, treat each
other, and care for the world around us--is part of God's design and plan for
improved quality of life. Nothing about the quality of our lives escapes our
Father's attention or care.
The
fundamental
beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church come from our understanding of
the grace of Christ and directly address the general theme of quality of
life.