OUR IDENTITY
We are part of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist church family, with a worldwide baptized membership of over 21 million people, and 25 million adherents.
"…one of the fastest-growing and most widespread churches worldwide."
Seventh-day Adventists hold 28 fundamental beliefs that can be organized into six categories. The doctrines of God, man, salvation, the church, Christian life and last day events.
As Christians, Seventh-day Adventists believe God is the King and architect of the universe, who in wisdom, grace and infinite love, is restoring a relationship with humanity that will last for eternity.
The Bible is the only source of our beliefs and standard of our faith, and is the ruling norm for our theology and the ultimate authority for life and doctrine. We consider our movement to be the result of the Protestant conviction Sola Scriptura - By scripture alone.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17
ADVENTIST HISTORY
The Seventh-day Adventist church grew in the mid 1840’s during the Second Great Awakening - a time of religious revival in the United States. Its first members came from people of Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, and other Christian congregations, and today the Seventh-day Adventist Church continues to grow globally, maintaining its focus on:
Healthy lifestyle and wellness
Community development
Mission work
Publishing
Education
The Church is well known for its excellence in healthcare, education, and human service activities and operates over 8,000 schools around the world, nearly 200 hospitals, and over 50 publishing houses and ADRA - a global humanitarian agency.
With a rich history of dedicated Bible study and a commitment to applying biblical principles to daily life, Adventists remain an active, dedicated global faith community. Together they cling to Jesus as their only hope and eagerly await His Second Coming.
More about Seventh-day Adventist history here.
THE ADVENTIST SYMBOL
The Seventh-day Adventist symbol is the most recognizable element of our existing visual identity system. It is deeply significant and reflects the core values of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The symbol is a registered trademark of the Seventh-day Adventist church and is used worldwide for education, churches, healthcare and more.
Its foundation is the Bible, the Word of God, shown open because its message should be read and put into practice. Central to that biblical message is the cross, which is also a central feature of the logo. Above the cross and the open Bible is a burning flame that represents the Holy Spirit, the messenger of truth.
THE SABBATH
We observe the Biblical, weekly Sabbath (Saturday - the seventh day of the week) Genesis 2:2-3 and Exodus 20:8-11 by pausing our day-to-day business and personal ambitions to serve and worship God and be a blessing to others.
The Sabbath is God’s gift of freedom to us. It gives us time to restore ourselves, our families and our relationship with God. Because God shows rather than just tells us how to live, Jesus came as an example of God’s law brought to life. In contrast to the Sabbath observance of His day, Jesus emphasized the seventh-day Sabbath as both a day of rest and restoration.
The Sabbath provides us a rich opportunity to worship God and nurture our personal connection with Him.
(8) “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God… (11) For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
EXODUS 20:8-11
