Some 70,000 members bring $101 million in business
By Vannah Shaw
For the St. Louis American
Worshippers from West Africa, Southern Asia and all over North America, among other places, gathered in St. Louis over the past week to become “Transformed in Christ” and to hold business meetings to determine the future of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
From June 30 through Saturday, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is holding its 58th Session of the General Conference at the America Center and Edward Jones Dome in Downtown St. Louis. The church estimates that approximately 70,000 members are in attendance.
According to Calvin B. Rock, editor of Black Seventh-day Adventists Face the Twenty-first Century, more than 25 percent of Adventists are African-American. They are drawn to the church, in part, he writes, because of its apocalyptic vision: “Apocalyptic appeals to people who are being ground down by overwhelming forces of oppression and evil.”
Certainly, the black face of Adventism was visible on the streets of St. Louis this week, as immaculate African-American families could be seen attending the various events of the convention.
“The Seventh Day Adventist Church is truly a diverse, worldwide Christian family, made up of some 25 million people, embracing more than 200 different nationalities and 700 different languages,” said Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. “And here, in St. Louis, we know that we will feel at home. I hope we will be able to leave behind in this city a strong testimony of faith.”
The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) calculated that the Adventists would leave behind more than faith. It ranked the convention as one of the area’s biggest economic events of the year.
“RCGA estimates direct spending would be about $101 million in economic impact,” said Gary Broome, communications director of RCGA. He compared this figure to that of the NCAA Final Four held here earlier this year, which brought in $62.1 million.
Along with worship, the church came together to vote for new leaders. On July 4, 26 key administrative positions were voted on. Many motions were raised to redefine divisions in the church, signifying its rapid growth. There are an estimated 1.5 million new members a year, mostly on the African continent.
The church also adopted a new fundamental belief: “He who subjugated the demonic spirits during His earthly ministry has broken their power and made certain their ultimate doom. Jesus’ victory gives us victory over the evil forces that still seek to control us, as we walk with Him in peace, joy and assurance of His love.”
To commemorate their stay here, Adventist youth are canvassing the streets of St. Louis to get the public’s interpretation of the Bible. This paraphrased, St. Louis version of the Bible will be presented to the city as a gift.
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) is another way the church is giving back to the St. Louis community.
“The Adventist Development & Relief Agency has an exhibit here that is dealing with the issue of poverty. The sales will be left behind to alleviate poverty here,” said Tereza Byrne, of the ADRA.
The exhibit, modeled after a village, allows for participants to donate funds to a cause of their choice. The money had already been set aside by ADRA. One station read, “The number of children who died of preventable disease in 2003 is equal to losing all the children in France, Germany, Greece, and Italy.”
In addition, ADRA sold products, with 100 percent of those proceeds going to local charities.
The Adventist Church strongly endorses health. This includes strictures against smoking, drinking alcohol and eating meat. The convention featured booths set up for free health screenings. The church’s activism on health is evident through its reputation for administering hospitals.
One group, however, used the St. Louis conference as platform to protest maltreatment in the church’s hospitals.
“We believe there are many Adventists who do not know what is going on at these so-called Adventist hospitals,” said K.B. Forbes, executive director of Consejo, a group that helps the uninsured.
“Charging the uninsured four or five times more (than standard rates) is immoral and contradicts the healing mission of Christ and the sincere compassion that Adventists advocate.”
Pastor Orville Parchment, the second highest-ranking official of the church, met with the mother of Rodney Vega, a 6-year-old who was denied life- saving services at a Florida hospital.
Parchment apologized for her son’s mistreatment, and told Consejo he expects “transparency and impeccable” behavior from hospitals that carry the Seventh-day Adventist name.
The conference also drew the attention of Dale Ratzlaff, a former Seventh-day Adventist and author of The Truth About Seventh Day Adventist “Truth.”
“Thousands of former Seventh-day Adventists who have made the transition to the simple gospel of Christ have expressed to us the joy of the freedom they experience in Christ,” Ratzlaff writes, while arguing that many of the church’s teachings are unbiblical.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church was founded in 1863 out of the “Advent Awakening” movement of the 1840’s. The church, led by Joseph Bates, James White and Ellen White, a beloved prophetess of the church, began to do mission work in other countries in 1864. The church has grown internationally and is now active in 205 countries.
The church still has many events planned for the remainder of the conference, including:
* “Show Me Health” Project, with health screenings through July 9 outside the Edward Jones Dome
* Gospel Fest, lunchtime concerts through July 9 at Kiener Plaza
* The Sonsreen Film Festival, July 7, Roberts Orpheum Theatre
* Classical Oratorio, July 8, 3 p.m. at Christ Cathedral Temple.
