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How is the Adventist Church organised?
Organising more than 13 million people is no easy task. The Seventh-day Adventist Church uses a representative form of church governance. This simply means members of local churches elect representative bodies and officers to carry out the day-to-day work of the church.
There are four levels of governance:
(See below for contact details for our church offices)
Each level is formed and elected democratically.
The church operates various institutions within these four levels. The institutions cover a range of services such as -
- education
- health care
- publishing
- media (radio, print, television, web and satellite)
- aid and development
- family relations
Look under the Services and Life Development sections to find out what services we provide.
...the Seventh-day Adventist Church is one of the world's fastest growing Christian denominations?
> The church numbers close to 13 million baptised members and a community of 20 million people. Almost one million members join each year.
> Adventists work in 203 of the 228 countries and areas recognised by the United Nations and communicate in more than 717 languages.
The local church is a body of individual believers. For example, Wahroonga Seventh-day Adventist Church is a local church in Sydney.
2. Conference, mission or field
The conference, mission or field is a body of churches in a particular state, province or territory. Wahroonga Seventh-day Adventist Church is part of the Greater Sydney Conference.
If the body of churches is self-supporting, it is a conference. If not, it is a mission or field.
3. Union Conference of Union Mission
The union conference or union mission is a body of conferences or missions or fields within a larger territory. The Greater Sydney Conference is part of the Australian Union Conference.
The General Conference is the worldwide headquarters of the church. It has 13 divisions, each consisting of a body of union conferences or union missions. Each division has its own administrative responsibility. The Australian Union Conference is part of the South Pacific Division of the General Conference.
The church also operates a variety of educational, health-care, publishing and other institutions within these four levels. All levels of the church, including these institutions, have representation at the General Conference.
