Established during the Millerite movement of the 1840s, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a mainstream Protestant church with approximately 23 million members worldwide, including 1.2 million members throughout the United States, Canada, Bermuda, and Pacific territories. The church consists of 150,000 churches and other worship groups, 230 hospitals and sanitariums, and over 9,400 schools around the world, serving students from preschool through university. The Adventist Church is one of the fastest-growing Protestant religions in the world.
The church’s global humanitarian arm, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) works in 120 countries, providing community development and disaster relief to over 25 million people to date.
The name “Seventh-day” refers to the biblical Sabbath, Saturday, ordained by God at Creation. “Adventist” refers to the return, or second advent, of Jesus Christ.
God came in the person of the human Jesus to live among people. He came to reveal to us what God was really like. In fact, God is just like Jesus. Jesus not only revealed the Father’s love and concern for us by his teaching; He also demonstrated it by his interactions with people. God cares about people–just like Jesus. Jesus’ life, death on the cross and resurrection revealed the depth of divine concern for us. He died for us so we can live with him forever. His goal was to win our trust and create people like Jesus. The more we get to know Jesus the more we want to become like Him.
When He returned to heaven following the resurrection, Jesus left the Holy Spirit to serve as our Guide. He promised to return to earth a second time to complete His plan of salvation and take His people to heaven. Adventists are among the believers who look forward to that day.
Adventists believe that God is concerned with the quality of human life, and that everything—the way we live, eat, speak, think, treat each other, and care for the world around us—is important to Him.