THE JOURNAL OF Adventist Educationcircle.adventist.org/files/jae/JAE_v67n5.pdf · larger world,...

THE JOURNAL OF

SUMMER 2005

Adventist EducationWeb site: http://education.gc.adventist.org/jae/

ADVENTIST EDUCATION WORLDWIDE

2000-2005

ADVENTIST EDUCATION WORLDWIDE

2000-2005

JAE_Summer2005_swcg 6/14/05 9:14 PM

2 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION • SUMMER 2005

Teachers Teachers Teachers Teachers Students Students Students StudentsTotal Elementary Secondary Tertiary* Total Elementary Secondary Tertiary*

East-Central Aftica 8,667 5,554 2,741 283+89 262,380 200,483 56,468 3,883+1,546Division (ECD)

Euro-Africa 542 143 216 125+58 4,741 1,510 2,017 842+372Division (EUD)

Euro-Asia 154 125 0 29 1,150 801 0 349Division (ESD)

Inter-American 9,202 4,431 3,755 1,016 149,613 90,438 46,784 12,391Division (IAD)

North American 7,705 3,764 1,472 2,469 84,880 44,288 17,274 23,318Division (NAD)

Northern Asia-Pacific 1,123 216 644 263 20,511 4,098 8,919 7,494Division (NSD)

South American 12,919 8,370 3,282 1,267 190,491 139,560 34,060 16,871Division (SAD)

South Pacific 1,699 870 656 151+22 34,305 22,760 9,342 1,917+286Division (SPD)

Southern Asia 5,525 827 4,294 293+111 92,189 15,601 73,549 2,039+1,000Division (SUD)

Southern Africa-Indian Ocean 3,434 2,076 1,228 74+56 107,893 81,437 22,801 3,108+547Division (SID)

Southern Asia-Pacific 5,676 3,435 1,517 724 110,894 74,518 22,563 13,813Division (SSD)

Trans-European 1,280 622 428 219+11 17,665 11,747 3,713 2,078+127Division (TED)

West-Central Africa 7,056 5,745 1,013 230+68 218,820 190,035 23,017 4,451+1,317Division (WAD)

Schools Schools Schools Schools \Total Elementary Secondary Tertiary*

East-Central Africa Division (ECD) 984 712 254 6+7

Euro-Africa Division (EUD) 44 21 11 7+5

Euro-Asia Division (ESD) 10 7 0 3

Inter-American Division (IAD) 1,029 680 336 13

North American Division (NAD) 1,033 892 126 15

Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD) 44 21 17 6

South American Division (SAD) 773 551 210 12

South Pacific Division (SPD) 277 224 47 4+2

Southern Asia Division (SUD) 246 97 129 6+14

Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID) 306 225 73 4+4

Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD) 994 884 96 14

Trans-European Division (TED) 118 69 40 8+1

West-Central Africa Division (WAD) 998 934 47 4+3

World Education Statistics December 31, 2004

* Second number is for teacher-training institutions.

Education-Related

Baptisms

2000 28,622

2001 32,860

2002 28,673

2003 30,849

2004 36,222

TOTAL 157,226


3JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION • SUMMER 2005

contentsFeatures

6 WHY HAVE ADVENTIST EDUCATION? BY GEORGE R. KNIGHT

10 TIMELINE FOR SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EDUCATIONCOMPILED BY FLOYD GREENLEAF

Adventist Education Around the World 2000-2005: Division Reports16 East-Central Africa Division

LOOKING AT THE CHALLENGES WITH HOPE BY HUDSON E. KIBUUKA

20 Euro-Asia Division NEW FREEDOMS AND CHALLENGESBY HERIBERTO C. MULLER

24 Euro-Africa DivisionREORGANIZING, UPGRADING, AND INNOVATINGBY ROBERTO BADENAS

27 Inter-American Division SURVIVING AND SUCCEEDINGBY CARLOS ARCHBOLD

30 North American Division JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE: MISSION, CURRICULUM, AND COLLABORATIONBY GERALD KOVALSKI

34 Northern Asia-Pacific DivisionTOWARD THE UNIVERSITY OF THE REDEEMED BY MASAJI UYEDA

38 South American Division GROWTH, PLANS, AND PUBLICATIONSBY ROBERTO CÉSAR DE AZEVEDO

40 South Pacific Division REORGANIZATION, ECONOMIC PRESSURES, AND ADVENTIST DISTINCTIVESBY BARRY HILL

44 Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division RIGOROUS AND RELEVANT LEARNING FOR THE 21ST CENTURYBY TOM NKUNGULA

Summer 2005 Volume 67, No. 5

6

10

16

30


48 Southern Asia Division FROM SOWING TO REAPING: AN UNDIMMED VISION BY GORDON CHRISTO AND S. SUNDARAM

52 Southern Asia-Pacific Division GROWTH, OUTREACH, AND INNOVATIONBY STEPHEN R. GUPTILL AND GLADDEN O. FLORES

56 Trans-European Division BREAKING NEW GROUNDBY ORVILLE WOOLFORD

59 West-Central Africa Division QUALITY AND GROWTHBY CHIEMELA IKONNE

Departments5 Editorial


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Photo and art credits: Cover, p. 6, Raymond Wade; p. 4, courtesy of C. Garland Dulan; pp. 7, 9 (center), courtesy of North American Division Officeof Education; p. 8, Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division; p. 9 (top), Euro-Asia Division; p. 10, courtesy of Howard Bullard; p. 11 (bottom), courtesy ofthe Pacific Union College PR Dept.; pp. 11 (center), 15 (bottom), Journal of Adventist Education archives; pp. 12 (right), 13, 14, 16-62, courtesy ofthe respective divisions/schools; p. 12 (bottom), Loma Linda University PR Dept.

52

In April 2005, the directors of education from 11 of the church’s 13 worldwide divisions met with the General Conference (GC) De-partment of Education directors/staff and presenters for strategy sessions. Members of the GC Department of Education in the frontrow are, left to right, John Fowler, associate director; Linda Torske, secretary; Esther H. Rodriguez, administrative secretary; BeverlyRobinson-Rumble, editor, Journal of Adventist Education; Andrea Luxton, associate director; and (second from right) Chandra Goff,the Journal’s editorial secretary. In the back row, C. Garland Dulan, director of education, is fourth from the right. Enrique Becerra,associate director, is at the far right in the third row.

JAE_Summer2005_swcg 6/17/05 11:22 AM


Recently, I attended a professional baseball game between tworather mediocre teams. I arrived at the ball park about twohours early so I could watch batting practice. During thepre-game activities, I observed many items on the field: bat-ting cages, screens to protect inattentive players from inad-vertently being hit, tarps covering part of the field to slowdown ground balls emanating from home plate, and sections

of the field cordoned off to protect fans and players from stray baseballs.Special care had been given to the playing field. The groundskeepers hadraked it, sprinkled it with water to keep down the dust, and dragged wiremesh over the dirt infield to remove rocks and other debris. The linesaround the batter’s box and between the bases had been freshly painted; the base pads were brandnew. As I sat in the stands waiting for the first inning, it occurred to me that although this wasjust a “game,” to those involved in its preparation, it was serious “business.” The game could notbegin until everything was in readiness.

During the game, spectators engaged in such traditional activities as eating, clapping, chant-ing, and rooting for their respective teams. Sometimes the crowd was quiet, sometimes boister-ous, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes nervous or anxious. But they were never apathetic or dis-engaged—they came to participate, to cheer their team on to victory.

What if we prepared for the coming of Jesus the way the groundskeepers prepared for thegame? Then there would be no doubt of our readiness for Him to come. But of course, thegroundskeepers knew exactly when the game would begin, when the national anthem would besung, and when the umpire would shout “Play ball.” Even if there was a rain delay, it was for adesignated amount of time.

The philosophy underlying the education system of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is toprepare each student for an eternal encounter with Jesus Christ. Studying to show oneself “ap-proved unto God” (2 Timothy 2:15) is not a game. It is preparation for eternity. Yet as a church,our preparation at times seems much less serious than that of those who prepare for a baseballgame. Our attention appears less focused than spectators at earthly games; our cheers less en-thusiastic; our anticipation less buoyant.

It is in Adventist schools where preparation of the field for service begins. Ellen White wrotethat “With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained . . . how soon the message ofa crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the whole world” (Education, p.271)! Teachers carry a heavy responsibility in preparing the field (doing the groundwork) and inhelping our children understand what God’s plan is for their lives. Things that seem like barri-ers, such as guidelines, requirements, codes of behavior, philosophy, and so forth, serve as thescreens, the wire mesh, the painted lines—all there to protect the players. This is no game; it isreal, and they are teaching our young people about ideas with eternal implications.

Christ warned that we should always be ready for His coming, for “in such an hour as ye thinknot, the Son of Man cometh” (Matthew 24:44, KJV; Luke 12:40). But unlike the consequencesof failing to attend to temporal activities like games, the consequences of being unready for thecoming of Christ are terminal. Planning now, in advance of His arrival, preparing the field, is theonly way to go. Prepare your child by sending him or her to an Adventist school. The benefitsare eternal. ✐________________________________________________________________________________C. Garland Dulan, Ph.D., is Director of the Department of Education at the World Headquarters of the Sev-enth-day Adventist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The Way to PlanEDITOR

BEVERLY J. ROBINSON-RUMBLEASSOCIATE EDITOR

ENRIQUE BECERRA

SENIOR CONSULTANTS C. GARLAND DULAN

ANDREA LUXTON, GERRY KARST

CONSULTANTSGENERAL CONFERENCE

JOHN M. FOWLEREAST-CENTRAL AFRICA

HUDSON KIBUUKAEURO-AFRICA

ROBERTO BADENASEURO-ASIA

HERIBERTO C. MULLERINTER-AMERICACARLOS ARCHBOLDNORTH AMERICAGERALD KOVALSKI

NORTHERN ASIA-PACIFICMASAJI UYEDA

SOUTH AMERICAROBERTO C. AZEVEDOSOUTHERN ASIAGORDON CHRISTOSOUTH PACIFIC

BARRY HILLTRANS-EUROPE

ORVILLE WOOLFORDSOUTHERN AFRICA-INDIAN OCEAN

TOMMY NKUNGULASOUTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC

STEPHEN R. GUPTILLWESTERN AFRICACHIEMELA IKONNE

COPY EDITORRANDY HALL

GRAPHIC DESIGNHOWARD I. BULLARD

ADVISORY BOARDANDREA LUXTON (CHAIR),

ENRIQUE BECERRA, HAMLET CANOSA,C. GARLAND DULAN, JOHN M. FOWLER,

DUNBAR HENRI, GERALD KOVALSKI, ERMA LEE,HARRY MAYDEN, MICHAEL RYAN, CAROLESMITH, CHARLES H. TIDWELL, JR., BONNIE

WILBUR

THE JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION publishesarticles concerned with a variety of topics pertinent toAdventist education. Opinions expressed by our writersdo not necessarily represent the views of the staff or theofficial position of the Department of Education of theGeneral Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

THE JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION (ISSN 0021-8480) is published bimonthly, October through May, plusa single summer issue for June, July, August, and Sep-tember by the Department of Education, General Confer-ence of Seventh-day Adventists, 12501 Old Columbia Pike,Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600. TELEPHONE (301) 680-5075; FAX (301) 622-9627; E-mail: [email protected]. Subscription price, U.S. $18.25. Add $1.00for postage outside the U.S. Single copy, U.S. $3.75. Peri-odical postage paid at Silver Spring, Maryland, and addi-tional mailing office. Please send all changes of addressto P.O. Box 5, Keene, TX 76059, including both old andnew address. Address all editorial and advertising corre-spondence to the Editor. Copyright 2005 General Confer-ence of SDA, POSTMASTER: Send address changes toTHE JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION, P.O. Box5, Keene, TX 76059.

THE JOURNAL OF

Adventist Education Editorial

C. Garland Dulan


In spite of its outstanding contri-butions to the church and thelarger world, Adventist educationis under fire. But the sad fact isthat in the early 21st century, theattack all too often is coming from

inside the denomination.Some pastors, for example, have ar-

gued that Adventist education “is steal-ing money from evangelism.” A con-cerned church member recently wrotethat “the pastor of my church has de-cided that Christian education is irrele-vant and not soul winning and thereforeour local [Adventist] school should beclosed so as not to waste any more of themoney that he could be putting into hisevangelism to win souls. He has previ-ously sent out e-mails stating that it ishis intention to see the school closed.Last school year, the school presented achurch service at each of the constituentchurches, except ours, because the pas-tor felt it was irrelevant to the membersand a waste of time, and told them theywere not welcome. He has evenpreached a sermon on the evils of notbearing fruit, which is a great sermontopic, except when his whole point wasthat our academy does not bear any visi-ble fruits and therefore should beclosed.”

Taking the Long ViewAs I read that letter, I wondered how

that pastor would have evaluated theteaching/evangelistic ministry of Jesus.After all, He intensely taught a core of12 disciples/students for three years, yetwhen He went to the cross, not one of

them, as far as we can tell, was convertedor even understood the central messageof His teaching. Far from self-denial andservanthood, they were all arguing aboutwho was the greatest, even as He ap-

proached His sacrificial death. And, ofcourse, one betrayed Him and anotherswore that he didn’t even know Jesus.

What a wasted life! From a humanperspective, Jesus could certainly have


Why Have Adventist Education?

B Y G E O R G E R . K N I G H T


spent His time in a more profitable way.But He had His eye on the long run

rather than the short term. After Pente-cost, the majority of those discipleswould be transformed into powerhousesfor the gospel.

So it is with Christian schooling. Re-sults are generally not immediate. EllenWhite caught that vision when shewrote of the resurrection morning:

“All the perplexities of life’s experi-ence will then be made plain. Where tous have appeared only confusion anddisappointment, broken purposes andthwarted plans, will be seen a grand,overruling, victorious purpose, a divineharmony. There all who have wroughtwith unselfish spirit will behold the fruitof their labors. . . . How little of the re-sults of the world’s noblest work is inthis life manifest to the doer! . . . Parentsand teachers lie down in their last sleep,their lifework seeming to have beenwrought in vain; they know not thattheir faithfulness has unsealed springs ofblessing that can never cease to flow;only by faith they see the children theyhave trained become a benediction andan inspiration to their fellow men, andthe influence repeat itself a thousand-fold. Many a worker sends out into theworld messages of strength and hopeand courage, words that carry blessingto hearts in every land; but of the resultshe, toiling in loneliness and obscurity,knows little. So gifts are bestowed, bur-dens are borne, labor is done. Men sowthe seed from which, above their graves, othersreap blessed harvests.They plant trees, that othersmay eat the fruit.They are content here to knowthat they have set in motion agencies for good.In the hereafter the action and reaction of allthese will be seen.”1

Myopic vision just won’t do in evalu-ating the true value of Christian educa-tion. Short-term evaluations of long-term projects are nearly always distortedand inadequate.

Six Reasons for Adventist Education1. At the top of the list of reasons for

Adventist schooling is that it introducesstudents to the Bible as a framework forthinking and evaluating. In 1881, in writ-ing about Adventism’s first educationalinstitution, Ellen White noted that“God has declared His purpose to have

one college in the land where the Bibleshall have its proper place in the educa-tion of the youth.”2

It does no injustice to that quotationto expand the idea to an entire system ofChristian schools. But, and this is a cru-cial point, the Bible in an Adventist school isnever studied as an end in itself. Rather, theScriptures provide the framework foreverything that takes place on campus,whether it be academics, extracurricularactivities, chapels and Sabbath services,or work-study programs.

2. Chief among the “everything else”for which the Bible is instrumental inAdventist schools is introducing youngpeople to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Atits core, Adventist education is evange-listic and redemptive. As the book Educa-tion puts it, “In the highest sense the

work of education and the work of re-demption are one. . . . To aid the studentin comprehending these principles, andin entering into that relation with Christwhich will make them a controllingpower in the life, should be the teacher’sfirst effort and his constant aim. Theteacher who accepts this aim is in truth aco-worker with Christ, a laborer to-gether with God.”3

This redemptive role of educationmeans that teaching is just as surely aform of ministry as that which takesplace from behind a pulpit.4 MartinLuther glimpsed that idea. “If I had togive up preaching and my other duties,”he wrote, “there is no office I wouldrather have than that of school-teacher.For I know that next to the [pastoral]ministry it is the most useful, greatest,



and best; and I am not sure which of thetwo is to be preferred. For it is hard tomake old dogs docile and old rogues pi-ous, yet that is what the [pastoral] min-istry works at, and must work at, in greatpart, in vain; but young trees . . . aremore easily bent and trained. Thereforelet it be considered one of the highestvirtues on earth faithfully to train thechildren of others, which duty very fewparents attend to themselves.”5

And, Ellen White points out, while“it may seem that the teaching of God’sword has but little effect on the mindsand hearts of many students, . . . somelessons of divine truth will linger in thememory of the most careless. The HolySpirit will water the seed sown, and of-ten it will spring up after many days andbear fruit to the glory of God.”6

The primary function of Adventisteducation is to help young people find asaving relationship with Jesus Christ.And that function is just as important forchildren who grow up in an Adventisthome as for those who don’t. Concern-ing the evangelistic potential of Advent-ist education, it is important to realizethat worldwide, the percentage of youngpeople from non-Adventist homes at-tending Adventist schools is more than50 percent and sometimes runs as highas 90 percent. When we get our per-spective right, we will see that public

evangelism and Christian education arenot adversaries but rather serve as com-plements to each other in achieving thegospel commission.

Don’t let anyone tell you that theschool one attends makes no difference.The power of education was forcefullybrought to my attention as a young pas-tor in Galveston, Texas. One of my pro-fessional families wanted to keep theironly daughter near to them, so they senther to the very fine local Roman Cath-olic school. It is perhaps not altogethersurprising, given the power of educa-tion, that she dedicated her adult life tobeing a nun.

3. Even introducing students to Jesusas Lord and Savior is not an end in itselfin Adventist education. Adventist school-ing at its best leads a person to a lifelongdedication of service to others. It is no acci-dent that the first and last pages of thebook Education focus on the “joy of ser-vice.”7 A major function of Adventist ed-ucation is to help naturally selfish hu-man beings gain a vision of service forothers. That is one reason why Seventh-day Adventist higher education has tra-ditionally been heavily slanted towardthe helping professions such as teaching,health care, spiritual nurture, and re-lated fields. Most church leaders havebeen trained in Adventist schools. Whatif we had no such institutions?

Adventist educational institutions atall levels need to be viewed as traininggrounds for soul winners—in whateverprofession they choose. And for theyoung to be prepared to give a definitesound to their service/soul winningtrumpet, they need to be properly in-structed. The magnitude of that chal-lenge becomes clearer when we realizethat 74 percent of Adventists are firstgeneration and lack even a basic grasp ofthe denomination’s heritage, structures,and beliefs—and most importantly, anunderstanding of the church’s apocalyp-tic mission to the world.

4. We noted in our first point abovethat Adventist education introduces peo-ple to the Bible. But that goes far be-yond required religion and Bible classes.Adventist schooling helps students to viewevery topic from the philosophic perspective ofScripture. For example, while the Bible isnot primarily about history or science, itdoes provide a framework for thinkingabout and organizing the facts of history,science, and every other subject.

In a similar manner, the Bible pro-vides the tools for valuing and decisionmaking. Here we have a contribution ofAdventist education that is all too oftenoverlooked. And that is unfortunate,since, as one author puts it, “educationhas to do with the transmission of val-ues.”8 Values are strategic to humanthinking and behavior because they formthe basis for every decision a personmakes in life.

Our humanistic, postmodern culturehas many methods of transmitting val-ues. Young people are influenced by theglorification of consumerism, violence,and immorality in the media, videogames, and music; and a peer culturethat celebrates drinking, drugging,carousing, and casual sex. Yet publicschools in most countries are barredfrom teaching religion or morality, andcannot even tell students that there arealternatives to evolution. Other schoolstransmit a distorted view of the meaningof life and the way of salvation. Advent-ist schooling is one of the most forcefulways of transmitting a biblical value sys-tem. That transmission is not perfect,but when one considers the alternatives,it is a giant step in the right direction.

5. A fifth imperative for supporting



Adventist education is in the socialrealm. While any gathering of youngpeople has its potential for problems,that likelihood can be minimized if alarge sector of a peer group share a bib-lical/Christian/Adventist value systemand have an interest in developing a fu-ture lifestyle that is built upon those val-ues.

To put it more bluntly, I firmly be-lieve that one of the major contributions ofAdventist schools is to bring young people to-gether in sufficient numbers so that they canmake lifelong friends and meet spouses whoshare their vision of what is important inlife. I still vividly remember my firstthree visits as a beginning pastor in SanFrancisco. Each of those visits was toyoung church members who had mar-ried non-believers. Disorientation anddepression were the messages that con-

sistently bridged their individual experi-ences. At that point in my professionalcareer, I began to view the social func-tion of Adventist education as extremelyimportant.

We must not forget that most stu-dents learn more from other studentsthan from either teachers or parents.Thus, it is important that we do all wecan to create an educational atmospherethat maximizes the benefits of peer-group power and the influence of stu-dent leaders.

6. There are certainly many otherreasons for upholding Adventist educa-tion. One of the most important is theinfluence of godly teachers and other adultrole models. Then there is the fact thatlessons are best learned when students hearthe same message at school, home, andchurch. And last, but not least in impor-tance, extracurricular activities, includingsports and other programs, often occur dur-ing the Sabbath hours in most schools andthus force Adventist students to make diffi-cult choices between their faith and their so-cial life. That reality is an extremely im-portant one for most young people. Theobvious solution is the creation ofschools that respect both the needs offaith and healthy social development.

ConclusionAdventist education has held a cen-

tral place in the building of a unifiedchurch, which since 1863 has spread

throughout the world. And yet, Advent-ist education is not keeping up propor-tionately with the growth of churchmembership. In 1945, the ratio of stu-dents in Adventist schools to churchmembership was 25 per 100. That figureremained somewhat constant until 1965.But since that time, the ratio hasdropped off precipitously, to 15 per 100in 1985 and 9 per 100 in 2000. At thesame time, more non-Adventist studentsare enrolling in our schools, whichmakes the actual ratio of Adventist stu-dents to members closer to 5 per 100.

As the denomination continues tomature, it needs to constantly reassess itscommitment to Adventist education. Tolose that commitment would have a dev-astating effect on the very nature of Ad-ventism as it moves into the 21st cen-tury. Re-commitment should be viewedas an imperative as the denomination fo-cuses on advancing the gospel commis-

sion. ✐___________________

Dr. George R. Knighthas worked for the Sev-enth-day Adventist Churchfor 40 years in both itspastoral and educationalministries. He has authoredseveral books on Adventist

education, including Philosophy and Educa-tion (Andrews University Press, 3rd ed., 1998)and Myths in Adventism (Review and Her-ald, 1985), and currently teaches at the Sev-enth-day Adventist Theological Seminary inBerrien Springs, Michigan.__________________________________

REFERENCES

1. Ellen G.White, Education (Mountain View,Calif.: Pacific Press, 1952), pp. 305, 306, italics sup-plied.

2. __________, Testimonies for the Church (Moun-tain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publ.Assn., 1948), vol. 5,p. 26.

3. __________, Education, p. 30; cf. pp. 15, 16, 29.4. For more on teaching as ministry, see George

R. Knight, Philosophy and Education:An Introduction inChristian Perspective, 3rd ed. (Berrien Springs, Mich.:Andrews University Press, 1998), pp. 198-202.

5. Martin Luther,“Sermon on the Duty of Send-ing Children to School,” in Luther on Education, by F.V. N. Painter (Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication So-ciety, 1889), p. 264.

6.White, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 26.7. __________, Education, pp. 13, 309.8.Arthur F. Holmes, Shaping Character: Moral Edu-

cation in the Christian College (Grand Rapids, Mich.:Eerdmans, 1991), p. vii.




1853 Martha Byington, daughter offuture General Conference (GC) Presi-dent John Byington, opens the first-known church school for SabbatarianAdventists in Buck’s Bridge, New York.

1872 In Battle Creek, Michigan,Goodloe Harper Bell opens the firstschool sponsored by the Seventh-dayAdventist Church.

Ellen G. White writes her seminalessay, “Proper Education,” which ap-pears in installment form in The HealthReformer and later in Testimonies for theChurch, volume 3.

1874 Battle Creek College, the firstAdventist college, opens with SidneyBrownsberger as president. It enrollsboth male and female students.

In order to provide oversight for itsnew program of education, the GeneralConference organizes the EducationalSociety, incorporated in Michigan.

1881 The first Adventist textbook,A Natural Method in English, is producedby Goodloe Harper Bell.

1882 The church opens its secondcollege program, Healdsburg College, innorthern California.

1883 The church’s first school ofnursing opens at Battle Creek Sanitar-ium, operated by Drs. Kate Lindsay andAnn Stewart under the auspices of Dr.John Harvey Kellogg.

1887 The General Conference cre-ates the office of Secretary of Education,appointing W. W. Prescott to the posi-

tion in addition to his responsibilities aspresident of Battle Creek College.

1888 The church’s first teachers’institute convenes in Battle Creek.

1891 The Harbor Springs (Michi-gan) Teachers’ Institute meets, the firstconvention for all North Americanteachers. Its approximately 100 atten-dees initiate the first reforms in Ad-ventist education, advocating that theBible be the center of all curricula.

1893 Claremont Union College,the first Adventist college outside of theUnited States, opens in Kenilworth,South Africa.

1895 Battle Creek Sanitarium es-tablishes the first Adventist school ofmedicine, American Medical MissionaryCollege, with John Harvey Kellogg aspresident.

James Edson White begins the firstchurch school for African-Americansaboard the Morning Star, in Vicksburg,Mississippi.

Workers from South Africa andNorth America establish Solusi Missionin Matabeleland after receiving a grantof 12,000 acres of land from CecilRhodes to educate Africans.

1896 Oakwood Industrial Schoolopens in Huntsville, Alabama, as a train-ing school for African-Americans afterGC President O. A. Olsen personallyleads a commission to prepare buildingsand land.

Battle Creek College establishes thefirst Adventist teacher-preparation de-

TIMELINE For Seventh-day

Adventist EducationC O M P I L E D B Y F L O Y D G R E E N L E A F

Based on my research in writing a new book about the history of Ad-ventist education, I offer the following timeline of the hundred or somost important happenings and persons in the 150-year developmentof Seventh-day Adventist education, worldwide. The items selected rep-resent my opinion; other researchers would doubtlessly differ on what

to include. I hope that this list will stimulate discussion and an improved under-standing of the events and issues that have formed the denomination’s large andvery diverse system of education.—Floyd Greenleaf.

The Morning Star, on which James Edson White established the first Adventist school for African-Americans in 1895.



partment, led by Frederick Griggs.1897 Avondale School for Chris-

tian Workers (the future Avondale Col-lege), begins classes in Cooranbong,Australia, with C. B. Hughes as princi-pal.

E. A. Sutherland, president of BattleCreek College, launches the “Movementof ’97,” which dramatically increases thenumber of church schools.

1898 N. Z. Town founds the firstworker-training school in South Amer-ica, the forerunner of River Plate Ad-ventist University, at Las Tunas, EntreRios, Argentina. Frank Westphal andfellow workers later re-establish theschool near Diamante.

1899 Missionsseminar Friedensau,the predecessor of Friedensau AdventistUniversity, offers its first classes on anold estate, Klappermuhle, near Magde-burg, Germany.

1900 P. T. Magan begins a cam-paign to eliminate the debts of Adventistschools and other institutions. EllenWhite donates the proceeds from thesale of Christ’s Object Lessons to raisemoney for schools.

Teachers from North America’s 220elementary schools gather at BattleCreek, Michigan, for the church’s firstinstitute for church school teachers.

1901 The General Conference cre-ates the EducationalDepartment with JohnHarvey Kellogg aschairman and P. T. Ma-gan as secretary.

1902 DuncombeHall Missionary Col-lege, precursor to New-bold College, opens inLondon, England, withH. R. Salisbury as prin-cipal.

George McCreadyPrice publishes Outlinesof Modern Science andChristianity, the firstAdventist book offeringscientific support forcreationism.

1903 Ellen Whitepublishes Education, theleading Adventist trea-tise on education. It be-comes a leading source

for college classes on principles ofChristian education.

1904 E. A. Sutherland and P. T.Magan launch the Nashville (Tennessee)Agricultural and Normal Institute, thebeginning of the self-supporting educa-tional movement in the American South.

Ida Thompson establishes the firstAdventist school in China, Bethel Girls’School in Canton, which later evolvesinto Hong Kong Adventist College.

Buresala Training School (the fore-

runner of Fulton College) opens in Fijifor Pacific Islanders.

1905 The Southern CaliforniaConference buys a resort hotel that willbecome Loma Linda University and, thefollowing year, opens a school of nurs-ing.

The General Conference adopts a“harmonious system of education” thatintegrates elementary, secondary, andcollege levels and articulates teachingmaterials and manuals. The GC Educa-

An early photo of Healdsburg College, established in Healdsburg, California, in 1882.The name was changed to PacificUnion College in 1906, and three years later, the school moved a few miles to its present location in Angwin.

Early photo of Avondale College in Cooranbong, Australia, which opened in 1897.



tional Department becomes the Depart-ment of Education.

1906 Pacific Press publishes thefirst Adventist church school manual.

1907 Washington Training Collegein Takoma Park, Maryland, becomes theWashington Foreign Missionary Semi-nary with H. R. Salisbury as president.

Sam Yuk Shin Hak Tai Hak (KoreanSchool for Boys), forerunner of Sahm-yook University, opens in Soonan.

Pacific Press begins to publish theTrue Education Reader Series, gradedreading books for elementary schoolsauthored by Adventists.

1909 The College of MedicalEvangelists (CME) receives a charter tooperate schools of medicine and den-tistry, and admits its first class of medicalstudents.

Pacific Press begins publishing AlmaMcKibbin’s Bible Lessons, a graded seriesof Bible textbooks for elementaryschools.

Frederick Griggs establishes theFireside Correspondence School, whichlater becomes Home Study Interna-tional and Griggs University.

Christian Education, the first denomi-nation-wide periodical about education,begins publication with FrederickGriggs as editor. Thirty years later, itbecomes the Journal of True Education,

the forerunner of the Journal of AdventistEducation.

1910 Three seminaries for Scandi-navian- and German-speaking Adventiststudents open in Minnesota, Missouri,and Illinois.

1911 CME receives a “C” ratingfrom the American Medical Association,sparking a 25-year debate over accredi-tation.

1912 Manuel Camacho collabo-rates with Fernando and Ana Stahl tobuild La Plateria Mission in Peru, thefirst of a system of mission schools thathelped to transform society among An-dean tribespeople.

1915 Adventist Seminary in Brazilstarts classes with 18 students and J. H.Boehm as director. It later becomesBrazil Adventist University.

South India Training School (fore-runner of Spicer Memorial College)opens in Coimbatore under the direc-tion of G. G. Lowry.

1917 Philippine Seventh-day Ad-ventist Academy (later the AdventistUniversity of the Philippines) opens.

1918 Denton Rebok conducts thechurch’s first teachers’ institute inChina.

1919 West Indian Training School,the first permanent worker-trainingschool in the Caribbean and forerunner

of Northern Caribbean University,opens in Mandeville, Jamaica.

1921 Seminaire Adventiste duSaleve opens in Collonges-sous-Saleve,France, and serves for many years as thechurch’s primary worker-preparationschool for French-speaking Adventists.

1922 The GC Department of Edu-cation designates assistant and associatesecretaries for elementary, secondary,and higher education. Sarah Peck be-

comes the first female member of thedepartment, assigned to elementary edu-cation.

The Far Eastern Branch of the Fire-side Correspondence School, the firstbranch outside the United States, opensin Shanghai, China.

1923 W. E. Howell, GC Secretaryof Education, conducts the first worldcouncil for Adventist educators in Col-orado Springs, Colorado.

1928 The Association of Seventh-day Adventist Colleges and SecondarySchools is formed with its executive arm,the Board of Regents, to accredit Ad-ventist schools.

1930 The General Conferencedrafts a position statement on creation-ism and authorizes a program of re-search and publication to refute evolu-tion. Science and math teachers inNorth American colleges meet to begindiscussions of creationism.

Built by student physicians, the first School of Medicine building at the College of Medical Evange-lists in Loma Linda, California, included administrative offices for the president, a faculty room, asmall library, and classrooms.

Administration building at Seminaire Adven-tiste du Saleve in France, about 1972.



1932 Pacific Union College earnsaccreditation from the Board of Re-gents, the first Adventist college to ob-tain denominational accreditation.

Philippine Junior College becomesPhilippine Union College, the first Ad-ventist four-year degree-granting insti-tution outside North America.

1933 Pacific Union College isawarded accreditation by Northwest As-sociation of Secondary and HigherSchools, the first Adventist college to beregionally accredited.

1934 The Advanced Bible School(forerunner of the Seventh-day Advent-ist Theological Seminary) is organizedat Pacific Union College, in Angwin,California.

The Medical Cadet Corps is intro-duced at Union College (Nebraska),with Everett Dick as the commandingofficer.

1936 After heated debate, GC ses-sion delegates approve of regional ac-creditation for Adventist colleges.

1937 GC Education Secretary H.A. Morrison conducts the Blue RidgeEducational Convention, the second(and last) world council for Adventisteducators.

1939 Adventist College of Beirut,the only Adventist postsecondary insti-tution in the Islamic Middle East andforerunner of Middle East College,opens with G. A. Keogh as president.

1941 The Seventh-day AdventistTheological Seminary moves into newand separate quarters in Takoma Park,Maryland.

1942 Colegio Agricola IndustrialMexicana (forerunner of MontemorelosUniversity), begins classes at Monte-morelos, Mexico.

The church establishes the Hispanic-American Seminary in Corrales, NewMexico, to serve the Spanish-speakingU.S. population.

The world church authorizes itsseminary to grant Master’s degrees.

1944 Spicer College (Pune, India)becomes the second Adventist four-year,postsecondary institution outside NorthAmerica.

1946 Union College inauguratesthe church’s first baccalaureate programof nursing education.Seminary building at Newbold College in England, about 1983.

Campus of Montemorelos University in Mexico, about 1977.

Library building at Solusi College (now Solusi University) in Zimbabwe, in the 1970s.


1947 Education resumes at Frie-densau, East Germany, after having beenclosed during World War II.

1950 China Training Institutecloses following the Communist Revolu-tion.

1952 Philippine Union College be-comes the first Adventist school outsidethe United States to receive authority tooffer graduate courses.

1953 The first class enrolls in theSchool of Dentistry at CME.

The General Conference makes theMaster’s degree the standard academicpreparation for ministers.

1954 Solusi Training School (Zim-babwe) becomes Solusi Missionary Col-lege, the first four-year, postsecondaryprogram for Africans.

Australasian Missionary College af-filiates with Pacific Union College, in-augurating the era of international affili-ations among Adventist schools.

The Board of Regents extends its ac-crediting authority beyond North Amer-ica, the inception of international de-nominational accreditation.

1957 The GC organizes PotomacUniversity in Takoma Park, Maryland,for ministerial training.

The GC establishes the GeoscienceResearch Institute.

Philippine Union College becomesthe first non-American Adventist institu-tion to receive authority from the Gen-eral Conference to offer Master’s de-grees (education).

1958 The GC approves the mergerof Potomac University and EmmanuelMissionary College in Berrien Springs,Michigan. A new name, Andrews Uni-

versity, is selected two years later.CME grants the first Adventist

Ph.D. (medical sciences).1959 Columbia Union College and

Sligo church (both in Takoma Park,Maryland) combine to send the church’sfirst student missionary.

1961 CME changes its name toLoma Linda University (LLU).

1963 Loma Linda UniversityOverseas Heart Surgery Team begins aprogram of treating international heartpatients in their home countries.

1965 Administrators of Adventistcolleges and universities adopt a state-ment on academic freedom that pro-hibits classroom instruction contrary toAdventist teachings.

1966 The Academic Conference onModern Church-State Problems con-venes at Andrews University. Attendees

challenge the traditional Adventist posi-tion on government aid to church-spon-sored schools.

1970 Newbold College becomesthe first postsecondary school outsideNorth America to achieve accreditationby the church’s Board of Regents.

1972 The theological seminary be-gins to offer its first doctoral program(doctor of ministry).

1973 The Vocational and Profes-sional School in Montemorelos, Mexico,receives state authority to issue recog-nized university degrees. The institutionestablishes the second Adventist schoolof medicine.

1974 The General Conference De-partment of Education begins to issuethe Citation of Merit, Award of Excel-lence, and Medallion of Merit awards.

1978 The theological seminary atPhilippine Union College becomes thefirst recognized division-sponsored sem-inary outside North America. The insti-tution moves from Caloocan City to itspresent site in Silang, Cavite.

1979 The South American Divi-sion organizes the Latin American The-ological Seminary, headquartered inBrasilia, the church’s first division-wide,multi-campus seminary.

1981 The landmark Defence ofGovernment Schools case in Australiaestablishes the legitimacy of governmentfinancial aid for church-sponsoredschools in that nation.

1984 Loma Linda University affili-


Middle East College (now Middle East University) in Beirut, Lebanon, about 1976.

Administration building at Brazil College (now Brazil Adventist University) in the 1970s.


ates with Kasturba MedicalCollege near Manipal, In-dia, to educate physiciansand other healthcare profes-sionals.

1987 The GC Department of Edu-cation forms the Institute for ChristianTeaching and initiates seminars in everyworld field to promote the integration offaith and learning.

1988 The Adventist University ofCentral Africa, serving FrancophoneAfrica, is accredited by the Rwandangovernment. It becomes the first gov-ernment-recognized, degree-grantingAdventist institution for Africans butcloses six years later during civil distur-bances. It later reopens as a multi-cam-pus institution.

1989 The Department of Educa-tion launches Dialogue, a periodical pub-lished in four languages that discussesintellectual issues and is beamed to Ad-ventist college and university students,worldwide.

Zaoksky Theological Seminary (Rus-sia) opens as the first educational center

for Adventistsin the SovietUnion.

The Far East-ern Divisionopens the Advent-ist InternationalInstitute of Ad-vanced Studies,in Silang, Cavite,Philippines, thechurch’s onlyfree-standinggraduate school.

1990 LLUMedical Centerinstalls the

world’s first hospital-based proton treat-ment facility.

The postsecondary portion of HomeStudy International become Griggs Uni-versity.

B. Lyn Behrens is the first woman tobecome president of an Adventist uni-versity.

1991 The University of EasternAfrica, Baraton receives a charter fromthe Kenyan government, becoming thechurch’s first tertiary institution for Eng-lish-speaking Africans with government-recognized, degree-granting authority.

1992 South Korea’s SahmyookCollege becomes Sahmyook University;adding a doctorate to its theology cur-riculum.

1994 The church’s Annual Councilvotes to place ministerial education un-der the jurisdiction of the divisions asmonitored by the International Board ofMinisterial and Theological Education.

1995 SolusiCollege, nearBulawayo, Zim-babwe, receives acharter as a de-gree-grantinguniversity.

The NorthAmerican Divi-sion is the firstworld field to el-evate the directorof education to avice president.

1997 TheGeneral Confer-ence Department

of Education began to confer the GlobalAward in Adventist Education.

1999 Worldwide enrollment inAdventist schools surpasses one million.

2000 The General Conference or-ganizes a new Commission of HigherEducation to develop a global plan forAdventist tertiary institutions.

2001 In Columbia Union College v.Clarke, the court rules that ColumbiaUnion College (Takoma Park, Mary-land) may legally receive money fromthe state of Maryland, using the “neu-trality” test rather than the “pervasivelysectarian” legal test to determine the eli-gibility of church-sponsored colleges forgovernment aid.

The number of Adventist elementaryschools passes 5,000.

2002 The number of teachers in Ad-ventist secondary schools exceeds 20,000.

2004 Annual Council accepts a rec-ommendation from the International Faithand Science Conferences affirming tradi-tional Adventist beliefs about creation.

2005 In the years since 1974, a to-tal of 31 people worldwide have receivedthe Citation of Merit, 130 the Award ofExcellence, 43 the Medallion of Distinc-tion, and 13 the Global Award in Ad-ventist Education (1997-).

The Journal of Adventist Education re-ceives its seventh Distinguished Achieve-ment Award (including one Finalistnomination) from the Association ofEducational Publishers—two for themeissues; six for feature articles. ✐

___________________

After a 30-year career inthe history department atSouthern Adventist Uni-versity in Collegedale,Tennessee, during whichhe authored the two-vol-ume The Seventh-dayAdventist Church inLatin America and the

Caribbean (Andrews University Press, 1992),Floyd Greenleaf, Ph.D., “retired” in 1996.Since then, he has co-authored Light Bearers:AHistory of the Seventh-day AdventistChurch (English edition: Pacific Press, 2000;Spanish edition produced by the Inter-Americanand South American Divisions, 2002), and hasjust completed In Passion for the World:AHistory of Seventh-day Adventist Educa-tion (Pacific Press, 2005). Dr. Greenleaf writesfrom Lake Suzy, Florida.


At the Educational Press Association’s 1990 Awards ceremony, the Journal ofAdventist Education won one of its seven Distinguished Achievement or Fi-nalist awards. Left to right: Editor Victor Griffiths; Assistant Editor BeverlyRobinson-Rumble; Art Director Howard Bullard.


The East-Central Africa Divi-sion (ECD) is one of the newterritories created by the re-alignment of the African di-visions in 2002.

The division covers thecountries of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti,Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania,Rwanda, Burundi, and the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo (DRC)—formerlyZaire.

Five of these countries comprisewhat is referred to as the great lakes re-gion in Africa, which has been plaguedby civil wars and strife. Despite this, Ad-ventist education has continued to thrivein almost all territories and to contributeto the growth of the church in thesecountries.

Challenges, in addition to wars, in-clude inadequate roads, which maketravel very difficult. On one occasion,two teachers reported spending twoweeks walking back and forth more than200 kilometers to an education meetingin Tshikapa, DRC.

We have primary schools in all buttwo of the countries in the division terri-tory, secondary schools in all but three,and six tertiary institutions. Theseschools and their teachers have ac-counted for 6,903 baptisms during thetwo years of the division’s existence.

ChallengesThe church is facing a number of ed-

ucationally related challenges in the newEast-Central Africa Division:

• Wars in seven of the 10 countriesof the division, including conflicts

within and between various countries.• Devastating poverty, which makes

it difficult for people to afford food andother necessities, as well as education.

• A large number of refugees, in-cluding children whose parents cannotafford education and who are constantlyon the move to avoid the fighting.

• Lack of adequate training for manyof the teachers.

• The need for vocational training toequip the youth, who make up morethan 75 percent of the church member-ship, with skills to survive and to supportthe church.

• The need to provide more pastorswith higher levels of education.

• The demand for Adventist educa-

tion by a fast-growing church member-ship. The number of students studyingin Adventist schools represent less than83, 24, and 2 students per 1,000 mem-bers in primary, secondary, and tertiarylevels of education respectively, eventhough the church membership is morethan three-quarters young people.

• The need to promote Adventisteducation among the church members.

• Competition with numerous pri-vately owned schools in many of thecountries.

• The challenge of unentered areas,some of which present obstacles becauseof their traditions and religious beliefs.

• HIV/AIDS devastation in the re-gion.


Looking at the Challenges With

HopeB Y H U D S O N E . K I B U U K A

ECDEAST-CENTRAL AFRICA

DIVISION

Graduation at Adventist University at Lukanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo.


AchievementsDespite the above chal-

lenges, the division hasachieved the following:

• We are providing ed-ucation in most of thecountries.

• We have six tertiaryinstitutions (in Ethiopia,Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda,Rwanda, and DRC), four atsenior level. The other twoeither have obtained or ex-pect to soon receive Inter-national Board of Educa-tion (IBE) and governmentapproval to offer univer-sity-level programs.

• Many schools continue to performwell in government examinations andreceive praise and honor from state lead-ers. On one of his trips, the divisionpresident met the minister of educationfor Uganda at the airport. When hementioned that he was a Seventh-dayAdventist leader, the minister told him

how much he appreciated the church’seducational efforts.

• During its short existence, the divi-sion has already sponsored, in its bursaryprogram, more than 136 individuals forupgrading, including some 56 for Mas-ter’s degrees, 15 for doctoral degrees,and more than 60 for bachelor’s degrees.

• Several new programshave been approved and in-troduced at our universitiesand colleges.

• After the destruction ofthe campus of the AdventistUniversity of Central Africaat Mudende, Rwanda, theuniversity acquired a newcampus at Masoro near thecapital, and construction hasbegun.

• Many of the institutionshave made strides in acquir-ing Internet and electronicmedia facilities, despite theirrural locations.

• All schools, in additionto being involved in in-reach programsthat yielded 6,903 baptisms, are also ac-tively involved in outreach programs inthe communities close by and far fromtheir campuses, which bring many soulsto Christ. UEAB, for example, baptizeson average of 500 students from publicsecondary schools each year as a result of


Inside a primary classroom in the DRC, the students look forward to the futurewith hope.

Graduation at University of Eastern Africa, Baraton.


student and faculty witnessing pro-grams.

• Seminars have been conducted toassist the teachers on the integration offaith and learning, faith and science, andcollaboration.

• Institutions are being evaluated,and several have achieved denomina-tional accreditation. Plans are beingmade for the rest. In the past two years,four of the tertiary institutions—Bugema University, University of East-ern Africa, Baraton (Kenya), AdventistUniversity at Lukanga (in DRC), andEthiopian Adventist College—have hadtheir accreditations renewed after evalu-ation visits.

Looking to the Future• One of the ECD focus issues is

nurturing the members, and education isan excellent avenue of nurture. There-fore, the division is emphasizing qualityprimary and secondary education. Whenthe country’s schools were nationalized,Tanzania had only one Adventist ele-

mentary school, but now has eight. Thedivision has set aside funds to supple-ment and encourage giving by churchmembers.

• We plan to improve the working

conditions of teachers, who have dedi-cated their lives to serving the church.

• We will continue to conduct semi-nars for teachers, as many of them havereceived training in non-Adventist edu-


Baptism at University of Eastern Africa, Baraton.

Library, University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, Kenya.


cational institutions. • We will make promotional materi-

als available in the major languages ofthe division, including English, French,and Swahili, to educate church membersabout the value and benefits of Adventisteducation. The book Education has al-ready been provided in English andFrench.

• We will continue to emphasize theneed for cooperation and collaborationto ensure maximum and equitable uti-lization of resources.

• We are encouraging schools andchurch organizations to establish bur-sary funds for needy students. Suchfunds will assist students who have beendisowned by their parents for acceptingChrist and others who may have beenorphaned due to HIV/AIDS and wars.

• We are working to ensure that allsecondary and tertiary institutions havecurrent denominational accreditation.

• We are planning to establish aschool in Djibouti. Already, a languageschool is reaching many families fromthe grounds of the dental clinic.

• We are seeking additional ways touse education as an entering wedge intosome of the difficult areas.

Despite all the challenges, the East-Central Africa Division looks to the fu-ture with hope, having adopted as its

theme “God’s AbilityIs Our Ability.” ✐___________________Hudson E. Kibuuka isDirector of Education forthe East-Central AfricaDivision in Nairobi,Kenya.


Ethiopian Adventist College administration building and classroom block.

Tanzania Adventist College administration building.

Groundbreaking for a new campus at Adventist University of Central Africa (AUCA) in Rwanda.

East-Central African students praising God in song at their school worship.



Geographically, the Euro-Asia Division (ESD) is thelargest Adventist divisionterritory in the world,stretching across 11 timezones and 12 countries

from Eastern Europe to the PacificOcean.

ESD’s territory includes all of theformer Soviet countries except the threeBaltic nations. Current church member-ship is more than 150,000, making it one

of the smallest divisions in the worldchurch. However, it has grown signifi-cantly since 1990, when its membershipwas about 36,000.

The fall of Communism broughtnew personal and religious freedoms toESD, but it also brought political chaos,militant nationalism, growing material-ism, economic hardship, and the convic-tion that the state is responsible for pro-viding education.

The challenge for the church in this

uncertain environment is to growhealthy and strong and to design an edu-cational system that provides “an educa-tion that is as high as heaven and asbroad as the universe; an education thatcannot be completed in this life, but thatwill be continued in the life to come; aneducation that secures to the successfulstudent his passport from the prepara-tory school of earth to the higher grade,the school above” (Ellen G. White, Edu-cation, p. 19).

New Freedomsand Challenges

B Y H E R I B E R T O C . M U L L E R

ESDEURO-ASIA DIVISION

Graduation, Ukrainian College of Arts and Sciences. Bucha, Kiev Region, Ukraine.



AccomplishmentsHere are ESD’s main accomplish-

ments in the area of education duringthe present quinquennium:

1. Transferring the administrative re-sponsibility of Russian Sahmyook Uni-versity on Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Islandfrom the Northern Asia-Pacific Divisionto the Euro-Asia Division (East RussianUnion).

2. Upgrading Zaoksky TheologicalSeminary to Zaoksky Adventist Univer-sity.

3. Building two projects funded bythe Thirteenth Sabbath Offering:

a. A multi-purpose building at Zaok-sky Adventist University (2001);

b. A women’s dormitory at UkrainianInstitute of Arts and Sciences (2004).

4. Offering a Master of Sciences inAdministration (International Develop-ment Program) in partnership with An-drews University (Berrien Springs,Michigan, U.S.A.) for ESD church ad-ministrators, ADRA workers, and teach-ers (July 2003-April 2005).

5. Approval for a Master of PublicHealth program sponsored by LomaLinda University (Loma Linda, Califor-nia, U.S.A.), which will commence inAugust 2005 at Zaoksky Adventist Uni-versity with 90 pastors and health pro-fessionals enrolled.

6. Preparation of an education policybook for use throughout the division.

7. Offering a training seminar (Au-gust 2003) for primary and secondaryteachers on “The Philosophy of theChristian Education and Faith andLearning Integration” with RaulLorenzo and Ines Posse as presenters.

8. The opening of two more EnglishLanguage Centers in Georgia, makingseven in all.

Zaoksky Adventist UniversityIn January 1987, the church received

a plot of land of approximately two acresin the village of Zaoksky, Tula Region,near Moscow. The parcel included anold school building partly destroyed byfire. The local villagers were using thegutted building as a garbage dump.

A Bachelor of Arts degree in religionwas the first course of study offered, toprepare young people for ministry in thevast territory of the Euro-Asia Division.A program of agriculture directed by Ja-

The Heritage School in Tokmak City, Kyrgyzstan, is unique among Adventist elementary schools. Inoperation for only eight years, it has 121 students, 60 percent of whom are from Muslim families.More than 50 people have been baptized as the result of school missionary work.

In 2004, the tertiary institution on the island of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, came under the jurisdiction of the Euro-Asia Division. Russian SahmyookUniversity offers programs in linguistics and music.



cob Mittleider was also established,leading to a certificate program. In1990, the Committee of Religious Af-fairs of the Soviet Union gave Zaokskyofficial registration as a full-time institu-tion of higher education.

In the past quinquennium, the fol-lowing degree programs have beenadded: M.A. in music (2000); B.A. ineconomics (2003); B.A.’s in social work,secondary English education, and ac-counting (2004); and A.S. degrees in of-fice management and jurisprudence(2004).

Among the most significant changesfor Zaoksky was recognition from theMinistry of Education of the RussianFederation. In 2003, the ministrygranted the License of the Right of Edu-cational Activities, the first of a two-partaccreditation process. To satisfy the gov-ernment requirements, three separateinstitutions were created.

Today, the campus houses five edu-cational institutions: Zaoksky Theologi-cal Seminary, Zaoksky Christian Insti-tute of Arts and Sciences, ZaokskyChristian Professional College, ZaokskySeventh-day Adventist School (K-11),and the Mittleider-Agro Study Center.The university also provides pastoral ed-ucation through extension schools inseven locations throughout the ESD.

Three hundred students live on cam-pus; 736 attend classes in extensionschools; 43 are studying for the M.A. inreligion through Andrews University;and 90 are preparing for a M.P.H.through Loma Linda University. A newclassroom building completed in 2004enables Zaoksky to accommodate 1,000on-campus students, but the school can-not increase its enrollment without addi-

tional housing. Plans are in place tobuild a new men’s dormitory and addi-tional married student housing. Themaster plan also calls for adding the fol-lowing degree programs: Doctor ofMinistry, M.A.’s in economics, socialwork, and business administration; B.A.’sin social work, philology (English), jour-nalism, and law; A.S. degrees in nursing,youth education, home management, in-

Music students, Russian Sahmyook University.

Computer lab, Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences.


formation processing and management,economics and accounting, elementaryeducation, and choir conducting.

Recent years have seen a significantchange in the attitude of government of-ficials and local villagers toward ZaokskyAdventist University. Non-members paytuition to send their children to the Ad-ventist elementary school. The mayor ofthe Zaoksky Region regularly visits cam-pus and supports the development of theuniversity. The director of the local hos-pital welcomes the addition of a nursingprogram that will benefit the village.The orphanages in the Tula Region haveopened their doors to student ministrygroups.

Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sci-ences

Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sci-ences (UIAS) is the church’s first tertiaryinstitution in the Ukraine. This profes-sionally oriented institute, which openedin Bucha, Kiev Region, in October 1999,offers five-year undergraduate degrees,with emphases in English, business man-agement, finances, and marketing. Itscampus is also used as a training centerfor distance education. UIAS operatesspecial summer/winter programs in thestudy of Slavic (Ukrainian, Russian) lan-guages and culture.

At present, the school has 625 stu-dents in four departments. The studentbody is comprised of students fromUkraine, Turkmenistan (a Muslim coun-try), Moldavia, Belarus, Russia, Armenia,Georgia, and Rumania.

In June 2003, the in-stitute graduated its firstclass of 49 students, whowere awarded Bachelor’sdegrees.

In June 2004, theUkraine Ministry of Ed-ucation and Sciencegave approval for aBachelor’s degree inmarketing.

In June 2004, UIASgraduated 96 students(52 Bachelor’s and 44Master’s), each of whomreceived a State Stan-dard Certificate. UIASis the first Adventist ed-

ucational institution in the Ukraine toreceive state accreditation. Officials andstudents consider this to be a clear indi-cation of God’s blessing in this formerSoviet territory.

Now, the institute is in the process ofreceiving state accreditation for its Mas-ter’s degrees in the rest of the specialties.An Adventist international accreditingcommittee has also approved its status asa graduate-level institution.

Between 2000 and 2005, the institutegrew from 90 to 625 students and signif-icantly increased the number of volumesin its library.

The Institute Student Church alsocontinues to grow, with new people be-ing baptized and joining our Christianfamily. Last November, the instituteheld a revival week that finished with abaptism. In early 2005, another six stu-dents were baptized.

Russian Sahmyook UniversityIn 1992, a new university opened on

the island of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia.It was founded by the South KoreanUnion and the Western Siberian Mis-sion. In 2004, the university came underthe jurisdiction of the Euro-Asia Divi-sion. Its student body is international,with students from Korea, China, andVietnam. Subjects are taught in severallanguages.

Russian Sahmyook University nowhas two departments: music and linguis-tics. Its linguistics specialists are in greatdemand in the new social and economicsituation. These students master two

languages, study theory and practicetranslation, and learn to use their knowl-edge in different fields, such as politics,culture, economics, and law.

The music department trains stu-dents to play the piano and stringed or-chestra instruments. It has a contractwith the Academy of Music in St. Pe-tersburg, which was named in honor ofRimsky-Korsakov.

ConclusionThe ESD Education Department is

working on a strategy to provide stabil-ity to a church that faced almost 80 yearsof oppression and suffering as a result ofa lack of freedom.

The activities for the next five years

will focus on the following: 1. Making members aware of the im-

portance of Christian education.2. Starting one new school in each

mission and conference in the division. 3. Helping each union establish a

higher education institution in its terri-tory.

I would like to thank Mario Veloso,who served us the education director forour division the first two years of thisperiod (2000-2002), as well as the unionand division administrators, for theirsupport. May the Lord provide guid-ance and blessings as we seek to provide

for the education forHis church in thehuge territory of theESD. ✐__________________

Heriberto C. Mulleris Director of Educationfor the Euro-Asia Divi-sion in Moscow, Russia.


Entrance to Ukrainian College of Arts and Sciences.

Zaoksky Adventist University,Tula Region,Russian Federation.


EUDEURO-AFRICA DIVISION


This past quinquenium(2000-2005) has been animportant and challengingone in the Euro-Africa Di-vision (EUD). The divisionhas concentrated its efforts

on improving its quality of services. De-spite many problems, the majority ofour colleges and seminaries have suc-ceeded in upgrading their programs,creating new ones, and receiving accred-itation.

New ProgramsWe rejoice at the creation of a new

seminary in Sofia, Bulgaria. In Novem-ber 2004, the EUD Board of Ministerialand Theological Education (BMTE)voted to approve this important schoolto train our Bulgarian workers.

In June 2003, the Romanian Ad-ventist Theological Institute in Cernicabegan to offer an M.A. in religion(through Andrews University) to up-grade pastoral education. In June 2004,Sagunto College (Spain) initiated a Mas-ter of Public Health program in partner-ship with Montemorelos University(Mexico).

The so-called “Bologna agreement”on university-level education reached bythe European Community is forcing ourinstitutions to reorganize their collegeand graduate studies according to thenew paradigm (based on a 3 years of col-lege level + 2 years of graduate level = 5years of study) leading to a new Master’sdiploma. This has extended the requirededucation for our pastors from fouryears to five.

Our seminaries in Spain and Italy arepoised to receive state recognition fortheir full five-year programs. On April23, 2003, Italian Theological Seminary(Villa Aurora) obtained from the Italiangovernment the first step toward recog-nition of its theology programs, with amajor in Religion, Rights, and Society.

In September 2003, a new M.A. inyouth ministry was launched by the JoseFigols Center at Saleve Adventist Uni-versity (Collonges, France). The newprogram, taught in English and offeredas intensive sessions, is the result of co-operation among Saleve Adventist Uni-

versity, Friedensau Adventist University,and Newbold College. The first cohortincludes 26 students from three divi-sions. This M.A. degree is approved byboth the Adventist Accrediting Associa-tion and the University of Wales, Lam-peter College, U.K.

New ProjectsSaleve Adventist University is work-

ing on a distance-learning (DL) pro-gram in religion in cooperation withGriggs University in Silver Spring,Maryland (U.S.A.). Currently, it offersonly non-degree DL programs.

Reorganizing,Upgrading, and

InnovatingB Y R O B E R T O B A D E N A S

The 31st Integration of Faith and Learning Seminar was held for European Adventist college teach-ers July 13-25, 2003, at Friedensau Adventist University, Germany.



In September 2004, Maurice TiecheAdventist Academy in Collonges(France) opened a new high school pro-gram with emphasis on mountain activi-ties. “This innovative program has beenso well received in this alpine regionthat two friends of Collonges have gra-ciously financed the two school vansneeded for the transportation of the stu-dents to and from the sky resorts andother training places,” reports Jean-Philippe Lehmann, the academy princi-pal. The dynamic team of specialistsworking on this project includes somevolunteers, such as Didier Oppliger, amember of the Swiss national snow-board team. “The aim of the program isnot to train young athletes for high-levelcompetition, but to prepare them for themountain jobs, learning at the same timeto appreciate and protect the alpine en-vironment, putting into practice the veryAdventist concept of wholistic educa-tion,” says Youri Gilg, five-time Frenchfreestyle skiing champion and one of thenew teachers.

In October 2004, the ILF (Institutde Langue Française) at Collonges re-ceived accreditation from the Chamberof Commerce of Paris as an official ex-amination location for the Test d’Evalu-ation du Français, the French equivalentof the TOEFL or the Michigan Test for

English. The ILF has also received per-mission to utilize the fle.fr label, whichindicates that it has met the high re-quirements of the European CommonFrame of References for the Teaching ofLanguages, developed by the Council ofEurope.

The secondary-level MarienhoeheCollege (Germany) continues to have astrong outreach program. Once a year, agroup of students, together with a dor-mitory dean, provide aid in cooperationwith Adventist Development and ReliefAgency International in a developingcountry. Participants sacrifice at least sixweeks of their school holidays and paytheir own travel expenses. So far, theyhave been to Thailand, Cambodia, andLaos, and have helped to construct amedical ward, a well, and a primaryschool.

AwardsThe city of Oliveira do Douro (near

Oporto, Portugal) gave the highestAward of Merit to the local Adventistacademy (CAOD) on April 24, 2004.The medal recognizes “the benefits re-ceived by the local community from ourinstitution in the areas of education, cul-ture, and community services.” The cer-emony, which took place at the city hall,commemorated the school’s 30-year an-

niversary.In 2003, the Department of Social

Work at Friedensau University (Ger-many) received an important recogni-tion from the state educational authori-ties for the program they offer in thepublic schools, which promotes the ac-ceptance and tolerance of all races andnationalities.

Twice, in 2003 and 2004, the Wald-friede Adventist Nursing School (Berlin)won a special prize from the RobertBorch Foundation at a national contestfor German nursing schools. The con-test theme in 2004 was “InnovativeConcepts in Nursing Education,” andthe winning project was a practical pro-gram of “Students Teaching Students.”

ConstructionThe long-awaited dedication of new

facilities for Braila Nursing School (Ro-mania), in November 2002, was madepossible thanks to the Italian Union,among other sponsors. In the 10 yearssince the school opened, more than 700nurses have graduated. A new elemen-tary school was dedicated in TarguMures (Romania) in September 2002, asa result of the commitment and creativ-ity of faithful lay members, under theinitiative of Leonard Azamfirei.

In 2003, Bogenhofen Seminary (Aus-tria) completed a beautiful new church,with large elementary classrooms. ItalianTheological Seminary has had severalimportant building projects, including alarge new Tuscany-style church complexthat was consecrated in spring 2005.Colegio Timon, an elementary school inMadrid (Spain), is about to finish con-struction on a large school and a socialcenter on a piece of land donated by thecity council.

In 2004, we celebrated the 50thanniversary of “AbisZ Privatschule”(Zurich), the only Seventh-day Adventistschool in German-speaking Switzerland.This elementary school has purchased abeautiful piece of land outside the city tobuild a new school.

Colegio Rigel, the Adventist primaryschool in Saragossa (Spain), celebratedits 40th anniversary in 2004. It is theonly Spanish Adventist school (out offour) that does not receive any govern-ment subsidy. Land owned by the school

Zaragoza, Spain, Adventist elementary school choir presents its 2004 Christmas concert.



in a protected sector suddenly receivedauthorization to sell and build, multiply-ing its worth by 100.

Student AssociationsThe division’s student associations,

having adopted the AMiCUS philoso-phy (Adventist Mission to College andUniversity Students) are consolidatingtheir influence. On November 1-3,2002, students from all over Europe par-

ticipated in the second European Con-vention of College and University Stu-dents in Eisenberg, Germany. There,not far from where Luther fought for hisfaith, the students produced their own“70 theses” to reform the church in Eu-rope. Their third convention is sched-uled to meet October 28-November 1,2005, in Rimini (Italy).

On May 2-6, 2003, during a conven-tion in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, thestudent association of the BulgarianUnion was officially organized.

AEGUAE, the student association ofSpain, deserves special mention. Thisdynamic group of students and profes-sionals is now putting online a largenumber of Adventist resources in Span-ish (http://www.aula7activa.org). “Wewant to share this wealth with the stu-dents who cannot afford to pay for ex-pensive books,” says Ramon-CarlesGelabert, a young physician and one ofthe leaders of the project.

Adventist education in the EUDfaces important challenges. But underGod's guidance, committed leaders,consecrated teachers, and creative stu-

dents are doingtheir best to achievethe gospel missionin old Europe. ✐_________________Roberto Badenas isDirector of Educationfor the Euro-Africa Di-vision in Berne, Swit-zerland.

Administration building, Saleve Adventist University, France.

Students from Marienhoehe College, the Ad-ventist secondary school in Germany, work ona mission project.

A Marienhoehe dormitory student is baptizedby the school’s youth pastor. Oliveira do Douro Adventist Secondary School

in Vila Nova Gaia, Portugal, celebrates 30 yearsof education ministry.



Because of its immediateproximity to the UnitedStates, the Caribbean basinis often affected adverselyby whatever happens to thenorth. The 9/11 terrorist

attack was no exception. This crisis,which affected the U.S. economy, alsohad a devastating effect on many parts ofthe Inter-American Division (IAD). Forexample, decreased tourism has affectedprivate enterprises, which include theAdventist educational system. However,God has been merciful, and our educa-tional system has survived despite thesechallenges. Throughout the past fiveyears, other circumstances such as politi-cal tensions and currency devaluationhave been major obstacles, but thesehave not discouraged our teachers, whocontinue to fulfill the mission of thechurch. Adventist education continuesto confront all these challenges and tothrive.

Graduate EducationDuring this quinquennium, the In-

ter-American Adventist TheologicalSeminary received candidacy status fromthe Association of Theological Schools.The seminary offers a Master of Arts inpastoral theology and a Doctor of Min-istry. These programs are offered on thecampuses of selected tertiary institutionswithin the IAD. Another major step inprofessional education was the openingof the School of Dentistry at Monte-morelos University—the first of its kindin the division. Antillian Adventist Uni-versity now offers a Master’s degree ineducation. Northern Caribbean Univer-

sity has expanded its graduate programto offer a Ph.D. in education, and re-cently received accreditation of its Mas-ter’s program in business administrationfrom the local government.

Undergraduate LevelOf the 12 tertiary institutions in the

Inter-American Division territory, allbut one are accredited by the AdventistAccrediting Association and their re-spective governments. By the time thisreport appears, that institution will bewell on its way to receiving accreditationfrom its local government. A staff of1,016 teachers caters to an enrollment of12,391 students in three major lan-guages: English, Spanish, and French.

In June 2004, the first IAD conven-tion for college professors was held atMontemorelos University with thetheme, “Pursuing Excellency While

Preserving the Mission.” More than 200participants met to renew their commit-ment to Christian education. A conven-tion highlight was the agreement for allinstitutions to collaborate in the areas of

Surviving and SucceedingB Y C A R L O S A R C H B O L D

IADINTER-AMERICAN DIVISION

The Maranatha Adventist Elementary School inVenezuela was chosen by local officials in 2003as the best Christian school.

Puerto Rico Adventist middle and high school students participate in a public health awarenessevent.



research and support.Two institutions were upgraded from

high school to college level. First, in theoutskirts of Navojoa, North Mexico,Colegio del Pacifico became Universi-dad de Navojoa. This institution has fullaccreditation by the state and has made apositive impact in the surrounding com-munity. In South Mexico, in addition toColegio Linda Vista (secondary level),there is now Universidad Linda Vista.The governor of the state of Chiapaswas present at the inauguration cere-mony of this institution. His olderbrothers, and three members of his cabi-net who accompanied him to the cere-mony, completed their high school edu-cation at Colegio Linda Vista. Thisevent was a stirring testimony to the in-fluence of Adventist education.

Another milestone was the increasedenrollment at Northern Caribbean Uni-versity (NCU) from 1,800 in 1999 to al-most 5,000 in 2004. In fact, NCU hasbecome one of the favored tertiary insti-tutions in Jamaica.

Whether in Colombia, Puerto Rico,Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Haiti,Venezuela, or Costa Rica, we rejoice atthe consistent growth and maturity ofstudents and committed teaching staff.

The Adventist Church has been veryfortunate to obtain permission from theCuban government to operate a semi-nary to prepare pastors. For severalyears, it operated as an extension ofMontemorelos University, but after a re-cent evaluation, it was recommended

that the seminary operate independently.This will give it some flexibility to ad-dress the unique educational needs ofthe society in which it is located.

Secondary and Elementary Educa-tion

The closing report for 2004 indicatesthat there are 336 secondary schools and680 elementary schools, with 137,222students enrolled in these levels, ofwhich 61,883 are Adventists. At the K-12 level, 8,186 teachers are employed.The division is divided into 15 unions;11 are Spanish-speaking, two areFrench, and two are English.

The past five years have seen someof the most active hurricane seasons inthe history of this region. Several of theunions were hit hard by these storms.

But the system survived. One example ofgreat determination and faith occurredin Haiti, the union with the most mem-bers. In addition to the other challengesin their school system, they sufferedgreat losses during the 2004 hurricaneseason. Recognizing the need for exter-nal assistance, the union director of edu-cation created a foundation that has al-ready gathered support from outside thecountry to help train teachers and buildnew schools, since only 15 percent ofour Haitian schools have their ownbuildings.

Adventism in Mexico has experi-enced substantial changes during thepast few years. For a long time, it was achallenge to operate private schools inMexico. In recent years, Adventistschools have become well known in

Puerto Rico academy students march in a non-smoking rally through the streets of old San Juan.

Colegio Algeciras students in front of their remodeled school building in Colombia.



their communities and have won recog-nition for their performance.

Our two English-speaking unionsare located in the Caribbean, wheremany of the islands also suffered the ef-fects of the recent hurricanes, especiallyin 2004. However, enrollment in theSouth Caribbean area has increased,with 1,750 baptisms from the schoolprotectorate during the quinquennium.One of the outstanding events in thatunion is the annual talent parade. Highschool students from across the unionconvene to showcase their artistic talentsand public-speaking skills. The logisticsof the event are challenging, since gath-ering students from 14 high schools in avariety of island countries requires sub-

stantial travel and lodging expenses.However, participating in this activitycontinues to be the dream of the stu-dents.

Puerto Rico also had its share ofhurricanes, but has recuperated fromtheir effects, and its educational pro-gram is very strong. As a commonwealthassociated with the United States, the is-land qualifies for educational develop-ment funds, so our church wrote a suc-cessful proposal to fund more than 60workshops and seminars for their teach-ing staff. Reading the New Testament asa school project was a great success bothat the elementary and secondary level.To further strengthen the Adventistcommitment to service, they have addeda course in community service for allsecondary-level students.

Venezuela has had its share of politi-cal tensions and difficult moments, butthe Adventist educational system hassurvived. In 2003, in the state of Bolivar,the Maranatha School was chosen by lo-cal authorities as the best Christianschool. In Puerto Ordaz, Colegio An-drés Bello won both first and secondprize at the state level in the TwelfthConference on Science and Technology.

When hurricane winds threatened,our territory had to make necessarypreparations. In like manner, recogniz-ing the many challenges our schools mayface, we are developing strategies toboth address the threats and take advan-tage of the opportunities. We feel as-

sured that with God’shelp, the success ofAdventist education iscertain. ✐__________________Carlos Archbold isDirector of Education forthe Inter-American Divi-sion in Coral Gables,Florida, U.S.A.

The recorder group for the Savonna-la-mar Adventist Preparatory School plays at the West JamaicaReaders Expo.

Administration building of the new Navojoa University in Mexico.

The inspiration behind the School of DentalTechnicians, Dr. Lloyd Baum (far left), and hisfamily with the bust erected in his honor atMontemorelos University in Mexico.

The large new gymnatorium at NorthernCaribbean University in Jamaica can accom-modate the school’s growing enrollment.


NADNORTH AMERICANDIVISION


The world changed dramati-cally during the 2000-2005quinquenium. Nowhere hasthat change been felt morethan in the North AmericanDivision (NAD). The new

reality of a dangerous world has made usmore aware, more careful, and morefocused. Adventist education has re-sponded to this change.

One of the Adventist Church’s greatgifts to its members is Christian educa-tion. This ministry unifies the efforts ofthe home, church, and school to saveour youth. As educators, we have cor-rectly set our sights on academic excel-lence, but our primary mission is salva-tion.

The division and union educationleadership are processing all policy, rela-tionships, and curriculum developmentthrough this mission perspective. Be-cause “In the highest sense the work ofeducation and the work of redemptionare one . . .” (Ellen G. White, Education,p. 30), we must aspire to excellence ineverything we do.

Journey to ExcellenceTo ensure high-quality education,

NAD has embarked on a new journey, aJourney to Excellence (J2E). This is thebasis of curriculum development, mar-keting, professional development, andschool improvement. J2E is not a pro-gram; rather, it is who we want to be andhow we plan to achieve our goals. (Seehttp://www.journeytoexcellence.org/.)

Journey to Excellence presents 10 goalsevery student should realize, all focused

on personal growth and eternal values:1. Acceptance of God 2. Commitment to the Church 3. Interpersonal Relationships 4. Responsible Citizenship 5. Healthy Balanced Living6. Intellectual Development7. Communication Skills8. Personal Management9. Aesthetic Appreciation10. Career and Service J2E materials provide teachers with

preferred practices to help them achieveeach goal in their classrooms. Unionsare implementing the J2E initiative byin-servicing personnel and leadingschools to develop improvement goals.

All school accreditation/evaluationinstruments have been revised to reflectthe J2E model. Through agreementswith the regional accrediting associa-tions, Adventist schools may now chooseto be accredited by those bodies alongwith their Adventist accreditation. Theevaluation instruments, with all NADeducation documents and forms, havebeen placed on the Office of EducationWebsite in interactive PDF format,making it easy for administrators to sub-mit their data.

MarketingNAD has embarked on a marketing

initiative, developing research-based

Journey to Excellence:Mission, Curriculum,

and CollaborationB Y G E R A L D K O VA L S K I

A student from Battle Creek Academy in Michigan demonstrates his model of a dam at the school’sscience fair.



materials that highlight the purpose ofAdventist education, its value to thechurch, and its focus on excellence. Re-search has included holding focusgroups across NAD with parents, educa-tors, pastors, students, and board mem-bers. Additionally, a telephone survey ofAdventist parents whose children are notenrolled in church schools asked how wecould make the system more attractiveto them. The data will be used forschool improvement and marketing. Anew NAD Adventist education logo andtheme have been adopted, and a market-ing video with accompanying materialsis now available. In February 2005, thefirst of a biannual series of marketingseminars was held for school and confer-ence leaders. Through this ongoing ini-tiative, we hope to grow enrollment andmake Adventist education available tomore children and young people. (Formore information, see http://www.nadeducation.org/marketing.)

Christian service and outreach con-tinues to be a very important emphasisin NAD schools. Students from sec-ondary schools and colleges serve inmany locations around the world, as wellas in their local communities. They havebuilt churches and schools, assisted incommunities struck by disasters, andheld Vacation Bible Schools and evange-listic meetings, leaving each venturewith hearts committed to service.

TechnologyAdventist education has adopted an

integrated approach to technology. Stu-dents are using the Internet, Power-Point, robotics, and other resources toenhance their educational experience.Teachers are increasingly connected toWeb resources and one another. A Tech-nology and Distance Education Com-mittee monitors and recommends direc-tions for the division’s elementary andsecondary schools. (See http://www.nadtdec.org/.)

The CIRCLE Website service,sponsored by the NAD Office of Educa-tion and General Conference Depart-ment of Education, functions as a clear-inghouse and resource for curriculumand other instructional resources. Thereare currently more than 4,000 links toresource materials at the CIRCLE site,

which had nearly six million hits in2004. (See http://www. circle.adventist.org/.)

New TextbooksThe Crossroads Series secondary re-

ligion textbooks, completed in 2000, arenow in use. The last of the elementaryreligion textbooks are currently beingintroduced. These books represent amajor commitment of time and re-sources by NAD, which continues astrong focus on the study of the Bible,

salvation and related history, and practi-cal life issues.

A new K-8 integrated reading, phon-ics, spelling, and language-arts programwill be introduced in schools for the2006-2007 school year. It will have anintentional Seventh-day Adventist andnurturing focus. The NAD Office ofEducation is working with the Ellen G.White Estate to identify ways to incor-porate more prophetic studies and de-nominational history into the curricu-lum.

Higher Education CollaborationIn November 2002, representatives

from the administration of the 15 NADcolleges and universities, along with theNAD vice president for education, es-tablished the Association of AdventistColleges and Universities (AACU) toenhance system-wide cooperation andcollaboration. AACU has adopted fourinitial strategies: (1) strategic enrollmentmanagement/marketing, (2) distance ed-ucation collaboration, (3) young adultjob placement/church renewal, and (4)human and financial resource utilization.The Adventist Distance Education Con-sortium is enabling enhanced institu-tional cooperation by offering studentseasy access to distance-educationcourses, regardless of where they arestudying or the courses being taught.(See http://www.adventistedu.org/.)

An Idaho student works hard at his studies.

Teachers’ editions of the new elementary Bible textbooks.



Adventist Colleges AbroadDespite concerns about terrorism

and political unrest, Adventist CollegesAbroad (ACA) continues its dynamicprograms, which enable NAD studentsto study languages and cultures in 11other countries, and benefit participat-ing colleges in Europe and South Amer-ica. Since 2000, 1,565 students have par-ticipated in summer and academic-yearACA programs.

As NAD develops materials and cur-riculum resources, we remain mindful ofthe possible benefits to other divisions.We want to grow, to ensure excellence,and to incorporate the latest innova-tions, but most important, we want todo everything possible to help our stu-dents and teachers experience a personalrelationship with the Master Teacher.That is our true calling.

For more information about Ad-ventist education in the North AmericanDivision, visit our Website at http://www.nadeducation.org/. ✐

___________________

Gerald Kovalski is VicePresident for Education ofthe North American Divi-sion (NAD) in SilverSpring, Maryland, U.S.A.Odette Ferreira, NADDirector for Adventist Col-leges Abroad; Erma Lee,NAD Associate Directorfor Elementary Education;

and Larry Blackmer, NAD Associate Direc-tor for Secondary Education, also contributed tothis report.

Mission trips enable students to help people and learn new skills.Multigrade schools give children a chance to make newfriends and help each other learn.

Graduating class 2004, Highland Academy, Portland,Tennessee.

As an important part of the Journey to Excellence, North American Division students become profi-cient in using the Internet, PowerPoint, robotics, and other resources.



Hands-on science and nature study are part ofthe curriculum in NAD schools.

At Pacific Union College and other Adventist colleges, fine arts, academics, and spiritual life arecombined to ensure a wholistic education.

Students from Milo Academy in Oregon help neighbors in the community.LSU students celebrate the La Sierra University Chamber Singers’ per-formance at Carnegie Hall in New York in November 2004.

Participation on medical mission trips stirred the passion of Dr. Michael Duehrssen, director of the new international rescue and relief program at UnionCollege in Lincoln, Nebraska, to create an academic program that would prepare students for a variety of service-focused careers.


NSDNORTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC DIVISION


Something new, somethingchallenging, somethingtransformational. Thatsums up the educationalministry of the AdventistChurch in the Northern

Asia-Pacific Division.Consider the new. Not quite new,

but an old emphasis brought back to lifein Hiroshima. Much like the city itself,which arose from the aftermath of theworld’s first atomic destruction. Just out-side the city is Hiroshima Saniku Ga-kuin—our Adventist secondary boardingschool. The school currently serves 300students and has 44 teachers, all Advent-ists. Only 36 percent of this past year’sstudent body was Adventist, but wheneach school year begins, the board andthe faculty of the institution are deter-mined to make the school Adventist inevery sense of the word. Every student,regardless of his or her financial statusor religious orientation, is expected toparticipate in all activities of the school:spiritual, academic, and physical.

In addition to the traditional cur-riculum, which follows the governmentsyllabi, the school has a comprehensivereligious component, which all studentsare required to take. This componentfocuses on Bible teaching and integra-tion of faith and learning in all classes.But what is unique for most students iswork education. Every student is ex-pected to put in eight hours per week ofmanual labor. The policy is announcedpublicly in advertisements, the schoolbulletin, and the application procedure.All parents and students are expected to

sign the work agreement for students tobe eligible to enroll. And they do. Nowages are paid for this minimum workrequirement; students who want to earnpart of their expenses must work beyondthe eight hours. All teachers are ex-pected to join in actual labor—not justsupervision. The religious, academic,and work education create a dynamicAdventist emphasis that has made theHiroshima school one of the mostsought after in the country. “We learn,”said one of the outgoing students, “notonly what is good for our professionalfuture, but also for our interpersonal re-

lationship in the community.” Hi-roshima Saniku Gakuin has revivedsomething old and turned itself into avibrant, wholistic, and dynamic part ofeducation in that city.

Education Is EvangelismConsider the challenge. Mongolia—

that distant, mysterious land, almost un-known to the rest of the world—is ourmission field. The Japan Union wantedto do something special for the country,so they threw out the challenge to the10 Adventist elementary schools in theircountry. The technologically and eco-

Toward the University of the

RedeemedB Y M A S A J I U Y E D A

Outdoor art class at Hancook Academy in South Korea.



nomically most advanced country in Asiaon the one hand, and perhaps the mostchallenging country on the other, joinedtogether on the Adventist platform ofeducation. Teachers and students of Ad-

ventist elementary schools in Japanpooled their human and financial re-sources to help establish the first Ad-ventist kindergarten and elementaryschool in Mongolia. The initial donation

in 2005 amounted to $13,500. Just amustard seed! But by God’s grace, whoknows what that small seed will do forGod’s glory and the service of the com-munity in Mongolia? After all, Adventisteducation is evangelism.

An Act of FaithConsider the transformational.

When Sahmyook Nursing and HealthCollege was opened and accredited bythe church in the late 1990s in Seoul,South Korea, it was an act of faith. Al-ready, Sahmyook University, the largestAdventist university in the world interms of enrollment and campus bap-tisms, just down the road was offering anursing program, and the city has sev-eral non-Adventist nursing schools. Butthis one began with a vision—to be ateaching institution not only in nursing,but also in teaching the concepts ofwholesome health and beauty. Today,the college is one of the top institutionsin the country, with the 2000 applica-tion-to-acceptance ratio being 30 to 1,the second largest in the country. In

Interview with the Minister of Education, Mongolia.

Year-end musical performance at Donghao Adventist Primary School in South Korea.



2005, the college received a governmentgrant equivalent to U.S.$700,000 to de-velop educational-industrial collabora-tion. The cosmetic and beauty depart-ment of the college is known throughoutthe country for producing a range ofproducts from plants and grains. Thedepartment’s graduates are able to set upindependent businesses, and its lifelongeducation center has more than 240 stu-dents. Graduates from the departmentsof nursing, dental hygiene, cosmetology,health and social welfare, and medical-information systems have easy access towork opportunities.

Academic Excellence, SpiritualGrowth

South Korea’s Sahmyook Universityand College continue to dominate theeducational map of the country. Enroll-ment for 2004 numbered about 6,200 in35 departments. The university and col-lege’s 155 full-time professors, assistedby 180 staff members and 400 part-timefaculty, are committed to imparting aneducation that excels in academics andintegrates learning with faith. A com-mon feature of the university is the highintake of non-Adventist students at thebeginning of the school year. Last year,1,700 of the 2,000 freshmen were non-Adventists. But the university facultyand Adventist students are committed toturning every dorm room and every

class appointment into a mission field.Witnessing, sharing, just being friendly,bringing a friend to Sabbath school—and every other conceivable approach—led to 900 baptisms at the end of the2003-2004 school year. The commissionof Matthew 28:18 is the focus of the uni-versity’s existence.

But Sahmyook University, in empha-

sizing the spiritual, does not neglect theacademic. Take, for example, the agri-culture program. Last year, the depart-ment solicited a government grant for aresearch project on the embryo-transfertechnique to mass produce Korean na-tive cattle. Submitting a research projectis a highly competitive business, butthanks to God and the prayers of the

Student volunteers from the Adventist academy in Hiroshima, Japan, participate in a beautificationprogram by picking up garbage along a nearby road.

Week of Prayer at Hahnkook Senior Academy in Seoul, South Korea.

Hiroshima secondary-level students perform aminimum of eight hours of manual labor eachweek.



faculty and students, Sahmyook Univer-sity was awarded a grant equivalent toU.S.$1.8 million for the next threeyears.

The same commitment to excellenceis seen in other departments of the uni-versity, especially in arts, science, andmusic. The university keeps the flag ofAdventist education flying high.

The Threefold EducationChinese Union Mission operates two

colleges—one in Taiwan, one in HongKong. Although small, they serve an im-portant role in preparing teachers andother workers for the Adventist Chinese

communities throughout the world, aswell as supportive lay members for thechurch. Hong Kong has four secondaryschools, and each is named Sam Yuk,which literally means threefold educa-tion (spiritual, social, and mental). TheHong Kong schools excel in their aca-demic achievements, and their studentshave opportunities to enroll in exchangeprograms in universities and colleges inAustralia, England, and the UnitedStates. The Chinese Union Mission de-veloped its own Bible textbooks, whichare used throughout the high schools inthe union.

Two years ago, Taiwan Adventist

College introduced a new program,known as San Yu Adventure Education,which combines adventure and instruc-tion to produce wholistic developmentin students. Field trips, cliff scaling,boating, mountain-climbing, and otheroutdoor activities are combined withspiritual life and academics to ensure all-round development. The activities aredesigned to encourage physical develop-ment, communication skills, and interac-tion among students, innovations insolving social problems, and, of course,to encourage students to know and lovethe Creator. This adventure in educa-tion brings a new vibrancy and challengeto classroom teaching: Education takesplace not simply with books, but also inGod’s great book of nature.

What is the future of Adventist edu-cation in the Northern Asia-Pacific Di-vision? From Mongolia to Japan, wehave only one answer: Every Adventistchild in an Adventist school, and everyAdventist school a medium of transmit-ting God’s love and power in the com-munity. To minister, to spread God’sgood news, and to hasten the coming ofthe University of the Redeemed is theultimate purpose of Adventist education

in the Northern Asia-Pacific Division. ✐____________________

Masaji Uyeda is Directorof Education for the North-ern Asia-Pacific Division inKoyang Ilsan, Republic ofKorea.

Graduate students from Sahmyook University in Seoul, South Korea, meet for a small-group discus-sion.

Students from Taiwan Adventist College in Nantou County,Taiwan, Republic of China, participate ina group jump rope performance.

Cheerful students pose for a brochure describ-ing the Sahmyook Nursing and Health Collegein Seoul, South Korea.


SADSOUTH AMERICANDIVISION


During the past five years,education in the SouthAmerican Division hasbeen consolidated. Manypublications were pro-duced that provide infor-

mation and orientation, encourage unity,and foster plans for medium- and long-range planning. These include the bian-nual South American Education Magazineand two monthly electronic bulletins,Educ@ção On Line and Plantando Escolas.

From March 2000 to March 2004,the Education Department produced aweekly television program that reachedthe eight countries in the division viasatellite.

To provide orientation and en-courage unity, various manuals wereproduced, including a proceduresmanual, which was launched in2000, and various evaluation manu-als.

Throughout the division, peoplerecognize Adventist education byour standardized logo and banner,and by the uniforms worn by the190,000 students enrolled in ourschools.

Our most important accomplish-ment was the production and sale ofmore than 10,000 copies of thebook, Seventh-day Adventist Peda-gogy, which was under developmentfor five years. The union directorsof education and educational coun-selors in local fields collaborated onthis in-depth analysis and synthesisof the writings of Ellen G. White.

In the area of educational plan-

ning, three Ten Year Plans were pro-duced. The Plan Brazil 2010 carefullyassessed the previous decade and madeprojections about elementary and sec-ondary education to 2015. This 320-page plan was developed after a carefulevaluation in each of the 34 Portuguese-language conferences and missions, withthe participation of administrators andeducation departments. Evaluationswere also carried out in each of the 27Spanish-speaking unions, conferences,and missions.

Finally, in March 2002, we held aconvention of the union, conference,and mission departmental secretaries to

complete the planning. Attendees visited30 educational institutions. At some ofthem, short seminars were held, focus-ing on educational themes of impor-tance to the institution, and printed ma-terial and information were distributedon CD’s.

The third plan was created especiallyfor the superior/university level, as a re-sult of a request made by the GeneralConference. The most important as-pects of University Plan 2020 are its fo-cus on the problem of secularization,and coordination of planning for theuniversity level during the next 15 years.

The division director of educationvisited each of the universities and,together with the local administra-tion, carried out a careful assessmentof the previous decade and planningfor the future.

Great Focus on CreationismIn recent years, the topic of cre-

ationism has gained national mediaattention, especially in Brazil.Widely circulated newspapers andmagazines noted the church’s em-phasis in this area. For example, anarticle in Revista Época (Epoc Maga-zine) observed that “One of themain focuses of creationist teachingin Brazil is a private network of Sev-enth-day Adventist schools and uni-versities” (May 24, 2004).

In the past five to six years, twodozen books, videos, and CD’s havebeen produced on the subject, morethan in the entire previous century.Centers of Creationist Studies were

Growth, Plans, andPublications

BY ROBERTO CESAR DE AZEVEDO´



established in the more than 200 SADsecondary schools.

The Brazilian Creationist Societycontributed significantly to this achieve-ment. On November 2, 2004, its head-quarters in Brasília was officially inaugu-rated. This society produces a weeklyhalf-hour television program—De OlhoNas Origens (Looking at Origins), broad-cast via satellite to all eight countries inthe division. Twice each year, the societyalso produces the Revista Criacionista(Creationist Magazine), and for elemen-tary students, De Olho Nas Origens (Look-ing at Origins).

The division launched a large bill-

board campaign in Brazil during the2003 school year, exalting the Creatorand promoting Adventist education.

Global MissionThroughout the entire division terri-

tory, our schools participate actively inevangelism. Most of the larger institu-tions establish one new congregationeach year.

In fact, some schools and academieshave opened before the establishment ofchurches. After they began to function, acompany is established, and from there achurch is organized! This began in thepioneer phase of the church’s history inArgentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, andChile, and is still happening today.

The schools are participating inevangelizing of the 10/40 Window

through volunteer ser-vice by teachers and stu-dents.

TextbooksOur publishing

houses in Brazil and Ar-gentina are producingtextbooks. At the ele-mentary and secondarylevels, we now have reli-gious education text-books in both Spanishand Portuguese.

In Brazil, plans have begun to pro-duce textbooks in religious education atthe superior/university level.

The SAD has made great advancesin the production of Portuguese text-books for all elementary subject areas.This includes almost 100 titles. At theend of 2004, the four volumes of thetextbook Educación para la Vida (Educa-tion for Life) were completed in Spanish.

One new project is the use of themagazine Nosso Amiguinho (Our LittleFriend) at the elementary level and theYouth Bible with the Adventist educa-tion logo.

Doubling Enrollment at the Univer-sity Level

Tertiary enrollment has grown from8,476 students in 2000 to almost 17,000students in 2004. During this period,our universities in Argentina, Bolivia,and Chile were recognized nationallyand received complete autonomy. Brazil

Adventist University’scredentials were re-newed in 2004.

With the schoolsgrowing so rapidly, ithas been a great chal-lenge to consolidatethe system, obtainqualified Seventh-dayAdventist professors,prevent creeping secu-larization, and offerhigh-quality educationbased on Adventist ed-

ucational philosophy.Projections suggest a smaller rate of

growth the next few years, reaching ap-proximately 20,000 university studentsby 2010.

Academies Increase EnrollmentsThe SAD academy enrollment grew

to 34,060 students between 2000 and2004, an increase of 12 percent. We ex-pect that in the next five years, sec-ondary enrollment will surpass 40,000students, in some 250 academies.

Growth and Recovery at the Elemen-tary Level

Between 2000 and 2003, due to eco-nomic factors and the standardizing ofschools throughout the division terri-tory, we experienced a loss of about11,000 elementary students (139,000versus 150,000 students). However, in2004, enrollment recovered somewhatto approximately 139,600 students. Thissituation reinforced the need for a well-thought-out Ten Year Plan, and the oneimplemented in 2003 aided in thegrowth recovery.

In the next five years, with God’scontinued blessing, we expect to enrollas many as 150,000 elementary students.

We thank God and all of the dedi-cated people who have contributed tothe growth and advance in the area ofeducation in the South American Divi-

sion throughout theyears. ✐___________________

Roberto César deAzevedo is Director ofEducation for the SouthAmerican Division inBrasilia, Brazil.


SPDSOUTH PACIFICDIVISION


The 2000 education report forthe South Pacific Division(SPD) portrayed an advanc-ing system. As shown by acomparison of student en-rollments in 2000 and 2004,

the trend continues. Our numbers havegrown by more than 5,000, good newsindeed. While the system’s vigor and in-novative spirit continue to manifestthemselves, a cluster of challenging is-sues and developments has also emergedto test our resolve. This report will chartthe direction of our recent journey.

Political ChangesFirst, the church’s political and edu-

cational map in the South Pacificchanged markedly after 2000, with ourfive unions being reduced to four. Oneof our new unions, the Trans PacificUnion Mission (TPUM), combined twounions and must now manage small edu-cational systems in nine countries. Ournew Australian Union also combinedtwo unions and acquired a strong educa-tion team. The SPD curriculum unitmoved to that office, meaning that ourdivision-level team lost two members.

Our most recent innovations go be-yond the restructuring of unions. In thepast two years, in response to economichardships, we have obtained more gov-ernment funding for teacher salaries inPacific nations. In the Papua NewGuinea Union, this resulted in the par-tial restructuring of our education sys-tem to improve accountability and makeit easier for us to deal with the govern-ment.

Economic Pressures in the PacificGovernments in the Pacific Islands

region are now controlling educationmore than before 2000, and they arefunding schools better through the useof overseas aid. Meanwhile, faced withthe escalating costs of education, thechurch has steadily withdrawn expatriatebudgets and granted more autonomy tolocal missions. In addition, our tertiaryinstitutions continue to need substantialhelp. Consequently, many schools arenow run by local communities, withlessened financial and professional sup-port from their missions. We are notabout to give up on these, and still countthem in our statistical report as Advent-

ist schools. However, given these pres-sures, it has been a challenge to sustainthe quality and competitive advantageenjoyed by Adventist schools in the past.

Adventist EthosMuch of the SPD system now ac-

cepts all or part of its funding forteacher salaries from various nationalgovernments. Given the increased con-trol brought about by this funding, oureducation directors are more committedthan ever to identifying the “specialcharacter” or ethos of Adventist educa-tion and ensuring that school policy andpractice reflect it. Schools in Australiaand New Zealand are developing inno-

Reorganization, EconomicPressures, and Adventist

DistinctivesBY BARRY HILL

Happy students at Suvavou Primary School in Fiji.



vative chaplaincy programs, and allSPD schools are reaching outthrough “intentional evangelism” totheir non-Adventist students andparents.

Continuing its excellent workfrom earlier days, the AustralianUnion Conference CurriculumUnit has produced additional frame-works and other resources to helpschools integrate faith throughoutthe curriculum and cope with cur-riculum changes demanded by thevarious states.

Enlightened government policyin New Zealand requires all the Ad-ventist schools in its “integrated”state system to clearly manifest anddocument their “special character.”It is encouraging to see abundantevidence of this focus in classroomdisplays, policies, and teacher-stu-dent relationships. In the union ed-ucation office, Lanelle Cobbin hascreated practical resources forteaching values and developing relation-ships in schools, and is implementing asystematic program to help teachers usethese resources to build faith in allschools. We predict that this kind ofwork will spread throughout the SPD.

Developing In-Service ProgramThe division has always had two eco-

nomic zones, Australia-New Zealandand the Pacific Islands, which differmarkedly in wealth and school quality.Since 2000, our division education officehas developed Les Devine’s concept ofconducting teacher in-services to linkthese contrasting zones. SPD AssociateEducation Director Ken Weslakearranges up to 20 events a year, fundedby donors and ADRA Australia’s annualallocation. Local Pacific teachers aretaken by plane, truck, or boat to some-

what remote centers to hear the pre-senters, mostly teachers from Australiaor New Zealand. Both presenters andattendees receive a blessing.

The Australian Union has started asuccessful program to prepare and in-duct its new principals through annualseminars. In order to develop systemleadership, the SPD has run annual con-ferences for current principals of theAustralian and New Zealand unions, and

seminars to help Pacific Island prin-cipals master the basics of runningan Adventist school.

Development of Larger SchoolsIn Australia, there has been a

trend toward establishing K-12schools, with their attendant com-plexities. In fact, five of the 55 Aus-tralian schools now enroll almost 40percent of that system’s students.

New Zealand’s schools continueto grow, but are limited in size bystate regulations—a trade-off forgovernment subsidies. In the Pacificunions, a handful of urban schoolsare growing quite large, as are a fewschools in rural areas with strongcommunity support.

Accompanying this growth hasbeen a significant increase in thenumber of non-Adventist studentsenrolled. While more pronounced inAustralia and New Zealand, thistrend is evident throughout the divi-

sion. Consequently, teachers who joinour system with no Adventist under-graduate teaching preparation or experi-ence in denominational schools are nowinducted into an understanding of “Ad-ventist distinctives” in regional seminarsearly in the school year.

Quality AssuranceWe appreciate the professional help

of the General Conference in accredit-

Education faculty, Avondale College, Cooranbong, NewSouth Wales, Australia.

Fulton College, Suva, Fiji. Fiji elementary students enjoy the personalized attention in their classroom.



ing our tertiary institutions. At all levelsin the SPD, our school accreditationprocess continues to support quality as-surance, and Adventist Schools Australia(the formal name of the Australian sys-tem) is continuing to refine the strategicplanning process it started before 2000.

Our New Zealand schools are re-quired to participate in a stringent gov-ernment quality-assurance program thatalso includes strategic planning. Thegovernment Education Review Officeconducts rigorous audits in all ourschools and publishes their reports onnational Websites and in local newspa-pers. Throughout the SPD, we are start-ing to add principal and teacher evalua-tions to the quality-assurance process.

Higher EducationStudent enrollment continues to

grow in the SPD’s four tertiary institu-tions. Avondale College broke the“1,000 barrier” for the first time in2005. Its new off-campus Master’s pro-gram has flourished, with 129 scholarsenrolled this year. Meanwhile, the col-lege continues to pursue the lengthy andrigorous process of gaining universitystatus.

While embarking on an ambitiousbuilding program, Pacific AdventistUniversity (PAU) has also enrolled arecord number of students (almost 500).In addition to its new church, it is cur-rently adding new dormitories and ahealth-science education facility, with anadministration block to follow.

Since 2000, the SPD tertiary institu-tions have found many ways to collabo-rate and consolidate. First, our SopasHospital School of Nursing moved ontothe PAU campus. Then, following itssuccessful primary teacher-education af-filiation with PAU, Fulton College hasbegun to offer part of a PAU theologydegree program. In addition, SonomaAdventist College in New Guinea hasjust formally signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with PAU, meaning thatPAU will validate its academic pro-grams.

ConclusionIn the past five years, demands on

the wider church and financial stressesin our tertiary institutions and schools

Students from Ironback Christian School inAustralia explore nature.

A drama presentation by Australian secondarystudents.

Samoan primary students learn practical skills.

Students from the Southland Adventist Christian School in New Zealand.



have created competition for diminish-ing resources. However, we have seengood growth in the tertiary sector andthe mushrooming of some largerschools. Our professional developmentprogram is progressing well, and wecontinue to develop our strategic plan-ning and distinctive Adventist ethos andcurricula. It is our goal in the comingquinquennium to continue to apply andlive our vision, and to show our clients

the wonderful thingsthat Adventist educa-tion can do. ✐___________________Barry Hill is Director ofEducation for the SouthPacific Division in Wah-roonga, New South Wales,Australia.

Avondale, Australia, secondary school band. Catering class at Avondale Secondary School.

Students participate in a daily work program atFulton College in Fiji.

Avondale secondary students on a campout.

Students at South Auckland Adventist Primary School in New Zealand.

Students relax in front of the Avondale Collegechapel.


SIDSOUTHERN AFRICA-INDIAN OCEAN DIVISION


In the 21st century, Adventist ed-ucational leaders in the SouthernAfrica-Indian Ocean Division (SID)are asking the following questions:

1. What is the real purpose ofSeventh-day Adventist education in

this division?2. What kind of church members do

we want our children to grow up to be?3. How can we design Adventist

schools so that students will acquire theskills they need to live productive lives?

These are just a few questions thatare being discussed in offices and meet-ings. Based on surveys and an educationsummit, we have developed the follow-ing goals for Seventh-day Adventist edu-cation in SID:

1. Our Students Will Develop a Lifeof Faith and Commitment

Through encouragement, prayer,and study of God’s Word, students willdevelop a faith commitment and a re-spect for the dignity of all human be-ings. To promote this, the formal Biblecurriculum will be used at all levels, andreligion classes will be taught by quali-fied, committed Adventist teachers.

Further, in consultation with theGeneral Conference Education Depart-ment, the SID Education Departmentwill organize Bible textbook-writingworkshops.

2. Our Students Will Acquire BasicSkills

When students leave our schools, re-gardless of the level at which they exit,

Rigorous and Relevant Learning for the

21st CenturyBY TOM NKUNGULA

Students at Maranatha High School,Taung, Northern Cape, South Africa.

Beit Hall, a newly added facility at Solusi University in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, has a seating capacityof 3,000 people.



they must have acquired basic skills tosurvive and succeed in the world ofwork. There must be no gaps betweenwhat we teach and what is actually re-quired in the real world.

As a result, SID schools will inte-grate into the curriculum practical skillslike computer technology, building andmasonry, agriculture (poultry, soil, andcrop science, horticulture, etc.), archi-tecture, graphic design, and auto tech-nology.

3. Our Schools Will Employ High-Quality Teachers

To provide a wholistic education, ourschools must have qualified and dedi-cated teachers who are adequately up-

graded in their specialties. The teachers’attitudes and skills have a huge effect onthe students’ everyday experiences andsuccess.

When the teachers are adequatelyprepared and believe in the philosophyand mission of the school, they are ex-cited about their jobs and see their roleas not only developing skills, but also asmodeling a Christian worldview. Theirenthusiasm motivates the students to ac-complish great things in life.

4. We Will Upgrade and Modernizethe School Buildings and Environ-ment

We are committed to ensuring thatevery student fulfills his or her potential.

We thus seek to develop school struc-tures and relationships (environment)that nurture the strengths and energiesof each student. Effective schools startwith the student, not the curriculum.

To achieve these goals, we are inves-tigating innovations that will produceschool improvement—building new,modern structures with up-to-dateequipment, upgrading existing build-ings, and seeking to ensure the qualityand relevance of Adventist education.

5. We Will Teach the Three R’s andMore

Although reading, ’riting, and ’rith-metic are still important in the 21st cen-tury, they are not enough to counter thechallenges our students will face whenthey join the world market. Withoutcommitment, a rigorous curriculum, andrelevant learning, they will find it ex-tremely difficult to succeed in life.

In the 21st century, learning has tobe rigorous and relevant. Students mustexperience intense concentration in anyactivity that requires skill, relevance, anddiscipline, regardless of its content.

Future Plans The SID Education Department is

implementing preferred Seventh-dayAdventist school practices, integratinginto all aspects of the system the follow-ing Focus Issues:

1. Opening new schools, with thesegoals:

a. Each local church district is to es-tablish at least one primary school bythe end of 2005.

b. Each conference/mission/associa-

Students at Mundondo Secondary School in Zimbabwe.

Teachers and administrators in front of the administration building at Mundondo Secondary School.Students enjoy singing at Fairview AdventistSchool in Zimbabwe.



tion is to establish at least one secondaryschool by the end of 2005.

c. The division is to build and oper-ate a special school for the internationalpersonnel serving in its territory.

2. Using 50 percent of the divisionbursary funds to train teachers for thenew schools, and to encourage unionsand conferences to embark on similarprograms for the teachers in their newschools.

3. Requiring all teachers who werenot trained in Adventist colleges to com-plete an in-service course in the Sev-enth-day Adventist Philosophy of Chris-tian Education.

4. Developing a strong marketingprogram to inform church membersabout the value and importance ofChristian education as outlined in Spiritof Prophecy books such as Education andFundamentals of Christian Education.

5. Ensuring that every school followsan Adventist curriculum that integratesfaith and learning.

6. Recommending that all denomi-national employees, wherever possible,send their children to Adventist schools.

7. Recommending that denomina-tional employees be urged to supportChristian education by donating at leasttwo percent of their monthly salary tothis worthy cause.

Students at Solusi High School in Zimbabwelearn practical skills in the woodworking class.

Solusi University was established to help its students attain spiritual, mental, physical, and emo-tional growth. Here, students take their vows before being baptized.

Nyahuni High School in Zimbabwe, which opened in 1985, offers classes up to A-Level.

Teachers and administrators in front of the administration building at Northwood Primary School inZimbabwe.

JAE_Summer2005_swcg2 6/22/05 5:31 PM


8. Encouraging all church membersin the division, including those in bap-tismal classes, to contribute money toChristian education.

9. Recommending that appropria-tions to denominational schools bebased on how well they adhere to thephilosophy of Adventist education, suchas the percentage of Seventh-day Ad-ventist students in these schools.

10. Requiring that each school ap-point a chaplain to carefor the spiritual needsof the students. ✐________________

Tom Nkungula is Edu-cation Director for theSouthern Africa-IndianOcean Division in High-lands, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Sports and play equipment at Presada Primary School in SouthAfrica.

Students provide input to the evaluation team visiting Nyazara Adventist HighSchool in Zimbabwe.

Students using the Ralph Watts Library at So-lusi University.

Students praying at West Rand AdventistSchool in Zimbabwe. Graduation at Solusi University.

Ladies’ hostel accommodations, Solusi University.


SUDSOUTHERN ASIADIVISION


Satya had no family excepthis grandmother. At birth,his teenage mother died ofcomplications. A few yearslater, his father was killedin an accident. The grand-

mother, aged, fragile, and poor, workedon the farm of the village landlord,earned what little she could, and did herbest for 10 years to care for Satya—tofeed and clothe him, and to send him tothe local government school, which was

also a partner in the poverty that shapedthat village. A little bit of addition, a lit-tle bit of reading, and a little bit of writ-ing the local alphabet is all the educationthe 10-year-old got. Every Sunday, Satyawashed his clothes, bathed in the nearbyriver, worshiped the god of the village,and then took a long nap under the treein front of his little hut, even as hisgrandmother made the best meal of theweek—rice with some lentils and a po-tato thrown in.

The old woman often wonderedwhat would happen to Satya if her daysshould suddenly be cut short. At suchtimes, she would begin to cry, thoughshe always tried to keep a cheerful coun-tenance while her grandson was nearby.

One hot and dusty summer day, astranger approached the old woman’shut. He was an Adventist Global Mis-sion volunteer, stopping more for theshade than any great evangelistic motive,but he got the attention of the old

From Sowing to Reaping:

An Undimmed VisionBY GORDON CHRISTO AND S. SUNDARAM

Teacher and students from the Adventist elementary school in Mumbai, India.



woman. She had lots of time, and thevolunteer had much to say. The conver-sation continued day after day, and even-tually included Satya as well. Some threemonths later, Jesus was welcomed intothe hut and became the abiding Com-panion of the helpless two. Satya, whosename literally means “truth,” seemed tohave met Truth at last. He felt himselfchanging from within. The Way, theTruth, and the Life has a strange way of

transforming ashes into beauty, hope-lessness into a triumphal future, anddeath into life. Soon, Satya and hisgrandmother were baptized. The GlobalMission volunteer did not stop there,but challenged Satya to take a long jour-ney to the Seventh-day Adventist schoolat Roorkee in northern India.

Now, 14 years later, Satya has gradu-ated from college and has become a ser-vant of satya, the Truth. One little candle

lit in a distant village became a beaconof light to many such villages.

Christian education is evangelism atits best—giving hope to the hopeless,light to those in darkness, and gatheringthe weary, the thirsty, and the tired tothe One who can shape and mold thebroken pieces of humanity into God’simage, in which they were created.

The school at Roorkee still stands. Itcan be cited for its manicured lawns,clean and cozy dormitories, students’tidy uniforms, and teachers and adminis-trators’ commitment to excellence. Butmore than all these, the school is knownas an oasis of character formation, a cen-ter of spiritual growth, and above all, aninstitution where God and people meeteach other.

K-12 SuccessesBut the Roorkee school is not alone.

It is just one of the 226 Seventh-day Ad-ventist elementary and secondaryschools in the Southern Asia Division(SUD). These schools enroll nearly90,000 students, taught by some 5,100teachers. The size of the system is an in-dication of its extraordinary success in

Thirty-five young people attended the Pathfinder camp conducted in October 2004 by the Adventistsenior secondary school in Hapur, India.

Boarding students and teachers from the Lasalgaon Seventh-day Adventist Higher Secondary School in Maharashtra, India.



meeting the goal set by the SUD educa-tion leadership 10 years ago—makingthe Adventist presence real in every ma-jor city and town in the division. Whilethe goals are not quite reached, what thechurch has achieved in the past decade isphenomenal in terms of developingquality education and providing aChrist-centered education to thousandsof students who, with their parents,would otherwise know little or nothingabout the meaning and purpose ofChristian education.

Higher Education—A Leap of FaithOne major development in Adventist

education during the current quinquen-nium is the leap of faith that higher edu-cation has taken. For nearly 90 years,the entire SUD was served by only onetertiary institution—Spicer MemorialCollege—but today, five other collegeshave sprung up in different union mis-sions of the field. While Spicer remainsthe division’s flagship institution, highereducation has taken a sharp and focused

turn in five new locations. The Advent-ist College of Professional Studies inSurat, north of Bombay, grew out of one

man’s belief in what Ellen White wrotelong ago: “Something better” ought tobe the watchword of Christian educa-

Morning assembly is a regular feature for schools in the Southern Asia Division.These students areenrolled in the division’s largest day school, in Ahmedabad, India.

Students from the Adventist school in Aurangabad, India, participate in a temperance rally.



tors. Confident that this was the secretof success, the principal of the SuratSecondary School launched a college forbusiness and computer studies, mainlyto hold onto the graduates of his sec-ondary school, many of whom were chil-dren of business men. The school grewinto a college of professional studies,with tertiary programs in nursing, med-ical technology, medical transcription,

and allied health. Surat has the best offacilities, computers, teachers, and pro-fessional students—making it indeed alatter-day fulfillment of “something bet-ter.”

Five of the seven unions in SUDnow have tertiary institutions. Theseschools train graduates who in turn pro-vide faith-centered education in the sec-ondary and elementary schools through-out the division.

Long Journey—Consistent PurposeThe 90-year-old educational work in

the Southern Asia Division has come along way—from a simple orphanage inthe village of Karmatar in northeast In-dia to large institutions that dot the en-tire map of India. But it still has thesame purpose: to serve the hand, thehead, and the heart through the Onewho is the Maker of all. And it still usesthe same method: academic excellencecombined with spiritual commitment.

While the achievements are abun-

dant and self-evident, the challengesloom ahead in three areas: training Ad-ventist human resources to catch upwith the enormous growth on all fronts,turning every institution into a school ofthe prophets, and expanding the schoolnetwork into a viable presence in every

city and town, so thatthe name Adventistwill be identifiedwith education thatsaves and serves.Such a challenge, un-der God’s guidance,is indeed the seed offuture growth. ✐__________________

Gordon Christo is Di-rector of Tertiary Educa-tion for the Southern AsiaDivision (SUD) in Ho-sur,Tamil Nadu, India.S. Sundaram is SUDDirector of K-12 Educa-tion.

In February 2004, during the Golden Jubilee at the E. D.Thomas Memorial Higher Secondary School in Poondi, India, there was a ribbon cutting to inau-gurate a new science lab, girls’ hostel, and worship hall.

S. Sundaram

Gordon Christo

Adventist school building at Nagpur, India.


SSDSOUTHERN ASIA-PACIFICDIVISION


During the past quinquen-nium, the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD) hascontinued to expand andimprove the church’s edu-cational ministry in its ter-

ritory. The system has grown to about1,000 schools with more than 5,600teachers and 100,000-plus students. Thechurch has education programs in all ofthe division’s 17 countries except Laos,Vietnam, Brunei, and East Timor.

Some countries have seen rapidgrowth in education, thanks to the vi-sion and generosity of the McNeilusfamily, Maranatha, and ASI. The sup-port of alumni and friends, as well assupporting unions and missions, hasdone much to build the education workin SSD.

Higher EducationThe Adventist International Institute

of Advanced Studies (AIIAS), a GeneralConference institution in the Philip-pines, provides graduate-level programsand continues to be a primary source ofcollege teachers and workers throughoutthe division. AIIAS has also created anextensive network of distance-learningcenters throughout the region.

There are nine Adventist colleges inthe Philippines, including two hospital-based nursing and medical-training in-stitutions, which are applying for churchaccreditation. Indonesia has three col-leges, while Bangladesh, Myanmar, andThailand have one each. Some of theseschools, such as the Adventist Universityof the Philippines, Mission College, and

Indonesian Adventist University, are de-veloping or already offer graduate pro-grams. There is also a nursing college inMalaysia associated with Penang Ad-ventist Hospital.

The division also has 96 secondaryschools and 884 primary/elementaryschools.

The Education Department directsthe Adventist Ministry to College andUniversity Students (AMiCUS) programfor church members attending non-Ad-ventist colleges and universities. Some ofthe local chapters hold annual outreachprograms that result in scores of bap-tisms every year.

Education and OutreachOutreach and witness are empha-

sized at all levels. Our colleges and sec-ondary schools hold annual evangelisticmeetings; and most of the division,

union, and mission/conference educa-tion leaders have conducted their ownmeetings. Many of the colleges are soactive in outreach and witness that, attimes, despite great transportation chal-lenges, a third of the student body willleave campus on Sabbath morning forthese programs. This outreach has pro-duced thousands of baptisms during thepast five years. The division office, to-gether with some of the colleges, haspurchased five uniquely Filipino vehi-cles—“Jeepneys for Jesus”—to assist inthese outreach projects. Mountain ViewCollege also has a student missionaryprogram called SULADS that sends stu-dents into tribal villages to start schoolsand churches.

Making Education More AdventistEducation in SSD emphasizes the

“Adventist” part of the training pro-

Growth, Outreach,and Innovation

BY STEPHEN R. GUPTILL AND GLADDEN O. FLORES

Adventist University of the Philippines, Silang, Cavite, Philippines.



gram. Values-education resources havebeen developed for the primary and sec-ondary levels, including handbooks foreach subject to help teachers integratevalues and faith into their lesson plans.One of the resources is REBIRTH—89Adventist values with illustrations andteaching resources organized into valuegroups represented by each letter of thetitle. Published and posted on the WorldWide Web (http://www.ssd.org/rebirth),this has become a major resource for theschools. The division is also working ona series of new Adventist readers forgrades 1-6, which will provide values-rich stories for this region, where thereare few Adventist reading choices forschool-age children.

Nurturing Education LeadershipSSD has published a two-volume set

entitled Teaching the Adventist Way tocommunicate and reinforce core Ad-ventist education principles. Thesebooks assist in teacher training, providefoundational instruction for teacherswho have trained outside the Adventist

system, and strengthen every teacher’svision and purpose.

The Journal of Adventist Educationplays a vital role in nurturing teachers.An Asian edition, produced from theEnglish edition, is circulated to 3,000teachers and education students.

The division office of education hasspearheaded a renewed effort to encour-age Adventist certification for everyteacher. This has created a need for col-lege classes and expanded certificationprograms in the unions and at our col-leges.

SSD has made a major commitmentto nurturing educational leaders throughthe bursary and teacher scholarships. Abudget is provided for each college andunion secondary school for teacher up-grading to supplement each school’sprogram of teacher development. Byfunding graduate education, these schol-arships play a vital role in developing the“brain trust” of the educational systemand the church. The Nelson Endow-ment Scholarship provides assistance toscores of students, primarily on the un-

dergraduate level, in the division’s col-leges.

Education Trends and ChallengesIn the Philippines, nursing education

has become a major emphasis and chal-lenge. Between one-fourth and one-third of Adventist college students are inthese programs. The increased enroll-ment has been a financial blessing, buthas also created a huge need for quali-fied faculty.

Three Adventist hospitals in SSDhave developed nursing and medicallyrelated programs and are now seekingchurch accreditation. As the college fac-ulties grow and improve, they naturallydesire to offer graduate degrees. Pro-gram quality, duplication, and saturationwithin the Adventist system are issuesthat must be carefully monitored asthese programs seek approval.

In some countries, Adventist collegesare able to provide an abundant supplyof trained faculty for our primary andsecondary schools. In other locations,the enrollment has grown faster than

Indonesian Adventist University, Parongpong, Bandung, Java.



our church membership and qualifiedAdventist faculty. Some missions, there-fore, rely on Adventist volunteers to stafftheir schools. A clear focus on the mis-sion and long-term strategic plans of thechurch is needed as we plan for futuregrowth.

The availability of Adventist text-books from preschool through graduatelevel is a major concern. On the primarylevel, in about 65 percent of schools, weneed to subsidize the purchase of Bibletextbooks to loan to students whosefamilies are unable to purchase them.On the college level, there is also an ur-gent need for textbook lending librariesfor core Adventist classes such as life andteachings of Jesus, Spirit of Prophecy,Adventist history, Daniel, Revelation,philosophy of Christian education, Ad-ventist health, etc. While textbooks forother subjects may be available in localbookstores at Asian prices, textbooks forthese subjects are currently not avail-

able. A united effort will be necessary toensure availability of required textbooks,especially in religion classes. Some out-side help may be needed to make this a

reality. Already, we have had some gen-erous offers by Adventist publishinghouses in the U.S. to make the materialsmore affordable. Most of our colleges do

Some of the faculty and students at Adventist University of the Philippines.

Students at Mission College, Muak Lek, Saraburi Province,Thailand.



not have bookstores, so we will have tofind other ways for students to obtainthese important textbooks.

A promising new trend is the intro-duction of Internet courses. AIIAS hasbegun to offer entire programs online,and other SSD institutions have indi-

cated an interest in this new form of ed-ucation. Many students in SSD are in-terested in taking online courses offeredby institutions in other lands, but the tu-ition fees are often beyond their reach.SSD institutions may be able to providedistance education at economical rates

not only for Asia, but also the rest of theworld.

God has greatly blessed the educa-tion work in SSD during the past fiveyears. Adventist children are beingtrained in the ways of the Lord and pre-pared to carry the gospel to the world.Tens of thousands of non-Adventist stu-

dents have come toknow God and thegreat Adventist truths,and many have madetheir decision to fol-low Jesus and be bap-tized. Please pray forthe education work inthe Southern Asia-Pa-cific Division. ✐___________________

Stephen R. Guptill isDirector of Education forthe Southern Asia-PacificDivision (SPD) in Silang,Cavite, Philippines. Glad-den O. Flores is Associ-ate Director of Educationfor SPD.

Nursing students at Adventist University of the Philippines.

Gladden O. Flores

Stephen R. Guptill

Using five unique vehicles, Jeepneys for Jesus, students spread the gospel in the Philippines.


During this past quin-quennium, the work ofSeventh-day Adventisteducation in the Trans-European Division(TED) has broken new

ground in many ways, achieving mod-est but significant progress in spite ofdifficult challenges.

TED is a huge and very diversedivision. It stretches from the northAtlantic (Iceland, Greenland, and theBritish Isles) through Scandinavia,Poland, and the Baltics, southward toHungary, the Adriatic countries, andGreece, and all the way to Israel, theIslamic countries of the Middle Eastand northern Africa, and Pakistan.Citizens of these territories speak 62languages and numerous dialects andare part of many different cultures.

In TED, as in the world church,we are committed to the foundationalbelief that our educational system isdesigned to prepare persons, not onlyfor useful service in the world inwhich we live and work, but also forthe world to come. As a consequence,we firmly believe that Adventist edu-cation should not only provide excel-lent academic training and intellectualdevelopment, but also intentionallynurture spiritual growth and providestudents with a good grounding inbiblical knowledge. As we seek toachieve these goals, our schools willcontinue to fulfill a key role in the lifeand witness of the Seventh-day Ad-ventist Church in the regions of ourdivision.

Difficult OddsIn achieving these lofty goals, our

118 educational institutions battleagainst almost overwhelming odds.Highest on the list of difficulties are theperennial problems of trying to attractpaying students in times of falling ex-change rates and declining birthrates; ofpromoting and nurturing standards andtraditional values in the midst of moraldecline; of staffing institutions efficientlywith godly, motivated, adequately quali-fied, and decently paid professionals, intimes of declining finances. Yet, in spiteof these daunting challenges, by thegrace of God, our schools continue toprevail, and have even “broken newground” and flourished in amazing andinnovative ways.

New buildings were built on severalof our school campuses during the pastquinquennium (2000-2005). On June 9,2001, ground was broken for a churchon the campus of Newbold College inEngland, reinforcing the institution’s

commitment to spiritual values and pas-toral training. The church, dedicated onSeptember 14, 2002, has expanded thecollege’s ability to showcase a variety ofworship services.

Other important additions were thenew secondary school in Novi Sad, Ser-bia; the new educational centre forSouth Sudan in Arua, Uganda; the re-building of the administrative buildingat Middle East University in Beirut,Lebanon; the building of a new gymna-sium at Danish Junior College; a majorextension of our elementary school inthe Netherlands; and the building ofnew science buildings at John Lough-borough School in England and at Pak-istan Adventist Seminary.

Enrollment GainsDuring the past quinquennium, we

have seen a steady increase in the num-ber of students enrolled in our schools.Although the gains have not been evenlyspread across the system, many schools


TEDTRANS-EUROPEAN DIVISION Breaking

New GroundBY ORVILLE WOOLFORD

Breaking ground for the new church at Newbold College, Bracknell, Berkshire, England.


have had outstanding success in attract-ing students. For example, in 2000, ourPolish Spiritual Seminary had 15 full-time tertiary students. To succeed, itclearly needed to break new ground.Our leaders spotted a niche in the Polisheducational market—incorporatingBible knowledge and Christian valuesnaturally and appropriately in a B.A. de-gree program. So under the leadershipof school principal Bernard Kozirog, the

school redesigned its curriculum to in-clude “Tourism in Bible Lands” andchanged its name to the “Polish Sev-enth-day Adventist College of Theologyand Humanities.” Since that time, theschool has increased its enrollment to1,500 students!

Throughout the system, mere num-bers fail to reveal some aspects of schoollife that are infinitely more exciting andimportant. High on this list is the enthu-siasm of students engaged in the life-changing experiences that are daily of-fered in our school system. The energy,vitality, and potential of children andyouth provide our schools with a worldof possibilities, which are just waiting tobe channeled and liberated.

Accordingly, our teachers, driven bycore Adventist educational philosophical

ideals such as “Higher than the highesthuman thought can reach is God’s idealfor His children,” seek to open beforetheir students “a path of continualprogress,” encouraging them to “ad-vance as fast and as far as possible inevery branch of true knowledge” (EllenG. White, Education, p. 18). The manygraduation services held each year testifyto TED’s success in attaining thesegoals.

Higher Education AchievementsNew ground was broken in other

ways during the most recent five-yearperiod. Middle East College in Lebanonbecame the first institution in our divi-sion to achieve university status, andNewbold College forged a partnershipwith the University of Wales, Lampeter,to offer a British-style Ph.D. researchdegree in theology. In Serbia, work hasbegun to adapt the church’s elementaryBible curriculum to use in the new NoviSad secondary school. Similar adapta-tion is also in process in Poland.

In the Baltics, the first post-wargraduation of pastors with a Griggs Uni-versity B.A. degree in theology tookplace in 2002. Major financial ground-breaking support was required to enablestudents from economically challengedcountries of TED to attend NewboldCollege for ministerial training. Thisproblem was virtually solved by the in-troduction of a new formula for divisionsupport, based on the local monthly


Students line up at Zatoni School in Egypt.

A Pakistani student demonstrates her readingskills.

At the Hungarian Theological Seminary in Pecel, Hungary, their motto is “One Goal in Mind—Ser-vice!”


wage factors of the workers. The success of our system is

heavily reliant on and powered byour teachers’ faith in God and theirdedication to delivering high-qualityeducation. TED supports them byproviding a variety of in-servicetraining and nurture events; for ex-ample, regional and division educa-tion conventions and inter-divisionreligion teachers’ meetings. Suchconventions provided significant en-couragement, networking, and profes-sional development for the teachers

from Britain, Scandinavia, the MiddleEast, Hungary, and Pakistan.

In-Service for EducatorsTo support teacher develop-

ment, the division held its quin-quennial education convention July30 to August 3, 2003, in the beauti-ful Adriatic coastal town of Por-toroz, Slovenia. On the openingday, the 215 registrants heardNiels-Erik Andreasen, president ofAndrews University in BerrienSprings, Michigan, deliver a chal-lenging keynote address, “Advent-

ist Education: Delivering the PromiseToday.” Ten guest lecturers and work-shop presenters provided high-qualitysessions during the ensuing days.

Winning Students to ChristFinally, while we rejoice in numerical

growth, statistics reveal little about the“breaking of new ground” in the senseof tilling the “fallow ground” of stu-dents’ hearts, with many being won toChrist in our schools. From Finland toPakistan, Adventist schools are ignitingstudents’ interest and their aspirationsand pointing them toward long-termbetterment. One indication of their suc-cess is that during this quinquennium(between 2000 and 2004), our schoolsaccounted for 533 baptisms. While wegive God the glory for this, we acknowl-edge an enormous debt of gratitude toour 1,280 teachers who inspire the17,665 students in our schools.

Ultimately, we believe that God “isjust as willing to work with the efforts ofHis people now” as He was in the past(Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets,p. 554). Therefore, confident that ourGod is “able to do exceeding abundantlyabove all that we ask or think” (Ephe-sians 3:20, KJV), our team of educatorsin TED seeks to maintain a burningpassion for the mission of Adventist ed-ucation. They envision an even moreexciting and challenging future as, in-creasingly, their work continues to de-liver on its holy promise through thegrace and empowerment of our loving

Lord. ✐___________________

Orville Woolford is Di-rector of Education for theTrans-European Divisionin St.Albans, Herts., Eng-land.


Adventist leaders attend a graduation service in Latvia.

Teachers take a break for lunch and conversation during an Adventist education convention inLebanon.

Nordic teachers’ convention in Denmark.



The West-Central Africa Divi-sion (WAD) was organized in2002 from the former Africa-Indian Ocean Division. Theeducational emphasis inWAD this quinquennium has

been on quality and growth. This themehas been promoted in various ways, in-cluding the following:

Leadership Conferences for Educa-tion and Church Leaders

Forty-one division and union officersas well as personnel from the GeneralConference Education Department par-ticipated in a 2002 inter-division educa-tion leadership conference in Nairobi,Kenya. The conference equipped partic-ipants to promote and support qualityschools and to encourage growth in Ad-ventist education. Since then, each

union, in collaboration with the division,has held a similar conference for its edu-cators at the conference and mission lev-els.

Integration of Faith and Learning(IFL) Seminars

We have largely accomplished ourgoal of having all of our educators par-ticipate in an IFL seminar at least onceevery two years. The IFL theme is“Teaching With Authority.” Seminartopics have included Adventist educationphilosophy; effective teaching practices;discipline; and HIV/AIDS awareness,prevention, and care for infected per-sons.

Publication of the Adventist Educa-tor

This free biannual departmental

journal provides an opportunity for oureducators to share their IFL knowledgeand experiences with their colleagues. Itis distributed to all university educators,as well as primary and secondary schoolsin the division.

Continuing EducationThe division Department of Educa-

tion provided scholarship monies thatenabled the universities to send person-nel for advanced degrees. Likewise, a di-vision-coordinated Home Study Inter-national (HSI) program has helpedmany adult church workers and mem-bers to obtain a high school diploma andenroll in postsecondary training.

Learning Resource MaterialsQuality education requires appropri-

ate and adequate learning materials. Tothis end, the division obtained encyclo-pedias, Bible commentaries, and scienceand art books for many secondaryschools to enhance their library hold-ings.

Evaluation of the InstitutionsBesides the regular Adventist Ac-

crediting Association visits, the divisioncollaborates with the universities for in-ternal self-evaluation, and the union and conference directors do likewise for thesecondary and primary schools, respec-tively.

General Promotion of EducationBecause education is central to every

form of development, Adventist schoolsare promoted at every opportunity. We

WADWEST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION Quality

and GrowthBY CHIEMELA IKONNE

Gambian Union educators’ conference in 2003.



have produced a “Total Commitment”education T-shirt, and education Sab-baths are joyfully celebrated throughoutthe division.

In 2002, the Adventist Educators As-sociation of Nigeria (ADEASON) wasformed. This organization brings to-gether Adventist educators who teach atthe secondary and tertiary levels, withinand outside the church, for the promo-tion, support, and advancement of Ad-ventist education.

Evangelism and BaptismsOur teachers and students distrib-

uted more than 1.5 million pieces of lit-erature for the Sow One Billion pro-gram. Their active involvement inevangelism has led to more than 11,000baptisms. Our three universities (Bab-cock, Valley View, and Cosendai) havebaptized more than 1,500 persons, mostof whom were students. Our primaryand secondary schools have baptizedmore than 9,400.

Quality EducationA clear evidence of the quality of Ad-

ventist education in WAD is the highdemand for it. Across the division, par-ents and guardians have great respect forthe wholistic quality of our schools. Andthey are proud to be associated withthem. This explains why Nigerian Presi-dent Olusegun Obasanjo visited andworshiped at Babcock University onSabbath, October 26, 2002—an eventrarely seen in Nigeria. Likewise, AlhajiAliu Mahama, vice president of the Re-public of Ghana, was the commence-ment speaker during graduation exer-cises at Valley View University onSeptember 28, 2003.

A unique feature of WAD universi-

ties is their provision of bursaries (schol-arships) to all Adventist students. Thisranges from a 50 percent discount fortheology students to 30 percent for stu-dents in other fields of study.

Babcock University (BU)Babcock University ranked first

among the first three private universitiesthat received their charters from theFederal Government of Nigeria in April1999. It has rapidly grown from 753 stu-dents in 1999 to 3,531 in 2004. The uni-versity currently offers three areas ofstudy: education and humanities, man-agement and social sciences, and scienceand technology, with a total of 25 pro-grams. Its facilities include a modern,well-equipped laboratory complex, cen-tral cafeteria, modern guest house, andV-SAT-operated Internet facilities.

BU’s quality education has been rec-ognized in various ways by different or-ganizations: (1) The BU Students’ Par-ents Consultative Forum has donatedmore than U.S.$1.5 million for the con-struction of water, health, and sports fa-

cilities; (2) in 2002, the Nigeria NationalUniversities Commission (NUC) gavean award to BU Vice Chancellor Ade-kunle A. Alalade for the delivery of qual-ity education in Nigeria and appointedhim the admissions panel chair for the2002-2003 academic session; (3) BU re-ceived high recognition in the NigerianUniversity Systems’ annual review of2003; (4) Godwin N. D. Aja of BU’sHealth Sciences Department was electedas a representative for Africa on theGoverning Council of the CochraneCollaboration Consumer Network In-corporated, in Melbourne, Australia; (5)the Institute of Chartered Accountantsof Nigeria (ICAN) granted full accredi-tation to BU’s accounting program; and(6) at least two state governors visit BUeach year.

Valley View University (VVU)In 1998, Valley View University be-

came the first private university accred-ited by the Ghana National Accredita-tion Board. Student enrollment has risenfrom about 200 at that time to 900 in2004. Degrees offered include account-ing, computer science, theology, and re-ligious studies. Degree programs inbanking and finance, marketing, humanresources management, and educationare scheduled to begin in 2005-2006.

VVU is the only university in Africa,and one of the very few in the world, touse ecological sanitary technology. Theurinals utilize a “dry cleaning” methodthat saves water and produces fertilizerfor crops and methane gas for cooking.

Students work in a modern, well-equipped science laboratory at Babcock University in Nigeria.

An Adventist Accrediting Association team visits Babcock University.



The Ghanaian government has com-mended the efforts of VVU by giving ita special status, which allows it to awardits own degrees without being affiliatedto a state school, as is required of otherprivate institutions.

Adventist University Cosendai(AUC)

Established in 1996, Adventist Uni-versity Cosendai has received authoriza-tion from the Cameroon Ministry of

Higher Educationto offer degrees intheology, churchmanagement, com-puter maintenanceand software engi-neering, informa-tion management,accounting and fi-nance, and businessadministration.

Although studentenrollment has re-mained modest(about 200), AUC’simpact is felt na-tionally as well as

locally. In 2004, the faculty of businessand computer science placed second inthe national universities competition.The active involvement of AUC familyin nearby churches has yielded morethan 600 baptisms this quinquennium.

Primary and Secondary SchoolsAt the beginning of this quinquen-

nium, Adventist education was operatingin only 11 of the 18 countries in WAD.Now, three more (Gabon, Mali, andTogo) have opened church schools. Avolunteer group of Adventist youth fromFrance constructed much of the primaryschool building in Libreville, Gabon, in2003. In 2002, the same organizationdid major renovations at the Adventistsecondary school in Kribi, Cameroon.In 2004, Outpost Centers Internationalconstructed a six-classroom building inChad.

The number of primary schools inWAD has increased dramatically, espe-cially in Ghana and Nigeria. There were704 church primary schools in Ghana in2004, compared with 401 in 2000 (a 76percent increase). Nigeria started thisquinquennium with 49 primary schools,but now has 70 (a 42 percent increase).

Among the events of special note wasthe establishment in 2003 of a new sec-

ondary school in Abidjan (the commer-cial capital of Ivory Coast), even as civilwar threatened social stability. Twoother secondary schools were estab-lished in major WAD cities during thisquinquennium: in Yaoundé, Cameroon;and N’Djamena, Chad.

Many WAD secondary and voca-tional schools have distinguished them-selves as centers of excellence. TheNigerian Ministry of Education ranksOwerrinta Adventist Secondary Techni-cal College (ASTEC) among the best inthe nation, and its students and teachershave represented the state at nationalscience and technology competitions.

In Cameroon, Yaoundé AdventistSecondary School (CAY) is spearheadingcomputer education in secondaryschools in the nation. Its computercourses and well-equipped laboratoryare attracting the children of the upperclass. CAY has such a good reputationthat some public notables contact topchurch leaders in order to secure admis-sion for their children.

ConclusionAs we reflect on the educational ac-

tivities and events of the past five years,all we can say is: “Surely God has led.”To Him alone we give the glory andhonor. Certainly, He has used churchand educational leaders to promote andsupport the work of education. And ofno less importance are the faithful edu-cators, students, parents, and the entiredivision membership. We say “Thankyou” to all.

As we look to the future, we plan toimprove on what wehave been able to dothus far by the grace ofGod. ✐_____________________Chiemela Ikonne is theDirector of Education for theWest-Central Africa Divi-sion in Abidjan, Coted’Ivoire.

Students and teachers from the new Adventist secondary school in Abid-jan, Cote d’Ivorie.

Students at Valley View University in Ghana per-forming community service.

INDEXJournal of Adventist Education

The index for Volume 67 (October/November 2004-Summer 2005) is available online at the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index site: http://www.andrews.edu/library/car/sdapiindex.html

You can search for information from previous volumes of JAE by author, title, or keyword at the JAE Website:http://education.gc.adventist.org/jae or at the Periodical Index.


There’s something for YOU in the Journal of Adventist EducationWhether you teach several grades in a one-room school, pastor a district that contains a church school, or serve on the board of trustees of

an Adventist college or university, the JOURNAL offers practical and meaningful information to help make your service more effective for Christ andthe church.

Along with feature articles that range from integrating faith and learning to tips for substitute teachers, the JOURNAL often devotes entire issuesto themes that are relevant to Adventist educators and school board members.

Now is the time to either order a subscription to the JOURNAL or obtain back issues that deal with special topics.

Yes! Here’s my check or money order. Please send me the following:❑ One-year subscription (5 issues), $18.25 U.S. ❑ Two-year subscription (10 issues), Special price, $35.00 U.S. until September 1, 2005.

Theme issues—please indicate how many copies. Each copy costs $3.00 U.S. (Includes shipping and handling in the U.S. Outside the U.S., add$1.00 for each.)

❑ School Boards I ❑ School Boards II (Summer 2004) ❑ School Libraries ❑ Spiritual Assessment ❑ Character Development

❑ Marketing ❑ Mathematics ❑ Testing and Alternative Assessment ❑ Administration and Leadership ❑ Distance Education

❑ Exemplary Adventist Schools ❑ Multicultural Teaching and Learning ❑ Science ❑ Special 2000-2005 Report on Adventist

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Mission College,Thailand, is a university college serving the needsof Adventist young people from Southeast Asia and around theworld. It offers an English-medium international curriculum taughtby an on-campus international faculty. The international studentbody from a wide range of cultures enjoys learning together andfrom each other. Located in the 10/40 window (Thailand is a 95%Buddhist nation), Mission College offers mission-minded youngpeople unique opportunities for study and witness. And the cost isas exciting as the location.

for all nations.” Roy Adams, Adventist Review

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* Other majors are available through affiliations with other Adventist universities.

Mission College: Muak Lek, Saraburi 18180 THAILANDTel: (66)-(0)36-344-777 Fax: (66)-(0)36-344-080Website: http//www.missioncollege.eduEmail: [email protected] or [email protected]

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Tel: (66)-(0)36-344-758 or (66)-(0)36-344-080Enquiries: Dr Paul BuschenhofenEmail: [email protected]

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