YEARBOOK - Adventist Archives

A directory of the General Conference and its
twelve world divisions, with their unions and local
conferences or local missions and the related
institutions of the Seventh-day Adventist denomi­
nation, is given in the following pages. The infor­
mation has been furnished by the organizations
themselves; but in cases where current reports
have not been received, the most recent previous
records have been retained or adjusted.
In the conference and mission sections, work­
ers are listed in the following sequence: ordained
ministers holding ministerial credentials, creden-
tialed missionaries, licensed ministers, licensed
missionaries, and credentialed literature evangel­
ists. The Directory of Workers gives the names
and addresses of all credentialed workers and
licensed ministers. Institutional workers are listed
in a separate directory.
The data that appears below has been summar­
ized largely from the 1977 Annual Statistical Re­
port, while the figures for the number of churches
and for church membership throughout the Year­
book are drawn from official reports rendered for
June 30, 1978.
Although the name "Seventh-day Adventist"
was chosen in 1860, the denomination was not
officially organized until May 21, 1863, when the
movement included some 125 churches and 3,500
members. Work was largely confined to North
America until 1874 when the Church's first mis­
sionary, J. N. Andrews, was sent to Switzerland.
Africa was penetrated briefly in 1879 when Dr. H.
P. Ribton, an early convert in Italy, moved to
Egypt and opened a school, but the project ended
when riots broke out in the vicinity. The first non-
MEMBERSHIP AND WORKERS
(as of June 30, 1978)
Baptized church members .................... 3,016,338
Organized churches ...................................... 20,063
Ordained ministers, active ............................ 8,840
Total active workers ...................................... 76,085
Baptisms and professions of faith .......... 253,575
(July 1, 1977, to June 30, 1978)
MISSION WORK
Countries in which church is working .......... 190
(Countries in the world—220)
Number of divisions ............................................... 12
Number of unions ................_...—......._._......._....... 78
Number of conferences, missions
and fields ............................................................ 376
Missionaries sent to mission fields ................ 350
GOOD-NEIGHBOR PROGRAM
Persons helped ........................................ 9,733,601
Articles of clothing given .................... 18,875,855
Cash and value of food given ............ $7,892,655
Value of medical supplies and equip­
ment given .............................................. $500,477
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
Schools operated by church ........................ 4,409
Total enrollment .......................................... 459,234
Primary and elementary schools .................. 3,839
Secondary schools .............................................. 480
Colleges .................................................................... 66
Schools of nursing ................................................ 21
Universities ................................................................ 2
Preface
World Statistics for 1977
(except as noted)
Protestant Christian country entered was Russia,
where an Adventist minister went in 1886. On July
28, 1890, the schooner "Pitcairn" was launched at
San Francisco and was soon engaged in carrying
missionaries to the Pacific islands. Seventh-day Ad­
ventist workers first entered non-Christian countries
in 1894—Cold Coast (Ghana), West Africa, and
Matabeleland, South Africa. The same year saw
missionaries entering South America, and in 1896
the Church had its representatives in Japan.
The publication and distribution of literature
were major factors in the growth of the Advent
Movement. The Advent Review and Sabbath Her­
ald, general church paper, was launched in Paris,
Maine, in 1850; the Youth's Instructor in Roches­
ter, New York, in 1852; and the Signs of the
Times in Oakland, California, in 1874. The first
denominational publishing house, at Battle Creek,
Michigan, began operating in 1855 and was duly
incorporated in 1861 under the name of Seventh-
day Adventist Publishing Association.
The Health Reform Institute, later known as the
Battle Creek Sanitarium, opened its doors in 1866,
and missionary society work was organized on a
statewide basis in 1870. The first of the Church's
worldwide network of schools was established in
1872, while 1877 saw the formation of statewide
Sabbath school associations. In 1903, the denomi­
national headquarters was moved from Battle
Creek, Michigan, to Washington, D. C, where it
continues to form the nerve-center of an ever-
expanding work. Each year sees further develop­
ment in the work of the Church. That this may be
accurately and inspiringly reflected in this Year­
book is the desire of the Archives and Statistics
Committee and staff.
HEALTH MINISTRY
Sanitariums and hospitals .................................. 141
Dispensaries, clinics, and launches ................ 280
Physicians, dentists, residents, and
interns ............................................................ 1,492
Nurses ................................................................ 8,364
Outpatient visits ...................................... 5,056,769
Assets of health-care institutions .. $624,978,285
(1976 figure)
Food companies .................................................... 28
Retirement homes and orphanages .................. 59
PUBLISHING WORK
Publishing houses .................................................. 49
Languages in which church is working ........ 590
Languages, publishing in .................................. 203
Literature evangelists ...................................... 6,612
Literature sales ...................................... $89,994,673
SABBATH SCHOOLS
Sabbath school members ...................... 3,693,180
Sabbath schools ............................................. 37,619
CONTRIBUTIONS
Tithe—world ........................................ $284,373,265
North America .................................. 189,473,813
Sabbath School—world ........................ 26,350,951
North America .................................... 16,814,125
Ingathering—world ................................ 13,372,094
North America ...................................... 8,559,136
All contributions—world .................... 474,846,241
North America .................................. 337,818,240