News Articles

More than 300 human resource professionals across the North American Division attended the three-day HR conference virtual edition on April 25-27, 2021. The event, themed “RefocUS,” centered on training workshops, policy update sessions, panel discussions, and daily devotionals.

The Executive Committee of the North American Division held a business meeting on April 29, 2021 to hold elections, vote on policy, amend bylaws of the NAD corporation, and vote on a revised statement from the writing committee which, according to the document’s preamble, “addresses issues specific to the NAD, and contextualizes the [General Conference’s] ‘One Humanity’ document into the North American setting.

Three vice presidents, two directors, an associate director, Liberty magazine editor, and the president of the Guam-Micronesia Mission have been newly elected to serve the North American Division until 2025. The election on April 29, 2021, took place during a meeting of the NAD Executive Committee; the date was chosen by the same governing body through a vote on Feb. 25, 2021, after the postponement of the 2021 General Conference Session.

Southern Adventist University’s Enactus team placed third in the nation at the Enactus United States National Exposition. The team has previously ranked second in their league several times, but this is their first year to advance through the competition to the final round, which included the top four schools in the U.S.

On April 15, 2021, the North American Division administration voted to reinstate mission deployments through the NAD Office of Volunteer Ministries (OVM). This reinstatement includes long-term missionary volunteers (two months or longer) from North America who serve around the world.

The Prayer Ministries department of the North American Division organized a virtual, two-day event that facilitated continual prayer and highlighted testimonies from church leaders and members. The 2021 World Prayer Convention took place April 9-10 on Facebook Live.

It has been a year since we were deeply impacted by the dreadful coronavirus pandemic. Each of us can recall what it felt like as we watched, in almost stunned disbelief, the country shut down—offices closed down, churches closed, restaurants closed, professional sports canceled, children sent home indefinitely from school, citizens required to stay home, grocery stores running out of basic items, hand sanitizer in short supply, and toilet paper being fought over in the aisles. We've experienced an economic downturn, and social injustice and inequality. ... What sense have you made of it as a Seventh-day Adventist? Is God concerned about this world? What is He saying to us?

Randy Robinson, North American Division treasurer, shared his experience getting a COVID-19 vaccine at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, Maryland, in a video showing the event. "I feel so strongly that we should be responsible in getting our vaccines. I think we protect ourselves, we protect those around us — our loved ones and those in our community," said Robinson.

The La Soufrière volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent began a series of explosive eruptions on April 9, 2021, sending clouds of hot ash some 20,000 feet into the air, blanketing much of the island in ash and causing water and electricity outages. With couple more explosions since, approximately 20,000 people have been forced from their homes on St. Vincent. ADRA is working with local churches and government agencies in St. Vincent to provide help, reports ACS Disaster Response director W. Derrick Lea.

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancelation of the in-person North American Division Pathfinder Bible Experience (NAD PBE) event 13 months ago, organizers quickly mobilized to hold the event online. In anticipation of the potential need to have another virtual event in 2021, planning started after the April 18, 2020 experience. This April, the PBE event was indeed held virtually.