Bertil Wiklander, TED President

The unique character of the Trans-European Division (TED) is conspicuous. A vast territory with 10 time zones, an unparalleled cultural diversity, and a complex structure of many small church entities, often defined along national boundaries, it is also the smallest world division. With fewer than 90,000 members, the TED faces an enormous mission challenge.

The mission field of the TED spans from Greenland, Iceland, and the Svalbard Islands in the North Atlantic, across more than 20 countries in Western, Northern, Eastern, and Southern Europe, down to Central Africa, where southern Sudan borders Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, then stretches through 15 countries in the Middle East to Pakistan in the heart of Asia. Forty-one territories comprise the TED; more than 50 different languages are spoken. Standards of living range from the highest in the world, as in Western Europe and Scandinavia, to the lowest in the world, as in the war-torn territories of southern Sudan.

The more than 500 million people living in the mission field of the TED have very different worldviews. At least five major cultural regions emerge:

• 60 percent are Muslims in Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, the Middle East, northern Sudan, and Pakistan;
• 20 percent live in a former Protestant, post-Christian, and secular culture in the British Isles, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia;
• 17 percent live in post-Communist countries in the Baltics, Poland, Hungary, and in the Balkan Peninsula, most of whom are staunchly Roman Catholic or Orthodox;
• 1 percent live in the Jewish state of Israel;
• an unknown number are affected by indigenous, predominantly animist cultures in South Sudan.

Church leaders in the TED take this challenge very seriously. We are convinced that the gospel of Christ is for all people, that all people have a right to hear it in a manner they can understand, and that our ways of outreach need to change and adapt to various people's modes of thought. This underlines the crucial importance of keeping the church united in a coordinated mission effort.

Evangelism and Growth
As of December 31, 1999, the number of churches in the TED had increased to 1,263 and the total membership to 87,936. The baptismal goal of adding 20 percent to the membership in 1995-1999 (i.e., 18,000 new members) was in fact exceeded by an actual total of 20,457 baptisms and professions of faith.

Candidates being baptized in the same body of water as was their Saviour two millenniums previously.

Through a membership audit in the Pakistan Union in 1998, the figures for that field were reduced, with 421 "deceased" and 8,341 "missing." Backdating the implications of this administrative measure, the total TED membership has grown from about 82,768 to 87,936, suggesting an actual growth rate of about 6 percent.

This trend could have been further increased had we known the exact membership figures in the fastest growing area of the TED, namely in southern Sudan. Estimates of actual membership in this war-torn part of Africa vary from 6,000 (reported figure) to 10,000. Because of the war and the absence of roads and means of communication, the church is at present unable to maintain contact with the members, many of whom are displaced and some living in refugee camps in Kenya and Uganda. Reports tell us, however, that God is using lay evangelists who move around in the villages teaching the truth. When an ordained minister arrives, he often finds hundreds of people ready for baptism.

Many fields report significant growth. For the first time, the British Union now exceeds 20,000 members, growing from 18,565 to 20,110, and the Middle East Union Mission exceeds 10,000 members, going up from 8,839 to 10,276. Good growth is also reported by the unions in the Balkans, especially the South-East European Union, where despite war, destroyed churches, and many members inevitably emigrating to other countries, membership increased from 7,463 to 8,138. Growth is also evident in the Adriatic, the Baltic, the Polish, and Netherlands unions. After a period of reformation and reorganization in 1996-1998, the Pakistan Union shows an encouraging development, with 767 baptisms in 1999 and notable growth in tithe.

Significant trend shifts have occurred in some of the small attached fields. In Israel, for example, our church had only about 50 members in 1985. Today registered membership is 500, and every Sabbath more than 1,000 Seventh-day Adventists meet for worship in the country. Through a special TED Global Mission "Shalom Project," the division has equipped the Israel Field to meet the challenge of sharing with the Russian Jews who continue to move from Russia to Israel, resulting in the establishment of Hebrew-speaking Seventh-day Adventist congregations. Similar encouraging developments are under way in Albania, Macedonia, and Greece, where vigorous, mission-oriented leadership has resulted in baptismal growth.

In some fields, the membership has been slightly reduced. This is especially the case in the Nordic countries, and among the indigenous populations in the British Isles and in the Netherlands, where organized Christian religion is facing great challenges. Church leaders have committed themselves to work with God to change this trend, and to address the challenge of secular evangelism.

A word should also be included here concerning the solid financial situation of the division. This has enabled us to make a substantial increase in support for evangelism and ministerial training, and to finance a major refurbishment of the division office in St. Albans. Our strategic commitment to generate substantial funding for Global Mission from our own funds is unique in the world church.

Effects of Organizational Changes
The integration of the Middle East Union Mission (MEU) into our division family has proceeded very well. It has changed the face of our division: 60 percent of the 520 million people living in our territories are Muslims.

Some of the 41 candidates awaiting baptism in the Nile in Sudan, the fastest growing field in the Trans-European Division.

Thus the challenge of Muslim relations, secular outreach, and the needs of the growing church in Eastern Europe are major concerns. Good working relationships have been established with the GC Global Centre for Adventist/Muslim Relations (AMR). An AMR diploma will be offered by our senior college, Newbold College, to prepare workers and volunteers. A new position as Global Mission coordinator with expertise in Islamics is to be cosponsored by the MEU and the TED, and regular planning meetings for our mission in the Middle East are scheduled this year. The TED stands prepared for launching the 10/40 window challenge in 2000-2005.

Because of the Balkan conflicts associated with the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, a new union, the Adriatic Union, was organized, making a total of 13 unions in the TED. The South-East European Union (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Yugoslavia) and the Adriatic Union (Albania, Croatia, and Slovenia) replace the Yugoslavian Union. The hardship under which the people are living in these areas has opened ways for our message.

Ministries and Departments
The church departments are invaluable tools to promote spiritual nurture, leadership, and evangelistic outreach. Only some highlights can be given here.

• The Children's Ministries Department created a greater awareness concerning child sexual abuse and assisted unions in developing guidelines and procedures to prevent such abuse.
• The Communication Department developed an electronic delivery system with news from the field and information on ministries and concepts. It also produced an annual videotape to promote new methods of evangelism. Media ministries have developed throughout the division, especially in the area of radio work (42 FM radio broadcasts weekly), television, video ministries, Internet ministries, and satellite evangelism. Many positive experiences were reported from the satellite campaigns NET '96 and NET '98, especially in Britain, Finland, Poland, and the Balkan countries.
• The Ministerial Association created a division-wide church-planting strategy through projects such as "Adventist Churches for the Unchurched" in Western secular areas, the "Shalom Project" in Israel, and church-planting field schools across the division. Public evangelism was related to different types of societies in a variety of ways. Ministerial education was developed for pastors without access to residential seminaries, and a system for developing pastors from recruitment to ordination was put in place. The Elder's Handbook was translated into major languages, and elders' training was promoted.
• Together with the Hungarian Union and the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs of the Hungarian Government, the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department organized a symposium in Budapest (March 3-5, 1997), calling attention to the state of religious liberty in the post-Communist countries in Europe. Participants came from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, religious liberty organizations, academic experts, and representatives of about 10 European governments. The proceedings were published in English, Hungarian, German, and Russian.
• The Personal Ministries and Stewardship Department held a total of some 60 seminars in all sectors of the division, focusing on practical skills of witnessing, including the use of spiritual gifts, aspects of visitation, evangelism and house-to-house witness, and lay evangelism. Small group evangelism is now on firm ground in Britain and Sweden and is spreading to other countries. Sixty-eight thousand lay Bible studies resulted in 3,750 baptisms. Of 42,000 students enrolled in the Bible correspondence schools, 15,000 graduated and 850 baptisms were conducted. The main departmental event was the Festival of Faith in Holland in 1999, with 210 participants representing nine of our 13 unions.
• The Sabbath School Department reports that Sabbath school offerings have brought approximately $1,650,000 annually. Projects benefiting from Sabbath school offerings in include the Hungarian seminary library; a secondary school in Serbia, Yugoslavia; the first evangelistic center in Lithuania, now partly opened; and a special project to train pastors in Sudan, where the first 11 graduates are already working in evangelism, leading to numerous baptisms. The Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guides are published in 21 languages in the TED.
• The stewardship profile has widened considerably. Valuable training was offered to union directors, emphasizing the concept that the lordship of Jesus lies at the heart of all stewardship. Most unions have instituted strategic planning and budgeting committees, and have been encouraged to develop a strategic plan incorporating a meticulous approach to financial expenditures.
• The Women's Ministries Department has started 16 sewing centers for Adventist and non-Adventist women in Pakistan, which so far has resulted in eight baptisms.
• The Youth Ministries Department has helped youth to discover new ways of doing evangelism for their peers. Through "Impact" events, especially in Finland and the United Kingdom, youth have reached out to people with the gospel in new and creative ways. The Danish Union is involved with the Copenhagen and Koge projects, which are church-planting initiatives targeting young people. During the 1998 TED Pathfinder Camporee in Norway, Pathfinders raised $15,000 for southern Sudan, where these funds helped win hundreds for Christ.

Education
Newbold College is the division's senior college. During the past five years it expanded its curriculum base, increased its involvement in education throughout the TED, and focused more on practical ministry and evangelism. As a result, the college now offers a wider selection of both U.S. and British degrees, the latest being a B.S. in behavioral sciences. Meanwhile, a new B.A. curriculum in biblical and pastoral studies has ensured a higher level of student involvement in practical ministry, and all collage students are invited to participate in two or three evangelistic or mission projects annually.

The strength of the education program in the TED is also evident by the operation of more than 100 primary and secondary schools, together with a string of theological seminaries in the Baltics, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, and Yugoslavia, as well as two senior colleges, Middle East College and Pakistan Adventist Seminary.

Ingathering and ADRA
For a number of years the TED has been in the forefront in raising funds through church members in the Ingathering campaign. The figures during the quinquennium revealed a total result for 1994-1999 of $13,567,550 and, although an annual decrease was noted in 1994-1998, an encouraging increase occurred in 1999. There are approximately 40,000 members in the six countries in which Ingathering is conducted, with an average annual collection of approximately $57. These figures compare handsomely with those of any other world division.

The work of ADRA took on significant proportions in the TED during the past five years, from both donor and implementor perspectives.

Aid in cash and kind provided by the donor community within the TED rose from $18 million in 1995 to $42.9 million in 1999. ADRA/Denmark alone increased its funding from the Danish government to more than $16 million in 1999. At the same time, ADRA/Sudan is probably the largest receiver of funding within the global ADRA network.

Because of the tragic Kosovo conflict in 1999, an enormous sudden need for humanitarian help occurred. In Albania, more than 100,000 refugees in six different centers were fed, and 220,000 family food parcels containing one month's supply were distributed as refugees returned to Kosovo. The World Food Program invited ADRA to continue food security operations for a further 12 months by feeding 30,000 vulnerable persons in five different towns.

Conclusion
The special focus in the TED during this period has been the mission of the church, its central importance and urgency, using new methods of outreach adapted to each culture and target audience, and, above all, the need to make every believer a minister. I thank God for His numerous blessings in this wonderful task, and pray that He will continue to lead the work in this division so that an even larger group of people will be prepared on that glorious day of the Lord's soon coming.