Ruy H. Nagel, President

The Seventh-day Adventist message in South America is nearly as old as the denomination itself. Just 14 years after the Adventist Church sent out its first official missionary, the three angels' messages reached South America. The pioneers who brought the Seventh-day Adventist message to our territory knew what they wanted. They had a clear concept of mission and urgency, and although they found hostile soil for the gospel and faced many difficulties, they courageously went forward with an unshakable faith. Since then the Advent message has spread into our eight countries through a system of personal influence (contagion), each church member acting as a messenger.

When the South American Division (SAD) was organized there was one Seventh-day Adventist for every 7,546 inhabitants, and we faced grave difficulties in the area of religious liberty. Today there is one Seventh-day Adventist for every 157 inhabitants, and we enjoy total liberty to preach the gospel. For these and so many other blessings, we give all the glory and honor to the Lord.

South America in Action
One of the most beautiful verses in the Bible is Acts 2:47, where we are told "the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (NIV). The Lord still continues to act in this manner, and thousands of people are joining the church in South America each year.

In our division we have areas of high Seventh-day Adventist concentration, such as the Lake Titicaca Mission, where there is one Adventist for every 15 inhabitants; or the East Peru Mission, where there is one Adventist for every 31 inhabitants. There are, of course, other areas that are more difficult and secularized, such as Buenos Aires or Montevideo. Nevertheless, throughout the entire division we see how the miracle of conversion repeats itself day after day. We see the Holy Spirit softening hearts and leading them to Christ. Yes, South America is a division in movement!

What Do the Numbers Reveal?
In this quinquennium South America baptized 678,470 persons, which is equivalent to an increase of nearly 24 percent over the previous quinquennium. Baptisms in 1999 reached 189,440 persons, 42 percent more than the year before. One person is baptized every 2.77 minutes, one church of 100 members is organized every 4.61 hours, and 519 persons become part of our fellowship every day of the year.

Annual Council in 1998 at Iguacu Falls.

God has done marvelous things in South America during the past five years, in spite of the social and economic problems that our countries have experienced.

The SAD membership on December 31, 1999, reached 1,701,617. We look forward to the day when, through the grace of God, we reach 2 million members.

To nurture and equip the new believers during this quinquennium 2,385 churches and congregations were organized, and the territory was restructured by organizing two new unions and five new conferences/missions. The South American Division now includes nine unions and 52 conferences and missions. Further, we have had the joy of contributing significantly to the world church's financial health: since 1994 the largest countries of our territory stabilized their currencies.

Global Mission
The late Pastor Henrique Berg, the first individual responsible for the Global Mission program, once remarked that "in 1916 the brethren who organized this division of the General Conference did not have the slogan 'Global Mission,' but they had the Global Mission spirit."

The words of Matthew 24:14 and Revelation 14:6, which well summarize the Global Mission program, continue to spur our brothers and sisters on to work. The command of Jesus is urgent: go to every tribe and to all people, house by house, until the last home has been reached. In Brazil several conferences and missions already have a Seventh-day Adventist presence in all their municipalities; now they are proposing to enter all neighborhoods and cities.

On April 27, 1996, the Austral Union, remembering the words of the Lord, "Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth," organized the southernmost Seventh-day Adventist church in the world in Ushuaia, Argentina, with 91 members.

In 1996 the South Ecuador Mission launched "The One Thousand of Gold Plan," a new, aggressive concept of evangelization in which 1,000 members promise to win one soul, give Bible studies, give new value to the Adventist Review, and work in the homes of people who desire eternal life. Those who enroll in the plan receive material, training, and motivation. The results of this plan have been amazing.

The West São Paulo Conference held an inspiring Global Mission Congress in 1995. At this congress 105 municipalities in which the Adventist message was progressing were represented by their specific local flag. Though it took 100 years to enter the first 90 municipalities with the Seventh-day Adventist message, the current advance into the other 105 municipalities has occurred in only six years.

The Lower Amazon Conference, with its enormous territorial expanse, called upon 41 volunteer members to go into 41 unentered locations to build small 26- x 50-foot (8- x 15-meters) chapels and to establish churches in these locations.

That call has been heeded, and great growth has resulted.

In South America, Global Mission is not a passing strategy. It is a normal, permanent, constant program.

Public evangelism is also still a powerful means of preaching the gospel in the SAD. In the city of de Santa Cruz, in the East Bolivia Mission, evangelistic meetings conducted by Pastor J. M. Viana and the local pastors with the participation of 21 theology students and 19 lay Bible instructors resulted in 754 baptisms. Theology students from our colleges actively participate in public evangelistic series as part of their training, including major series conducted by Pastor Alejandro Bullón in Peru and Brazil.

The Pillars of Evangelistic Advance in South America

God is working through evangelism to establish churches in Brazil.

Public and personal evangelism are part of our style in South America, built on the trio of "pastor-elder-layperson." Evangelism is the coordinated action of the church's workers and laypeople. Everything revolves around the "trio." Here are some of the pillars of the evangelistic advance in our division.

Small Group Ministry. This plan is being implanted in South America with enthusiasm and growing success. A century ago Ellen G. White wrote, "Let little companies meet together to study the Scriptures. . . . Angels of God will be in your gathering, and as you feed upon the Bread of Life, you will receive spiritual sinew and muscle" (This Day With God, p. 11). We are finding this counsel abundantly true.

The Program of Integrated Evangelism. Every department works together in unison, interrelated without competition, as an army without missing a step, without changing direction, in one common program of evangelism that integrates all departments.

The REVIVE Plan. This plan focuses on evangelistic miniseries of decision-gathering hundreds and even thousands of church members and interested individuals for revival and recommitment.

Church Elders Meetings. Seminars are held to equip, train, encourage, and prepare the church elders for more effective ministry.

Women's Ministries. Women play an important role in the Adventist work in the South American Division, and this department continues to stir our hearts with beautiful news. It's touching to see our sisters make a vow of complete consecration to the Lord and His cause, working to reach the lost.

The Harvest Festivals. These are Festivals of the Laity. Dedicated lay-people give of their time, talent, and possessions to share their faith. They give Bible studies; preach in chapels, in meeting halls, and in the open air; distribute our publications; travel many miles using every type of transportation imaginable-all to share the gospel. As a result thousands and thousands of individuals are joining the Adventist movement on its march to the kingdom.

The Program of Adventist Radio. Among our modern miracles are the 42 church-owned radio stations in South America that broadcast the message of the three angels, especially through the interactive radio Bible courses. In addition, the Voice of Prophecy program is broadcast on 968 non-Adventist radio stations.

The Television Programs. In addition to the It Is Written program, which is broadcast through secular television stations, the SAD operates a satellite system in conjunction with the General Conference that reaches other divisions, including the Inter-American Division and the North American Division. This system was made possible by the financial assistance of a lay brother, the SAD, and the General Conference.

The Public Evangelism Seminars. Hundreds of people each year attend seminars designed to give pastors and laypeople training, knowledge, and orientation so that they can conduct their own evangelistic campaigns.

The Easter Week Program. The harmony among pastors and church members during the Easter Week evangelism is marvelous. Thousands of people hear the message of a crucified, resurrected, and soon-coming Saviour for the first time.

Emphasis on Spring Baptism. This traditional program in South America focuses on the baptism of adolescents and young people. On this date each spring thousands of youth seal their pact with the Lord in the baptismal waters.

The Strong Educational Program. The educational program in the SAD is vigorous. We now have five universities, six tertiary institutions, 199 secondary schools, and 813 primary schools. In one union, in one year, 1,572 students were baptized because of the direct influence of Seventh-day Adventist education.

The Stewardship and Home and Family Programs. During the Stewardship Weeks Adventist brothers and sisters are invited to make a commitment to God regarding their possessions and their talents. During Family Weeks the focus is on family enrichment and the strengthening of ties between spouses and among parents and children, reinforcing spiritual life within the home.

Publishing Ministry. Our publishing work was established through the direction of God and under special supervision, and it was designed to accomplish a specific purpose. We believe, as Ellen G. White wrote, that "in a large degree through our publishing houses is to be accomplished the work of that other angel who comes down from heaven with great power and who lightens the earth with his glory" (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 140).

Literature evangelists and student literature evangelists distribute thousands of books and magazines with the message of salvation every year. A new volume, The Third Millennium, is stimulating hundreds of conversions in all corners of the division. During this quinquennium lay members also successfully distributed the book Steps to Christ in a magazine format. This program is known as "Peace Above the Storm." The initial distribution of 2 million copies was subsidized by the SAD food factories and publishing houses, and by more than US$250,000 from Global Mission.

The Medical Institutions. South America operates 25 medical institutions, large and small, maintaining the original system of medical missionaries. These institutions favorably project the image of the church and produce high-quality missionary work.

The Challenge of the Unfinished Work

South American pastors and members alike preach the gospel.

One of our greatest challenges is reaching cities for God. In these asphalt jungles the largest part of the population is unevangelized. We are also challenged as to how to enter medium-sized and small traditional communities.

Another of our challenges is to prevent and reduce the rate of apostasy, confirming the faith of our brothers and sisters by encouraging them to be faithful until the end.

We also urgently need to find and designate more resources to construct small churches and chapels that welcome individuals and represent the church with dignity.

With a lack of financial resources and with only 1,613 ordained ministers, the largest part of the work is done by laypeople-young people and adults, men and women-who donate an incredible amount of time and energy to the Lord's work. Our challenge is to continue enrolling and training more lay members, youth, adults, and even children to preach the gospel.

We will continue, through the grace of God, to encourage, train and organize the trio of "pastor-church elder-layperson." Our duty is to proclaim the gospel; if we are faithful to that task, God is responsible for the results.

What Will We Do Now?
All these things are the past. But now we have to forget the past and reach forward to "those things which are before," pressing toward the mark (Phil. 3:13, 14), because we are part of a dynamic movement with a vision of the future. There is still much land to be conquered.

Joshua told the people, "Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you" (Joshua 3:5). Workers and lay members, all of us, have to consecrate ourselves more to the Lord and seek the revival of devotion as in the primitive church.

While our mission continues to be the same, we must adapt our methods to new times, take advantage of modern technologies, dream new dreams, produce creative ideas, face new challenges, and reach new victories. This is the spirit of South America.