"As to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts"� (2 Peter 1:19)*.

e are one people, with one mission.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church family around the world is larger, stronger, and more diversified in mission than at any time in our 150-year history. It took us more than 100 years to reach the first million in membership. It has taken us a little more than one year to add the last million, and we give thanks to God!

The spread of self-reliance around the world in terms of financial and personnel resources has been equally remarkable. There was a time when all resources seemed to flow from the so-called developed world to the work and witness of the church in the developing world. That is now changing. With a new approach to our shared resources, the church around the world has made and is making a fresh definition of how we should draw closer to each other and of how all carry a fair share of the responsibilities of a church in mission. It is right that we do it, and it is good for the dignity of us all. We are one people!

Everything that our church is, has, and does finds its meaning in mission. During the past 15 years in particular our church has been very deliberate in its focus on mission. To my mind comes the 1986 Annual Council in Rio de Janeiro when Neal Wilson led the assembled leaders to focus specifically on "unentered" areas and people groups. This gave birth to the initiative that we today know as Global Mission. I also want to recognize the energy and ideas that my predecessor, Robert Folkenberg, brought to this concept, particularly by increasing our awareness of the use of communication media, including satellite transmissions, in pursuing our mission.

Mission is why we are here. Said our Lord: "You are my witnesses . . . and my servant whom I have chosen" (Isa. 43:10). He who said to His people of old, "I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open the eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness" (Isa. 42:6, 7), is the same who says to us today, I have sent you into the world "to be representatives of God, to reveal His Spirit, to manifest His character, to do His work" (The Ministry of Healing, p. 396).

So our focus is on the world and God's saving activities in the world; our focus is on the church as a community in mission. It is my honor and privilege to share with you "what God hath wrought."

Our World

he world we call home is a hungry, violent, and tragic place. The century we leave behind has seen the greatest slaughter in history. The record of humanity's inhumanity scars us all. Ours is a sin-sick dying world, desperately needing salvation and deliverance, needing faith, hope, and love.

We hear of wars and rumors of wars. But the end is not yet. We see famine and earthquakes in many places. But these are but the beginnings of birth pangs. For first the gospel must be preached in all the world as a witness.

This report is the record of the church in action, fulfilling the Master's command and working "until the day dawns."

So what is it that makes us one? What makes Adventists different?

1. The Faith That Makes Us One

t the heart of our faith is Christ. He is the content and focus of our faith. The cross is our message and our salvation. Through this Christ-centered gospel we gain the assurance of who we are and the conviction of where we're going. The God we know and preach is the source of the faith that makes us one.

In an aimless world Adventists have faith in God and His promises. Fundamentally, the belief of Adventists is in the salvation offered by the God of the Bible. Our most specific goal is to meet Jesus at His soon coming and to share this good news with everyone. Our whole identity is summed up in this present and future experience of God that makes a real difference in the way we live and work and act. As a church we are committed to "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." We can say with assurance,� "I know the God who saves me, and so I know He will be with me to the end."

Our faith is not without challenges�even direct literal attacks on the church. For example, the only Adventist church in Turkmenistan was destroyed last November. Or the attacks on churches in parts of Asia, with Adventist members beaten and jungle chapels broken down or burned. But the church is not made up of just bricks and mortar, and its beauty is not in buildings. The church is the body of Christ, made up of us as members.

We also experience those very real challenges to individual faith on a personal level. Like Anthony Alexander, imprisoned in Sri Lanka, accused of being a terrorist. Or the three Cape Verde islanders from their country off the coast of West Africa, jailed for allegedly desecrating Catholic churches. We praise God for the release of these brothers in Christ and for the fact that justice can still prevail in this world of ours.

We must recognize here too the more insidious challenges to faith, when the values of the world invade the church. Such values reflect different dynamics of life, and are out of harmony with the faith that makes us one. Financial challenges also affect our faith, both individually and as an organization. The result can be lack of commitment, altered priorities, arguments over practice and policies. They are aspects that hit at the heart of faith.

That's why in a number of places around the world the church has chosen to emphasize and celebrate the role of membership involvement--take, for example, the Festivals of the Laity. It's been my privilege to participate in such enthusiastic celebrations of the thrill of evangelism and of sharing the gospel message. In these wonderful festivals of contagious excitement, we catch a glimpse of what God can do through all of us. Such events are testimonials to the importance of each and every member recognizing their responsibilities and of experiencing the joys of telling others about their faith.

Or take the young people. All over the globe they are taking up the challenge to make the church their church and witness to their faith.

For example, in Romania the Pathfinders write out the whole Bible from memory on a scroll 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) long. Why? Because they want to make a public statement. They want to show what they believe--that the Bible is still relevant to young people today. Half a world away in Brazil, there's a similar event. Together with the inauguration of a "Bridge of Hope," young people write out the Bible, signing on with smiles as their way of saying, "We really believe in God. We're committed to Him."

Or what about the biggest camporee of all in Oshkosh, Wisconsin? Some 22,000 Pathfinders together "discover the power" of God to make a difference in their lives. A truly marvelous testimony to youthful enthusiasm linked to the power of God--an unstoppable combination!

The youth are on the march for change. Like the Walk Around the World 2000 program--hundreds of marches in many countries round the globe. Walking for a better world. Walking for a drug-free lifestyle. Walking toward the glorious kingdom of God.

Similarly, young people in their teens and 20s are determined to make an impact on the world through their church. A wide range of programs show that they want to be involved, like ConneXions 99 and excite 99 and g2k. Such events reveal that Adventist Christians are up-to-date, relevant, and committed to God's plan for this world.

Faith in action: that's what defines the church. And that's the faith that makes us one.

2. The Hope That Makes Us One

hat aspects of our belief really distinguish us? We can sum up our ideas about God like this: God is good; God loves; God saves. God offers--and He expects us to embrace--a better life with higher values. God is coming back. God gives eternal life.

Simple. Because it expresses that most basic truth: hope. And not just any kind of hope, but hope in God. Our hope, our future, is as bright as the promises of God Himself. That is why the primary Adventist essential transcends all cultures: because it hits all people at the heart of their being. Advent hope gives meaning and purpose to life itself.

Many have wondered what gives the Adventist Church its dynamism.

Some look to the organizational structure. But the power of Adventism is not there. Some think it is in our lifestyle message. But good though that may be, this is not the source but the result of the motivating power. Others believe it is in small group ministry, or in the health message, or in education. But though all these things are good, they are not in themselves the critical power of the church.

This church began through preaching the message of the blessed hope, the sure and certain return of our loving Lord. Only as we continue this mission can we truthfully identify ourselves as Adventists. For the power of the Adventist Church is in the Advent and in the Spirit who brings this power. The Spirit brings Christ into focus and brings understanding, for the Spirit leads us into all truth and reveals Jesus to us. This is the God who came, the God who is with us and who saves us. This is the God who comes again to take us to be with Him for all eternity. Our message is a message of hope and assurance. This is the hope that makes us one.

That's the hope we want to share, using many different strategies to spread the good news. Sharing hope with the hopeless. A return to the biblical principles of taking the gospel into areas that have not heard, through teaching ministries combined with working at trades--the tentmaking approach. As a result of initiatives like Global Mission, the Adventist Church is now present in various ways. The 1000 Missionary movement that began in the Philippines invited students to commit themselves to giving their time and talents to the Lord to serve in places that need to hear God's message for these times. So, too, the many satellite evangelistic series share hope_Net '96, Net '98, Pentecost '98, Net '99, ACTS 2000, and more. Each one is a way of sharing with more and more people the hope that we have in Christ.

The most recent--Impacto 2000 in South America--was a way of bringing together all the elements of witness: Bible study, personal contact, and inspired preaching, so that the blessed hope can become the personal hope of many millions more.

Through ministries like It Is Written we have had the joy of seeing many accept Christ in countries such as Cuba. In the Philippines, more multiplied thousands. In Africa. In South and Central America. The church is truly growing under the blessing of God. Each one who accepts is individually a cause for celebration, both here on earth and in the courts of heaven.

But many challenges remain as we try to share the hope that we have in Jesus. For example, the challenge of the 10/40 window. In this section of the globe live 60 percent of the world's population, yet only 1 percent are Christian. This is truly our greatest challenge.

Yet even in those countries of the world that are closed to the usual forms of witness we can share our hope. Adventist World Radio crosses boundaries and speaks directly to those who need to hear. In some countries, the only "church" you can belong to is one that exists through radio and correspondence, as the many letters coming into the Media Center in Cyprus attest.

In all of this we are challenged to cross the boundaries of culture, race, and geography. For us, diversity must be more than a slogan. We are all on a journey of discovery as we understand the richness of life together as one body, committed to the hope that makes us one.

3. The Love That Makes Us One

ithout love even faith and hope are "tinkling gongs and clashing cymbals." For the church, that seems to be one of the easiest lessons to forget. However right we may be, however passionately we may defend the truth, if we have not love we are nothing.

No soft and sentimental feeling, this is tough love that brought Jesus to the cross. This is the love that we desire, the perfect love that casts out fear. For how did Jesus say that His friends would be identified? If they have love one for another. Not by the programs they run, or the size of their organization, or by the amount of their resources. But by the divine love they reflect in their lives.

Such love cannot be faked, but is expressed in action. In the words of John: "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth"� (1 John 3:18).

From Alaska to Zimbabwe our role is to demonstrate this fundamental truth. Unless we can show this, everything else is irrelevant. We can truly say that the most amazing thing in the Adventist Church is that we can love and support each other, even though we come from so many different backgrounds and cultures.

That's why we want to share--telling others of the one faith we have in Jesus. That's why we hold so many outreach meetings, large and small, in Soweto and Stockholm, in New York and New Delhi, in Bogot� and Bucharest. That's why a blind preacher in Guatemala gets up every morning at 4:00 to study his braille Bible, so he can witness for the truth at the meetings he holds. Why a 12-year-old girl leads out in evangelism in southern Mexico. Why teams of workers are leading out in all kinds of outreach, by satellite, radio, TV, on the street, in community halls, in tents, or under the shade of the village tree. Why? Because "the love of Christ constraineth us."

We are not an organization directed by managers. We are a community of faith, a family of believers, one in Christ Jesus. Our mission, our goal, is to spread the good news, and invite all who will to come into God's family, eagerly awaiting His return. Why? Because we are more of a community than an organization.

We show who we are by practicing what we preach. That means showing love in action, which is where our welfare, medical, development, and emergency aid programs come in. Adventists are not just sitting by on the sidelines waiting for the Lord to come_we are out there in the world, demonstrating truth by our actions.

As always, there is so much more, so many to help, so few resources. In a world divided between those who have and those who do not, we struggle to provide care and health education to those who most need, while we also have to deal with the complexities of modern managed health-care programs. May we have the wisdom to follow the example of Jesus in all that we do.

������� In 160 countries the development and relief aid that arises from our Christian compassion is shared, without regard for who the recipients may be. But by being there, we show the loving face of our Lord to the many millions in need--whether it be the devastation of Hurricane Mitch or the floods in Mozambique or the long-term tree planting program in Ghana.

We truly live in a "Global Village," and the Lord would have others see Jesus in us, in all we do.

Nor can we miss the huge contribution of committed laity to the program of the church--such as the work of Maranatha Volunteers International and Adventist-Laymen's Services and Industries. As each member makes a contribution according to their time and talents, the cause of God is advanced, and the world recognizes God's disciples because they have love one for another and for every soul for whom Jesus died. The roofs for Africa program, the Cuba churches, the many building activities all around the world, the volunteer service--all are reflected in such ministries, and we give praise to God for all who have contributed in these ways.

All around the world, the church involves itself in community--for example, in the multiplied thousands of feeding programs, in Belgrade as well as in Baltimore. In Lisbon, Lima, and London, we see in action the love that makes us one as we reach out in love to those around us. Positive lifestyle seminars, stress clinics, smoking-cessation programs, education for street kids--practical love is shown in what we do that is relevant to those with whom we live.

One way in which the staff at the world headquarters has sought to reach out to the community has been by providing an interactive Walk through Bethlehem. Through a realistic bazaar scene from the time of Jesus visitors are encouraged to think what it was really like to be part of the story, to "be there" at the coming of Jesus. And of course, recognizing that first coming means pointing to the Second Coming, too. Making what we believe relevant and important to those around us, helping them to see Jesus. That's our business.

During the past five years we have deliberately focused on the themes that hold us together as a church. Our chosen theme this year leads directly to the motto of this session, "Almost Home." These themes become more than mere slogans as we take them seriously and nurture them deep down in our hearts.� We are a people together, a community of hope that is welcoming the dawn of God's eternal day. That is the meaning we express through the love that makes us one.

Our world transformed���������

he world is a hungry, violent, and tragic place. But with the light of God's salvation the future is sure. The church is truly confident, because God is the one who promises salvation present and future. He is the one "who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9). Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). "For God, who said, `Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6). "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light" (Eph. 5:8).

In this world of darkness we are children of the light and of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. God sends us to open the eyes of the blind, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God (see 1 Thess. 5:5; Luke 4:18; Acts 26:18).

"It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshrouding the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. At this time a message from God is to be proclaimed, a message illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy, and truth. . . . The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of love" (Christ's Object Lessons, p. 415).

At this General Conference session, as we make decisions for the future under the guidance of God, and as we celebrate together the assurance of faith, hope, and love, may our gracious God be close to each of us, here and around the world, as we look forward to a hope-filled future now and for eternity. For "we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19).

We are the church of today and tomorrow, together in the God who makes us one, looking unto Jesus, working together "until the day dawns." May we all be there.